Yankee Ingenuity: Studded Muck Boots
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. And...
A Misplaced Grackle
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...
What’s Wrong With This Picture?
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...
Sprightly Tree Sparrow
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...
Suspended in Ice
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 snowy, icy,...
A Good News, Bad News Sort of Day
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 Precious Pygmy Owl
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...
A Busy Finish to 2013
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...
Snowshoe Up Pigeon Hill
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,...
Happy House Sparrow
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 (on a...
Suspended Animation
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...
The Morning After
The morning after another snowfall.
I Think I’m Addicted
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...
Wrapping Up Christmas
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...
Merry Christmas!
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...
Chickadees On Ice
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...
Icy Wonderland
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...
A Flock of Doves
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...
The Curious Scrub Jay
My latest bird was inspired by Julie who wrote: My grandfather used to feed the scrub jays peanuts. They would fly in and land all over him-from his head to arms to be fed peanuts in the shells. If he was late feeding them they would peck at his...
Digging Out. Again.
For the second time in four days we had to dig out. This second doozy of a storm dropped another 12 inches. The white stuff is beginning to pile up – and it’s not officially winter. This is the view out the French doors. Somewhere out there are my...
Ode to a Pack Rat
This is the view from our bedroom window. The first thing we do every morning is peak out and see if there is "happy smoke." Happy smoke from the chimney means that all is working well, we didn't run out of wood overnight, and the house is toasty...
The Spectacular King Eider Duck
The King Eider is a sea duck prized among hunters. A sighting in this neck of the woods is rare. The male is spectacular with his bright, bold coloring. Our hike last weekend where we spotted a variety of ducks reminded me that this guy was on my...
No Snow, No Spirit
December is here and the holiday festivities have begun, but the Christmas Spirit hasn't quite settled in yet. Maybe it's my crazy schedule or something else, but I find myself searching for that essence of Joy. We made a concerted effort this...
COLD Day For a Hike at Petit Manan
Yesterday, when it was somewhat moderate outside, Hannah asked if we could go for a hike today. Today turned out to be a frigid 27 degrees with a crisp breeze added to the mix. Still, we motivated and hiked the Hollingsworth Trail at the Petit...
The Blue Billed Ruddy Duck
Not long ago, a Mrs. Ruddy wrote and asked me to make a Ruddy Duck pattern. Not being familiar with her namesake, I googled it. Once I saw how fun he was, I knew I had to make him. His blue bill makes him quite unique! Right click here and select...
