BIRDS OF A FEATHER

What a beautiful day it is here in Southern Maine. Early this morning I strolled the yard making a mental list of all the yard work that needs to be accomplished. As I neared my moon garden, I heard a "tapping" sound. To my surprise a Chickadee flew out to greet me, as if to say have a great day. A pair of Jenny Wrens have taken up residence in the bird house hanging from my crab apple tree.

Blue birds have found their nesting box. I have three more Blue bird houses like this with two being occupied by Blue birds and one by a pair of Swallows.

Speaking of birds my little "chooks" greet me each morning with such a sweet sound of little "peeps"

Little Pip and Pearl the Ameraucanas are growing their tail feathers, Willa still is the only one as
of yet who has taken flight.

My sweet Dad made this sign for me and my girls. Notice the lighthouse in the corner, it represents my island roots.Winslow says its time to get going, morning is fleeting. Isn't he a good boy all buckled up in his seat belt. Hope you all have had a great day.

Till next time.

"CHOOKS"

Beautiful roses for Mother's Day from my dear husband. A wonderful new gardening book from my parents.

And now my sweet little "chooks" as Jenny from England would say. 4 Buff Orpington, 4 Barred Rock and 2 Ameraucanas. All ten are thriving and doing well.

The largest chick is a Ameraucana which I named Pip. She is named after Dani's ( On The Way To Critter Farm) little Polish Crested hen. I so enjoyed reading about Dani's Pip and was saddened when she had to find a new home for her. Pip was being pecked to death and thus new housing was warranted. My runt is Willa, named by my niece Darlena. Willa is a Barred Rock and is the first to accomplish lift off thus landing on the feeder.

I am amazed how quickly these little puffballs have grown. Today is day six, their little wings are flapping and its just a matter of time before they all lift off. Emma noses in to investigate, but finds them uninteresting. I think maybe this is because she has been an indoors only kitty, "socks" are her prey. Winslow has not been properly introduced as of yet. He sits at the bottom of the stairs (Winslow does not do stairs) knowing something is "up."
I had forewarned my family if I could keep all ten chicks alive I would be moving on to goats, stay tuned! Oh, and yes I still have my gallbladder, no call from the doctor as of yet.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

You can see it in their eyes,

in tender hugs and long good-byes,

a love that only moms and daughters know.

You can see it in their smiles,

through passing years and changing styles,

a friendship that continually seems to grow.

You can see it in their lives,

the joy each one of them derives,

and just know the other one is there...

to care and to understand,

lend an ear or hold a hand,

and to celebrate the memories that they share.~ anonymous

Happy Mother's Day !

THE DREADED VIRUS!

What a week this has been. First, my sidekick, my best buddy, also know as my laptop caught a virus, no let me rephrase that many viruses. It returned to me today, and I am so happy! Yes, it has messed with my blog and am trying to rectify this, please bear with me. Then I ended up in the ER with what they think was a Gall Bladder attack, of course my DH is still out of town on business. I had a Hida Scan yesterday with nuclear medicine and will find out the results next week. I find it ironic that my DH is a nuclear power plant inspector and I returned home glowing. The good news the babies are here. I picked them up yesterday afternoon all ten little peeps. Emma Lou does not know what to think, she is very curious as she has been an indoors only kitty. It would not surprise me to find her sleeping in the brooder with them! Pictures to follow tomorrow. I am looking forward to reading everyone's blog and getting caught up

GREENING UP!

Here at Dog Trot Farm plants are sprouting and grass is growing.

THE MONTH OF MAY

HAPPY MAY DAY" Tis like the birthday of the world,

When the earth was born in bloom;

The light is made of many dyes,

The air is all perfume:

There's crimson buds, and white and blue,

The very rainbow showers

Have turned to blossoms where they fell,

And sows the earth with flowers." ~Thomas Hood

Photo courtesy of Eve Sweatman Grant, Alabama

A DELIGHTFUL DAY

A morning spent picking flowers. An afternoon spent on the farm.

God speed the plough!

POLISH POTTERY

A lovely morning to pick flowers, my vase is Polish Pottery a gift from my cousin Eve and her Mom.

SUNNY SIDE UP

I am posting this update for Miss Eve over at Sunny Side Up. She is patiently waiting to be back on the world wide web, however, she now lives on a mountain top, need I say more. Eve is loving her new home State of Alabama. She has been busy inspecting her new perennial beds, shrubs, trees, and many birds located on her new property. Her neighbor (down the road a piece) owns a menagerie of animals and you guessed it "Guinea Foul." I feel certain Guinea adventures will be in our near future. Finally, dear brave Eve found and shall I say disposed of four scorpions, not one, but FOUR! The exterminator was called and promptly made a visit. Now some of the reasons I enjoy living in the State of Maine there is no worry of scorpions, poisonous snakes or spiders. Eve please listen to me get that fall out shelter built, you know what happened to Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz!

IT'S HOT!

What a delightful day it has been. On the North side of my home at two PM it was ninety-five
degrees. Am I going to complain, absolutely not. This is perfect gardening weather! No humidity, and an Easterly breeze to keep the insects away. Yipee!
Winslow on the other hand was hot, but he refused to stay indoors. As long as cool water is available and he can dig himself a hole to flop into he's happy. The idea of giving him a hair cut crossed my mind, but the local weather man calls for thirty degrees tonight, so we shelved that idea. Yesterday I went to one of my favorite plant nurseries, Broadway Gardens located in South Portland. My youngest son had given me a gift certificate for Christmas, (aren't those the best gifts, you just can't go wrong with plants or gardening books) I clipped a $10.00 coupon the nursery provided in the local newspaper. I Purchased an Endless Summer Blue Hydrangea. It presents itself with beautiful showy blue flowers during the summer and is just stunning.
Also purchased, a Lilac named Ludwig Spaeth. It has deep purple heart shaped flowers. I like to plant my lilac's close to my home so I can open the windows and let their sweet fragrance drift in. Oh the simple joys of spring.

More progress was made on the chicken coop this past weekend, it is now enclosed and the roof shingled. My DH left for Plymouth, Mass. for two weeks on business. For the time being this project is at a standstill.

I hope you all had a wonderful day and were able to get outside and enjoy the weather. The seasons here in New England pass by so quickly we need to take advantage when possible. Till next time.

SATURDAY CHORES

Oh what a glorious day, this is the sort of day you never want to end. The temperature in the low eighties, a gentle Southerly breeze. Green is becoming the prominent color in the landscape, trees starting to bud, it is a magical time of year. Today I uncovered my flower gardens. This is what I call my "moon" garden. A Hydrangea tree in the center, white perennials and silver foliage bloom during the summer. Springtime bulbs also find a home here.

My Herb garden being uncovered under the watchful eye of Winslow Homer.

My perennial bed is a color mixture of pinks, purples, whites, lime greens and blues. It appears most plants have endured our lengthy winter and are now just waiting to make their grand appearance.

Forsythia, a sure sign of spring.Yes Winslow you are a good boy. Thank you for keeping Mr. fox out of the yard, now go get a drink of water and find a shady spot to relax, I'll be right behind you.

We all worked under the watchful eye of Emma Lou. Is that an "orb" I see in this photo, oh Lordy, I knew there were spirits in this house, I hope they remain friendly!

A WALK WITH WINSLOW

The sun came out this afternoon so I chucked my rainy day project (I mean placed it aside) put my mud boots on and headed out the door, Winslow Homer was okay with this idea.

Yup, we encountered a flock of turkey's which Winslow promptly put in the tree tops. I don't know who was startled more us or the turkeys.

As we came upon our pond a pretty fox scampered past. Winslow spun into action and was hot on it's trail. This is a very intuitive fox, for you see since beginning our chicken coop he/she has been showing up daily checking out the new "digs" being built in the backyard. Upon returning to the door yard I noticed hawks flying overhead. Now this isn't anything new, but now that I have dainty banty's coming to reside, I'd rather they would fly somewhere else. Winslow is going to be placed on guard duty, maybe even bunking in with the girls. Winslow come back here leave that fox alone. Till next time!

RAINY DAY PROJECT

Today was rainy, cold, damp, and gloomy. Need I say more. No outside work for me. I decided it was time to finish up some of my rug hooking projects. I love rug hooking, designing, color placement, but hate sewing on the binding. I've tried different methods, but still am not fond of this process. The rug below is one I hooked for my mother, I love the end result it is a true primitive!This pattern I purchased at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont during a rug exhibition. My Mom requested bright colors and a primitive design and that's what I delivered.

This is a small runner, a pattern I purchased at the Searsport Rug Hooking store in Searsport, Maine. This was completed in a day. This would be a great beginners project, as it hooks up quite quickly.

This pattern also comes from Searsport Rug hooking. This is a "hit or miss" pattern which uses accumulated worms ( wool strips) from previous hooking projects. I need to hand saw the binding, then steam press. This will take me at least the rest of the week to accomplish, wish me luck!

NATURE

Today was a beautiful sunny day here in Southern Maine, Winslow and I took full advantage. First we uncovered daffodils, did some raking, brought out the bird bath and added two new Blue bird boxes to the yard.

With those chores completed I decided it was time for Winslow and I to take our first walk of the season. It is a lovely trail behind our home, down a hill, around the pond, pass the stream and loop back up again. The birds were singing and there was a slight breeze. Next month this walk will be almost impossible. With May comes the arrival of Black Flies, Mosquitos and Ticks. You practically have to wear armour to keep yourself safe! Ticks have become a real problem in Maine. Winslow is a victim of Lyme's disease. A back paw limp turned into full paralysis over a short period of time. DH rushed him to the Emergency Animal Hospital as it was the Christmas Holiday and I happened to still be on the island. His kidneys had begun to shut down and it was a matter of wait and watch. Enough said, he survived, still thinks he is a big dog in a little body and is loved dearly.

IN EVERY WALK WITH NATURE ONE RECEIVES FAR MORE THAN HE SEEKS.

JOHN MUIR