Reenacting

Audra got invited to her first reenacting gig and she LOVED it.  Bonus: Almost all the layers both of them are wearing were handstitched by me! 

I was tasked with keeping this one out of trouble alllllll day long.  Thankfully she makes friends easily.

She's more than ready for the next round! 

A new business!

 

This boy here has set up a business and it's thriving for a 12 year old!  He's had a number of orders and he just got hired to do some logo work for a local company!

He's been doing all the communication via phone and Email.

Here are some of his recent drawings: 

He invested in some folders and tucks a business card and a personal note with every order, all his idea! 

He wakes every morning (in all weather) and waves to cars that go by. He calls them his 'regulars' and they are expecting him to give a smile and a wave weekday mornings (he sleeps in on the weekends). It's basically BEEP BEEP BEEP every morning. Many of them have become his 'customers'.  He also has had a number of cards and gifts left for him.  He's known around town as the kid who waves to everyone!

Add in his hobby of making miniatures for dioramas, 

He's just a really neat kid.  If you know anyone who wants a vehicle painted you know who to contact! 

Another year around the sun...

 My husband took the big two shopping last weekend. Anna-Kate and I were very surprised with the thoughtful birthday gifts!  Potted flowers, a cast iron griddle and Mother Earth Magazine subscription. 

Plus he made me this and cake (not pictured)

Thankful for the thought and effort. Thankful for my little family.

Estuaries

My Master Gardener Volunteer assignment is to select a Maine Natural Area and reflect on it. 

I got to wondering, what has been a huge part of my life as a Mainer that is much different from my rural NY upbringing?  One of my favorite places to go is where the tide meets the stream, the tidal marsh estuaries around us. We have SO many options in Maine and I love to go to them year round.  The wildlife we see is more than anywhere else around us. You are practically guaranteed to see something if there's nice-ish weather. The birds and waterfowl I could watch all day.  I love counting egrets, watching herons toss up fish and eat them head first, watch the nesting gander turn her eggs, count the number of ducklings and the list goes on.  We've seen eagles and osprey.  Once we saw otters play. The flora fascinates me.  The amount of ferns, mosses, skunk cabbage, cat tails and reeds and the birds these all attract holds my attention. I love hearing my neighbor talking about how they used to harvest the saltgrass for cattle. Maine blueberries are abundant in some places. We enjoyed the red dogwood display in Scarborough recently and enjoy the cottongrass beauties of the Wells Reserve.  Bushes and brambles are so important, but it is really frustrating to see the expansion of barberry, multiflora rose and bittersweet along the estuary edges. Maybe someday I'll be able to help with efforts to reduce the invasive species.  Until then, I'll continue to explore and learn as much as I can with my kids and their pals. If you've not spent much time hanging out in estuaries, I'd encourage you to do so.  

We just so happened to visit two different estuaries in a week: Scarborough and Wells.  Pictures follow.  If you're a long time follower, you've seen many, many other estuary pics.  It's just a habitat worth visiting again and again.

Scarborough, Maine

Wells, Maine

 

Thrifted

Goodness, it's been forever since I've posted a thrifted post.  I have thrifted, but failed to take pictures and/or post.  Here's a recent find.  International games, New England Wildflowers, Mozart and binoculars for $10. 

She was very glad I got these binoculars because she had wanted to take my picture anyway.  "Say CHEESE!" 

 

Fresh Snow

 There is nothing like a fluffy blanket that dumps overnight. I take the same pics every year this happens. It still makes my heart smile.

I'm contemplating how many fruit trees to add.  I planted 17 trees.  I think I need more.

My husbands took the bigs, I just had Anna-Kate for much of the day. 

She played American Girls for a bit, painted the big picture I drew for her while listening to Granny MacDuff podcast (she loves that one), played a board game on her own, read some stories and went out and made a snowman and play with the dogs. I just love how she organized her day.  She talked or sang while she did all the things. She's a precious one.

All in all, it was just one of those days I really appreciate living where there's winter.

New Year's Eve

 We had a delightful New Year's Eve with friends.  We created lanterns at home (we filled tins with water, hammered designs and then thawed), made and walked the spiral with friends. It was just such a lovely day, forever in our memories.