Because our buck is sticking around with his family this year and I’m enjoying his weird head.
We always see him with his impressive rack in the fall….
But rarely in the spring when they start to grow back.
It really is a strange process.
Yes, I’m talking about you.
The weather was perfect.
75 degrees with bright sunshine and a gentle breeze.
We’d spent the day mowing and trimming and weeding….
And everything looked perfect.
Lilacs were cut for vases and perfumed the air with the scent of a long awaited spring.
And we ended the day with adult beverages on the big barn porch…. where the only thing to worry about was walking back inside for refills.
Life is good.
Thankfully the eau de la cow pie fragrance is dissipating and something more wonderful is taking it’s place.
It started like this…
And then…
Boom!
Apple blossoms.
And if you’ve never stuck your head right up inside a tree and sniffed?
What are you waiting for!
We have 4 such trees.
And they’re glorious.
It started out well enough, with a sighting of a beloved yet rarely seen visitor.
This time he was across the street, walking along the edge of our neighbor’s farm.
He’s a beautiful ring necked pheasant we named Phineas.
They’re not native to Maine and can’t survive the winters, but a man up the road raises them and occasionally one or two will break free. Last year, Phineas brought his woman to our backyard. She was looking for a nesting site… but we never did see any chicks.
Later on in the day….
Saturday, May frickin‘ 9th?
We had ducks.
And snow.
This is the first time we’ve ever had mallards.
Sadly….it isn’t the first time we’ve had snow in May.
The ducks stayed quite a while, raiding the droppings from the bird feeders and the leftover deer grain.
And then a friend joined them.
A fowl day for sure.
Spring has been a long time coming and I’m way behind on my garden work.
By this time I’ve usually got all the beds cleaned out and a few flowers blooming.
This year?
I’ve got weeds.
And random spikey things.
I spent 3 hours today getting rid of both.
I also reseated the brick border and tackled a bit of the bush from Hell.
If anyone ever asks if you want a flowering quince? Run.
Run far, and fast.
Preferably after you punch them in the throat for suggesting it in the first place.
Ours was here when we moved in and we’ve been battling it ever since. It grows over the roof each season and has roots that are 300 friggin’ feet deep. We’ve tried to dig it up, burn it out and hack it down to nubs numerous times.
I believe it likes the challenge….. and comes back stronger every time.
Did I mention it’s also full of thorns?
Good times.
I did 6 beds in the back and on the side of the house and felt good….
Until….
I turned over a brick and disturbed an ant nest. Within seconds those little suckers were crawling all over me and I had to run for a hose.
I rinsed most of them off but not before a few crawled up my pant leg.
Sadly, yes…. there were.
And the little bastards bit me too.
I just pulled these pictures off my camera.
I’d like to say they were taken last winter.
But actually… it was a few weeks ago.
Rain, that turned to sleet, that froze to ice.
Every single surface was coated.
And while I’ve never managed to do it’s beauty justice….
It doesn’t stop me from trying.
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.
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.
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!
Forget zombies.
Forget nuclear war.
The pollen is here and I swear it’s going to kill me before the other things have a chance.
This year we’ve seen a crazy increase in pollen. While we normally have a few days of yellow dust choking our air every spring, here we are starting July and we’re still covered in the crap.
How much pollen is too much pollen?
The barn porch furniture is covered.
The kitchen porch is covered.
The back deck is covered.
It’s in every outdoor crevice.
And running down the driveway in streams after a rain.
Nothing escapes it.
Open your windows?
It covers the stove.
And the washing machine.
You know those crazy videos you see on the news…
The ones where someone shakes a tree and clouds of pollen emerge?
I saw our neighbor do that but didn’t have my camera handy….
It’s insane.
