Good Day Sunshine! 07/10/2009
 And here we are again at 6:45 this morning...gorgeous sunshine! We finally built a firepit yesterday and burned heaps of trash from the shed last night for a roaring bonfire! That thing back there with the tarp over it is the chicken tractor we borrowed from the Post Farm and has all our meat birds and turkeys in it....enjoying the fresh grass and sunshine. There's Babycakes, too. I'm reading Pat Parelli's Natural Horsemanship book right now...and managed to just slip the bridle on Baby for the first time yesterday. In fact I did it a couple of times...no halter...no rope....just me and the bridle out in her pasture! What I thought might be some horrendous adventure turned into a total non-event. Whew! This 'playing with your horse' concept really works! : D  And Caitlyn wanted to play with the 'dough' out on the deck this morning. It's nothing but some cheap old flour and water...and has amounted to hours of entertainment during these past rainy days! And here's where I've parked myself this morning...loving the view and soaking up the rays! This is the deck life I've been fantasizing about all winter...and all wet Spring! Could it be that Summer is truly here at last?? : D  Ready to Ride! 06/08/2009
 Oh I remember those days so well! Back when I was about her age...or younger!...eagerly waiting for that precious moment when my uncles and grandpa would finally announce, "What'd ya say we go saddle up some horses!"  And here's Heather....riding pretty Caretta...loving every last second of it! Can you see that huge grin?? : D   Caitlyn's a little younger...and not quite so sure of this big animal! She's used to our smaller pony, Babycakes, and this one looks rather intimidating! But she's gathered up her courage and she's decided she's ready to ride! Go Caitlyn!   After a few minutes, Caitlyn begins to relax...and decides this is pretty fun after all! Her smile gets bigger and bigger with every round!  And here's little one...patiently waiting for her turn...still not so sure she wants to ride this big horse either. But Caitlyn's now raving about how much fun it is...  So she musters her courage and gets up there, too! Woo hoo! Go Asheley!  And in a few minutes she decides she loves this ridin' stuff, too! Young Andrew's still over there in the backyard playing with dogs...we'll see if he gets ready to ride pretty soon! Meanwhile, Asheley's sittin' pretty and thinks sweet Caretta should come home with us! Ha! We'll continue this saga tomorrow! : D  Pontoon on the Pond and Other Idiosyncrasies 05/26/2009
 
    But once we found the favorite beach they were looking for...lo and behold! We got sunshine!!   Keep in mind that this was frozen ice not too long ago!! Don't ask me how they do it...but even our littlest one just had to go for a swim in these icy waters...that they kept assuring me between blue lips... "was not cold!"   And here's Baily again....feeling very appreciative to be on solid ground! The wobbly boat is not exactly this dog's scene...and neither are chips. That white thing there next to him on the sand is a potato chip....being rather disdainfully ignored. I've honestly never seen a dog that will completely ignore potato chips when offered! Have you?? Amazing! Dogs and their idiosyncrasies...  Just a couple of feet away, however, the chips are most certainly not being ignored!  Then the sun began to disappear again and with chattering teeth and limbs, we got children out of wet stuff and into warm-ups. More such idiosyncrasies of Maine! And off we went for a scenic cruise on Moosehead Pond....that's really a lake....that's been hiding behind the forest of trees not far from us! You got it...the idiosyncrasies of Maine! : D Foraging Fiddleheads 05/17/2009
 Does this look like fiddlehead foraging attire?? Well, I'll tell ya somethin'...those prairie women knew what they were up to when they designed these bonnets! They keep the black flies off better than most hats do with their wide bill over the face and ruffle over the neck in the back. I was wishing I had one myself!  Families in the past held fiddlehead locations as closely held information. If you were to ask an old-timer in Maine where he found his fiddleheads, he'd probably say something like..."the woods".....and that, most likely, would be ALL he'd say!  Well, as coincidence might have it, 'our woods' seem to be a fiddlehead-growin' paradise! My husband has found the 'spots' and we've loaded up bags of these little plants...   The 'fiddlehead'...don't ask me how it got its name....I can guess...and so can you...which would be kinda fun!...is the early unfurled part of a particular type of fern. This is what they look like...   And, yes, I do definitely recommend machetes and babydolls...and perhaps a prairie bonnet and pantaloons.... for the best success in foraging fiddleheads. You can opt out on these crucial necessities if you want to....but just don't blame me if you have a tough time with your fiddlehead foraging... I warned you.... just ignore me if you want.... however I'm no longer responsible...   So go have some fun foraging! You might just hit the fiddlehead jackpot sweepstakes in an area near you!! I'll tell ya how we've prepared 'em tomorrow. Now get to gathering!! : D  Spring and Beach Breezes 05/05/2009
 
 
 
 Loving the Lean-to 03/11/2009
 Yesterday happened to be a gorgeous March day in Maine...upwards of 40 degrees, bright and sunny with hardly any wind. Perfect!! It also happened to be my husband, Andrew's, birthday so we decided to spend the afternoon over on our land....where he's constructed a rough lean-to...  We invited the neighbors to join us...a trek down to the woods...where even though the snow has majorly melted since last week...it's still way over the knees in many places...just ask Sherry who kept falling through...especially down here in the woods!!  We dug out the snow under the lean-to (that's a tarp over the top...soon to be covered with saplings) then dug a pit for a bonfire...  This is looking out east from the lean-to toward the open field that's our back pasture....  I know...it's hard to see...just behind the bright red sled is the lean-to...if you can make out the slanted roof...and all that smoke coming up. That wood did NOT want to burn yesterday!!  We all donned the skis and snow shoes. More of our friends are grabbing the gear from the thrift stores now. They're trying to get their families outfitted, too...so we can all get around in these beautiful winter woods!! And enjoy more fabulous days like today!  These are my snazzy new XC ski boots I grabbed for only $2...that go on the more modern fancy bindings...even though I still love the old-fashioned 3-pin kind, too!!  Lots of activity under the lean-to! Mozzarella cheese and crackers, carrots and dip, and Heather brought hot cocoa fresh from Hope...her Jersey cow! Very yummy!!    As you can see, the children were everywhere...having a blast! Our son even built his own little lost-in-the-woods shelter out of cedar branches that he cut with his own hatchet axe...a great idea he got out of our Pioneer Sampler book!  Old and new...and lean-to, too....made for a wonderful birthday afternoon...perfectly made for Maine!!  Snow Storm 02/23/2009
 I think this might officially be called a blizzard...perhaps not. At any rate, it's a BIG snow storm...with howling non-stop winds...  After the plow truck came, our drift in front is at least 8 ft. tall now! And little Andrew has been digging snow tunnels...but it's filling up again fast!  As you can see, however, the ski troops are not deterred...  Yep, Caitlyn's down...but it's intentional this time! They plop down periodically to shovel snow into their mouths!  Up again and off they go! While I go in to warm my toes!! Am I the only smart one in this family or what...??  Winter Pot Pourri 02/17/2009
 The first part of our pot pourri would be....pantaloons for Heather!! I finally have gotten around to sewing up pantaloons in her favorite fabric that she picked out a few weeks ago! Better late than never...   Now we just have Asheley left to 'pantaloon up'...but she hasn't picked out her fabric yet... whew!  We also met our friends from over in Plymouth at the Pinnacle this past week...for some slippin', slidin', sleddin', and skiing! What a workout...and what a blast!! : D  Our other tid-bit of pot pourri is that we're closing in on XC ski gear for the family! Yay! We found a super bargain from a guy in the U. Henry's (sort of like a locals Craig's List kinda thing) who happened to have various sized boots and skis in kid's sizes! So Heather's now outfitted...   Some little snow shoes for Asheley...  We moved Caitlyn up to some slightly longer skis...   So now Asheley can try this XC ski thing out, too!  Our son now is outfitted with some skis his size...hubby and I still have to do some swapping out...but we're definitely closing in on the snow equipment here!  This is called Criss-Cross Skiing here...which we all do on a regular basis!  However, Asheley somehow manages to work in her very own ski lift...with handsome lift operator, too....how does she do that..??  Finally, our winter pot pourri brings us to a gorgeous mid-winter sunset...taken by Heather...she LOVES capturing our beautiful sunsets...among many other things!  I've also just finished a book this week that I've been meaning to borrow from my friend, Karyn, for quite some time. Back in November, my homesteader friend, Heather, asked me if I'd heard of Joel Salatin. I hadn't, but turns out our other 2 homestead neighbors had a couple of his books. If only I'd gotten to it sooner!  Sled Party 02/05/2009
 Harlow Post popped his head in the door this past Sunday and invited us down for an impromptu sled party! His granddaughter, Emma, turned five this week! Happy Birthday Emma!  We're very much regulars at the Post Family Farm...their whole family (including Harlow's parents...Emma's great-grandparents) shares 100 acres and his daughters and their husbands are now in the process of building their own log homes on this multi-generational land. It's wonderful to see families facing modern times with old-fashioned values!! Great inspiration!  And now for some good old-fashioned winter fun!!  First trails through the deep powder!   Sled trail through the trees...for the truly adventurous!   Ride's over...now the trudge back up the hill!  Asheley 'hopping like a bunny' sequence...   Whew! That snow bunny can jump!  More rosy cheeks!  We later put on the downhill skis...as well as the cross-country skis and did some real schussing! Don't worry...we'll be back soon!  Snow Icing 01/19/2009
  Out our door...  |  Summer Fun!
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