Owl at 3 am
It was a cold night, and the house was locked up tight. Yet, the call of this owl woke me at 3 am - as loud as if I had the windows open. I lay there and listened for five minutes or so and when sleep eluded me, I opened a window and recorded the...
Gidget Goes to Schoodic
We had a family outing to Schoodic Point this afternoon. You'll see no pictures of Hannah because she enjoyed the view from the backseat of the car with her iTunes. Gidget on the other hand, enjoyed the sun and fresh air. She had fun sitting on the...
Vice Grips and Yankee Ingenuity
I'm not sure what a vice grip as a kitchen faucet handle says about us. The handle that belongs on the faucet has been falling off for two years. Two years! It drove us batty every time we forgot it was loose and the handle fell off, clunking into...
Walking with Gidget
Walking with Gidget is an adventure. We live in the woods at the end of a dead-end road so we let Gidget freely walk with us. She meanders left and right, starting and stopping, her little legs working overtime to keep up with you. She chases the...
Cleaning Out the Greenhouse
The day was sunny and cool, a high of 60. Yet, inside the greenhouse, even with the door and a vent open, the temperature was 80 degrees. I spent the afternoon in there yanking out the spent squash and cucumber plants and cleaned up the beds....
Out, Damned Snake!
All summer long this little snake has been lying in wait for me on the porch stoop. He stalks me, incognito on the edge of the cement step, for that perfect moment to startle me. This morning, our first serious jacket day of autumn, he did it...
Too Short a Weekend
It was a spectacular weekend here in Downeast Maine. I had plans to attend the Common Ground Fair, one of my absolute favorite things to do. Yet, when it came time to leave on the five hour round-trip to Unity, I realized that I wanted nothing more...
A Cute Battle of Wills
This is one of my favorite pictures of Gidget. As she was sleeping, I tip-toed over and just as I snapped the pic with my iPhone, her eyes popped open. Ten weeks old today, Gidget is staging a coop. She thinks her cuteness is a trump card allowing...
Incredible Edible Milbridge Mobile Veggie Cart
Paul spent the better part of August building this veggie-mobile for Incredible Edible Milbridge (IEM), a project of the Women's Health Resource Library where I work part-time. Incredible Edible Milbridge is a series of 25 gardens throughout our...
Gidget at 8 Weeks
Although still a young puppy who sleeps a lot, Gidget has moments where her personality has begun to shine. Here's a peak at her playful side with belly rubs. And a short video clip featuring Gidget. Enjoy, Mom!...
Meet Gidget!
Following what seems like the two longest weeks of our lives, Paul and I drove to Augusta to pick up Gidget and bring her home yesterday. As Paul says, "She's impossibly cute." He hadn't met her before, but he fell instantly in love with this...
Dogs – No Rhyme or Reason
On the eve of a new adventure with a new puppy, I've been reflecting on the canine beasts who have added so much to my life. With the exception of my first year out of college, dogs have always been a part of my existence. I grew up with both...
Giant Sunflowers
This is the first year that I've been successful at growing giant sunflowers. I'm fairly certain the chickens sabotaged my prior attempts by eating the seed. In early summer I planted a row of Burpee's Mammoth sunflower seeds right in front of the...
Recycling with Recycled Feed Bags
We don't have recycling pickup at the curb here. Well, we won't have a curb, but that's neither here nor there. We hang on to our recyclables until we have enough to justify a trip into to town, or we become totally overrun with recyclables and...
A Much Loved Ginger Beast
You knew this pattern was coming, didn't you? I just had to wait until I didn't tear up every time I thought about Ginger. She passed away in June at 14 years-old. Ginger was a rescue puppy who came to us around 6-8 months of age. She was part Lab...
The Ultimate Impulse Purchase
I am guilty of a serious impulse purchase. It's been two months since we lost Ginger and I think of her every day. I miss having a dog around the house. That we would someday get another dog was never in doubt. We've had some discussions about what...
Our Mini Mainecation
In an effort to salvage a tiny bit of summer before school begins next week, we took a couple of days and went to Portland. We wandered downtown and enjoyed the scenery of Portland Harbor and Casco Bay. We took in a Sea Dogs baseball game which was...
Fields of Gold
The fading purples of fireweed give way to cheerful fields of goldenrod. In the meadows, along the roads, and in my door yard, the tall spires of yellow signify the height of summer. The the goldenrod fades, so does summer.
The Power of Chicken Poo
We abandoned use of the Girls' chicken run this year after a portion rusted out and we found a raccoon visiting. Our plan is to rebuild a smaller run with a covered slanted roof. I can't imaging any better visual for the power of chicken poo. I...
A Solitary Tree on a Foggy Day
The past few days here along the coast have been crazy foggy. The floors are wet, drawers are sticking, and it's impossible to dry clothes without the dryer. At times the fog has been so thick that from the river's bank, you cannot see the river....
Morning Light on the River
The soft quality of the morning light from the bridge overlooking the Chandler River in Jonesboro.
Something About Tiger Lilies
There's something about old-fashioned tiger lilies that pulls at my heart strings. My first memories of the flower are from about age 8 or so. Near my grandmother's house, there was a wild unkempt border of them along a country road. Oddly, that...
Black-eyed Susans on the Barrens
Driving through the Downeast Maine countryside today, I was struck by the way wild Black-Eyed Susan flowers framed this blueberry barren in yellow. Upon closer look the barren greens fade to blue with the berries plumping up ready for harvest. Soon...
Monster Garlic
I've grown garlic for almost as many years as I've lived in Maine. It's one of those veggies that I consistently have good luck with. Last October, I planted just shy of 90 cloves in two of my hugelkulture beds where I grew cucumbers and pumpkins...
Eating our Way Through Hannah’s Birthday
Birthday's at our house tend to revolve around food. Hannah's Sweet 16 started with my attempt at artistic chocolate chip pancakes. She was expecting Mickey Mouse, but I figured it was time to expand my horizons. Despite the fact that I couldn't...
