Moonset
Moonset from my kitchen window this morning.
My Constant Companion
I ventured outside at 7:30 this Sunday morning to let the ducks and chickens out into their pens, and replace their frozen water with fresh. The thermometer read 3 degrees with a stiff breeze. It's officially brrrr outside today. I snuggled up on...
A Stalker in the Night
The first storm of 2012 dropped four inches of slushy snow overnight. The snow was the perfect foil to expose those who lurk in the shadows of the night. Living in the Maine countryside means that you share the land with predators. We've seen...
Felt Cardinal on a Snowy Afternoon
School was called off early and the snow is coming down. It's a good afternoon to hunker down with a movie and a project. Today I finished a felt cardinal ornament that I've been puttering with. She joins the collection with my chickadee and owl...
Felt Chickadee Ornament
Now that the holidays are over I find myself at loose ends. Feeling the need for a project I drew this pattern for a felt chickadee ornament using a photograph for inspiration. I think she turned out pretty cute. Click here to download the...
Hannah’s Favorite Granny Gadget Gadget: George Foreman Grill
Last month Granny Gadget sent us (via QVC) this new six-plate George Foreman Grill. Years ago Mom sent us one of the the original George Forman Grills. It was handy, but came out of the cupboard only three or four times a year. This new version has...
Inquiring Chickens Want to Know
Everything! Chickens are very curious little creatures. They love to explore every little change or sound. When I stopped to visit with them today, The Girls all gathered around until they figured out that I was empty-handed. Except for my camera....
Free Nesting Box Plans
At Downeast Thunder Farm, my engineer husband designs and fabricates our structures, farm implements, and equipment as we need them. He's a handy guy to have around! In planning for another chicken coop this coming Spring, Paul drew up this nesting...
Downeast Thunder Spinach Artichoke Dip
New Years Eve I made this very yummy Spinach Artichoke Dip. I love the warm creamy texture with just a little bite of jalapeno. Downeast Thunder Spinach Artichoke Dip 1 - 8 ounce block of cream cheese, softened 3/4 cup mayonnaise (the real deal -...
Nesting Box Number 6 – A Popular Place
Nesting box number 6 is the place to be if you're a chicken. We have six nesting boxes in our large coop, but box number 6 is the most popular. Some days we find all of our eggs in this one box. (Seven eggs today - a record!) This is what I found...
An Afternoon with Harry Potter Monopoly
The last day of 2011 found my family gathered around the table playing Harry Potter Monopoly. New Year's Eve afternoon is typically game day served up with popcorn and appetizers. We are clearly fans of the Harry Potter book series. Hannah and I...
Snowshoeing 101
I bought snowshoes for the family for Christmas this year. We are not the most athletically-minded family, but we do live in Maine so it seems that we ought to have snowshoes. These are the entry-level, all terrain type of snowshoes that I'm sure...
Our First Christmas Without Santa
Santa didn't come to our house this year. I knew the cat was out of the bag when Hannah asked me with a knowing smile, "Why do you have Santa's wrapping paper stashed in the storage room?" You see, Santa wraps presents in this special Santa...
Merry Christmas
My great, great aunt, Elizabeth Stroble, created beautiful linoleum block print posters. She sent these to family and friends as her Christmas card. Recently, ten of these prints came to me via my mother from another relative. At Christmastime,...
A Balmy Winter Solstice
It's the first day of winter - the shortest day of the year and I weeded my garden today. Temps in the 40's makes me feel a bit silly for moving the portable banty coop onto the deck to keep these miniature chickens out of the snow. Is it a...
Owl Family Felt Ornament Patterns
Hannah and I have had great fun making these little owl ornaments to decorate our Christmas gift bags this year. For those of you looking for a fun felt project, I've put these in a pattern for you to download. Happy sewing! Click here to Download...
Hannah’s Spinach Pinwheels
Hannah stumbled across a recipe I'd pulled out of a magazine for Pepperidge Farm's Spinach-Cheese Swirls. Hannah being Hannah read the recipe through once and then did her own thing. Having recently discovered that Hannah loves spinach I've been...
A Study of Hannah
On Saturday, Hannah was gearing up for her Outdoor Club get-together. When she put her cap on it hid all her curls drawing attention to her pretty face. I had to pull out my camera just to torment her.
That Bloody Rooster
That Bloody Rooster. Really. Hannah was the first to discover some red streaks on The Colonel's neck. Upon closer inspection I saw that he had injured his comb. Curiously a couple of the Barred Rock hens are in a similar state. It seems that The...
A Little Bit Like Christmas
The weather has been decidedly un-December like for Maine. We've bounced between frigid and balmy temperatures so often that our 10" of Thanksgiving snow has disappeared. Despite the lack of Christmasy weather we've carved out some time for a...
De-Seeding a Pomegranate
I spent the week after Thanksgiving with my folks in Pennsylvania. As I was packing up the night before returning to Maine, Mom presented me with the 60 Second Pomegranate De-Seeder and said, “You can’t leave without something from Granny Gadget.”...
Introducing Granny Gadget
Blessed am I to have a wonderful mother. Although I am 40-something and live 13 hours away, Mom still does her best to take care of me. Daily phone calls, care packages, emergency cash, surprise gifts just because; the list goes on. I have always...
Mortar Box Fun on a Frosty Day
It's amazing how much fun a few ducks can have with a 2'x3' mortar box on a frosty day. Once I was finally able to defrost the garden hose! http://youtu.be/RuWV3aqH3lw Save
Go Tigers!
Hannah, age 12, is playing junior high basketball. She has a new coach this year, one who has been running their behinds off! She's learned a lot and has had to work hard. Tonight, the Milbridge Tigers won their district championship. Go Tigers! In...
Egg Count
Today we found two eggs in the coop. The last few days we found one egg a day in nesting box #6. Today's second egg was in nesting box #5 and was of a narrower shape. A little research leads me to believe that a Buff Orpington laid our first four...
