by Susan | Jun 26, 2012 | On My Mind
We’ve had a bit of rain lately. Well, more like torrential downpours. I can’t remember the last dry day we had. My weeds are flourishing and the garden is waterlogged! Here’s a quick visual. This is our pond last week when we launched the ducks for...
by Susan | Jun 19, 2012 | On My Mind
Do you know what is the trouble with country living? It’s not the pot holey gravel road on which we live. It’s not our looong pot holey gravel drive to the house that we have to plow in the winter. It’s not the wildlife that threatens our critters....
by Susan | Jun 13, 2012 | On My Mind
I was out of town on business the past two days. When I talked with Paul on the phone last night and asked about how he spent his day he said, “Sweetie, I rocked your world.” I’ve heard that line before. Only this time he rocked my pond. Landscaping...
by Susan | May 20, 2012 | On My Mind
It was a glorious weekend here. Sunny and seventies. It would have been perfection but for the black flies. Insidious little things. Did you know they have serrated teeth? My legs – a minefield of red swollen bites are proof. Lots of things happened at Downeast...
by Susan | May 13, 2012 | On My Mind
The hummingbirds returned on Friday. I put sugar-water out for them a few days before that, just to be ready in case they arrived early this year. But, like clockwork the hummingbirds returned on May 11 as they do every year. So on this Mother’s Day, I took my...
by Susan | Apr 26, 2012 | On My Mind
A curious sight caught my attention this evening. Our resident squirrel is building her nest and she’s accessorized with this scrap of fabric from a long-forgotten scarecrow. Just a few weeks ago we saw her trying to pull this scrap from where it was entangled...
by Susan | Apr 25, 2012 | On My Mind
The night is loud outside my window tonight. What do you suppose is making all this noise?...
by Susan | Apr 9, 2012 | On My Mind
This cute little guy caught our attention on Easter Sunday. We found him just outside the living room window tugging on a piece of fabric that was stuck in a bush – a remnant of a long forgotten scarecrow. He tried and tried, but couldn’t work it free....
by Susan | Mar 31, 2012 | On My Mind
I couldn’t help but admire Paul’s creative use of recycled materials for birthday wrap. I especially appreciated the ribbon – it does finish things off, don’t you think? Using my felt bird ornaments as models, Hannah drew for me a very special...
by Susan | Mar 15, 2012 | On My Mind
All the snow was gone and the smell of Spring was in the air. Then we woke up to this. The weather man totally missed this snow forecast – five inches of snow. Nobody seems particularly excited about it. Although snow does have a way of defining beauty in the...
by Susan | Mar 11, 2012 | On My Mind
A week after tapping 12 trees we did our second round of sap collection. All together we’ve collected about 8+ gallons of sap – enough for about 12 ounces of syrup. The nights have been cold with daytime temps anywhere between 32 and 58. The coming week is...
by Susan | Mar 4, 2012 | On My Mind
We have been planning our entry into the world of Maple Sugaring since we purchased a book on sugaring last fall at the Common Ground Fair. Intending to start small, we purchased a dozen stainless steel Maple taps, plastic tubing, and saved gallon milk jugs. This...
by Susan | Mar 2, 2012 | On My Mind
Me, in my PJs and fleece, walking Hannah to the meet the school bus this morning.
by Susan | Feb 26, 2012 | On My Mind
It’s February and we’re in Downeast Maine. And this crazy little Viola? Yesterday it was t-shirt weather. Today it’s bitter cold with winds howling through like a freight train. Yet signs of Spring are waging an impudent challenge to the calendar. In...
by Susan | Feb 20, 2012 | On My Mind
Here’s a little camera experiment to compare my new cool SLR camera to my old cool camera. This is a buff in the box picture taken a week or so ago with my Kodak Z981 set on automatic. This is a buff in the box taken yesterday with the new Canon Revel 3Ti SLR...
by Susan | Feb 15, 2012 | On My Mind
These are cute little tracks leading right up to the edge of the house. I’m just hoping whoever it is hasn’t taken up residence!
by Susan | Feb 8, 2012 | Family, On My Mind
She works her way up the court – a scowl on her face – a fierce competitor to be reckoned with. She looks like she’s one tough cookie. The truth is she’s such a nice kid that she worries about being aggressive on the court!...
by Susan | Feb 7, 2012 | On My Mind
As part of her seventh grade health class, Hannah created an account at ChooseMyPlate.org. Choose My Plate is a web site produced by the USDA that helps you track your meals and encourages you to make healthy eating choices. It dovetails well with our family...
by Susan | Jan 28, 2012 | On My Mind
We’ve been living in this house we built ourselves for seven years now. Suddenly it seems that we are having a rash of appliance failures. First, there was Hannah’s television, just a couple of months out of warranty (of course). She does not have a...
by Susan | Jan 19, 2012 | On My Mind
Moonset from my kitchen window this morning.
