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It’s winter in Maine.
There will be snow.
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Free classes! Our townsfolk are so generous.
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In big cities you have drive by shootings.
Here in the north country we have drive by plowings….
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Plow truck – 1.
Mailbox – 0.
He’s now officially a Mainer!
👍
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Sometimes it wants to come in the house…
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Sometimes it makes it past the storm door.
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I got a kick out of this picture our neighbor posted of her son wanting to go out the back door yesterday.
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Now that’s a drift!
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Walking out to check on the man cave after the Nor Easter was challenging.
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You had to guess where the steps were.
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Drift crests on every side.
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And the porch furniture didn’t look quite as inviting as before.
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A tunnel dug to make passage less of an aerobic exercise.
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But the best part about snow pictures?
When your husband asks for your phone to take a shot of something fantastic and it comes back with five of these….
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Well, he tried.
🤣
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We woke up to a slightly different landscape this morning.
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And after a solid day and night of howling winds, it was time to take stock.
And pictures.
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There were some impressive drifts.
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And swirls.
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The backyard had its own mountain range.
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And the front?
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Buried.
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The snowblower had its work cut out for it finding the driveway…
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Did I mention the wind was still blowing?
This didn’t bother Lord Dudley Mountcatten as he was enjoying the early morning sun….
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Though the table drifts did block his bird viewing. It’s rough to be a cat.
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I woke up this morning to an old fashioned winter temperature.
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We haven’t seen this for a while so I can’t say it bothers me. And if it was a little colder like the northern part of our state, I might try this…
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Crazy cold doesn’t begin to describe northern Maine.
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Judging from the weather forecast, things are going to get interesting here on Saturday as well with an old fashioned N’or Easter.
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I say bring it!
I love the big snow dumps and we’re in the 10-20” zone so… yay!
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Three grey squirrels were braving the elements for a nosh during our last snow storm.
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This fellow was first to the tray feeder, scrambling up the pole and settling in to munch.
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Squirrel number two had a harder time with the slippery pole….
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But after a few comical attempts… made it to the tray of treats.
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Squirrel #1 was not happy to share and a major scuffle broke out, but it was over quickly and a truce was called.
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All was well until squirrel #3 showed up.
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He climbed the pole 4 times and was booted off in no uncertain terms.
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Two is company… and apparently three is one squirrel too many.
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Lord Dudley Mountcatten has many endearing qualities… he’s well behaved, sweet, playful, entertaining as hell and a real cuddle bug.
What he’s not is spatial reasoning gifted.
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Because when your mother shovels you a path, and your father takes you for a walk?
It’s not necessary to hike through the snow.
Sigh.
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I took Lord Dudley Mountcatten out in the snow for round two last week and after a few false starts…
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He accepted the white stuff was cold, wet and crunchy but if one is careful, it can be navigated.
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Careful tiptoeing continued… until he spotted my nemesis.
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While I normally don’t encourage carnage or blood sport, all bets are off when it comes to that house/barn/garage gnawing red bitch.
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I was actively encouraging the stalk and made sure to stand motionless and quiet.
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But alas, she out maneuvered us and hid in the woodshed. No doubt sharpening her teeth in between chuckles.
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Lord Dudley was disheartened, not to mention cold… so round two of ‘introduction to snow’ came to a close.
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Winter in Maine used to look like this:
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Oh, the good old days when it got cold and stayed that way until spring. Yes, back in the dark ages before our climate developed whiplash – it snowed, stayed cold enough for the snow to stick and then it snowed some more.
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Making for some fabulously shaped mounds of white stuff. But these days? We have a small storm, maybe an inch or two… then the temperature warms to the high 30’s or 40’s during the day and everything melts.
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And when the temperature swings back down?
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Ice.
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Everywhere.
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On every thing.
And while that does result in some rather stellar icicles…
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It also makes walking on our skating rink of a driveway seriously treacherous.
Keep your warm weather down south and out west!
It’s winter in Maine The only melting ice I want is in my cocktail.
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Local news from the great white north.
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So yes, there are drawbacks to living in colder climates.
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But on the flip side, some lucky chickens get to live indoors.
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This happens more often than you’d think in our town.
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Perhaps they’ve started a Union and are on strike?
“No pay?
No lay!”
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We finally got a few inches of white stuff on the ground and I figured it was time to make Lord Dudley Mountcatten walk the proverbial plank.
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He was a bit hesitant…
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But made a mad dash to the shallow patches beside the house.
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When he hit the slightly deeper parts he looked back as if to say… wtf?
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After which he plonked the Royal butt down and refused to move. A few minutes of chilly bird watching later, he called it quits and ran for the house.
I’m calling this progress.
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River's world..... 