Category Archives: animals

Be Careful What You Wish For!

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Be Careful what you wish for!

Friday was about as wet and dreary as it can get in New England in the spring. The prediction was that it would rain all day. As I drove to work I thought what a great day it would be to stay at home and cuddle with the cat. (oh oh , be careful!) Saturday was supposed to be cloudy but dry so I planned another venture into Boston. I thought I could ride the hop on hop off trolley around the city collecting lots of pictures and ideas for future blog posts. I would then spend Sunday drafting those posts for those days when I didn’t have time to get to my computer. Well, I got my wish a day late; on Saturday.

The job that lets you be wrong

I was up early Saturday to bring you up to date on my conflict between my beloved blog  and the job that pays the bills. It was still raining but the weather folks continues to  predict a dry day. Oh yes, its raining now they said,  but it will dry out. It will be cloudy but dry.

Saturday Morning TV

At 9 am I put on the morning lineup of children’s programming. Its a whole series of nature programs starting with Jungle Jack Hana and wrapping up with Rock the Park at noon. I do enjoy Saturday morning TV. I settled into my recliner and was immediately joined by Rocky. He curled up on my lap, nice and warm. I could feel more than hear his purr rumbling away. It wasn’t long before I was sound asleep with him. I’m quite sure we had a duet going with both of us purring. When I woke up I checked the weather again. Same forecast, cloudy and dry. A glance out the window showed the wettest “dry” I’ve ever seen. I’d like to have a job where I could be wrong like that!

Still Raining

After lunch I ran some errands and did the weekly grocery shopping. By the time I left the store it was raining even harder. I could get the camera out and try to take some storm photos but I really didn’t feel like trying to keep the camera dry. As 4 pm rolled around and it was still raining I chalked the day up as a total loss. Hopefully the weather will be better Sunday. I can’t help but remember my wish Friday morning to have a dreary, wet day to stay home and cuddle with the cat. Just goes to show, you have to be careful what you wish for.

Alien Abduction Day

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I was thinking about the alien abduction phenomenon. You know the one. It all started back in 1961 with the abduction of Benny and Barbara Hill in my back yard of Lincoln, New Hampshire.

I saw the spot when I was on vacation there a few years ago. I never realized it was New Hampshire just a couple hours away from me until I saw the plaque marking the spot.

Anyway, now everyone who is abducted seems to be in bed and asleep, not out driving around like they were.  Abductees describe feeling a heavy weight on their chest and when they open their eyes they are staring into large oval shaped ones. Then they are whisked away to be probed and prodded.

Well I’ve solved the mystery or so I think.

I would ask if these abductees own a cat.

The other night I was in a deep sleep when suddenly I found it hard to breathe. As I struggle to wakefulness I found myself staring into a pair of huge glowing, oval eyes. For a moment I was stunned and almost in a panic. Then slowly my eyes focused and I was staring at Rocky, my cat.

He was curled up on my chest nose to nose with me. Thus the difficulty breathing and the weight on my chest. In the dark he looked just like those aliens everyone describes.

Yup, abducted by kitty cat. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

Moose up the Road Apiece!

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Rangeley, a town in Franklin county Maine has a population of around 1200 until the tourists come to town. Rangeley is the center of the Rangeley Lakes Region, a major resort area.

It looks like a June vacation will be an excellent time as far as the weather is concerned. Watch me jinx us by making a statement like that! But really. When I check the average temps the average high in June is 69 degrees and the average low is 47 degrees. Nice sweater weather. Of course they did have a record high of 90 degrees and a record low of 27 degrees. There’s been no snow in June and only an average rainfall of less than 5 inches. But if it rains there’s a bowling alley. We can all go bowling!

I want to go to Maine in June for the moose. The moose is the state animal of Maine. Moose spotting becomes an activity late spring to Mid-summer. Seems to me June falls right in the middle of that range. The best time for spotting moose seems to be early morning or evening and noon to 2 pm. Sounds like moose like to have lunch too!

Calves are born in late May to early June right on track with our June vacation . I can visualize the photos now. Early morning has such beautiful light!

One of the activities I’m thinking about is a Moose Safari. There are both walking safaris and water safaris in canoes or kayaks . I know how to canoe but I’ve never been kayaking. That would be a new adventure. Plus there’s plenty of hiking trails. Also sounds like a lot of waterfalls on these trails.

One location in particular that caught my eye is The Hunter Cove Wildlife Sanctuary, sitting along Route 4 between Rangeley and the town of Oquossoc, the sanctuary offers nearly two miles of looped, flat, hiking trails leading through moose country. The sanctuary, as well as the lakes, is home to deer, foxes, loons and other bird and animal species.

I’m used to wildlife sanctuaries. I visit them in Massachusetts all the time so this might belong on my list.

I’m ready for June to arrive and my Maine wildlife adventure to begin.

Travel Quote of the Day

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“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

Yes, I can identify.  Can you? It’s like having an itch you can’t scratch. I bet it’s what a cat feels when they want to go out only to turn around and come back in. We just have to go somewhere! Anywhere! NOW!

I think that’s why I moved every 2 years or so when I was younger, before I invested in a condo that keeps me rooted in one place. The plan was to buy a home, live there for 4-5 years and sell for a profit but the real estate bubble burst and with it my wandering days were severely curtailed.

So now I grab the opportunities as the come. If sometimes I have to work at it to find an adventure, then so be it. Travel is in my blood!

 

 

A Letter to Mom

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Hi Mom

I’m glad you liked the whale photo. The funny thing is that I didn’t even know I got it until I got back home. I took it on the very first whale watch I went on, the Sunrise Photo Safari!

It looked blurry on the little LED screen so I kept going out on more whale watches to try to get that breaching whale picture. They were fun anyway. Can you believe its just a baby whale? There’s nothing to show the scale but if Mama was around you’d see it’s only a little  2 ton baby!

I know you want to know what’s up for the June trip to Rangeley Lake. There’s not much to tell at the moment. I know Sandy is doing some research on the internet to see what’s in the area to do and see.

It all started when I did a search for the best time to see Moose in Maine. The article I read recommended Moose-head lake which is about 3.5 hours north of Rangeley Lake but there was no time share at Moose-head Lake so I looked into Rangeley and that was also suggested for wildlife…moose, bears, loons, foxes, eagles and the list goes on. So I booked the only accommodation that was available,  a 3 bedroom unit! (I think it’s a cabin)

I didn’t want to be rattling around in a 3 bedroom cabin all by myself. It seemed greedy somehow. I’d be keeping a family from getting away to Rangeley for their vacation. Then I thought, why not see if Sandy and Mom want to come. It less expensive since there’s no plane fare involved. There’s a kitchen so we don’t have to eat out every night. Everyone can have their own bedroom. Sandy will have her own car so no one has to depend on me if I’m off taking photos.

 

The best wildlife photos are in the early morning and late afternoon so I figured I’d have time during the day  to join you guys in things you may want to do and we’d have the evenings to just kick back.

Other than that, I haven’t thought much about the trip. I’m looking forward to us getting together like this. We don’t have much chance to do it with me in Massachusetts and you guys in New York. Sometimes it seems like we’re miles apart. Life is just so busy! This is a chance to slow down a little.