A Close Call
We've had a rough year with our farm animals. One night a few months ago, I forgot to lock the duckies in the house at dusk. The next morning I found feathers and our drake missing. Knowing that I was responsible has been hard to accept. I set a...
The Musical Bowhead Whale
The Bowhead whale - one of the longest living whales found only in the Arctic regions. A fitting start to my 2021 patterns. Enjoy!
New Year’s Day on the Hollingsworth Trail
We spent New Year's Day hiking the Hollingsworth Trail. What's usually an hour walk turned into a few hours on the trail. I was eager to begin 2021 outdoors. The temp was just above freezing with little to no wind - a perfect day for a hike,...
The Leisurely Right Whale
Hannah has started putting whales in sweaters. It started with this Christmas wreath she created for the WHRL Christmas Tree Festival and Auction earlier in the month. Her whale enchantment continues there, so I, too, am back on the whale theme. My...
Deer Whispering
Hannah alerted me the other day that some of the young deer had been nibbling from the leftover duck food. This morning, I spotted a trio of deer in the yard, a baby searching for food. When I stepped outside, they bounded off to the woods. When...
A Sunday Walk
With temperatures above freezing and the sun shinning, Hannah and I ventured out for a walk in the woods. It felt good to move and breath in the fresh air.
Mary’s COVID Christmas Tree
My first felt ornaments were the family of owls that grace the top of my blog. I had such fun creating those that in January 2012, I designed my first bird pattern - the Black-capped Chickadee. Since then, I've designed and shared (for free...
Gifts From The Heart
A lovely Christmas day is coming to a close. The best part of this holiday was spending yesterday with Hannah cooking Christmas dinner. Our tipsy-looking Christmas tree has been such a bright spot the past few weeks, standing watch over carefully...
Merry Christmas!
In the light of COVID-19 turning our lives upside down, I've had an unusually quiet December with plenty of time to plan for a peaceful Christmas at home with Hannah and Paul. Gifts have been wrapped and under the tree for a week (except for the...
The Radiant Red Crossbill
Such a curious bird with their large ungainly bills. My new red felt - Strawberry Dreams is the perfect shade for this Red Crossbill felt ornament. Enjoy!
Gidget’s Fifth Christmas Season
Gidget is such an integral part of our lives that it's odd to think that this is only her fifth Christmas with us. We celebrated the season with a new Christmas scarf and an impromptu photoshoot. It took a few takes and the promise of a cookie to...
Late Afternoon Light
We took the scenic route home from work today. Sixteen degrees outside meant we took most of our photos from the comfort of the car. Truly the calm before the storm.
Downeast Thunder Farm Christmas Flower
While in Pennsylvania last month, I picked up a couple of these flower decorations from the Christmas section at Hobby Lobby. I very much like how they look on my Joyful Owl wreaths. Last week during our trip to the big city (Bangor), I hoped to...
My Custom Storage Bin Shelves
My tiny office is home to two desks (mine and Hannah's), a couple of file cabinets, a chest of drawers, my work table, and other miscellany that gets dumped. Still, I have piles and bins stacked everywhere. I've been browsing the interweb searching...
Hannah’s Magical Dory and Friends Christmas Tree
COVID-19 has changed so many things this year. Possibly the best silver lining has been to have Hannah home since Thanksgiving. As a result, we've been able to work together on donations for WHRL's Christmas Tree Festival. I organize the event for...
Freedom to Explore
After quarantining for a week, waiting on my COVID-19 test results since I traveled out of state to bring Hannah home, it felt good to get our about today. My test results came back today - negative (Hannah got hers before leaving campus). We...
The Cool Christmas VW Bus
Sometimes I forget that I've made patterns. Or I make patterns and forget to share them. The Cool Christmas VW Bus felt ornament pattern is one I designed but never got around to creating. If I wait for that to happen, another Christmas will go by...
A Tufted Titmouse Felt Square
This felt square comes to you from Hannah. She left for college with a stash of my felt for some crafting in her down time. (Stay tuned for her amazing free for the Christmas Tree Festival!) She designed this square around my Tufted Titmouse...
White-tail Deer Fawn Christmas Stocking
Our WHRL Christmas Tree Festival is three weeks away. We've made the difficult decision, due to COVID-19, to have the event entirely online this year. A month ago, the plan was to have bidding online, but an extended window of time for folks to...
The Playful Pig
When folks ask for or suggest a pattern, I don't always jump on it. My life is a little crazy, with multiple part-time jobs that make up the whole. And then there's my love of designing these felt birds and critters - the side gig. The pattern...
A Glorious Tufted Titmouse Pair
Only once have I spotted a Tufted Titmouse here at Downeast Thunder Farm. That made today's activity at the feeder incredibly exciting. A Tufted Titmouse pair. I love those big eyes that seem to look in your soul. They were very skittish. Their...
A Most Unusual Visitor
Last night, it was quite late when I put the ducks away. I had to chase them out of the pond, which is never fun. As I closed their door, I spotted a large bird sitting on the roof of the "lean-to" where we keep the duck food. It startled the wits...
Downeast Thunder Farm Moose Christmas Stocking
I'm still struggling with ideas for this year's WHRL Christmas Tree Festival. I seriously lack inspiration for trees and wreaths beyond the Joyful Owl Wreath I do in some form each year. I could repeat some of the other felt bird and critter trees...
Autumn’s First Snow
This isn't the earliest it's snowed here in Coastal Maine. We've had some white stuff in October too. It's been less than six months since our last snow. I love all of the seasons and the first snow of the season feels magical. We got about three...
Sweet Snowflake Ornaments
I'm searching for inspiration and playing with ideas for WHRL's Christmas Tree Festival. I designed these snowflake patterns with thoughts of decorations for a Christmas wreath. I'm not sure where that idea is going but thought I'd share the...
