Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from
Brody, Polly and Ellie May!
click here to see more scary places!

Polly's Cube

Relaxing after a nibble of catnip!

Unusual Beach Sitings

Today was a day for unusual sitings at the beach.

Over at Goose Rocks Beach, I was trying to figure
out what I was looking at in the distance.
Turns out they're called Surf Scoters!
Stop by my Shells and Roses blog to see what other
sitings were at the beach today.

First Loon Siting

photo ©Nancy Cooper Funk

While gazing out at the ocean
under a beautiful canopy of clouds, I
spotted my first loon. They have returned
from the lakes for the winter.

Chickadee

"Chickadee"
ink & watercolor © Nancy Cooper Funk

This year I have been so inspired to paint
the many birds I have seen in our garden
and wherever I wander.
This little chickadee was one of the frequent
visitors at our bird feeders.
(I am in the process of working on a series
of paintings of birds.)
If you'd like to see more, just click prints of birds.
Thanks!

Birds by the Sea

In the swells of the sea, this gull rode the
waves while the sparrows on the rocky shore
caught flies on this mild October day.

Kitchen Helper

Polly is my kitchen helper who keeps me
company while I wash dishes.



She may
have an ulterior motive that involves food!

The Red Squirrels Day Two

Early this morning I spotted a baby red squirrel
near their cage that is out in the backyard
(they didn't sleep in it last night).
I was so relieved they survived their first night
on their own.


We're following Lisa's instructions about how
to return them to nature and hopefully their
squirrel instincts will take over. Today they
were here, there and everywhere and I was a
bit nervous that they would run up my leg.


One of them was looking in the screen door of
my studio and climbed right to the top and jumped
into an empty hanging flower basket.

They are very trusting of people and probably
animals and must learn to protect themselves from
the dangers in nature. So we are trying to distance
ourselves and make clanging sounds if they should
approach us.

Baby Red Squirrels

Lisa's holding one of the baby red squirrels who had climbed up onto
her shoulder. She raised them and they seem to think of her as mom.

Since it looks like a stretch of some sunny weather,
today was the day Lisa chose to release the
2 baby red squirrels that she had so kindly taken in
and nurtured when they were separated from their mom
when only several days old. Lisa is a guardian angel to
abandoned, lost or injured wildlife. It was amazing
to see them as they stepped out of their cage for the
first time.
We hope they will be safe and meet up with other
red squirrels to learn the ways of survival
and keep warm this fall and winter.

The baby red squirrel is about to climb on Lisa.... as they raced around the yard
they would suddenly leap onto us.

Visitors

Today I had the pleasure of seeing friends from away
who love Maine. We had a lovely visit when they
stopped by my studio this afternoon.


It was so nice to see Nicole again and
meet Danielle for the first time.

I am going to do a painting of
Danielle to add to the collection
of their beloved pets that I have
painted over the years. I hope they
all have a wonderful vacation to
add to their Maine memories.

A Note from Ellie May

For Sandy with love!

Well, I'll Bee

Someone has been eating the apples!


This afternoon I thought I discovered
who it is, but wait, there's more!

Well, I'll bee!

Missed It by That Much

I was trying to post this on Monday as
the clock was approaching midnight,
and then I missed it by 3 minutes!

Our house is full of baskets and cats
who happen to love baskets as much as I do!



Love visiting the sparrows at the
bakery. We stopped briefly
for hot chocolate (on Monday afternoon)
just before heading over to the beach
to check out the surf. The waves were
hitting the seawall and had thrown
smaller rocks up into the road.
Surfers were in their glory,
and our walk was very invigorating
and wet as a wave caught D!

Early Morning with Brody

This morning as I was about to post here,
Brody, our "Ginger" cat pulled up a chair beside my
computer in the house. He was ready for his photo shoot!

The three cats who live at Maine Memories all have
their own abodes, so to speak.
Ellie May, the artist cat, resides in the art studio/gallery
in the garden beside the main house. She used to have her own
gallery near the sea but now she and N share the little studio that
D built, just a few miles up the river from the quaint
seacoast tourist town.

Polly, the computer cat, lives downstairs in the house, while
Brody has his apartment upstairs. When Brody was adopted
from the Shelter about 4 years ago and met Polly who is 10 years
his senior, we thought he was admiring her. He always tried to sit
within view of her and we thought he was gazing at her with
adoring eyes. What we didn't realize was he was stalking her, waiting
for her to move so he could chase her. Needless to say, she was
terrified of him and after being ambushed a few times, she was
reluctant to leave the safety of her basket. That's when they
became the upstairs/downstairs cats. They can be in the same room
as long as Polly doesn't leave her basket for as soon as she is up and
about she becomes something to chase in Brody's eyes.
Dave made screen doors inside the house to keep them apart
when they are on the same level and can't be chaperoned!
I know of people who have many pets that all get along. I am
thinking of We Three Cats in Wales. They are amazing!
If you have multiple pets, how do they get along?


This adorable dog greeted us from the
window of his parked car as we pulled in beside
him in a parking lot at the Bakery this afternoon.


As I was walking by Polly late this afternoon
I suddenly stopped in my tracks...it was
magic light time and Polly was bathed in golden
sunlight. A favorite time of the day.

A New Blog of Furry & Feathered Friends

Ellie May, the artist cat, has decided that since
N seems to be capable of working on the
Shells and Roses Blog, it's time to begin another
blog to focus on our furry and feathered friends
and family. So far, Ellie May has given the paw
of approval for N's artwork in the banner title.

Now it's time to introduce, Polly, Ellie May's daughter.

Polly has the largest green eyes! She is
the subject of many of N's cat paintings and
she also is fond of helping her Computer
Tutor Dad work on his computer.