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Our nightly deer herd showed up a little early the other day and I was able to snap some pictures.
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On our snowless back yard.
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I dislike the lack of white stuff this year, but the herd happily munches the still green patches.
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We started with three in the fall…
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But now have 7-9 visitors.
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So sweet.
💕
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Over Christmas, our neighbors took a cruise on that gigantic new floating city, Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas. It’s the largest cruise ship in the world and sounds like my idea of Hell, but to each their own.
While they were away? I had cat duty.
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And drove down their long driveway every day to their house in the woods.
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Sometimes with company, which is always a nice surprise.
The nicer surprise?
The thank you gift she brought home for me a week later.
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Oh my lord!
Have you ever tried these?
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The banana was to die for. Rich, moist and perfectly rummy. I had one slice, and then shamefully devoured half the cake with a glass of cold milk.
Dinner? Who needs it.
The cake was so amazing I had to research where I could purchase another. I hoped it wouldn’t involve taking a cruise… but honestly, I’d be tempted.
From the website:
….main claim to fame is its rum cakes, which are baked in Jamaica, Barbados and the Bahamas and employs machinery that ensures long shelf lives without using refrigeration or preservatives. “We still make the cake the same way it was made years ago,” says Hamaty-Simmonds, “which includes generous portions of Tortuga Rum from the Caribbean. You have to taste it!”
Upon further sleuthing, thank you Jeff Bezos…
I shall be ordering one from Amazon today.
My third nice surprise? A green plant I’ve had in our living room for over 5 years just decided to bloom.
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With weird and wonderfully quirky little orange flowers.
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How bizarre is that!
😊
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I love a lot of things about living where we do, but the geographic placement of our house has to be at the top of the list. In the evening we have lovely sunsets out our front door, and in the morning?
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Well…
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The sunrises over the back deck aren’t too shabby either .
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😊
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Note- photos were taken the beginning of last week, after our largest snow dump of the season. 4 inches, big whoop.
We’re back to green grass now, which is crazy wrong for winter in Maine.
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A little molasses flavored grain is always a welcome treat.
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Two bowls…
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First come, first serve.
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Unless you’re small enough to sneak underneath.
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😊
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Our local deer herds wax and wane.
Some years we have 3, some years we have 10. Our record is 21.
This year?
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It started with 4…
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And has now gone up to 6.
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Sadly we haven’t seen the big beautiful buck from last season.
I hope he’s just moved on and hasn’t fallen to a hunter’s bullet.
😰
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On a bright and sunny afternoon, we headed west.
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To a small craft brewery called Ambition.
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To be honest I think it was misnamed. Not only was it small, but the barkeeper was more interested in talking with his friends than introducing new customers to his beer. We muddled along on our own, ordered and picked up our own flight…
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And were quite underwhelmed. The only brew that any flavor? Burned your throat too much to drink.
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With this many breweries in our state… we won’t be returning to the ambitionless Ambition.
Tasting complete, we headed across the street to a favorite restaurant.
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Housed in an old shoe factory with an original boiler door that fascinates my husband..
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Calzolaio Pasta Co. never disappoints.
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An apple cider mule with a garlic, chicken, broccoli Alfredo pizza on fresh basil dough for me.
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And a fabulous ravioli special for the husband.
Sautéed shallots & local Macintosh apples finished with baby spinach in a sherry & sage cream sauce over butternut squash & pumpkin filled ravioli.
All the flavors of fall right there!
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Our morning sunrises never fail to disappoint.
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It’s a beautiful way to greet the day.
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😊
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Leaving York Beach the other day, we headed north along the coastal route.
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Past the park…
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And down to Cape Neddick….
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Home to the (famous in these parts) Nubble Light.
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Built in 1878 at the cost of $15,000, Nubble is still in use today and contains its original Fresnel lens.
Fun fact?
Nubble Light is a famous American icon and a classic example of a lighthouse. An image of the lighthouse is included on the Voyager Golden Record carried by the Voyager spacecraft as one of Earth’s most prominent man-made structures or natural features, alongside features such as the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal, to be viewed should it fall into the hands of intelligent extraterrestrials.
And though my picture looks like you could just walk right up and explore, the lighthouse actually sits on an island and is inaccessible to the public.
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No matter, the scenery is pretty sweet from this side as well.
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😊
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A blueberry mule by the ocean is a beautiful thing.
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Even if the restaurant’s decor leaves a bit to be desired.
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Lobster Cove got good reviews for its seafood so we gave it a whirl.
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View from upstairs?
Not too shabby.
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My clam chowder was excellent and aside from the weird onion ring topping on my husband’s beloved French onion soup, his was tasty as well.
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Fried sea scallops for me, a decadent seafood casserole in lobster bisque for my spouse and we were happy campers.
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Almost as happy as these seagulls…
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Who were fed by this kind stranger.
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No… don’t leave!
😉
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Since our weather has been crazy beautiful?
Road trip!
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York Beach, a popular tourist destination during the summer but wonderfully deserted this time of year.
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It’s a typical seaside community that we avoid like the plague during peak season.
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But on a bright November afternoon?
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These folks had the right idea.
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Across from the ocean?
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Some seriously large pumpkins.
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It’s a lovely area.
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Off season.
😉
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River's world..... 