Smatterings

  • when you go out in the woods tonight..

    I put a camera on a tree about 20 feet from the corner of the house. I have, as many of you know, been involved in a war with the beavers. They are winning. At the same corner of the house was a huge twenty year old lilac. WAS. Not anymore. I didn't know that beavers would a) come that close to the house b) eat lilac. Now, I know. The second thing that is close to the side of the house, is the woodpile. Beavers had been dismantling the part with the freshly sawed birch logs.  I'd found several pieces floating in the pond (before it froze) with all the bark eaten. Curious little buggers.  I wanted to catch them in the act.  HA!

    Here's what I got.  That ain't no beaver.  This is early evening, I was probably on the other side of the wall, at the sink, in front of the window, unable to see out into the dark…

     

     

    The three lights in the background are reflections off my parked car.  Note, that is 6:08 pm.  We'd only just come inside.  I think.  I've always told Chris that the bears are around, not to worry, just make a little noise so they can tell where we are.  Yep. I bet they always know where we are.

     

    This was back in November, but I have been so busy, I never checked the camera, until today. Imagine my surprise. 

    9 responses to “when you go out in the woods tonight..”

    1. Manise

      Wow! That’s pretty close.

    2. etherknitter

      Holy shit.

    3. claudia

      THAT IS AN ENORMOUS BEAR!!! Wow.

    4. Betty

      OMG!!! That would make you think twice about wondering outside at night!

    5. Lynn

      Tell the bears they’re supposed to be asleep . No whining about getting a drink of water, either.

    6. diane

      Judy, Did you get my comment yesterday?

    7. Tamara Lin

      Oh my!!! That’s both awesome and terrifying. He is fluffy and gorgeous, though. Make lots of noise!!

    8. willowcaroline

      Sigh, beavers. We have had a war with them ourselves. They moved into our pond which is surrounded by woods. Lots and lots of smallish trees and largish trees on three sides of the pond. But, they chose to climb a fairly steep hill on the fourth side to the “backyard” of our house to chop down our just beginning to bare heirloom apple trees. In spite of the dog that runs around that part of the yard. So, electric fencing, and war was declared. Grrrr.

    9. gayle

      Did ignorance used to be bliss?

  • 10 on Tuesday.. Stores for the anti- shopper

    10 Stores… I hate to shop and even more, I hate to GO shopping. This is a tough one.

    Pick and Shovel.. while not a general store, it comes close. If you need new boots, plumbing supplies, canning jars, camo undies, or a sheet of plywood, this is the place. There’s a popcorn machine near the door and a Creamie Stand outside. Every week there’s a sundae special.

    Curriers.. Another general type store. Need snow shoes, ammo, or a box of cereal, they’ve got ’em. They’ve also got a great meat department that’ll cut or order whatever I need. The entire store is filled with real stuffed wild animals.. Bears, deer, a bobcat and in the hardware department, a moose. Totally bizarre.

    Dave’s Market.. Specifically, Little Dave’s. While this market has grown and added big new stores, I still go to the original little store. It has everything (almost) that I’d need, and a butcher that will get and slice up 10 lbs. of pork liver every couple weeks.

    Costco.. There isn’t a better or cheaper place to buy tequila, gin, wine and beer. They also have great prices on Starbuck’s coffee, amazing breads and a fairly extensive cheese department.

    Sam’s Club.. Because they carry the brand of comfy jeans I like and sometimes, really delicious dark chocolate covered pretzels. Not lately, though.

    Ocean State Job Lot.. You never know about this place. I get sunflower seed, kitty litter and men’s t-shirts there. They carry my favorite pasta brand and Stash tea. The other day, I bought a beautiful soft shell jacket. Who knew? Their background music is wonderful. I have seen customers dancing in the aisles.

    – Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

    8 responses to “10 on Tuesday.. Stores for the anti- shopper”

    1. claudia

      Other than Whole Foods, I’ve got nothing for this topic.

    2. Carole

      I’m sort of shocked that I forgot to put Costco on my list. I totally agree about the booze prices there.

    3. etherknitter

      Camo undies? Really? Why?

    4. JJ

      Were lucky to have the Avon store. So many only have beer and wine.
      Judy

    5. Lynn

      Everyone wears camo undies these days, don’t they?

    6. Katie K

      Gee, no small family owned stores? Books? Yarn? Plants?

    7. Judy

      Hey Katie. They don’t get much smaller than the family owned general store. Out of my list, we know the family owners of three and the fourth was one little market, locally owned, when I started shopping there.

    8. gayle

      I miss OSJL so much… My nearest one is now 4 hours away. I hope they keep moving west!

  • NaPoBloMo #30

    Here it is.. the last day of November.  When I began the month of posts, I honestly wasn't sure it would work out.  There were days when I'd be in locations with uncertain internet access.  It was still show season and I'd be going into my holiday business season.  It had been a long time since I'd posted regularly.  But here it is..

     

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    When I started blogging in 2003, I didn't expect to do it 'forever'.  My lifestyle was much as it is now, here and there, now and then.  It was hard to mantain a conversation with friends when I was moving around so much and gone for so long.  I'll never forget the night I decided to blog.  My friend Cindy and I were at the Tuesday night knitting group.  We belonged to several Yahoo Groups and read them almost everyday.  There were a couple knitting blogs out there and we were definitely fans.  If they could do it, so could we.  Blogging platforms hadn't been written.  The only way to write a blog was to have a personal webpage.  Each day you could add to it.  It was easy to get one through the popular internet providers along with your email for a monthly fee.  AOL and Earthlink had them.  We learned how to use Frontpage and DreamWeaver and worked on uploading at snails pace.  It was all dial up. I played with it for almost a month before uploading my first post.   I called it Smatterings.  It was to be a conversation, a sharing of my days.  It would include knitting and spinning, also my walks and whatever else came to mind.  A bit of this, a bit of that…smatterings of the day.  I never guessed then where it would lead me, the friends I'd make, conversations with family, and the business it would help to launch.  It's been a pleasure, as has this last month.  I've almost let it go a number of times.  There's something about it that draws me back. 

    ..and here I am.

    7 responses to “NaPoBloMo #30”

    1. Carole

      I’m so glad you’re here.

    2. CindyD

      Those were the days! I remember well your first webpage!!!

    3. claudia

      Well done. I did let my blog go, and yet here I am too. I’m glad you are still writing and photographing and doing what you do.

    4. etherknitter

      I’m glad you are here. Very glad. I have adopted your philosophy of keep up with people.

    5. Manise

      So very glad you are here and reading you daily all of November has been a treat! Beautiful reflection in the puddle above.

    6. Lynn

      I love your photographs and your view of the natural world. Please keep writing!

    7. Tamara Lin

      I’ve followed you for a long time, and I’m glad you still do it! 🙂

“Our lives are dyed the colors of our imagination.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

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