The Hummer Boys Are Back!
Hopeful, I first put the hummingbird feeder up on May 1st. I'm not sure when they arrived, but I spotted my first hummer on Sunday - May 8th. At first, it was a lone male. Today the aerial shows began with the arrival of another male. I spent the...
Mother’s Day on the Porch
Hannah arrived this morning with plans to spend the day doing whatever I wanted and cook dinner for me. She brought this beautiful bouquet. I think she was as excited to give it to me as I was to receive it. It was spectacular - created by our...
Weekend Beach Ramble
Hannah lured me away from the lethargic rut I found myself in this weekend. We hoped in the car, destination unknown, and ended up at the beach in Addison. While the outing wasn't the hike I knew my body needed, the stroll in the brisk air felt...
The Prickly Porcupine
The Prickly Porcupine represents the many porcupines that live in the Maine woods. I opted to use washed wool-poly blend felt for this guy to give him more texture. He's a simple pattern from my punch list of critters for the critter pattern book...
Bald Eagle Courtship
Bald Eagles have been out in large numbers by the river this week. I spotted at least eight adult and juvenile eagles dancing about in the sky. Watching them, I was reminded that I need a bigger lens!I understand the acrobatics are part of their...
Geese Nesting on Beaver Dams
In my wanderings today, I was happy to see the Canada Geese pairing up and nesting. I love the new marsh grass sprouting all around this fellow. It seems that every patch of water had a pair of geese. Check out the beaver dam - a goose nesting in...
Wood Cardinal
Here's the SVG file for my original wood veneer Cardinal from December 2021 in SVG format. I hope you enjoy this Cardinal! I've had many requests to share the SVG files for these birds. I've opted to do so with the understanding that I'm a Cricut...
Wood Bluebird
This Bluebird was a favorite gift last Christmas. Create him from wood veneer or paper with your Cricut machine. I've had many requests to share the SVG files for these birds. I've opted to do so with the understanding that I'm a Cricut user...
Wood Chickadee
The Chickadee is my favorite of the wood veneer birds I created in December 2021. I hope you can create something fun with this Chickadee SVG file. I've had many requests to share the SVG files for these birds. I've opted to do so with the...
Wood Song Sparrow
I've played a bit more with wood birds on my Cricut Maker 3. This Song Sparrow is designed more like a puzzle than my other wood birds. On this one, I used scraps, so I didn't put much thought into the direction of the wood grain. The result would...
A Stay At Fisher House
I was home from my 12-day Pennsylvania trip for just two nights before I was on the road again. This time to Togus VA Medical Center in Augusta, Maine, with Paul, where he had surgery to remove a tumor from his neck. His surgery went as well as it...
River Otter on the Bear Cam
A river otter (I think) briefly caught on the bear cam this morning. We’re .3 of a mile from the river. I can’t imagine the duck pond holds that much appeal, but who knows. This is a first!
Nancy’s Eastern Tailed-Blue Butterfly
My recent trip home to my parent's home was supposed to be purely fun. What was unanticipated was mom spending a week in the hospital and undergoing emergency surgery. I sewed this little butterfly while sitting in the OR waiting room, trying to...
The Lively Ladybug
.I found this ladybug pattern languishing on my iPad. I designed it some time ago but never made it. I'm not very good at cutting nice even circles so I used a paper hole bunch for these. I hope you enjoy this little weekend project! If you are...
The American Copper Butterfly
The next installment in the butterfly theme is the American Copper. Once again, the limitations of felt colors challenged me. But an endless supply of felt colors could be a problem for me! Rather than tiny pieces of felt for the spots, I used...
The Handsome Black Swallowtail Butterfly
Hannah has a vision for a butterfly tree for this year's WHRL Christmas Tree Festival. She gave me a punch list of butterflies to work my way through. The Black Swallowtail is the first of a few to come. Enjoy! If you're reading this from your...
The Solitary Groundhog
Having been born in Punxsutawney, PA, my father's hometown, groundhogs (aka woodchucks and marmots) have long been part of our family culture. Gobbler's Knob (where Punxsutawney Phil emerges every February 2nd) was just a walk up the road from my...
First Sea Glass of the Season
I finally made my first trip to the beach this year. Granted, I drive by the ocean almost every day, but this is the first day I've taken time for a walk with my girl. We both needed the fresh air and the sound of the waves. Bundled as we were the...
The Great American Bison
The American Bison (or Buffalo) has been an often-requested pattern. For me, getting this felt critter right has been all about texture since they are shaggy beasts. I used Light Brown for the body and Safari Brown (a heathered felt) for the upper...
Sunny and Sixty. In February.
Sunny and 60 degrees - in February. Ten hours and 47 minutes of glorious daylight. The momentum toward spring is eclipsed only by Friday's forecast of 19 degrees and 7 inches of snow.
The Maine Bobcat
My next pattern book will feature my critters. I'm trying to work through the other Maine animals that need to be included - like the bobcat. Trying to find just the right felt color for this one is challenging. You can choose to make him with a...
The Impressive Yellow-headed Blackbird
Struggling a bit to find my creative mojo again, I tackled this Yellow-headed Blackbird. He's not something you'll find in Maine, but the basic color pattern appealed to my desire for uncomplicated. You all west of the Mississippi are likely...
Wood Veneer Column Lights
In December, I shared my first project created with my Cricut Maker 3 - Downeast Thunder Farm birds made from wood veneer. At the same time, I was working on another Cricut Maker 3 project that I couldn't share until after Christmas. Inspired by...
Family and Tradition
My paternal grandfather, John Reynolds Bender, attended Wittenberg University in the early 1930s. My mom attended in the late 1950s, and the tradition continued when I graduated from Wittenberg in 1986. This picture of grandpa is from the 1934 WU...
A Most Curious Experience
The snow had just started to fall this morning as I lounged on the sofa, sipping my coffee. A swoop outside the window caught my attention. A Red-tailed Hawk sat high in the branches of the birch tree. I ran for my camera, but he was gone when I...
