Violets
It strikes me that these violets in bloom by my kitchen sink look like little purple satellite dishes.
Evening Routines
We all have our evening routines. This time of year for us, it goes something like this. I head to the greenhouse to visit my plants. I'm battling powdery mildew on my spaghetti squash, something is eating my Swiss chard, and my peppers are looking...
Grilled Cheese with Spicy Green Sauce
I waxed poetic about the fabulous grilled cheese with spicy green sauce I had the other day at Chase's Daily in Belfast. I enjoyed this sandwich so much that I took a stab at recreating it. I started with this recipe for whole wheat bread. I've...
Fort Point Lighthouse
With the holiday all but upon us, and the yucky week I've had, I felt the need to get away today. Hannah's off camping with friends, so Paul and I took off for Belfast to have lunch at Chase's Daily, a fabulous farm to table vegetarian restaurant....
Farewell Ginger
My heart is broken. Ginger passed away today while I was at work. Paul found her lying outside in the afternoon sun and she simply didn't wake. Knowing that the end was near doesn't make losing her any easier. At 14+ years, it's only been the last...
Building the Greenhouse
I've been dreaming of and plotting for a greenhouse for years. The inspiration for our greenhouse came from this video on YouTube. After considering a variety of different styles (pvc, cattle panel, hoops, etc.) we opted for this design for a few...
Saturday in the Garden
It's been a most unusual spring and beginning of summer. The days have been cool - we've been lucky to break 70 degrees and the nights have been downright cold. Typically at this time of year we've got the windows open 24/7. Lately, if we open them...
Garden Lust
I had the opportunity to tour a friend's garden this weekend. The experience has me dreaming about rows of garden beds. Agribond over hoops cover a row of tomatoes started in January in their sun room. Onions planted in the fall were wintered over...
A New Perspective on Lupine
I've had fun this afternoon with this new perspective in photographing lupine in the garden. There's something very compelling about the patterns of the blossoms. The bees pull open the lupine petals with their front legs and all but climb in to...
Rainy Day Lupine Landscapes
Late spring heralds the appearance of the Lupine. Although not native to Maine, this iconic flower ties together the patchwork of the Maine landscape. Glorious fields of blue, purple, pink, and white lupine flowers always give me pause. Even on a...
The Whimsical Hummingbird Moth
The lilac's bloom heralds the arrival of the hummingbird clearwing moths. I am fascinated with these whimsical looking creatures. Clear window-pane wings, fuzzy bodies, big eyes, antenna that mimic eyelashes, and curly probiscis, they remind me of...
Purple Blossoms
Purple is the color of the day in my garden. A carpet of phlox appeals to chicken little. The lupin is in full glorious bloom, attracting big, fat, bumbling, bumble bees who shy away from my attention, and the less flashy honey bees who are...
Dandelion Seeds
I love patterns. I see them everywhere in nature - in the clouds, in the marsh grass, in the boat-shaped petals of a Lupin, in winter's drifts of snow. And in dandelion blowballs. At first glance, it's just another weed gone to seed. I have a lot...
Hidden on the Marsh
During my travels today I stopped to admire Canada Geese roaming the marsh. I snapped a few pictures, enjoying the colors and textures of the landscape. Only when I loaded the pictures on to the computer did I discover goslings camouflaged by the...
Planting in the Greenhouse
This weekend we labored on the greenhouse. And I do mean labored. Neither Paul nor I can move without whining. While we're still not finished, the top and sides are in place and fastened down - no small feat given the breezy conditions. It was like...
Phoebe Hatchlings
My last few sneak peeks at the phoebe nest with my iPhone yielded nothing but those five eggs tucked away. Until today. Perched precariously on a ladder, I slid the iPhone over the nest and snapped. What appears to be a quintuplet of baby pheobes...
Total Sweetness
Look who came to work today. Our local pediatric PA has a side gig. He and his family tend the sheep on Nash Island. Inevitably, their spring trip to Nash Island yields little lambs whose mommas aren't up to the task, and they must be bottle fed if...
Ducks at Low Tide
Low tide on a foggy, rainy, spring morning. At first glance, I didn't notice the black duck pair bathing in the remaining trickle of river. Were they left behind when the tide went out? Or did they waddle all that way across the muddy river bottom...
Hummer Profiles
This guy looks a tad bit disgruntled. I understand where the phrase "ruffled feathers" came from! I love the iridescent colors and the subtle patterns of their feathers. Different light, different moods of my favorite subject.
Suspended Animation
Greenhouse Progress
Following a ridiculous amount of manual labor this weekend, the greenhouse we started last fall is closer to being put into service. The pressure treated wood framework over two 3' x 20' hugelkultures is complete. One pvc bow is in place across the...
Osprey in Felt
Ospreys have been a theme in my life lately. They first appeared on my radar a couple of weeks ago when I photographed a pair of nesting osprey. Then, on three different occasions, I've spied a pair of them in town, diving for fish in the river, or...
Phoebe Nesting
There's been a flurry of bird activity under the lean-to this week. Curious, I ventured out back and discovered that the phoebe nest I left untouched in the rafters last summer has been re-purposed yet again. Each year the phoebes line the nest...
Blackened Barrens
One of the rites of spring in Downeast Maine is the burning of the blueberry barrens. Every other year or so, fields that cannot be mowed are burned. The solitary pine I often admire looks desolate on the burnt ocher of the barrens. Other solitary...
Of Mother’s Day and Hummingbirds
You know it's going to be a good day when the hummingbirds return for the season. I've had the feeder filled and out for a week, ready for their arrival. This morning, I enjoyed my coffee and book on the porch, wrapped in a blanket in deference to...
