by Susan | Jan 12, 2014 | On My Mind
Do you have lonely socks? I have lots of lonely socks. Before I had a cat, I blamed lonely socks on the dryer. These days I blame Purfessor Snape, aka Boo. Boo has a sock fetish. He’ll steal matched sets out of the sock drawer if you leave it open even a crack....
by Susan | Jan 12, 2014 | Bird Patterns, Felt Patterns, Perching Bird Patterns
Not long ago a visitor pointed out that what I thought was a house finch was really a purple finch. So, of course I had to make a felt purple finch. This is the only one I’ve seen on the farm lately! Right click on this link and select “Save target...
by Susan | Jan 11, 2014 | Odds and Ends
The weather has been a challenging lately – even for Maine. Snow, rain, ice, and more of the same. Forget the pond – we could ice skate on the driveway. We’ve got ice grips that go on our shoes, but they never stay put – no matter the brand....
by Susan | Jan 9, 2014 | Backyard Birds
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology web site allaboutbirds.org is my go to place when trying to figure out who is visiting my yard. Just yesterday, they released Merlin, a bird identification app for smart phones. Since I receive an iPhone for Christmas (my phones have all...
by Susan | Jan 7, 2014 | Backyard Birds, On the Farm
Mother nature often surprises me. Following a day of torrential rain, the ice we’ve been plagued with since before Christmas melted overnight. This is the view of the duck pond from the porch today. This was the view just a few days ago, my birches looking so...
by Susan | Jan 5, 2014 | Bird Patterns, Felt Patterns, Perching Bird Patterns
I’ve so enjoyed the tree sparrows who are wintering in our yard. Sprightly with an endearing musical twitter, they have been frequent visitors to the feeders and provide much entertainment. Right click here and select “Save target as” (on a PC) to...
by Susan | Jan 4, 2014 | Odds and Ends
Knocking down spider webs from the ceiling of the front stoop is really one of those after-thought kinds of things. I don’t put it on my “to do” list. It’s not like I spend any time there – I just pass through, usually in a hurry. The...
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 | Jan 1, 2014 | Bird Patterns, Felt Patterns, Owl and Raptor Patterns
I ventured into this work of creating bird patterns three years ago with my Downeast Thunder Farm owl family of ornaments. So, it seems appropriate that my first pattern of 2014 be another owl. Although no self respecting pygmy owl would be found in Maine – especially...
by Susan | Dec 31, 2013 | Backyard Birds, On the Farm
After having a week off and then working yesterday, I opted to play hookey today. It was extremely cold, the roads were icy, and frankly, I just wasn’t ready to get back into the swing of things just yet. On this last day of 2013 I puttered both inside and...
by Susan | Dec 29, 2013 | Out and About in Maine
After lunch, Hannah and I packed up our snowshoes and drove over to Pigeon Hill. Our first winter excursion on these trails, I don’t know what possessed us to think that snowshoeing up Pigeon Hill wouldn’t be any tougher than hiking it. The view,...
by Susan | Dec 29, 2013 | Bird Patterns, Felt Patterns, Perching Bird Patterns
The house sparrow seems to be everywhere. Lately he’s been a frequent visitor to my feeders. In his honor, I’ve created him out of felt. Right click on this link and select “Save Target As” to save this house sparrow pattern to your computer...
by Susan | Dec 28, 2013 | Backyard Birds, On the Farm
This visitor had me keep Paul and Hannah waiting as we were trying to get out the door today to go shopping. It’s that addiction thing. I followed the woodpecker (Downy? Hairy?) from the kitchen to the living room scrambling to get the camera focused correctly....
by Susan | Dec 27, 2013 | Out and About in Maine
The morning after another snowfall.
by Susan | Dec 27, 2013 | Photography
I think I’m addicted to photographing birds. Paul and Hannah had a bird theme going for my Christmas gifts. I received four new feeders and a Birds of Maine field guide the other day. Paul helped me hang three of the feeders. One we’ve simply tucked into...
by Susan | Dec 25, 2013 | On My Mind
Christmas morning 2014 dawned bright and COLD. We are blessed to have this day together, cozy and warm in the comfort of our home. Many of our friends in the community are still without power following three crazy storms – the latest dropping freezing rain on us...
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 | Dec 23, 2013 | On My Mind
When I ventured outdoors this morning, I couldn’t help but admire the chickadees as they flitted in and out of the icy branches. Here in Maine, the are my most faithful visitors. The freezing rain started up again as I admired the view from my porch. Here, my...
by Susan | Dec 22, 2013 | On My Mind
We woke this morning to no power. No happy smell of coffee. No happy smoke coming from the wood boiler out the window. Our entire world was covered in a layer of ice. Curiously, exactly one year ago we also woke to no power – the result of a windstorm that time....
by Susan | Dec 21, 2013 | Backyard Birds, On the Farm
It started this morning when I ventured outside to fill the bird feeders – in my jammies and muck boots, nonetheless. I made quite the picture. You can do that when you live in the woods. At first there was just one. And then two. And three. Before I knew...
