marlo, our newest

Our little guy!  Obviously this little bit of web space has not been updated in awhile, and as life is wont to do there have been changes, changes, changes.

Change #1:  We bought a house.  Yes!  It’s awesome, and terrifying.  More on that later.

Change #2:  We are increasing our chances of becoming crazy cat people, the population has grown from 2 to 3 since we last posted.

A warm, July evening my husband met me in the driveway as I came home from having 12 inches of hair chopped off.  He held up his phone with a picture of a kitten and said “Wanna go get him?!”

Of course, husband, of course.

So we picked him up from a friend’s farm in the countryside and rode home with him in my lap in the dying light.  I remember the temperature was the perfect kind when you can’t tell where your skin stops and the air starts.  Marlo was trembling in my lap so I wrapped him in my hoodie and held on tight.

A friend recently reassured me that in order to graduate from ‘cat people’ to ‘crazy cat people’ the ratio of cats to people needs to be 3:1.  So frankly we’re three cats away, and considering husband’s allergies’ reluctance to adjusting to Marlo I think 3 is going to be the number for awhile.

Welcome home, buddy!

wild things

Some shots from the Maine Wildlife Park in Gray, Maine this past weekend.  Our local wildlife is so much more impressive when it’s up close and not rustling through the garbage bins, making a mess.  The Maine Wildlife Park is a rehabilitation center, so these animals wouldn’t be able to survive in the wild.  For the most part, their enclosures are pretty big.  I’d love to see the mountain lion get a little more room to wander, but the coyote had quite a running space, the moose and bears, too.

Last pic isn’t an animal on display, but she’s native to Maine and definitely very wild!

buddha of the mesclun mix

Threat of frost over.  Things are finally happening in the garden, with a little prodding from us, a spade, a hoe and a rake.  Here’s a little peek at all the activity happening lately:

I put a prosperity Buddha in with the mesclun mix seedlings.  No garden is complete without mysterious thingies in it.  Yesterday we found a little, blue marble that had probably been underground for 15 years or more.  JR thinks he could have lost it there when he was a kid.

Prosperity working already.  These salad greens take 3-6 weeks to mature.  So far we put 30 in the ground!

Muddy boots.  Requisite Maine gardening gear.

These are the guard cats.  The photo is deceptive – they look like they are on the lookout but the gray one is actually sulking because the brown one just hit him in the face.

Rhubarb already growing with some perennial seriousness.  A gift from the past gardener, so years of pie + jams to come.  Plus, these bright, yellow surprises that woke us up out of winter slumber a couple weeks ago:

So good + yellow.  When they wither I’m going to make a summer flower garden on top of them with sunflowers, hard red wheat, coneflower, cosmos, marigolds and more.  But secretly I’m waiting for the daffodils to come again.

Despite some nighttime visits from the deer over the snowy months, the blueberries we planted in September are doing fine and buds are already sprouting.  You can see a little nibbled bit to the left of the triple bud.  Evidence of ungulates!

Spinach beginnings.  Can’t figure if these are going in the garden or will stay on the porch.  Nice to have some greens extra close to the kitchen.

And, in closing, I’m sorry, but in lieu of children I just have to:

~~~

What are you growing this year?  Do you have any planting traditions for good luck?

loud loud loud

Oh, Gosh, Yes.  Sometimes you just need to go stand in a big room full of loud noises with hordes of wonderful, creative people.  Did you see my photography website/blog?  Well, click here for some more pictures and the whole portfolio.

orange you glad

vintage teacup from little eye on etsy

It’s February, which means the only thing sustaining any of us until the first 50 degree evening brings us a downpour to wash all the road salt away is pretty much junk food, our favorite tv shows streaming, and bright pops of color almost constantly.

Even though the fresh, white snow is beautiful (and will continue to get taller and taller and still beautiful after the coming three-day Nor’Easter we’re supposed to get, it’s still white.  So white.  So endlessly white.

I’ve been knitting with bright colors on my needles (most recently:  turquoise and orange) and listing brightly colored objects in the Etsy shop to keep my eyes open.  They’ve put me in charge of revamping the kitchen at work at possibly the most daring time of year for me, colorwise.  I think I’m using Stefanie Hiebert’s retro living room as my color inspiration.  Lunch break won’t know what hit it!

ladies size 7.5 tan/navy gumshoe from little eye on etsy

little eye photography

I am so so pleased to announce that my brand new photography website is up, live, and full of photographs for you to look at!  For the past seven years, I’ve photographed weddings as a hobby and am making the move to shoot just a little more seriously.

My friend, Rocco, designed the website for me and it’s powered through WordPress, which makes me a lot less anxious about knowing how to update albums and make posts.  While the site mostly serves as a portfolio, it also includes a blog where I will post wedding tips, updates and reflections.

blue hill wedding, maine, 2009

Just a little here on my photography philosophy:

When I am hired to capture weddings, engagements, maternity photos, family, senior portraits and more I will always always provide all the images to the client who has hired me.  These files are high resolution, printable up to 8×10 without loss of quality.  You may share and print your photos to your heart’s content.  I understand why some photographers may do otherwise, but for me this is what works.

I am offering an early booking discount for wedding photography packages, so if you’re getting married in the Portland, Maine area (I will travel, too!) and book with me before February 28th I will take $100 off all wedding packages offered.

I am so psyched that this year will bring more photography, more weddings (aw, so sweet all the time) and more creativity.  I’m not a resolution kinda girl, but this seems like a good start to a new year!

hotel chez maman

kicking back in a borrowed bed

Living on the outskirts can be tough sometimes, unless you’ve got family on the peninsula.  On Friday I worked a double, and they let me out early at the dayjobstudio so I could’ve driven home and driven back to town but that’s no good.  Too much commute for one day.  Nightjobmayostreet is about three blocks from my parents’ apartment on Munjoy Hill so in a moment of clarity I met up with with Dad for the keys and took a snooze on Maman’s bed.  There’s no comfier place than your mother’s room, in case you were wondering.  Hope I didn’t get my summer cold germs on her pillow!  Must be that children are constantly and forever making their parents sick, whether their 3 or 30.

the lady at 7-11 reminded me it was valentine’s day today.  which also reminded me last night I made this:

hearts, imagined.  i’m sure that’s what he was thinking there…

rock + cold

today was nice – the rattlesnakes and great western plain are putting out a split together and needed some photos.  i just happen to have a camera:

and they just happened to make nachos and pizza when we got back from the grocery store:

and a couple more:

if you’re thinking to yourself ‘ohmygosh, how can i hear these bands?!’ you should probably click here (rsnakes) and here (gplain)

love to love you

Audrey.  Where have you been!

The truth is pretty sweet, actually, I’ve been off in the land of being-a-wedding-photographer for the last two weeks.  It would not be so bad at all to do this for a living!  I’d sit around in my underwear all week editing photos and then put pants on on the weekend to go share one of those big life events with the most amazing people.

Most recently, Deb and Jack:

And the week before them, Rocco and Megan:

I would sure be a lucky lady if I could spent every weekend (or ALMOST every weekend) doing this for a living!

xo,

aud