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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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Frigid wind chills, ice and snow may rule outside, but inside the Barn Mahal man cave?
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Pink lemonade margaritas say it’s always summer.
And when you leave?
Even cold weather haters have to admit the sunsets are pretty spectacular.
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The nippy season has finally made an appearance in Maine.
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And while it will be back to 30 degrees tomorrow…
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For today, winter temperatures rule.
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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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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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I sampled heavily at the distillery while my other half was busy talking.
I sampled lightly and drank heartily at the Whippletree winery.
And now, I was ready for a late lunch. But sadly, late lunch wasn’t ready for me because every single restaurant we tried in North Conway New Hampshire on a Saturday afternoon in December was filled to bursting. Damn those hungry Christmas shoppers!
Wasting a good hour hopping from place to place to no avail, we said to hell with it and drove.
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Through the White Mountains and over to Mount Washington.
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The closer we got the darker it became, and we arrived at the Notch Grill in the Glen House just as flurries started to fall.
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Thankfully they weren’t crowded and we settled in.
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Hibiscus rose margarita …
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With a view isn’t a bad way to end the day.
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Crispy pork pot stickers with Thai ginger dipping sauce to share…
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Followed by pan seared duck breast with apple rosemary jam, roasted fingerling potatoes and squash rings for me… baked haddock in white wine and buttered crumbs with mashed potatoes and carrots for the hubs.
It was all delicious and we were too full for dessert.
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I was also too full to sit and watch a slightly out of date Christmas program on the bar television.
Andy Williams?
Ho. Ho. Hum….
🥴
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I was giving myself a pedicure the other day and Lord Dudley Mountcatten was fascinated.
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He did not however like my tools.
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When I got tired of picking it up off the floor? I quit.
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The next time I get a boo boo? I totally want to cover it with a bacon bandage.
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How hot has it been in Maine?
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Hot enough that even the turkeys are seeking shade.
And speaking of hot….
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Damn.
Now that’s hot.
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I saw this the other day and was sorely tempted.
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I totally need cherry tomato toting ants.
In other local news….
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Such a neighborly thing to do.
And lately a dip in the pool has been sounding wonderful with temps being hot, hot, hot.
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Of course this is Maine, so while it felt like 104 one morning…
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Two days later it felt like 45.
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I replanted my left over garden bed with geraniums after the baby woodchucks ate all the petunias.
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But not before the little bastards darlings chewed all the leaves off my gay feather.
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At least they left the blooms this time.
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Now I’m wondering what an appropriate beef jerky card message would be.
I wanna hold your ham?
Nice to meat you?
Don’t go bacon my heart.
I have a t-bone to pick with you?
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We drove a little over an hour west to reach our friend’s house for the Christmas in July party I mentioned last week. And when we left our town, the weather was not cooperating.
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Thankfully it was drier in her neck of the woods and let me tell you, the property she recently purchased definitely qualifies as out of the way.
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After a long ride on a bumpy dirt road, her place came into view.
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As you can see, her main reason for buying this place was ample room for horses.
The house is a bit odd. It looks large, but isn’t…. with a surprisingly small kitchen and bedrooms.
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Numerous outbuildings are scattered around, as are decks and staircases.
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One of which….
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Lead to goats. Boots, Buckles and Gypsy to be precise.
Did I mention there’s a pool?
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To be continued…
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We had a spell of wicked dry weather this summer. No rain for weeks… so everything was brown and dry.
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Including the chucker family. They’re too short to reach the bird bath I kept filling, so I took to offering them a drink on their level.
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I’d never watered woodchucks before and wasn’t sure how they’d take to it….
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But the poor thirsty things ran right to the bowl as soon as I walked back into the house.
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Guess they needed something to wash down those weeds.
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River's world..... 