Curly Hair Woes
I have been cursed blessed with naturally curly hair. Only a mother with fine, straight hair could wish this on their daughter. Mine did. Of course, she had help. Dad has naturally curly hair. He wears his in a crew cut. Grandma Jordan, born in...
Breakfast with Chickens
I took advantage of a beautiful morning and took my coffee and breakfast out to the porch. Some uninvited company arrived. She seems to be begging. I'm not sure how I feel about having breakfast with chickens.
Sea Smoke on the Pond
Sea smoke is fog formed when very cold air moves over warmer water. In this case, it's "pond smoke" - and it was darn chilly this morning! Summer is on its way out. It seems like summer just started last week here in Maine.
Schoodic Point Picnic
Homecation Day 8. It was a gorgeous day so we packed a picnic and took it to the Schoodic Peninsula which is part of Acadia National Park where we were on Day 6. The entrance to Schoodic is in Winter Harbor - about 30 minutes from home. (Click on...
Cadillac Mountain Drive
Day six of my homecation took us to Cadillac Mountain at Acadia National Park. Paul agreed to come with Hannah and I because I promised no forced marches - just a nice drive. What he didn't anticipate was me having him pull over at every single...
Cruise to Petit Manan Lighthouse
On day five of my homecation we spent an amazing morning cruising our hometown waters - the Narraguagus Bay with Captain Jamie of?Robertson Sea Tours. We left from the Milbridge Marina and cruised out to Petit Manan Island. The day was a gorgeous...
Bog Brook Cove Hike
Day three of my homecation involved a mother-daughter hike to Bog Brook Cove in Cutler, Maine. The hike out to the coast took us through a variety of terrains - fir forest, oak forest, and birch forest before we finally made it to the coast. We...
Greenhouse Planning Begins
Day two of my homecation started with sleeping in and then a lazy day puttering around the property. Paul and I played with pieces of an old tent framework, mixing and matching them until we came up with this layout for a little greenhouse....
Frenchman’s Bay Hike
Today started my homecation. A vacation where home is your base for fun and no work. I have carefully guarded my schedule for the coming week so that Hannah and I can fit in all of the things we wanted to do over the summer, but didn't. Because my...
Hannah’s Handmade Ravioli
I made tacos for dinner tonight. Hannah opted out and did her own thing for dinner. I'm thinking Paul and I got the short end of the stick. Check out what Chef Roo (age 13) made for her dinner. I think tomorrow I'll ask Hannah what's for dinner....
Chicken On A Hot Tin Roof
I couldn't resist snapping a picture of this unusual sight - Clover the Banty Rooster on the porch roof. Then I realized that the sun was going down and the door to the banty coop had blown shut. Instinct was kicking in and Clover was looking for a...
Ganders in the Blueberries
The Canada Geese were lounging in the blueberries along Whitneyville Road again today. I paused for a few more "drive by" shots of the flock.
Downeast Blueberry Harvest
This time of year the blueberry barrens in Downeast Maine become a sea of blue. The normally quiet countryside becomes a flurry of activity as the harvest comes in. Harvested by machine where possible, or painstakingly raked by hand. Everywhere you...
What’s wrong with this picture?
Paul had an "Oh Shit" kind of day. It appears that the four inches of rain we got last week did more than fill the pond. One of his carefully cut and stacked racks of wood gave way in the soft ground. Guess I know what he's doing tomorrow!
August Weekend Snapshots
It's been a weekend full of puttering - a little weeding, a little landscaping around the pond, a little planting of new lettuce, spinach and kale. A little photography along the way. The Colonel ever watchful over his flock. Quackers checking out...
Downeast Thunder Farm Blueberry Coffee Cake
This morning I used the last of our blueberries picked last week in this blueberry coffee cake that has become a family favorite. Downeast Thunder Farm Blueberry Coffee Cake The Batter ¼ cup canola oil ½ scant cup of sugar ¾ cup skim milk 1 ½ cups...
Our Pond Runeth Over
Almost. After a dry spell that left even the moss in the woods dried out and crunchy, we have rain. All day rain. Torrential rain. Four inches of rain! The pond rose about 12-inches in less than 9 hours. The new pond is a full as it's ever...
Leopard Print Kinda Girl
This isn't a fashion blog, but I couldn't let this pass. A package arrived from Mom today (aka Granny Gadget). Now and again Mom will surprise me with little goodies - a pretty scarf, a blingy purse, fun earrings, etc. She knows that I don't really...
My Favorite Color is Garlic
These garlic bulbs, recently harvested, are the most beautiful variegated purple and white color. The purple color is so soft and rich, there ought to be a Crayola named after my Russian Red Garlic. This year's garlic harvest yield was 6 ¾ pounds -...
Afternoon Sun
Oh, to live the life of a kitty with nothing more important to do than enjoying the afternoon sun.
Making Mozzarella
Granny Gadget (AKA Mom) sent Hannah a cheese making kit for her birthday last week. We made a batch of beautiful homemade mozzarella from whole milk the very next day. The kit has the ingredients to make mozzarella or ricotta - citric acid, rennet...
Blueberrying in the Mist
Today was an unexpected slow day at work so Hannah and I drove over to Pigeon Hill Wildlife Refuge to pick blueberries. You may take all the berries you can find if you pick them by hand (rather than raking). After an hour we had about a quart of...
The Friendly Frog
This friendly frog was looking over Hannah's shoulder last night as she was reading!
Home Grown Pizza Herb Mix
Saturday night is Pizza Night at Downeast Thunder Farm. I get in big trouble when I mix things up and don't serve Pizza on Saturday - Paul and Hannah have come to count on Saturday homemade pizza. A key ingredient to pizza is the herb mix that goes...
Target Shooting
This weekend, Paul introduced Hannah and I to target shooting with a 22 rifle. Although we live on 49 acres in the Maine woods, we haven't had a rifle until recently. The repeated stalking of our chickens and ducks by the resident fox loosened my...
