by Susan | Mar 8, 2018 | On the Farm
Just when I was feeling hopeful about spring, Mother Nature showed her might. I don’t remember a February with less snow than we’ve had this year. Until today. The storm lasted eighteen hours, leaving us with heavy, sticky, knee-deep snow. It was a day to...
by Susan | Feb 19, 2018 | Backyard Birds, On the Farm
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...
by Susan | Feb 4, 2018 | Backyard Birds, On the Farm
This weekend I so enjoyed a charm of goldfinches at the feeders. The finches’ subtle, faded out of season colors somehow match the winter landscape. This last image is a merge of two snapshots to show the motion of the birds in flight. Shooting mostly from...
by Susan | Jan 7, 2018 | Backyard Birds, On the Farm
As has become our tradition as the Christmas season ends, our Charlie Brown tree has another chance to bring a bit more joy. Hannah helped me bring it outdoors – strategically placed outside one of the living room windows. I dipped apple slices and pine cones...
by Susan | Dec 10, 2017 | On the Farm
It’s official. We’re in winter mode. This was the sight greeting us this morning. We spent yesterday procrastinating, only moving into winter prep when the first flakes began to fall. Yard clear of stuff; check. Snow shovels distributed to all doors;...
by Susan | Nov 27, 2017 | Ducks, On the Farm
A new duck house has been on my “Honey Do” list for more than a year now. Peep, Squeak, and Oscar have been living in a makeshift house that was recycled from another project. The old house was never designed for ducks and was too big for our trio of...
by Susan | Nov 4, 2017 | Backyard Birds
After a morning of planting garlic (100 cloves), I enjoyed hanging out on the porch photographing this hairy woodpecker. The feeder visitors have been mostly of the blue jay and morning dove variety. I didn’t fill the feeders for much of the summer – the...
by Susan | Sep 29, 2017 | On the Farm
I love Fridays. They are my work from home day. I can wake without the alarm and roll out of bed to enjoy coffee at my desk. My routine involves a pattern of working and puttering, working and puttering. My puttering might be doing the dishes, laundry, taking Gidget...
by Susan | Sep 24, 2017 | Garden
I always start the gardening season with such hope. This year, so many things interfered with my gardening motivation. I overextended on both the work and volunteer fronts. At the same time, I didn’t want to miss any of Hannah’s senior activities. Throw in multiple...
by Susan | Aug 30, 2017 | On the Farm
This summer’s fascination with Monarch butterflies jump started with our visit to the Rhoades Butterfly Garden in early July. Luring Monarchs to my garden has been on my mind for a while. I planted Milkweed seeds in May. They’re growing strong in pots on my...
by Susan | Aug 1, 2017 | On the Farm
Yesterday was a lucky day for me. I was working at home day on website projects when I noticed one of the caterpillars Hannah and I have been raising hanging from the bottom of a leaf. I set my iPhone timer at 30-minute intervals to remind me to check on it throughout...
by Susan | Jul 21, 2017 | On the Farm
I’ve been working on introducing Monarch butterflies to my garden since the spring when I planted Milkweed – the Monarch caterpillar’s food of choice. After visiting the Charlotte Rhoades Butterfly Garden, I’ve become a bit of a sleuth –...
by Susan | Jun 18, 2017 | Backyard Birds, On the Farm
I hate cleaning my hummingbird feeders, but I do it every weekend. I’ve read it should be done more often, but my time during the week is so limited that I fail. I tend to not fill them very full so the birds run out of sugar water before they should be cleaned....
by Susan | May 22, 2017 | Backyard Birds, On the Farm
It’s been ten days now since they’ve returned – the boys of summer, aka the male hummingbirds. As I enjoyed coffee on the porch this weekend, this little fellow perched on the hook and chirped incessantly at me the entire time I sat out there with...
by Susan | Apr 9, 2017 | Ducks, On the Farm
Today is a sad day. It started out lovely with ice out on the sunny side of the pond. The ducks, Dilly, Quackers, Peep and Squeak enjoyed a first spring dip in the pond while I enjoyed the view from my chair in the shade. Yet, when it was time to bring the ducks in...
by Susan | Mar 27, 2017 | On the Farm
Yesterday was a beautiful, mild day. I was quite lazy, spending much of the day on the sofa reading – something I rarely do. My vantage point from the sofa gives me a bird’s eye view of three feeders. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many...
by Susan | Mar 21, 2017 | Garden, On the Farm
This was my greenhouse at the height of winter. The snow on the roof makes it look a bit lopsided, but the greenhouse stood strong to February’s heavy snow. It scares me to think of what little beings were taking refuge in there. Yesterday, on the first day of...
by Susan | Mar 5, 2017 | Backyard Birds, On the Farm
Enjoying my first cup of coffee while watching the flurry of activity at the bird feeders is a lovely way to start the day. I just about spilled said coffee scrambling for my camera when I spied this newcomer. My first robin sighting of the season sparked a bit of joy...
by Susan | Feb 20, 2017 | On the Farm
I hadn’t thought much about who’s walking in my woods lately. Until I took out the garbage this afternoon and found this. There were two sets of tracks running side-by-side down the drive, bypassing the duck and chicken coups without a pause. Too large for...
by Susan | Feb 16, 2017 | Backyard Birds, On the Farm
Storm three of the week was still going strong this morning. I spent a couple of hours on the sofa with my coffee contemplating the real world. Today was Hannah’s third snow day of the week. I had to decide if it was going to by my third snow day as well. All I...
