New Goldfinch Feeder

New Goldfinch Feeder

After spying my first Goldfinch of the season, I treated myself to a new feeder and a ridiculously expensive bag of Nyjer seed. It appears the investment was worth it. I snapped this photo from the comfort of my living room sofa this afternoon.
A Charm of Goldfinches

A Charm of Goldfinches

Until the other day, I had never seen more than just a pair of goldfinches at my feeder. Last week a flock of these lovely little birds came to visit. Facebook friends helped to identify them as non-breeding goldfinches. I’m not certain if they’re males or...
Winter–At Long Last

Winter–At Long Last

This was the scene on Monday, a week into Spring. We had ice-out on the pond and one happy duck. Just three days later, on April 4th, we woke to this. Heavy wet snow fell all day long–more snow than all of our winter snows combined this year. It’s been a year of...
A Walk Through Scarborough Marsh

A Walk Through Scarborough Marsh

With Hannah working in Brunswick most of the summer, finding time for outings is hard. So I bought an air mattress, drove down Friday evening, and camped out in her temporary studio – essentially a dorm room. On Saturday, we made the 30-minute drive down to...
Birds on Branches Mixed Media Ornaments and Gift Tags

Birds on Branches Mixed Media Ornaments and Gift Tags

Yesterday I shared my Birds on Branches Christmas Ornament Patterns with Blue Jay, Cardinal, Chickadee, Titmouse, Goldfinch, and Nuthatch patterns. Today I experimented with making the ornaments out of paper. I started by tracking the circle on a piece of heavy paper....
The Hummer Boys Are Back!

The Hummer Boys Are Back!

Hopeful, I first put the hummingbird feeder up on May 1st. I’m not sure when they arrived, but I spotted my first hummer on Sunday – May 8th. At first, it was a lone male. Today the aerial shows began with the arrival of another male. I spent the morning...
A Most Curious Experience

A Most Curious Experience

The snow had just started to fall this morning as I lounged on the sofa, sipping my coffee. A swoop outside the window caught my attention. A Red-tailed Hawk sat high in the branches of the birch tree. I ran for my camera, but he was gone when I returned to the...
A Day At Milbridge Commons

A Day At Milbridge Commons

This past week was challenging in a way that leaves you exhausted at the end. Every task a struggle, simple things were all but. One small example was my race to Bangor to have my car serviced on Friday – a 1:45 minute drive one way. Halfway home around dinner...
Downeast Thunder Farm Backyard Birds I: Felt Ornament Designs

Downeast Thunder Farm Backyard Birds I: Felt Ornament Designs

From the back cover: Susan Jordan Bennett, blogger and designer at DowneastThunderFarm.com, offers twenty delightfully realistic bird patterns in her second book, Downeast Thunder Farm Backyard Birds I: Felt Ornament Designs. Bird designs include: American Crow...
Happiness in a Sunflower

Happiness in a Sunflower

I’m not the only one who finds happiness in a sunflower. I snapped these pictures this afternoon while checking in on the WHRL’s Incredible Edible Garden at the Red Barn Motel.  A pair of goldfinches feasted on the sunflower seeds. They were shy, flying...
Northern Flicker Courtship

Northern Flicker Courtship

It was so beautiful yesterday that I spent my morning working on the porch. I made it through a Zoom meeting and another couple of hours of work before the sun slipped behind the clouds, chilling things down. It was absolutely lovely. No bugs. The wind chimes were...
A Snowy New Year’s Eve

A Snowy New Year’s Eve

An early morning walk on this snowy New Year’s Eve. There’s something so appealing about walking through virgin snow. Our cozy home. Snow does such an excellent job of hiding the yard and garden debris yet to be dealt with. This little guy might be next...
Yellow

Yellow

Today was a very “yellow” day at the bird feeder! Male Yellow-rumped warbler Female Yellow-rumped warbler A Goldfinch? Male Goldfinch Male White-throated Sparrow Male Yellow-rumped Warbler
Snowy Day Entertainment

Snowy Day Entertainment

It’s rare that I have the house to myself. With Paul away taking Hannah back to college, I had all types of plans for my weekend. Rather than being wonderfully productive, I felt a bit unsettled. I worry when my family is on the road – and in a winter...
A Busy Sunday

A Busy Sunday

I had some computer work planned for today. My mistake was parking myself on the sofa to do said work. I got a little distracted with the show outside the window. I can’t remember a day when I spied so many different varieties of birds all in one day. Chipping...
Feeder Visitors

Feeder Visitors

It’s been such a strange winter here. Frigid and snowy one day – balmy the next. In a typical winter we’ll have snow on the ground until mid-Spring. This year, we’ve had plenty of winter weather interspersed with January and February thaws. Our...