The ever-present partridge (or ruffed grouse to a less local speaker) whose drumming wings you can feel in your heart better than you can hear in your ears.
The white pine (Pinus strobus), a plant so splendid and common in Maine to give it the designation of being our state tree with important human uses due to its immune-supporting vitamin C content and its uses for making paper and many other wood products.
The peavey, a tool invented in Maine for the purpose of better manipulating logs—Bangor, ME having been the logging capital of the world in the 1800’s.
The stories, information, and photos on this blog are dedicated to all those who call Maine and other rural places home, to those who live and work in the outdoors, and to those who appreciate the wonders of the natural world and making things with its inspiration.
Partridge, Pine, and Peavey 
I am delighted with you amazing blog. I will look forward to reading you postings. Happiness to you and Joe and everyone you are working with during this marvelous time in the grand mountains.
This is so great Hazel! Your photos are just amazing. Enjoy every bit of it.
Silly question—how do you get the vitamin C? Make tea with the pine needles?
PS: I’m a huge fan of Maine’s beauty.
Not a silly question at all! The most common way to take advantage of the vitamin C found in Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus) is to use water that has come down a bit from boiling (boiling water can “cook it” a bit much and lead to decreased properties and off flavors), pour over several fascicles (clusters) of pine needles in a cup or teapot, cover for 5-10 minutes, then drink! You can play around with the amount of pine needles and the length of steeping. Using a lot of needles and/or letting it steep a long time can make it taste very bitter, but that isn’t a problem as long as you can stand the flavor! Play around with it and let me know how it goes! Glad you like Maine too and very glad you’re checking out my blog!
The ruffed grouse drumming always makes me thing of Dad trying to start the John Deere Tractor
Once in awhile I yield to these things, and one consequence is that I’ve nominated you for a Butterfly Lighting Award. The details will be in a posting tomorrow (Wednesday) at Jnana’s Red Barn, where I’ll link to you regardless of your decision to follow through. Thanks for doing what you are online, and my best regards for your presentations ahead. In the meantime, take a bow in the spotlight.
Thank you so much! What an honor. I look forward to the details to follow!
You have such a lovely blog. It definitely deserves more follower. I nominated you for an award. You can check it out here; http://tulayyilmazbotanicalart.wordpress.com/
Hope you join and enjoy!
Thanks so much! I’m so glad you enjoy my blog.
The awards are piling on! I nominated you for a liebster award. Details will be in my latest post! 🙂
Thank you so much!
Thanks. Delighted to have found your heartfelt and fascinating blog. Regards from Thom at the immortal jukebox (drop a nickel).
Great Blog! The scent, soft touch of pine needles takes me way back to when I listened to my teacher read aloud The Boxcar Children. I envied their bed of pine needles! Thanks for stopping by Laura’s Lens and for the .
I, too, loved reading the Boxcar Children! Glad you like my blog as well. You post some amazing photos!
I am happy to have found you through Twitter this morning. Thank you for following me there. I’ll be following you here and will read a bit each day during my coffee break to get caught up.
And I am glad to have found you through Twitter! I look forward to our mutual appreciation of what we each have to share.
I call Maine my neighbor and a place I visit as often as possible. 🙂
This is beautiful! You have done a lot of work. Your pictures are the best I’ve seen for identifying plants – so worthwhile to all of us. I will spread the word, especially about the pine needle ‘tea!’. Thank you! All the best!
Thank you! So glad you are enjoying it!
always good to connect with other naturalists!
Happy to have found your site….Looked for ‘Differences between Red and Grey Fox”…wonderful photos…Thanks!
You’re very welcome! Thanks for checking out my blog!