Our resident chucker was a bit ticked off the other day.
He was out back in the sun, enjoying a few apples…
Happily posing for pictures….
And an hour later?
Bam!
One cold woodchuck.
We had a squall move in from out of nowhere.
And I’m sure he was rethinking the decision to come out of hibernation.
No, he wasn’t happy.
With the snow…. or me.
There’s a political party of beer lovers in Poland.
The PPPP… Polska Partia Przyjaciol Piwa. They won 16 parliament seats before breaking up into smaller factions. The Big Beer Party and the Little Beer Party.
You didn’t know that.
But I did, because….
I bet you didn’t know….
The unofficial mascot of Delta State University if the Fighting Okra.
But it’s true.
I once went 4 rounds with some fried okra… but I’m sure no one wants to hear about that.
I bet you didn’t know…
Snow angels originated from medieval Jewish mystics who practiced rolling in the snow to rid themselves of evil urges.
Maybe I need to try that the next time I want pie and ice cream.
I bet you didn’t know…
Horseshoe crabs are bled for medical science.
Horseshoe crabs use hemocyanin to carry oxygen through their blood. Because of the copper present in hemocyanin, their blood is blue. … Amebocytes from the blood of L. polyphemus are used to make Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL), which is used for the detection of bacterial endotoxins in medical applications.
Run crab….
Run!
I bet you didn’t know…
In Athens, Greece a driver’s license can be taken away if the driver is deemed “unbathed” or “poorly dressed”.
Good thing this trend never caught on.
I bet you didn’t know…
F.Scott Fitzgerald’s novel This Side of Paradise was the first time the word ‘daiquiri’ ever appeared.
Rum… Paradise…
Makes sense to me.
Ah, spring!
In Maine? We tend to do it differently.
Like last Thursday, when one of our woodchucks came out of hibernation and said wtf?
The deer weren’t too happy either.
And before we knew it, what was supposed to be a light flurry…..
Turned into a full blown storm.
Complete with heavy wet snow weighing down the trees..
And turning everything into a winter wonderland.
Spring.
It isn’t always green.
No, not the depression.
Sorry, not the brothers either.
I’m talking about the colors.
Living in Maine, most of our winters are white. But there’s also a lot of beautiful blue…
And when a storm is moving in?
It’s really quite lovely.
These were all taken through my dirty winter windows last month, so be kind.
But spots and all..
You have to admit winter blues are pretty.
Even the ones that turn out kind of weird.
Well, if you live in Maine….
You have a snow sculpture contest!
That strange looking blob turned into this:
A goldfinch on a nest.
It gets my vote….
But here are some other entries.
Small snowman.
Snow frog.
Large snowman.
Musical snowman.
Upside down snowman.
Snow horse.
Snow bunny.
Snow pig?
Snow mermaid.
And a snow public health advisement…
Someone posted this as well …..
I love it, but have a feeling it was pulled off the net and not a local entry.
A+ for originality though.
Cheers!
Spring in Maine looks a little different than most places….
Because we woke up to this today.
We didn’t have nearly enough snow this winter, but now? Almost a flippin’ foot fell overnight.
Daffodils and tulips?
Not quite yet.
And because all that heavy wet snow knocked out our satellite feed and someone can’t stand to be without the news for 5 minutes?
Yeah.
This.
At 6:30 am.
Looks like fun, no?
Ah…
Spring!
Now that the Virginia vacation saga is finally over, it’s time to clear out the photo files.
If you remember… before we left for the Cape Cod vacation in November, the husband was desperately trying to finish the remodel on our baby barn from Hell before the snow started flying.
He started putting the siding on….
Which was a nightmare of non squared corners and uneven ground.
Yeah, there was a lot of that.
His answer? Plant a shrub in front of it.
He was still using his 1950’s power tools and probably wishing for a larger wheelbarrow.
Siding around the window resulted in some very colorful language.
As did turning the 3rd corner where things didn’t exactly line up.
Unfortunately that’s as far as he got before the weather turned….
And now I have to stare at this split personality horror show until spring.
In other news, our neighbor and her daughter fed our deer while we were gone.
She sent me this picture while we were in Williamsburg, and wanted me to know the child took her responsibility seriously.
And for that she was rewarded.
Flowers for mom and a thank you deer for her daughter.
That little guy cost me a fortune but he was hand made and too damned cute to resist. Look at those feet!
It snowed right after we got back.
But the white stuff sure does make a nice contrast for the sunrise.
We were happy to see our resident buck was still around.
He’s an impressive fellow….
And clearly his women agree.
He’s got quite a little harem going.
With 4 fawns that we know of.
Funny thing is….. as much as I love to travel, it’s sights like these that always make me glad to be home again.
Even with the milder winters we’re having, we still see our fair share of snow, ice, and sleet. But temperatures are warming and we’re not seeing those epic dumps of the white stuff like we used to.
This used to be a normal February.
Tunneling was a way of life.
Now? We get a few inches and it melts.
Then it freezes.
I am so done with ice.
Yes, it’s pretty.
But when walking to the mailbox means you might slip, fall and crack a rib?
You can have it.
Give me a foot of snow over pretty shining crystals any day.
And with all that snow, melting and ice?
This –
A leak in the roof.
And what looks like an expensive repair to the ceiling.
It’s the worst possible time of year for it.
So from now until spring, when we can get it fixed, I’m going to cringe every time it rains.
Good times.
With apologies to Kevin Costner….
I’m talking about the deer.
When snow covers the ground and grass is hard to find?
Shoveling a path is a sure way to attract a crowd.
Or a herd, as the case may be.
We were really glad to see our resident 12 point buck survived hunting season.
And visits daily with his harem.
Of course he also chases them away when the treats run low.
Cheeky bugger.
Here’s a little clip in between snow storms.
Maine is a quirky place.
The landscape is rugged….
And the weather is challenging to say the least.
So we tend to have a sense of humor about most things…
Even road signs.
Like this one I saw the other day.
Can you read the note to boaters?
” Attention Boaters!!
Unless your truck and trailer can fly, you can’t get to the boat launch!
Just sayin! ”
River's world..... 