Summer!

Despite the fact that it has rained almost every day for months, summer has indeed arrived in Maine. Beautiful flowers have been gracefully making their appearance and my garden is growing...slowly, slowly growing. Moon Dog Market and the Acadia Farmer's Market are in full swing...you can find me in Town Hill on Mount Desert Island every Friday, selling beautiful flowers and veggies from Sunflower Gardens as well as from other farmers in our area. Willa and Nettie dutifully go with me every day, and when in their better moods are great helpers.

Slugs have been my worst nightmare this year, devouring all my baby lettuce sprouts in one night. Here is one happily munching on a lupine down the road on one of our walks.

Nettie, Tom, and Willa atop the sandpit after Bar Harbor's 4th of July Parade. They had quite a time sliding down after their "hike"!

A pretty columbine that grows near the old homestead down our road, along with apple trees, hundreds of day lillies, poppies, and wild flowers such as flocks, lupines, daisies and black eyed susans. It is truely a beautiful road for our walks, and the girls love picking flowers as we go.

Planting Day

We spent yesterday in the field...tilling and planting. The blackflies are out, but still just flying around and not biting, so I wanted to get as much done as I could! It is so exciting to see our first planting of peas, spinach, radishes, and onions sprouting their little heads and imagining all the great fresh food to come. Willa and Nettie have become great helpers in the garden, really getting into planting tiny little seeds. I'm realizing just how big and independent they are getting to be. They spent part of the afternoon picking bluets, and Willa decorated her fairy houses by the stream with tiny bouquets tucked in peanut shells.

Happy, happy chickens finally getting some fresh greens in their diets. And Tom could not be happier than when he's behind the tiller! Harvest Moon (our yellow lab and inspiration behind our farm's name) and his son Amos did a great job supervising.

And I couldn't resist snapping a photo of my daffodils in full bloom!

The Ducks Go Marching Two by Two...

Images of spring!

Willa has been so excited to practice riding her bike, even though its too small and our terrain is not very well suited for it (picture mama having a heart attack every time she gets too close to the steep edges!)

Beautiful, colorful Willa and Nettie in face painted glory at College of the Atlantic's Earth Day Fair! It was my first time vending at a big fair, and I had such a great time!

And who could resist my army of needle felted ducks...on their way to Nervous Nellie's Jams and Jellies store on Deer Isle, Maine. She is also carrying my needle felted hearts...my first wholesale order!

Maineteam Spring Photo Challenge!

I've been having a great time taking photos around Happytown for the Maineteam's Spring Photo Challenge. Here's all of my favorites (plus one of the old truck that I couldn't resist:) I am in love with this time of year...the waking world around me, but with no blackflies or mosquitos yet! Our garden is getting ready for planting, and I'll get the cool weather crops in today - peas, spinach, radishes...yum!

My official entry is the second photo of the budding tree limb. I wish there was a way to photograph the sounds of spring as well; the rushing stream as the winter snow melted away, the chorus of peeper frogs I heard last night, the mating calls of the woodcocks in our woods. Guess these photos will haved to do!

Can't wait to hear who the winner is! Thanks to Jenna (AutumnEquinox.etsy.com) for organizing this challenge and donating her beautiful earrings for a prize!

Is it really?

It must be Spring! The girls and I had a lovely afternoon outside in the sun...and took lots of new photos. A few of the things happening around Happytown in the past weeks...

Snow melting

Crocus popping

woodpile dwindling

mud drying

woodcock mating

buds growing

sap flowing

house planning

garden dreaming

geese flying

spirits lifting

A Big Thank You...

goes out to everyone involved in in this little project!

Tory, and her sister Bee, who came up with the idea of giving a series of these photos to their father for Valentine's Day! Just about the sweetest thing ever, and to know that he cherishes my hearts along with the photos is just wonderful!

and to Margaret Boyd, a wonderful photographer from Idaho, who is allowing me to use this photo in my ETSY shop to sell my hearts! Thank you so much!

www.mboydphotos.com

Maineteam ACEO Challenge...

"Springing"



Here's my first ACEO...created for the ETSY maineteam challenge. Since I saw these sweet yellow crocus blooms in Gatlinburg, TN last weekend I haven't been able to get them out of my mind! Partnered with the unfurling fiddleheads makes me dream and hope for spring now that I'm back home in snowy Maine! This piece measures 2 1/2" by 3 1/2" and is made with natural needlefelted wool. It is initialed on the back.