As you know, I haven’t been writing here. I do keep a journal, and this year I decided to do something different. My 2021 journal is based on nature. I’ve written down the species and when they came back to the homestead. Some will stay for the season while others are passing through, resting here a while to visit the feeders and refuel for the rest of their journey. Spring arrived early and has been unpredictable. Warmer than average some days, colder others. Little snow all winter, a few flurries and inches in April, and none in May. We’re down two inches of rain for the year as of today wit ..read more

He’s early and he’s a welcome sight and sound. I stepped out onto the porch this morning to collect Penny’s food and milk dishes. It was warm and still and from the top of the dead spruce tree behind the stone fireplace, a robin singing. The first robin of spring was so raspy I wondered if he was singing his first song of the year. He was joined by a female in late afternoon. I look forward to waking in the morning to the sound of robins singing in lots of tree tops. Photo by Joshua J Cotten at Unsplash#naturenotes #naturenotes Keeping track of what happens when on and around the homestead. An ..read more

Old stone fireplace Chimney and warming rack Winter’s taken a noticeable turn. It’s quite lovely. The stone fireplace disappeared last week, unusually late in winter. I can see across the yard and field, beyond the high tunnels, to the edge of the forest by 5:15 am these days. A new solar light in the hen house means I don’t have to bring water to the birds until almost 6 pm. The longer daylight charges the light well enough to keep the birds in light until after 10 pm. They can have a good drink before the go to sleep. It’s nice, especially after the fox attack, and then finding a bobcat sitt ..read more

I knew the thieving rotten red fox was here thanks to photos on the game camera. Extra careful, birds not unattended, watching closely, looking out the windows often, but when I turned my back for 20 minutes, he attacked. 8:30 am. I went back to the house to get water for the birds, stopped to pee and change laundry over. Red Fox. It happened Tuesday morning. I locked the birds inside and went to an appointment in Calais. Covid means I get out twice a month to go to massage therapy and run an errand or two, but I can straight home in hopes of finding a missing bird or two waiting to be let in ..read more

In case I haven’t mentioned it, bear season is my favorite hunt. The work building up to opening day makes me appreciate the time I spend quietly waiting and watching for a bear. Watching a sow with twin cubs as I sat on the ground behind a six foot long piece of camo burlap is one of the highlights of my time outdoors. Both of the bears I’d harvested were taken while I saw on the ground; one behind that burlap, the other from behind a pile of brush. There isn’t a good place to sit on the ground when I’m hunting from our land. The first seat was too close to the barrel to be safely on the grou ..read more

We started prepping for bear hunting season in late August. My site had to be moved this year after discovering that “the bear” could see me through the woods. He’s a smart one, that bear I’ve been after for five seasons. Steve and I didn’t set up the new site until the second week of baiting. It’s costly in time and bait, and we know we don’t miss out on anything that first week. The bears who’d find the barrel in week one will find it in week two. When hyperphagia ends many of the bears move on, no longer driven to eat and drink non-stop for a week to ten days. A bear of around 150 pounds wa ..read more

Steve and I went out for the day yesterday to celebrate our wedding anniversary and came home with the experience of a bald eagle hunting ducks. What an interesting experience. I love Northeast Harbor so much I could live there. It’s nice to visit now and then. Our timing was fortunate yesterday as we almost stopped to do something else before going there. We watched a duck and her ducklings paddle by on their way out of the harbor, and not long after, heard her putting up a huge fuss. Twenty seconds after her incessant, panicked quacking, a bald eagle made its first swoop down on the duckling ..read more

It’s not that I can’t buy new plant pots. I buy quite a few. It’s that I love new-to-me old plant pots that I find in the woods on our homestead. I’m that 50something year old woman who still drags things home from the woods and fills her pockets with interesting rocks to add to the flower gardens. These old pots were tossed into the homestead dump decades ago. Each spring I’m reminded of their presence when the snow melts. Finally, I’m bringing them home to fill with soil and plants. I’ll show you pictures when the flowers are beautiful later on this year. The post New-to-Me Old Plant Po ..read more

What a difference a days make. A week ago the wood yard was still covered in snow when we saw Boo Boo. Five days later I found a snake basking in the sun, warming itself on a cool morning. A nice surprise as I wasn’t expecting to see snakes out in mid-April. I haven’t identified the snake. Can you tell me what it is? The post Sign of Spring appeared first on A Life In The Wild ..read more

Sunday morning brunch. Probably my favorite meal of the week. Steve usually cooks breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays but once in a while I get in the mood for a skillet breakfast. This morning I diced bacon, red bell pepper, and Red Marble onions. I grew the onions last year and they’re still storing well. Out of 15 left in the basket only three have sprouted. I partially baked two potatoes early this morning, making the house smell good and warming up the kitchen. The eggs came from our chickens and ducks, garlic and dried herbs from the garden. Add salt and pepper. There isn’t a recipe excep ..read more