by Susan | Jan 31, 2014 | Ducks
Not long ago, Janet emailed and asked how the ducks were fairing this winter – that I hadn’t mentioned them lately. Well, Janet, winter is definitely not their favorite season, but our eight duckies are doing well. We got the ducks for eggs (although...
by Susan | Jan 3, 2014 | On My Mind
The bad news? We had another storm last night with bitter temps and high winds. The good news? We didn’t lose power! The bad news? When I sipped my first cup of coffee this morning the temp was -11 degrees. The good news? Despite some issues with the wood boiler, we...
by Susan | Dec 24, 2013 | Family, On My Mind
My grandmother’s aunt, Elizabeth Stroble, created this beautiful linoleum block print when she was an art teacher at Central High School in St.Paul, Minnesota (1940s-1950s). Carved with the help of her students, she sent these to family and friends as her...
by Susan | Oct 31, 2013 | Family, On My Mind
Hannah has decided that at 14, she’s too old for trick-or-treating on Halloween. Now we’re on to haunted trails and such. Still, it’s fun to remember the good old days! Happy Halloween!
by Susan | Oct 9, 2013 | Out and About in Maine
It was a scrape your windows kind of frosty October morning today. I hate scraping my windows so I opted to wait for the defroster to work as I read Hannah’s low-tech version of texting. She wanted to make certain that I did not forget to bring goodies to tonight’s...
by Susan | Oct 5, 2013 | Out and About in Maine
Feeling the need to get off our behinds and fit in some physical activity, Hannah and I went for a walk along the Narraguagus River this afternoon. A short trail through the woods led to the river. The trees and clouds reflected beautifully in the water. I was...
by Susan | Sep 16, 2013 | On My Mind
This is how I felt on Sunday. All I wanted to do was curl up in my hammock and take a snooze in the late summer sun. But, the squirrels ate my hammock last summer. So I lazed on the porch, puttering in the yard here and there when guilt over my laziness set in. While...
by Susan | Apr 7, 2013 | On My Mind
The first signs of spring! A brave crocus popping up in the garden. The chickens and ducks have yet to discover it. And the pond is defrosted. Porch weather is clearly on the horizon!
by Susan | Mar 20, 2013 | On My Mind
I woke up on this first morning of spring to a foot of snow. This feels like such a setback after a stretch of sweatshirt weather. Just the other day I noticed my day lilies poking through the ground and the pond was melting around the edges. I was longing to move...
by Susan | Feb 17, 2013 | On My Mind
If it’s the weekend, it must be snowing – at least that’s what it seems like lately. Although the ducks didn’t mind and protested as darkness loomed and it was time to head in for the night.
by Susan | Feb 10, 2013 | On My Mind
A walk through virgin snow. Click on the thumbnails for a larger view. Shadow of faded flowers. Shadow of summer chairs. Critter tracks and tunnel. Forgotten rosemary. The shadows of Silver Maples. Snow covered moss. Frosty seed pods. Barren potato basket. Faded...
by Susan | Jan 12, 2013 | On My Mind
This is the view out my office door at the house. With warmer temps more than two feet of snow and ice came crashing down off of our steel roof the other night. The noise was so loud it woke us out of a sound sleep, our hearts racing as we realized what had happened....
by Susan | Jan 5, 2013 | Out and About in Maine
A snowy panorama of Mason’s Bay in Jonesboro snapped through the window of my car. Click on the image for a larger view.
by Susan | Dec 30, 2012 | On the Farm
I anticipated 3-6 inches more snow overnight. You can imagine how surprised I was when I woke up to this: The end of the day snow total is 28 inches, two storms back to back, this is more snow than we had all last winter. We spent the better part of five hours...
by Susan | Dec 28, 2012 | On the Farm
Mother Nature dropped at least a foot of snow upon us yesterday. Everywhere you look, it’s a Winter Wonderland. Today it was time to dig out. Hannah soon discovered that snow shoes were the easiest mode of transportation. My Birch trees are sagging under the...
by Susan | Dec 25, 2012 | Family, On My Mind
Christmas 2012. Not a child, not quite grown up, she finds great joy in the day. It’s not about what’s under the Christmas tree for Hannah. It’s about us all being able to share the day together. It’s the planning, the preparation, the making...
by Susan | Dec 24, 2012 | In the Kitchen
We finally got around to our Christmas cutout cookies this afternoon. Hannah decided rather than traditional Christmas cutouts, the cookies should be have a Downeast Thunder Farm sort of feel – moose, lobster, bears, and chickens. Quite the menagerie. A moose...
by Susan | Dec 24, 2012 | Family, On My Mind
My great, great aunt, Elizabeth Stroble, created this beautiful linoleum block print when she was an art teacher at Central High School in St.Paul, Minnesota. Carved with the help of her students, she sent these to family and friends as her Christmas card. Wishing you...
by Susan | Dec 15, 2012 | On the Farm
For the past few years, we’ve been cutting a tree from the farm for our Christmas tree. These fir trees have not been groomed for the purpose, so they’re “au natural” or as Paul calls them – free range, organic Christmas trees. Started...
by Susan | Nov 27, 2012 | On My Mind
Hannah enjoyed the mild temps over the holiday weekend making Christmas wreaths. In the spirit of the swags she made for the porch posts, she made these elegantly simple nature inspire wreaths to hang underneath the windows. Downeast Maine is a region where many...
