by Susan | Oct 2, 2012 | Garden, On the Farm
Intellectually, I understand the value of a greenhouse, but this is the first time I’ve really put the theory to test. In mid-August, when summer was still in the air, I planted a second crop of green beans. Then September came and it was as if Mother Nature...
by Susan | Sep 10, 2012 | Garden, On the Farm
My first potato harvest started in the spring when Hannah helped me build this basket for growing potatoes. I planted Kennebec and a red variety of seed potatoes. Excited when the potatoes sprouted, I dutifully layered the plants with straw and compost as they grew....
by Susan | Aug 3, 2012 | Garden, On the Farm
My garden is finally yielding goodies! We’ve had lettuce and peas, but everything else is finally taking off. We picked our first green beans today. It seems that my green beans are sustaining others as well. In the ten minutes it took me to pick these beans, I...
by Susan | Jul 29, 2012 | Ducks, On the Farm
We’re having a much needed rainy day at Downeast Thunder Farm – nice soft steady rain has been falling all day. Perfect Ducky Weather – just right for bringing out the slugs. The ducks spent more time paroling for slugs and bugs than they did...
by Susan | Jul 15, 2012 | Garden, On the Farm
After a long day of working outdoors tending gardens, looking after critters, and landscaping, I spent an inordinate amount of time photographing these busy bees in my lavender. There were dozens of bumble bees randomly buzzing here there. (Click on the pics for a...
by Susan | Jul 8, 2012 | On the Farm
It was a weekend of two weather forecasts. Saturday was beastly hot and humid. Sunday was glorious – a perfect Maine summer day. I spent both days outdoors working on a myriad of garden and critter chores, sneaking in some reading by the pond and taking pictures...
by Susan | Jun 9, 2012 | Garden, On the Farm
It was a busy day in the garden today. The sunshine and blooms brought out the butterfies, birds, and bees! Click thumbnail for larger...
by Susan | May 7, 2012 | Garden, On the Farm
Instead of tackling my mile-long work “to do”? list I opted for a little garden therapy today. I don’t often play hooky from my desk when there’s work to be done, but sunny and sixty with a forecast of a rainy week ahead lured me outdoors. I...
by Susan | Feb 26, 2012 | On My Mind
It’s February and we’re in Downeast Maine. And this crazy little Viola? Yesterday it was t-shirt weather. Today it’s bitter cold with winds howling through like a freight train. Yet signs of Spring are waging an impudent challenge to the calendar. In...
by Susan | Sep 5, 2011 | On My Mind
The three day weekend gave us lots of time to work on home projects. It’s a bit scary that summer will soon be over!
by Susan | Aug 21, 2011 | Chickens
It was a pretty low key weekend here. I spent the bulk of the weekend working on a deadline with little breaks puttering outside. Here are a few weekend highlights.
by Susan | Jul 23, 2011 | Ducks, Garden
Meet our ducklings! Today I harvested half of my garlic crop. In the empty space I erected a temporary enclosure for the ducks and covered it with deer netting so they would be safe from hawks. Now that they are out of the brooder we noticed that Dilly’s legs...
by Susan | Jul 15, 2011 | Garden
These days when you step out onto the porch, you smell a burst of lavender. My lavender, both pink and purple, is in full bloom. It’s an old-fashioned smell that will always remind me of summer. More flower posts: 19 June 2011: In My Lavender Today 25 July 2010:...
by Susan | Jul 2, 2011 | Garden
I put my garlic loving Hannah to work today snipping the scapes off the garlic. She helped to plant this batch of garlic in the fall. I seem to recall plantint 97 cloves, but came up with only 91 scapes.
by Susan | Jul 1, 2011 | Garden
I planted my one year old asparagus crowns a month ago. When nothing happened right away I despaired that they would never sprout (they sat in the box for three weeks before the asparagus bed was ready). In fact, I was gearing up to plant some potatoes in their place...
by Susan | Jun 19, 2011 | Garden
My lavender is on the cusp of blooming. Some other creatures are enjoying the lavender too – like this stripped ladybug. These baby grasshoppers. I thought this was a leaf and was trying to pluck it out of the lavender. I pulled the leaves aside and discovered a...
by Susan | May 17, 2011 | Garden
It seems that we have been inundated with rain lately. Despite the wet weather, the early spring veggies we planted a couple of weeks ago are doing okay – and the snow peas are thriving! I think our raised beds might help – their feet don’t sit in...
by Susan | May 1, 2011 | 2011 Garden Journal
Last Sunday, on April 24 I started three trays of seedlings in my little Burpee greenhouse. Each tray has twelve cells. Burpee Pepper Carnival Mix Burpee’s Big boy Hybrid Tomato Burpee Tomato Roma This morning, the tomato sprouts were just breaking through the...
by Susan | May 1, 2011 | 2011 Garden Journal
May 1st seemed like a good time to start my outdoors vegetable garden. I’m really not certain what “early spring” means when it comes to planting – especially for Maine. I guess we’ll find out in a few weeks when we see how what...
by Susan | May 1, 2011 | Garden
Today is May 1st and it’s a glorious spring day with temperatures in the upper 50s. My hyacinths and daffodils are in full bloom. I’ve got a volunteer viola that’s taken root. The wild flower seed I threw over my septic field last summer has some new...
