by Susan | Aug 2, 2014 | Garden
It appears that I’ve finally hit on a gardening strategy that works in my inhospitable clay soil. After a few years of playing with raised beds, my hugulkulture experiment is yielding fabulous results. My pumpkins and cucumbers are waist deep. I wasn’t...
by Susan | Jul 24, 2014 | On the Farm
I’m not a country girl by upbringing, so it’s no surprise that I’m excited over a patch of wild blueberries that are thriving around the pond. Last year about this time when I checked the progress of the berries, there was nary a one – the...
by Susan | Jul 20, 2014 | Garden
Snapshots from the garden this weekend… My hugulkultures are doing great. You’re looking at pumpkins, zucchini and cucumbers. In hindsight, I may have placed them a little close together and set the fence? in a little too tight. I can’t move in...
by Susan | Jul 14, 2014 | Ducks, On the Farm
We have another broody duck. Peep is sitting on a cluck of eggs in the duck house. Now Dilly has joined the hopeful building a nest near the pond. She’s become very serious about her efforts, sticking to her nest rain or shine. The problem is, it’s not...
by Susan | Jul 13, 2014 | Chickens, On the Farm
This is round one of meat chicken harvesting. Yesterday we processed 19 cornish rock chickens for the freezer. Today’s agenda was to finish the remaining sixteen birds. The next round of 50 meat chicks just moved from the brooder into the outdoor pen last week. This...
by Susan | Jul 8, 2014 | Chickens, Ducks, On the Farm
Meet Peep. She’s a one-year-old Pekin duck, born in our incubator last spring. She is broody and seems to be doing a good job at sticking to her nest. The only problem is, we don’t need any more ducks! We have eight – three of them boys. That fact...
by Susan | Jul 4, 2014 | On the Farm
It seems that I have a bit of extra company when I sit on the porch these days. As I was enjoying the view of the ducks on the pond from my Adirondack chair, it became clear that I was not alone. This little bunny has taken up residence under the lilac bushes. The...
by Susan | Jul 1, 2014 | Backyard Birds
The big spruce tree by the pond has been alive with the song of purple finches. Their song, so pretty and loud that they were impossible to miss. A repetitive “cheeping” sound convinced me there was a nest of of babies, but a search with the zoom lens...
by Susan | Jun 28, 2014 | Garden, On the Farm
While tending the garden today, I was struck by how sweet the pea blossoms are. Fuchsia and delicate pink. Demure white. White, that upon closer look gives way to the palest of green. And then, I got carried away. The peonies have popped. Pretty in pink. Wild daisies...
by Susan | Jun 23, 2014 | On the Farm
How can this guy not make you smile on a Monday morning? Look at those ears!
by Susan | Jun 19, 2014 | Backyard Birds
It’s been three days since I noticed this year’s round of Phoebes nesting under the lean-to. This morning I took another peek to see how the babies were fairing. There are at least four tucked into that little nest. Aren’t they adorable?...
by Susan | Jun 17, 2014 | Backyard Birds, On the Farm
Increased activity by the Eastern Phoebes out back told me they were likely nesting under the tractor lean-to again. Each time I went out to take a peak, the adult flew off. Since I was in camera mode yesterday I took another look and found a nest full of baby...
by Susan | Jun 11, 2014 | Garden, On the Farm
Sometimes you don’t really know what you have in a photo until you load it onto the computer and have a closer look. I love this picture where you can actually see the bumblebee’s tongue dipping inside the flower sipping at the nectar.
by Susan | Jun 9, 2014 | Garden, On the Farm
Gardening in a climate where you run the furnace 6.5 months out of the year can be challenging. Not only are we fairly far north – the 44th parallel – we’re near the coast. That means practically no spring and short, cool summers. Add to that the...
by Susan | Jun 4, 2014 | On the Farm
There’s a new show on kitty t.v. at our house. This little bunny has been visiting after dinner. We first noticed him one evening as he hopped across the porch providing great entertainment for the kitties, Cinder and Snape. And us. Tonight I finally got a few...
by Susan | May 23, 2014 | Backyard Birds, On the Farm
Did you know a flock of hummingbirds is called a hover? Or a bouquet, a glittering, a shimmer, or a tune of hummingbirds? Regardless of the term, it looked like a hummingbird convention at the feeder last evening. They were zooming around so fast it’s pure luck...
by Susan | May 17, 2014 | Backyard Birds
Our ruby-throated hummingbirds have a history of returning to Downeast Thunder Farm on May 11 of each year. A friend once told me this was “the day” and sure enough, she’s been right in all the years I’ve been keeping track of their arrival....
by Susan | May 16, 2014 | Backyard Birds, On the Farm
For the last week, I’ve been waking to the sound of “ra-ta-ta-ta-tat” coming from outside. Initially, I thought this was the sound of the metal flu on the furnace moving in the wind. This morning, a work-from-home day, the sound was really loud from...
by Susan | May 15, 2014 | On the Farm
This Mother’s Day I spent quite a bit of time outdoors enjoying the spring weather. I had fun watching this little red squirrel zip back and forth across the porch from one bird feeder to the next. He became increasingly comfortable with my presence and...
by Susan | May 11, 2014 | Backyard Birds
Twelve years ago, Paul made this bird feeder for me. It traveled with us to Maine and stands in the garden outside my kitchen window. It’s one of the best gifts he’s ever given me. Today I had quite a variety of visitors at the kitchen feeder. When my...
