A Grinch-free Christmas
Despite COVID-19 the WHRL's Christmas Tree Festival is a go for the first weekend in December. It has to look different this year. We'll be open for viewing of trees and wreaths over a more extended period with limited admission at any given time....
The Greedy Grackle
If you've ever had Grackles at your feeder, you'll understand why in bird-speak that flock is called a "plague." They will clean out a feeder faster than any other bird I've seen. Yet yesterday, a beautiful, inky, iridescent Grackle came to visit....
Iridescent Grackle
Grackles are beautiful with their inky iridescent feathers. I enjoy them when they are not bullies at the feeder. This guy showed off his color - and good behavior today. They always seem to visit in the fall - or at least that's when I notice...
An Unusual Umbrella
These are not my best photos. It was pouring this morning. Outside the living room window I saw this odd movement and thought it was a skunk. Upon closer inspection it was not - but I’ve never before seen this. Now I know what that tail is really...
Autumn Panoramas
Cruising along US Route 1 today, the ocean shined a bright sea green - almost a verdigris - the perfect foil for the autumn leaves.
October Monarch
Paul built this great Monarch Nursery for me this year, but it didn't get much use. With Hannah returning to college earlier than usual, we didn't get into caterpillar search mode the way we have in past years. Yet, at the end of August, I found...
October at Red Point
This weekend we were blessed with sun and temps in the 60s. After working much of Saturday and ending the day feeling disgruntled (ask me sometime about losing me losing my temper over the missing meatballs), I needed to get outdoors. We went for a...
Chasing Geese
I very much enjoy the Canada Geese, who summer in Maine - especially the babies. In spring and early summer, Hannah and I will venture out in search of goslings. It's a bit of a different scenario at Milbridge Commons Wellness Park. WHRL, in...
Announcing Downeast Thunder Farm’s Backyard Birds Book
Welp, I've pulled the trigger, and my second pattern book, Downeast Thunder Farm Backyard Birds I: Felt Ornament Patterns, is now available for pre-order. This book has been in the works since February. You'd think COVID-19 quarantine would have...
Autumn Chickadees
A gray autumn day brightened for a few house hours allowing me to work on the porch (under a blanket) for a bit. Somehow laboring away on my computer while outdoors makes it feel less like work. Camera at the ready I enjoyed the Chickadees zooming...
Last Days of Summer
This last weekend of summer, I spent two glorious afternoons on the porch. The days are starting frosty, warming up to tolerable by mid-day. Sadly, I took down and packed away the porch screens until next Spring. As much as I loved being able...
The Covert Common Yellowthroat
I first spotted a Common Yellowthroat Warbler in the marshy area next to the beach. A few weeks later I spied one lurking in the branches of my lilac bushes. I haven't seen once since, but I've heard the song. Enjoy! [sdm_download id="36553"...
A Captive Target
Since returning in mid-August from the college drop-off in Ohio, it seems like Autumn has made an early appearance. Today, when it felt warmer outdoors than in, I moved my "office" back to the porch. Gidget was first to alert me that we had an...
Happiness in a Sunflower
I'm not the only one who finds happiness in a sunflower. I snapped these pictures this afternoon while checking in on the WHRL's Incredible Edible Garden at the Red Barn Motel. A pair of goldfinches feasted on the sunflower seeds. They were shy,...
Late Summer Hummers
I haven't taken many bird photos this summer; the porch screens interfere with the opportunities. Yet today's show outside had me washing the sole kitchen window in which I'd left the screen out. A couple of late summer ruby-throated hummingbirds...
Sunflowers
Two hours from home, in Bradford, Maine, is a sunflower maze. I've wanted to visit a sunflower farm, and this sounded like a close second, so Paul and I adventured there this afternoon. My timing wasn't ideal as it was late in the day, and all of...
A Hawk Amongst the Shorebirds
It's shorebird migration time here, Downeast. I've not had time to get to the beach to watch, but I paused today when I saw them in the marshy area near the river today. I'm not sure if they are Sandpipers, Yellowlegs, or something else. The red...
Blooms and Bees
Nothing to see here but a girl who spent a happy hour today photographing blooms and bees.
Full Moon Pigeon Hill Hike
I've hiked Pigeon Hill dozens of times - usually with Hannah - but we've never ventured out for the full moon. Downeast Coastal Conservancy organized a full moon hike this evening. I asked Paul if he wanted to go with. He said, "You're not getting...
The Maine Mourning Cloak
I first discovered the Mourning Cloak butterfly during my trip with Hannah to the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden this summer. I learned that this big, bold, butterfly actually overwinters in Maine. This is a one-sided ornament that I turned into a...
Bring on Fall with DTF’s Free Vintage Autumn Truck Pattern
In our neck of the woods, the nights have suddenly turned crisp - a reminder that we're on the downside of summer. The stores have dishes, signs, and textiles featuring trucks loaded with pumpkins. While I'm not ready to break out the pumpkin...
Lake Retreat
It's been five months since I spent more than a few moments in my colleagues' company. Today, in place of our typical Wednesday Zoom meeting, we had the opportunity to gather outdoors at Gardner Lake for a staff retreat. I enjoyed five hours of...
Senior Year at Denison University Underway
It's 1036 miles from Milbridge to Granville, Ohio. We made the trip to college this year with a couple of stops along the way and moved Hannah into her new apartment suite on Friday. She's in a building of four-person apartments. Each student has a...
The Science of Sea Glass
Low on motivation this afternoon, I talked Hannah into joining me on an outing to explore a new trail to the shore I learned about this week. She said she'd go but wasn't up for a big hike. It turns out that the trail was just our speed. A short...
Party on the Porch
Hannah's 21st birthday yesterday was a quiet day at home, laying low and enjoying life. The menu was the traditional birthday lobster and Hannah's favorite "cheesy potatoes." Paul surprised her with a gorgeous "campus cruiser" bicycle. She had been...
