19/3/28 Thu

Leaving out names, someone that Anne & Rob knows has put in a (low) offer on Coxcroft.  The attraction is it’s deep water access and these folk would give the meadow a working waterfront. 

Southern slops and flat fields are free of snow, giving plenty of ground for the robins to hunt without having to depend on sumac berries.  With only one around, it sounds like summer, a real treat.  I’ve had a Cooper’s Hawk hanging around my yard, screeching like crazy and often followed by a chorus of angry crows and dismayed smaller birds.    The feeder was running low so I went out to fill it today, trying not to think of the feeder full of seeds as bait.  The last time I filled it I had to climb a couple of steps up the hill of snow pushed there by the plow.  Today I stood on the ground.  There will be snow piles left in parts of Augusta that will still be there at the end of June.  

The ice breakers came up the Kennebec early this year and it’s now running clear.  That’s an annual spectator sport around here, I’m sorry I missed it.  Everyone knows the names of the ice breaker who visits each year, the Thunder Bay.   Maple Syrup Sunday was last weekend.  Always a tempting celebration.  I don’t know why no one serves maple syrup on yogurt!  Or just plain maple syrup yogurt.  

Bella, my new house sitter will start her visits tomorrow and will stop by to check inside and out every Fri Sun and Tues.  And I can watch her through my doorbell!  Actually, it calls me as soon as someone comes through the gate even if they don’t ring the bell.  Apparently, something of a privacy concern for many, it can easily patrol the comings and goings across a street.  In my case it looks at the side of the driveway and the huge laurel hedge so my neighbors can rest easy.  I already “caught” one intruder, some woman who walked the length of the drive out of my vision (I didn’t see that part) and a short time later returned carrying a large paper shopping bag that she probably had with her when she came in.  I could hear very clearly, I didn’t think to shout to her, but I never heard a car door close or a vehicle drive away.  Anyway, Bella is on the case now!