Turtle Hill plants and animals

Turtle Hill is home to a porcupine that I have named Po. Most of the animals that we share this property with are only glancingly visible, but this summer Po chose to spend much of her time near the house. She enjoyed grazing on clover in the backyard and didn’t […]

Cleaning Up After Po

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I’m one of those people who attract stinging insects. If there’s a solo deer fly, and three people hiking, it will land on, and bite, me. If I walk past a yellow jacket nest I’ll generate the ire of the hive and they’ll attack. If there’s a paper wasp hunting […]

Deterring Wasps

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I live on a hill overlooking a beaver marsh in southern Maine. This is the view from the front of the house. Two acres of field and blueberry barrens sloping down to wetlands. If I were a landscape painter I couldn’t have imagined a better composition. Those 4 large oaks […]

Observer or the Observed?

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I’m incredibly fortunate during this pandemic to be able to continue to ride and take lessons at my boarding barn. I’m even able to enter local schooling shows. I ride six days a week and because I’m competing I have a focus. There’s lots that both Tonka and I have […]

Tonka at Turtle Hill

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Remember the Common Mullein? (Here’s my first blog about it.) The “weed” by my front deck? It’s been fun to watch it grow, like a, well, like a weed! From this:   To this!   It’s been a popular landing zone for dragonflies. Honeybees and native bees (there are some […]

Common Mullein and Birds

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Last year a smallish fuzzy plant grew next to our front deck steps. Our house is new construction and the ground there is packed dirt and gravel. I was happy to see something take root, and I liked the color and texture so although it looked to be a “weed” […]

Weed? Not to Me!

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