by Susan | Aug 7, 2021 | Birds and Wildlife, Out and About in Maine
My friend, Christina Gantz of Kvetina Wildscaping, has taken the concept of raising Monarchs to a new level. She first told me about her plans for a Monarch nursery over the winter. Today, Hannah and I drove over to her hatchery to take a look. It was magical. While I...
by Susan | Aug 5, 2021 | Hannah, On My Mind
It’s hard to believe that I’ve had this wonderful girl in my life for 22 years. Although the weather was gloomy, we still celebrated with our traditional lobster dinner – margaritas, 1.5-pound lobsters, cheesy potatoes, cheddar bay biscuits, and a...
by Susan | Aug 3, 2021 | Out and About in Maine
The beach was calling our names tonight. Hannah and I rushed through dinner and headed over to Roque Bluffs. The sand and waves have a way of smoothing rough edges. We paused along the way to watch this heron who took exception to our presence. A flock of Common...
by Susan | Jul 23, 2021 | Odds and Ends, Projects
In the last few years, Women for Healthy Rural Living – or WHRL (formerly Women’s Health Resource Library) has had a summer auction. Two years ago, I created my Navigating Maine Coffee Table for the event. Last year, we decided to have local artists...
by Susan | Jul 19, 2021 | Birds and Wildlife, Out and About in Maine
I’ve longed to visit Scarborough Marsh, enamored by the pictures others have shared online. Hannah was up for the adventure, so we had a short mother/daughter vacation this July. On a Wednesday, we meandered our way along US Route 1 to Freeport, browsing...
by Susan | Jul 12, 2021 | Felt Patterns, Perching Bird Patterns
The Green-eyed Vireo is another songster in my woods I’ve discovered through song identification apps. I haven’t been able to find a good olive green in felt – the color called for on this bird. I dabbled with some wool fabric for the back and wing....
by Susan | Jul 9, 2021 | Out and About in Maine
This week my work travels took me to Lubec. I stopped at Old Farm Point to enjoy my brown bag lunch. This is a new park that recently opened and is part of the larger Cobscook Shores park system. A mown path leads you along the edges of a large meadow. There’s...
by Susan | Jul 5, 2021 | Garden, On the Farm
Today was the quintessential perfect Maine summer day. It was a lazy day for me. Coffee on the porch, lawn mowing, puttering in the yard and garden. My happiest discovery is that Ms. Monarch, who was here earlier in the week did her job. I discovered my first Monarch...
by Susan | Jul 4, 2021 | Bird Patterns, Felt Patterns, Perching Bird Patterns
The Black-throated Green Warbler is another songster that I’ve detected in my backyard via song. Another bird I’ve yet to spot, but whose song I hear with gusto lately. This July 4 weekend is chilly and rainy – after days of 90s weather – the...
by Susan | Jun 29, 2021 | Birds and Wildlife, Out and About in Maine
For the first time in 15 months, I’m back on the road traveling again for work. It’s fun to be driving through rural Maine, audible story on the radio, camera by my side just in case. Yet today was a tight schedule, so there wasn’t time to admire the...
by Susan | Jun 28, 2021 | On the Farm
This is the view out my kitchen window. It was full of orange butterflies this morning. I was excited as I haven’t seen the Monarchs since my first sighting earlier in the month. I abandoned my coffee in favor of a camera and headed outdoors. I found Pearl...
by Susan | Jun 27, 2021 | Odds and Ends, Projects
Do you know those Honey-do items that languish on the to-do list? This one has been languishing for about 15 years. In part because there have been so many projects on the list and in part because I didn’t nag. Years ago, I refinished this old chest of draws...
by Susan | Jun 27, 2021 | On My Mind
Last week I shared my discovery of the Song Sleuth app for identifying birds by their song. I’ve had more fun playing with this tool, learning about the less obvious birds in my backyard. A reader mentioned that they use the Merlin app for this. I’d played...
by Susan | Jun 26, 2021 | Bird Patterns, Felt Patterns, Perching Bird Patterns
Since exploring who is singing in my backyard, I’ve discovered that the most common song I hear is that of the Ovenbird – a Wood Warbler. I’ve never seen one – apparently, they keep to the woods but their song is loud and clear. My challenge...
by Susan | Jun 23, 2021 | On My Mind
Some days are just out of kilter. From the moment you wake, you feel out of sync with the world. Or something frustrating happens that derails the rest of your day. When this happens, my girlfriends blame it on Mercury in retrograde (apparently, it’s not). I...
by Susan | Jun 21, 2021 | Out and About in Maine
I joined Hannah this afternoon on an impromptu outing to capture some video for a project she’s doing at work. As we drove east, the patchy sun we’d enjoyed all day turned to fog. We stopped in Cutler Harbor, where I snapped this image of boats peeking out...
by Susan | Jun 17, 2021 | On the Farm
While watering my hanging flower pots this evening, this little Clearwing Moth – aka Hummingbird Moth came to visit. With the lilacs all but faded, there’s not much in my garden to feast on until the lavender blooms – except for my hanging baskets....
by Susan | Jun 14, 2021 | Backyard Birds, On the Farm
You likely know by now that I’m an avid, total novice, backyard bird watcher. I’ve discovered this morning that there are birds singing in my backyard I’ve never seen before. I’m often focused on the birds at my feeders (which have been put up...
by Susan | Jun 12, 2021 | On My Mind
Do you enjoy the Downeast Thunder Farm BLOG? Don’t want to miss the latest news? Subscribe to receive an email notice for new posts. Including: Free bird, animal, and butterfly felt patterns for download Notices for new Downeast Thunder Farm SHOP felt, pattern...
by Susan | Jun 11, 2021 | Out and About in Maine
Gidget loves the idea of traveling in the car. The reality is something different. Her anxiety gets the best of her which makes taking her anywhere stressful for everyone in the car. Yet today, Hannah and I decided to take her with us on a late afternoon walk on the...
