Tag Archives: trees

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White Mountains trip Day 2….. Evans Notch.

November 15, 2019 Rivergirl 23 Comments

Heading back to the resort after a full day of exploring, we decided to drive through.. and over… Evans Notch.

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It’s basically a straight up ride that cuts through a mountain to the other side.

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We had it all to ourselves and saw some of the most vibrant color of our trip.

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Pictures don’t do it justice, so ride along with us.

Just watch out for chipmunks.

I wish we’d been there a week earlier when the reds and oranges had been popping…

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But it was still quite a show.

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When we reached the top…

It thinned out a little.

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Bare granite on the right…

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Full foliage behind the sign.

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And a mix on the left…. with the sun setting in the distance.

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Heading back down was just as pretty…

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And it was nice to see I’m not the only one who ❤’s the mountains.

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Colors and critters.

October 26, 2019 Rivergirl 30 Comments

Looking across the street to our neighbor’s organic vegetable farm is always interesting.

But this time of year, it’s downright beautiful.

Who knew artichokes could be so pretty?

And when our neighbor has wood chips delivered….

HE HAS WOODCHIPS DELIVERED.

When you’re a farmer’s child?

You don’t need no stinkin’ sandbox.

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On the critter front,

We’re down to one lone woodchuck.

He’s still fat…

And still clumsy…

And still hangs out on our deck once in a while. But it’s autumn, and all his brothers and sisters are finding dens and getting ready for winter. I doubt even this one will be here much longer.

Sigh…

Autumn also means the deer are changing into their darker winter coats. One summer coated hold out is on the right for comparison.

A murder of crows have now discovered our bird bath.

Why are they called a murder?

The Oxford English Dictionary suggests this is an allusion to the crow’s traditional association with violent death or its harsh and raucous cry. If you’ve ever heard dozens of agitated crows in full cry, it really does sound as if they’re yelling bloody murder.

As long as they don’t murder me in my sleep, I don’t care what you call them.

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Uh oh.

And finally, we have a new skunk in town.

I admit I never really paid attention to skunk tails before, but we’ve had so many different families this year I’ve gotten to recognize them by their individual patterns.

This is Tippy.

Brilliantly named for the white tip on her tail.

Is she really a she?

I neither know, nor care to get close enough to find out.

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It’s starting to look pretty in my neck of the woods.

October 13, 2019 Rivergirl 32 Comments

It’s Fall y’all!

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Autumn is my favorite time of year.

Crisp air, apples, pumpkins and fiery trees….

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And though I live in New England…

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And see Mother Nature’s glorious show every October….

I never tire of it.

I’m a certified leaf peeper…

So when I crash my car into one of those pretty colored trees because I’m driving home one handed snapping pictures for my blog?

I’m telling the police it’s your fault.

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And will expect you lot to start a GoFundMe page for my car repairs and hospital bills.

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Did you know….

October 4, 2019 Rivergirl 33 Comments

The name of the novel that inspired the film Blade Runner was Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

I do because…..

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I find it rather disturbing.

As should you…

Did you know…

La Brea means The Tar? So when you talk about ‘the La Brea Tar Pits’ in California you are actually saying The The Tar Tar Pits.

Talk about overkill.

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Did you know…

Hindu men once believed it was unlucky to marry a third time so they avoided misfortune by marrying a tree? It was then burned, freeing them up to marry again.

I imagine it went like this:

Did you know…

To improve her memory, Eleanor Roosevelt ate three chocolate-covered garlic balls for breakfast most of her adult life?

It’s a matter of record that she and Franklin Roosevelt took their meals at opposite ends of a long, long table.

And geesh, who could blame him?

Did you know…

Due to a different gravitational force, if you weigh 200lbs on earth….. you would weigh 76 lbs on Mars?

Come on Elon.

Momma needs a trip to Mars.

Yeah, you’ll need to put that down first.

Did you know….

An octopus’s testicles are located in it’s head?

He also can remove his spermatophore-loaded mating arm and give it to a female if she’s hungry and likely to eat him.

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I wish WordPress had Smell-O-Vision.

June 22, 2019 Rivergirl 30 Comments

I really do.

Because it’s apple blossom time at Casa River.

And next to lilacs, they’re my favorite natural scent.

We had a long wet spring….

And now even the smaller trees are bursting with blooms.

Every little branch is covered in fragrant blossoms…. and when the breeze blows?

Pure heaven.

But since Smell-O-Vision isn’t available, you’ll have to take my word for it.

It’s that good.

Fun fact : Every tree we’ve planted in the past 15 years?

Dead.

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I don’t know why… they just died. Some lasted a few years, others mere months.

But this apple tree?

The one I didn’t plant? That must have sprung up from a floating seed….

Grows 3 feet every summer.

And this year, it’s bee nirvana.

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Sorry..

I had to.

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Funky trees, metal warrior women and some dinosaur dung.

March 5, 2019 Rivergirl 16 Comments

Tlaquepaque – the sequel.

Trees.

They were everywhere in this quaint shopping village.

And allowed to go pretty much anywhere…

Which was environmentally friendly…

And at times, down right comical.

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There was a strange bird with red peppers on it’s head…

And naked warrior women made out of metal.

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Also with birds.

Tell the truth…. how many of you men actually noticed the bird?

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We walked by Albert again…

And into a store that sold dinosaur poo.

Supposedly authentic… which caused my husband to snort.

Like you could you tell?

The village was lovely.

With a distinct Spanish flavor.

Which probably explains why the French cafe where we had lunch was so absolutely un-French.

It had a slight Gallic atmosphere.

And yes, French Onion soup.

But the closest the menu came to French cuisine was my uninspired, build it yourself chicken salad sandwich on a croissant.

The husband’s?

Might have had Grey Poupon.

Ooh La La Lame.

Finishing our circuit, we stopped at a Native American jewelry store. The prices were high, and though tempted…. I was going to walk out empty handed until the husband started talking.

When the husband starts talking? I know we’re going to be there a while and resumed shopping. Seriously this time.

So it really was his fault I spent a large chunk of change on this bracelet.

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Yup.

His fault.

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On our way out, a giant aloe vera plant threatened to swallow him whole while he gazed at a statue…

No. Not really…

But I totally would have posted that video to YouTube if it had.

Said statue.

Fountain.

Or tiny public bathtub, tough call.

Cat statue, directly opposite a pot filled with….

That can’t be a coincidence.

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Weirdo Christmas trees.

December 21, 2018 Rivergirl 31 Comments

I have a friend ( Yes, I really do have them. They exist! And not just in my mind, so there.) who is quite crafty, artistic and creative. This extends to her holiday decorating and every year she has a different Christmas tree.

And when I say different?

I mean different.

One year, it was made of driftwood.

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The next? Pine cones.

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Then giant free floating balls.

Which aren’t usually the balls one wants to have, but these were pretty cool.

Some years there are normal trees…

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Which are almost disappointing.

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But then we’re back to fabulously odd.

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And the next year there’s a canopy tree hovering over your head.

One season it was made from recycled CD’s and put out the light of 100 suns.

(Seriously, this thing could have powered a small town.)

When you visit my friend’s house at Christmas, you never know what you’ll get… which is kind of a hoot.

So we went over last weekend and saw the 2018 version.

To which my reaction was…. meh.

Slightly Seussian with the bare branch and one green ball, but not the most inspirational.

Oh well, there’s always next year.

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The Mount… grounds.

October 26, 2018 Rivergirl 19 Comments

As lovely as the house was, I almost enjoyed strolling the grounds more.

That being said, we really don’t stroll enough these days. There’s a distinct lack of strolling going on and it probably explains a lot. One should never underestimate the benefits of a good stroll…

Alligator optional.