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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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Since this morning’s post was about death and ridding our property of an unwanted visitor (sayonara Mr. Rat!)…. let’s pivot to some welcome visitors this afternoon.
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Lots of people dislike grey squirrels as they raid bird feeders and eat most of the seed.
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But at Casa River we applaud their bravery at crossing the wide open expanse of back lawn and let them enjoy the buffet.
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Caution is key as there are numerous birds of prey patrolling the neighborhood.
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Greys are ever vigilant.
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But once the coast is clear?
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Squirrelly smiles.
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Lord Dudley Mountcatten has many endearing qualities… he’s well behaved, sweet, playful, entertaining as hell and a real cuddle bug.
What he’s not is spatial reasoning gifted.
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Because when your mother shovels you a path, and your father takes you for a walk?
It’s not necessary to hike through the snow.
Sigh.
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I took Lord Dudley Mountcatten out in the snow for round two last week and after a few false starts…
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He accepted the white stuff was cold, wet and crunchy but if one is careful, it can be navigated.
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Careful tiptoeing continued… until he spotted my nemesis.
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While I normally don’t encourage carnage or blood sport, all bets are off when it comes to that house/barn/garage gnawing red bitch.
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I was actively encouraging the stalk and made sure to stand motionless and quiet.
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But alas, she out maneuvered us and hid in the woodshed. No doubt sharpening her teeth in between chuckles.
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Lord Dudley was disheartened, not to mention cold… so round two of ‘introduction to snow’ came to a close.
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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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Local news from the great white north.
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So yes, there are drawbacks to living in colder climates.
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But on the flip side, some lucky chickens get to live indoors.
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This happens more often than you’d think in our town.
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Perhaps they’ve started a Union and are on strike?
“No pay?
No lay!”
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River's world..... 