by Susan | Mar 26, 2014 | On My Mind
I’m not sure these pictures need captions. One week into spring the world outside is raging – snowy, windy, blizzardy. Where art thou, spring?
by Susan | Mar 24, 2014 | On the Farm
It was a sad weekend here. We lost two roosters over two nights to what we believe is a single predator. What makes it even harder is that we knew that one of the coop doors needed repair and our delay in fixing it properly cost us. In the banty coop, a predator got...
by Susan | Mar 23, 2014 | Out and About in Maine
We spent the morning exploring Nutkin Knoll Farm. Open to the public for Maine Maple Sunday, we wandered the trails through their sugar bush and took a look at their sugaring operation. Needless to say, it’s a little more advanced than is ours. They...
by Susan | Mar 22, 2014 | On My Mind
Times are changing faster than I can keep up with at my house. This is the text dialog between Hannah and me earlier this week. Her first boyfriend. At fourteen, most of the kids in her freshman class have already hit this milestone. I wish there was some way to turn...
by Susan | Mar 21, 2014 | Bird Patterns, Felt Patterns, Waterfowl and Seabird Patterns
What’s peculiar about this pelican? No self-respecting pelican would be caught on this freezing windswept beach in Downeast Maine! Right click here and select “Save Target As” (on a PC) to download this PDF pelican pattern to your...
by Susan | Mar 20, 2014 | On My Mind
I had visions of the first day of spring – time sitting on the porch letting the sun’s warmth nourish me. Truth be told, I think only the ducks were happy about the reality of the this first day of spring. They found joy in the puddles.
by Susan | Mar 16, 2014 | Garden, On My Mind
The ground may be frozen and snowy, but spring arrived in my mailbox yesterday. Given my gardening history, I may have been just a little optimistic when ordering seeds – 32 varieties!?A typical spring involves me starting seeds, killing the seedlings at some...
by Susan | Mar 14, 2014 | Bird Patterns, Felt Patterns, Perching Bird Patterns
In Maine, the snow bunting is a winter visitor who will soon be returning to its favored arctic region – a sure sign that spring is on its way! Right click here and select “Save target as” (on a PC) to save this PDF snow bunting pattern to your...
by Susan | Mar 12, 2014 | Backyard Birds
Recently, a friend shared beautiful pictures of bald eagles that she took along the Narraguagus River. I confess, I was a little envious. I’d driven past this stretch of the river many times without a single sighting. So the last couple of weeks I took special...
by Susan | Mar 9, 2014 | On My Mind
Yesterday, the temps were warm and the sap was running. I caught a little spring fever, threw open a window for some fresh air and proceeded to tackle washing the windows inside and out. I ventured out in gym shorts and Muck boots to check the sap containers. It was...
by Susan | Mar 8, 2014 | On the Farm
This is our third season experimenting with producing our own Maple syrup. The weather has been so cold that we haven’t thought too much about the sap season. When the weather man predicted temps in the 40s, we knew it was time to get things rolling. On Monday...
by Susan | Mar 7, 2014 | Bird Patterns, Felt Patterns, Perching Bird Patterns
This meadowlark was a recent request. I confess, I’ve never seen one before – probably because I don’t have a meadow tucked up here in the woods the way were are. But, he’s a pretty little songbird worth the effort. Right click here and select...
by Susan | Mar 4, 2014 | Backyard Birds, On the Farm
Chickadees in flight. A beautiful sight from the kitchen window.
by Susan | Mar 3, 2014 | On the Farm
My enthusiasm over the victory over the squirrel has diminished. He’s back, and I do believe he’s mocking me. Adding cayenne to my bird seed this weekend kept the squirrel out of my feeder for much of Saturday. Yet, here he is the next day, giving me the...
by Susan | Mar 1, 2014 | On the Farm
This has become a common sight at one of my feeders. I haven’t been too bothered by the squirrel snacking. In fact, they’ve been quite entertaining at times. However, the past day or two, the little red squirrels have started eating me out of house and...
by Susan | Feb 28, 2014 | Out and About in Maine
The setting sun left a beautiful reflection on the icy blueberry barrens. Worthy of an impromptu iPhone photo stop.
by Susan | Feb 25, 2014 | Out and About in Maine
An impulse, drive-by, iPhone shot of Cadillac Mountain had Paul and Hannah sitting in the car rolling their eyes. Again.
by Susan | Feb 21, 2014 | Bird Patterns, Felt Patterns, Owl and Raptor Patterns
This burrowing owl was inspired by a picture snapped by a friend during her recent trip to Florida. I don’t imagine any self respecting burrowing owl would be caught in the this much snow. They’re smart enough to fly south for the winter! Right click here...
by Susan | Feb 20, 2014 | Out and About in Maine
Today, I passed a field full of wild turkeys – their heads buried in the snow, foraging. It was a pretty sight.
by Susan | Feb 20, 2014 | On My Mind
It’s snowed on five of the last seven days. I went to sleep last night with the sound of snow gently “thumping” as it fell off the steel roof. This morning I rose to five fresh inches of heavy snow blanketing the landscape. As I waded through the...
