The Bruno Sheltie Ornament
My nephew and his fiance have their first apartment together - and their first Christmas tree. Their "baby" is Bruno the Mini Sheltie, so their tree now sports a Bruno ornament. This pattern was specifically designed to match Bruno's markings....
A Winter’s Solstice Sunrise
Sunrise on the day of the winter's solstice. This last day of autumn began with a frosty 21 degree F morning and ended with a balmy 45 degrees. Winter is entering like a warm breeze. The Christmas Eve forecast is calling for a high of 55 degrees...
Downeast Thunder Farm Kitty
Our Christmas tree went up this year with my Much Loved Ginger and Gidget Puppy ornaments on it. It didn't seem fair that the kitties weren't represented, so I created this pattern with Cinder as the subject. She's the only one who will sit long...
Gidget’s First Christmas Tree Hunt
The first weekend in December is when we pick out and harvest our Christmas tree. Every year Hannah and I engage in a debate over the best tree. She likes fat and full, I like thinner with a bit of space between the branches for ornaments to hang....
Paul’s Christmas Dove Wreath
This past weekend, while I was busy sewing felt birds for my Maine Backyard Bird Tree and my Owl Wish You a Merry Christmas Wreath, Paul was working on a project using my Christmas Dove pattern. The Christmas Dove has only one piece. Paul taped the...
Maine Backyard Bird Christmas Tree
I've run out of time to make birds! The WHRL's Christmas Tree Festival is tomorrow evening and I've finished my tree with only 14 birds. I'd hoped to do more, but the clock is working against me. This year's tree is a Maine Backyard Bird Christmas...
“Owl” Wish You a Merry Christmas Wreath
"Owl" Wish You a Merry Christmas is the theme for this wreath I created for the WHRL's Christmas Tree Festival and Auction. It started with a bare balsam wreath. I embellished the wreath with bundles of white pine and cedar harvested from the...
Great Gray Owlets
My Christmas wreath this year features my Great Gray Owl along with her babies. Here's a quick pattern for some gray owlets! Right click on this link and select "save link as" to save this PDF baby owl pattern to your computer.
Wishing You a Peaceful, Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving to you all! Now tell me, how do I make it through a Thanksgiving dinner with only one stick of butter?!
Just Shy of Full
My pictures do not do justice to tonight's moonrise over the Narrauagus River. Just shy of full, the moon was beautiful.
A Gidget Puppy Ornament
A Gidget Puppy will grace our Christmas tree this year along with a Much Loved Ginger Beast ornament. If only there was a way I could depict her in constant puppy motion! To save this PDF Yorkie pattern to your computer, right click on this link...
Early Morning on the River
Yesterday dawned clear, the promise of a crisp, beautiful day. I left the house extra early so I had time to swing by the river in Columbia Falls. It was a picture perfect morning. A beautiful place to watch the sun take hold. [gallery...
A Flash of Red
Cruising down the road this afternoon, a flash of red caught my attention. Curious, I turned the car around and discovered this bold, beautiful, pileated woodpecker working away at this rotten tree. Leaving the car, I stood in the middle of the...
Frosty Morning Warnings
A frosty start to the day it was. Beautiful in a crisp, stark way, frost glistened like jewels on the grasses as the sun rose over the hills. Waiting for the car defroster to tackle windshield frost while I sipped my coffee, I pondered our to-do...
Mud Room Makeover
The mudroom makeover started in September with these feedbag recycle bags hanging in the mudroom. They replaced the overflowing plastic buckets that used to take up floor space. The "honey-do" list continued with these wooden cube units that Hannah...
The Tiny White Breasted Nuthatch
The tiny White Breasted Nuthatch is resident in the stand of maple woods here behind the house. I often see them hopping about as they scale the sides of trees - often upside down. Have fun creating this cute little bird. Right click here and...
Our Annual Pigeon Hill Hike +1
Hannah and I made our annual hike up Pigeon Hill today. This is usually a mother-daughter trip, although last year we convinced Paul to come along. This year little Gidget joined us for the trek. The weather was brisk - 40s with a steady wind, but...
Coffee on the Porch
This morning was a gift. Sunny and sixty, I spend spent an unusual November morning on the porch with my coffee soaking up vitamin D. It's been more than a month since I had a full day off to enjoy just being. To be able to spend it on the porch...
November Barrens
November's autumn colors are eye-popping right now, so rich and vibrant. Only the oak leaves cling to their branches while the Hackmatack needles turn golden - the perfect contrast to the crimson blueberry barrens. This morning's sunrise cast a...
Misty Sunset Over the Barrens
The prettiest pink sunset had me hustling toward the coast this afternoon in search of an open vista to capture the sunset. As I rounded the corner I found that a gorgeous ribbon of fog had descended over the blueberry barrens as the sun dipped low...
Chasing Leaves
What better fun than chasing leaves on a windy autumn day. Leaves tumbling musically along, taking flight and changing directions are a simple delight that brings such joy.
A Horrifying Experience
Today was my first visit to the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden in Boothbay. On this next-to-last day of the season there was little in bloom and the worker bees were putting gardens to bed. Yet I could still appreciate the beauty of the place, the...
Solitary Tree Through the Fog
Sunrise on a foggy morning left an eerie light over my solitary tree standing watch over the barrens.
Blame it On the Moon
Blame it on the moon. That's what I said when I arrived to work later than planned this morning. When I saw the full moon behind the mist over frosty barrens, I had to pull over and take about five dozen pictures of the exact same view. This...
Those Ears!
Hannah and I hoped that Gidget would keep her floppy ears. However, at 14 weeks, it's pretty obvious that isn't going to be the case. She's got this one ear up, one ear down thing going on - it's as if she's saluting. It's pretty darn cute. Gidget...
