Sunday Morning Visitor
It's not often that I see gray squirrels. Typically it's the little red ones who work at my bird feeders. This morning, the rain didn't stop this guy from making an attempt at a free meal. Although he wasn't entirely immune to the rain. He watched...
Warm Days, Long Shadows
Today brought another round of record-breaking temperatures to Downeast Maine. The long shadows of winter belied the springlike weather. Less than one week into winter found me lounging in a chair in front of the pond taking in the sights. The...
Gifts at Christmas
As I snuggled down in bed last night, Christmas Eve, I commented to Paul that Hannah didn't negotiate a wake-up time for Christmas morning. Our 15-year-old is growing up. What a gift to be able to sleep in on Christmas morning! Yet, at 6:45 a.m....
Merry Christmas!
My grandmother’s aunt, Elizabeth Stroble, created this beautiful linoleum block print when she lived in St.Paul, Minnesota (the 1940s-1950s). Carved with the help of her students, she sent these to family and friends as her Christmas card. This is...
Christmas Past: Our First Home-Grown Christmas Tree
A few readers have shared their experiences with home-grown Christmas trees with me. Reading one of these messages this morning made me reflect on our first home-grown tree. It was December 2004 and our first holiday in Maine. A 27' camper trailer...
Winter’s First Sunrise
Working the Wood Pile
This is what eight cords of wood look like when delivered. Every day the weather permits, Paul spends part of the day in the wood lot, cutting and splitting. Old Blue, limping along with a failing clutch, is Paul's trusty steed on this project....
What 1-3 Inches Looks Like
This is what 1-3 inches of snow looks like in Downeast Maine. It must be tough to be the weather man. What I expected to be a "dusting" or even rain turned out to be a 12 inches. It was a winter wonderland fitting for a Christmas card. A week of...
The Wiley Coyote
The sound of the yip-yip-yipping of the coyotes in the distance at night never fails to give me the shivers. This coyote was on the drawing board for my Maine Woods Christmas tree, but I ran out of time, so he stands alone. Right-click here and...
With Eyes Too Big For The Living Room
Our tradition of harvesting our own tree from the property started when the family budget didn’t permit the luxury of visiting the local tree farm. Despite a mostly balanced budget these days, our home grown tree tradition continues. On Sunday,...
A Winter’s White Tail Fawn
This little white-tail deer fawn made her first appearance on my Maine Woods Christmas Tree. I do believe she is my favorite ornament to date. Do I say that about them all? I hope you have as much fun with her as I have! Here's how I handled the...
Sunrise
I'm not often up for sunrise in the summer, but this time of year I catch many of them. Each sunrise is unique. This morning was too gray and blustery for the sun to make an appearance. But, yesterday's sunrise was spectacular. While Monday's...
Look Who’s Coming to Dinner
Someone looks a bit out of place.
Maine Woods Christmas Tree Auction
The theme of my tree for this year's WHRL Christmas Tree Auction is the Maine Woods Christmas Tree. This tree will be featured at the Women's Health Resource Library's silent auction along with 24 other trees. Here's the run down on my 3 1/2 foot...
The Shy Snowshoe Hare
One of the things I enjoy most about winter is being able to easily follow and identify the tracks of the critters who live in our woods. The snowshoe hare has already made an appearance in the dark of night. Here's hoping he doesn't find my lilac...
Grandma Strobel’s Cranberry Salad
I never met my maternal great grandmother, Estelle Strobel. Yet, she is part of every Thanksgiving in our home. I don't know where she got the recipe for her Cranberry Salad, but it's been a holiday staple for every generation in our family since....
Time and Mother Nature Conspiring Against Me
I've mentioned my greenhouse from time to time. We've been planning a green house for years. We started small with two variations of a cover for my raised beds. We talked of a hoop house and then possibly re-purposing a tent frame structure into a...
Trees in Silhouette
Bare winter trees in silhouette against a setting sun.
The Bashful Black Bear
Bashful you ask? That's what our neighborhood bear seems to be, spotted only on wildlife camera. Now, this is a good thing. You'll find this bear much more fun to have around! Right click here and select "save target as" (on a PC) to save this bear...
Lemon Blossom
I have this sad little Meyer lemon tree. Mom (Granny Gadget) sent it to me last year. From the looks of it you'd think I'd done everything in my power to kill the poor thing. It has five leaves. And for some reason the dog likes to eat the dirt out...
Paul’s Tee Shirt Quilt
As I sit here grumbling about the early deep freeze mother nature has delivered, Paul is snuggled up toasty warm under his tee shirt quilt. The other year for Christmas, I made this quilt for him out of a collection of his old t-shirts. Shirts he...
Snow Day
The first snow day of the year is upon us. What better way to spend a Friday than snuggled warm inside watching the world turn white outdoors. It's rare to see snow on the ground when the pond is not frozen. I wish the duckies could enjoy the pond...
The All American Turkey
Just in time for Thanksgiving, I bring you the turkey! I can't tell you how many times I've started and then abandoned a turkey pattern. When the bird's colors are so subtle and of the same family it's challenging to come up with a design that is...
November Sunset
The Entertaining Red Squirrel
We enjoy the little red squirrels that live in our woods. Their antics as they try to raid the bird feeders are so very entertaining and provide lots of great photo ops. Your bird feeders are safe from this squirrel who comes with his own acorn. To...
