While I'm still constructing our new website,
On Bradstreet Farm, I am wrapping up 2015 here, and this blog is archived at our new site.
Autumn 2015 was full of worry, hope, and finally, jubilation. With a lot of white knuckling it, tears, kind and loving support from family and dear friends, and stubborn determination on our part, we resolved a crisis that had gripped us in pain and frustration for eighteen long, horrible months. By end of October, with Olivia away at school and the three of us here at the farm, we received our good news and with some trepidation and huge sighs of relief, things were set right. We could proceed with our plans, live at our farm, and know it was alright. With that chapter closed, we looked to focusing again on the house, the farm, and our beloved rituals marking the seasons.
September - Common Ground Country Fair
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| Olivia and Adam |
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| Pie Cones |
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| Olivia, activist |
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| Preserving and recording Maine's apples |
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| Alex at the orchard discussion |
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| Fiddlers |
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| Alex |
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| Alex, Olivia, and Adam |
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| Great attendance |
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| Pie Cones favorites |
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| Grateful for my hat |
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| Amanda visited us after the fair, bearing gifts |
October
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| down east views |
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| Over the Penobscot River |
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| Olivia's first weekend home |
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| Exploring the art department at UMaine |
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| on the Bold Coast, on the trip back from Machias |
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| leaning house |
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| we begin to take down the old tent garage |
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| shed spiderweb |
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| created a potting area in back of the garage |
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| Olivia home for October break |
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| our woods road |
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| the chicken run's autumnal view |
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| Our friends Liz & Mark and their dog Gus visit |
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| Good dog, Gus |
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| Liz, Mark, & Gus |
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| remains of the garden |
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| the Penobscot Narrows bridge at night and me working through my gephyrophobia |
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| a pleasant spot outside our kitchen |
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| Bradstreet Brook |
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| woods road |
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| Adam at the crossroads |
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| autumn color from our stoop |
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| the wild turkeys return |
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| Choosing our pumpkins at a local farm |
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| poor chickens and their late season molt |
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| Bernice enjoying some borage from the garden before the frost |
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| ash tree sentinel |
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| decorated for Halloween/Samhain |
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| our east stoop |
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| every local knows this blueberry field and tree in Liberty |
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| a road in Liberty |
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| selling our duck and chicken eggs at the Palermo Farmer's Market |
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| carving our pumpkins, plus one for Olivia |
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| terrifying |
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| autumn house |
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| Samhain table |
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| Halloween treats |
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| storm trooper Adam |
November
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| November sunset |
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| We invited Olivia and her schoolmates and one professor to stop in for an early breakfast as they would pass right by our farm on the way from Machias to Boston. Homemade English muffin egg and cheese sandwiches, lots of coffee and tea, juice, and cinnamon rolls were offered and happily accepted. It was a really fun morning and it was great to meet all of them and see Olivia, briefly. |
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| 8am arrival! |
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| Olivia and the rest of the UMM group before hitting the road for Boston. |
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| In November, we finished work on the exterior of the chicken coop. All the old OSB siding was removed, we applied house wrap, we rebuilt and installed new storm windows, added 30-year exterior grade plywood siding, and painted everything. |
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| Poor Myrtle and her late, late, molt. |
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| The interior received a scrubbing and new trim for the new windows. |
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| Scrubbing nesting boxes. |
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| Alex building the roost. |
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| The coop, now insulated and with layers of fresh straw in place, made for a much warmer winter home. |
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| Inspections |
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| One hen laid an egg immediately |
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| Happy hens enjoying their freshened space. |
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| We can see the lake from the house when the leaves are gone. |
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| Come in and get warm. |
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| Adam and Max sweetness. |
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| Our dear friends Erika and Michael drove all the way up from CT (by way of CA) to stay with us for a weekend before their permanent move to California. |
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| Erika always has some fun new game to share. |
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| These two have been friends from the moment they met. |
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| Zingers fly. |
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| Exploring Bradstreet Point. Safety first during hunting season. |
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| A short walk on our land. |
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| Alex gives a quick lesson on birch polypore. |
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| It's tradition to snap a photo of our friends in front of our wood shed. It was such a lovely visit. |
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| first snow |
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| We always put up our exterior Yuletide greens in time for Thanksgiving. Wreath, decorated by me. |
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| Welcome! |
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| Olivia, home for Thanksgiving, helps Alex put lights in the crabapple. |
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| Thanksgiving |
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| Setting the table |
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| Rolls by me. |
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| Greetings! |
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| catching up |
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| Auntie Heather and her brother Alex |
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| turkey time |
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| Maple Cream Pie |
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| Pecan Bars (instead of pecan pie--total win!) |
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| Card games, pie, and tea for afters. |
So happy to have made it onto On Bradstreet before it was retired and archived--yay! And a good reminder of two things: we're overdue for a drive up your way, and one of these days we've got you lure you down here for a meal and a visit! xo
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