Category: Turkey Tracks: My Life in Maine

Turkey Tracks:  September 7, 2019

Monarchs

 

Look what friend Betsy Maislen found in the amaryllis leaves on the porch—just before she left to go on the windjammer J&E Riggin for the week—where she and co-Captain Annie Mahle enjoy cooking together:

You can see the butterfly wings in the casing now.  And isn’t the gold trim…amazing?

There have been more than a few Monarchs in the yard in the past two weeks, which is encouraging.  From the Maine fall flyway, these butterflies will fly all the way to Mexico without stopping to create more generations.  They will lay their eggs in Mexico, and next year, those babies will migrate—in generations—back to Maine.  Mother Nature is…AWESOME.

AC has been hunting tiny frogs and the fall crickets (which are singing now) in the grass.  If it moves, he’s all over it.  I rescued this Monarch from him the other day.  Maybe newly hatched?

I scooped her with a flat hand from the bottom, so just her feet touched and put her into the cleome bush that has been wildly growing all summer with all the rain we’ve had.

 

Here’s what the chrysalis looks like this morning:

This butterfly is almost ready to fly!

Turkey Tracks:  September 3, 2019

Honey Days

Collecting a year’s supply of local, raw honey happens in late summer/early fall.

Down this road lies the honey shed:

I leave my 12 bottles by the mailbox, and David Smith of Sparky’s honey picks them up when he comes home.

About a week later, he calls, and I come home with these…

…beautiful, local honey!!

The only white sugar I’ve purchased for many years now is for the hummingbird feeders.  And, perhaps, for grandchildren who want to bake something yummy for dessert.

Turkey Tracks:  August 2019

High Tide at Duck Trap River

These views are from the back side of the bar—at full high tide.  It’s a bit warmer as it is also sheltered from the prevailing bay breeze.  But, it’s…cold water.  They are hearty souls for sure!

Look at that wonderful old bridge in the background.

AC waded but said no to swimming.  The drop off was a bit scary for him.  But he LOVES to swim.

 

 

 

Turkey Tracks:  August 24, 2019

They Love Maine

All the kiddos are back in school now—in both families.  But all of them had some really good time here in Maine.  And I had a really good time having them here.  Their visits replicate what I experienced as a child when visiting my grandparents in Reynolds, Georgia.  There was time, there, just “to be.”  There was time for reading, for watching a movie all together, and time for a nap.  And lots of time being able to spend time in nature.

Here are some pics of the older crew:

Barrett’s Cove, for a swim.

 

Picking lavender at a local farm.  My whole utility room smells of lavender as the strands dry.

They visited alpacas, up close.  I bought a sweater!

 

We played LOTS of a card game called “Hand and Foot.”  And drank lots of Irish black tea.

The morning they left—on their way back to their busy lives.

How did they get so big so fast?

Watching them grow up is such a pleasure.

Turkey Tracks:  August 2019

AC LOVES Water and to Swim

Who knew?

Apparently it is a Jack Russel terrier trait.

If there is a stick involved, AC is on board.

 

 

Turkey Tracks:  August 2019

Summer Readers

Summer vacation can provide time for lots of reading.  We are a reading family.  When we moved to Maine, I lost count of how many trips I made to the local library with my Jeep filled with books to donate.  We just could not move them all.

Mike takes advantage of some quiet time.

Above, he’s ripping through the new Tana French, which is a stand-alone novel, different from her earlier detective novels which are set in the Dublin, Ireland, area.  I read it and saved it for him.  I also finished French’s BROKEN HARBOR and am now reading her THE SECRET PLACE.

He also brought:

Tami was reading and really enjoying this one, which she highly recommends:

The girls:

And the fellows:  Kelly’s book provided some good conversations that involved many of us.  He started high school last week!

And we kept losing Bo to this one:

Turkey Tracks:  August 16, 2019

Painting/Art Central

They are gone now, but you might get a kick out of this art effort…

The girl kiddos love crafts/art/painting.  Talula set up an art station on the front porch—which stayed for some days.  First there was a painting, using John’s acrylic paints and his easel.  Next, collected rocks to paint and put all around my garden.

Lined up and ready to go.

The painters—just back from a swim at Duck Trap estuary.

 

Turkey Tracks:  August 14, 2019

Archery Practice

Mike, Tami, and the 4 kiddos just returned home Monday.

Boy do kiddos grow up fast!

I got good bows and arrows a number of years ago (and a target), and getting the equipment out and having a morning of practice has always been high on the boys’ agenda when visiting.

So, we had a delightful morning over at the baseball field early in their visit—before Mike had to return home.

 

 

The girls arrived and got a quick lessone from their big brothers.

 

 

While parents watched…