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Lord Dudley Mountcatten used to love going outside. I’d say “walkies” in my best falsetto and he’d bound into the room anxiously awaiting the harness and leash. Now that full Maine winter has arrived?
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He’s still anxious to go out, but not so thrilled with staying there.
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And looks at us as if to say, “My feet are cold. What the hell?”
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And makes a bee line back to the nice warm couch.
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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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And a very challenging month to say the least.
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(Okay, it’s not that bad. But my husband retired December 31rst and won’t see his first monthly pension check until June. Such are the joys of working for the Federal Government.)
As I’ve said before this was a difficult decision for my hardworking spouse. He struggled with it for years and I knew it wouldn’t be an easy transition. What I didn’t know was that I would suddenly be living with a 74 year old toddler who bores easily and must be entertained.
Since Covid ruined our original retire and travel! plans, the husband has been having trouble finding ways to while away the hours. It’s winter in Maine and we are not skiers, snowshoers, or ice hockey enthusiasts. There’s a lot of indoor down time and one can only play so much pool.
On the plus side? My auxiliary desk that has looked like this since he started teleworking two years ago…
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Is now free of post its and back to normal.
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On the down side? My husband has recently been on the phone with coworkers and clients trying to find a way to worm his way back into the aviation industry.
32 days of retirement and he already wants to go back to work.
Sigh.
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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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News from rural Maine…
The Abominable Snowman requires assistance.
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And I don’t know if this is a thing elsewhere, but Mainers save their egg cartons. Even if we don’t have chickens.
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Why do we do this?
Because winters are long, and we can.
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You know it’s officially cold when the ice shacks start appearing on the river.
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Wildlife sightings continue…
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It’s a good thing she got a picture. I wouldn’t have believed her otherwise.
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Lord Dudley Mountcatten has been missing his outdoor excursions, so my husband bundled up against the chill and took him for a stroll.
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I still can’t get over how ridiculous it looks to “walk” a cat, but I refuse to lose another to the road… so the harness it is.
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At first His Lordship was thrilled and happily pranced hither and fro.
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But after a mere 4 minutes the wind chill had him shivering….
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And (literally) high tailing it back to the house.
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Where it’s warm..
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And mice aren’t so hard to catch.
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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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On the coldest day of the season so far, with wind chills below zero, my dryer stopped working. Since hanging clothes outside was not an option…
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It was time to examine the faulty equipment.
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This involved my poor husband trying to clamber over the washing machine in our tiny laundry room in order to unplug the dryer.
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The small space was originally a half bath and trust me… there’s not much room to maneuver.
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Thankfully it was an easy fix and just a matter of cleaning a lint clogged vent.
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But moving the appliances and hooking them back up was a nightmare.
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To heck with Baby, I put my husband in a corner.
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And I’m sorry, but watching him try to extricate himself and climb back out had me laughing so hard I could hardly take the picture. But I’m a dedicated blogger so here you go….
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My bad. But it was hilarious…
🤣
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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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River's world..... 