by Susan | Feb 11, 2025 | Out and About in Maine
I haven’t been very good at posting on my blog lately, as life has just been overwhelmingly busy. Many of my recent posts are about winter—probably because it dominates my current routine. Between the holidays, work, travel, family, and the unusually frigid...
by Susan | Jan 12, 2025 | Birds and Wildlife, On the Farm
It snowed for most of Saturday, covering the landscape with a fluffy three inches of snow. I enjoy being a recluse on these snowy days, cozying up on the sofa with a book and watching nature unfold. I am particularly taken with the white-breasted nuthatch that has...
by Susan | Jan 4, 2025 | Backyard Birds, Birds and Wildlife, Dogs, Insect Patterns, On the Farm, Other Patterns, Sea Life, Woodland Patterns
Our house is tucked away in the woods. When we built it 20 years ago, I wanted to bring the outdoors inside as much as possible. If my budget had supported it, I would have had walls of windows. Instead, I have five tall cottage-style windows and a set of French doors...
by Susan | Oct 11, 2024 | Out and About in Maine
The northern hemisphere has been experiencing a period of high solar activity for the past few days. As we’ve had cloudy skies and rain, I didn’t think much about going out to try to see them like I did in May. Only after seeing a friend’s pictures...
by Susan | Sep 6, 2024 | Out and About in Maine
At our house, this seems to be the year of the pumpkin. Hannah has had fun tending to her tiny pumpkin patch this summer and has begun harvesting. Orange ones. Big ones and little. Gray ones and warty ones. Her wish for this month included a visit to a pumpkin patch....
by Susan | Aug 23, 2024 | Birds and Wildlife, Out and About in Maine
This morning, Hannah and I visited with our friend, Christina, who runs a Monarch Hatchery. On our first visit to Kvetina Hatchery, she was set up in a couple of tents. This year, she upgraded her setup with a little cabin–one side dedicated to caterpillars and the...
by Susan | May 31, 2024 | Out and About in Maine
Monhegan island, ten miles from the mainland shore, ocean views galore. Weathered cottages, shingled and nestled in time, dirt roads winding through. Nature hikes, solace, time with my girl, new adventures, peaceful solitude. Five joyful days spent with women friends,...
by Susan | May 11, 2024 | Out and About in Maine
News of a solar storm and the possibility of seeing the aurora borealis in Downeast Maine had me antsy. Last night, I slept through it. This evening, I stumbled across the Space Weather Prediction Center’s 30-minute forecast, which predicted the possibility of...
by Susan | Feb 9, 2024 | Birds and Wildlife, Out and About in Maine
Hannah and I had an afternoon wander to shake off the craziness of my first week back in the office following my two-week visit with Dad in Pennsylvania. With temperature lows below freezing and daytime temps near 40, the river ice is beginning to melt. Lots of...
by Susan | Jan 15, 2024 | Out and About in Maine
Two storms hit coastal Maine this week. Each brought unprecedented high water that devastated our coastline. This picture shows the river at the base of our road, almost cresting the bridge and road at high tide. We watched the news and heard the stories from friends...
by Susan | Nov 2, 2023 | Out and About in Maine
I spotted this lone Heron wading in the shallows of our tiny little spit of riverfront. Discomfited with my presence, she took off across the river, sailing past the late autumn vista.
by Susan | Oct 24, 2023 | Out and About in Maine
The first below-freezing morning of the fall dawned with sea smoke rising from the river. And in town over Narraguagus Bay. I’ve finally had to accept it’s time to tuck away my summer shoes. There’s no denying the calendar.
by Susan | Oct 10, 2023 | Haiku, Out and About in Maine, Writing
The view at the end of my road on the way to work this morning. I was so taken with this moment that I had to stop and snap the picture. morning sun’s soft rays calm river beneath the mist moments with nature
by Susan | Oct 6, 2023 | Out and About in Maine
A few pictures from a late afternoon October beach walk in Maine. The rhythm of the waves seems to slow down time.
by Susan | Sep 25, 2023 | Out and About in Maine
Friday was my first visit to the Common Ground Fair in years. The experience is eye candy for the senses. These are some of the colors and textures that caught my eye at this harvest festival.
by Susan | Sep 22, 2023 | Haiku, Out and About in Maine, Writing
This pond early on this last morning of summer – geese swimming in the mist – was perfection.
by Susan | Jul 23, 2023 | Out and About in Maine
With Hannah working in Brunswick most of the summer, finding time for outings is hard. So I bought an air mattress, drove down Friday evening, and camped out in her temporary studio – essentially a dorm room. On Saturday, we made the 30-minute drive down to...
by Susan | Jun 15, 2023 | Out and About in Maine
One of the highlights in June along the coast of Maine is the lupines blooming. The impressive purple, pink, and white spires dot the roadsides and fields. We enjoyed this delightful field of lupin on a rare sunny afternoon. They are too beautiful not to share.
by Susan | Jun 9, 2023 | Out and About in Maine
It’s been a cloudy and cool June. I stopped waiting for the rain to go away and chanced a visit to the beach. An unscheduled outing, once there Hannah and I both realized how much we needed the meditative calm of the ocean. Mist rolled across the solitary beach...
by Susan | Apr 8, 2023 | Out and About in Maine
It’s been over three months since my last beach walk, with the better part of February and March spent in Pennsylvania. While in suburbia PA, I felt oddly disconnected from nature. Today, I relished this interlude at the beach, sitting on the rocks, soaking in...
