duck & cat

Each springtime, my favorite resident pair of mallards returns. They will spend the summer visting the brook often [I think they nest in a bend a little further up] and become a daily routine to see floating by. First sightings in the spring have varied from in the brook, swimming in large puddles beside the cottage or across the street, to just merrily walking down a muddy Olive Street. Today they decided to traverse a snow bank to check out some birdseed that had swollen as it soaked in the melting snow, and in doing so, provided much entertainment for Peach.

sneak peak

While the remodel on the Brook House is still undergoing, a sneak peek at the kitchen's double ovens. And the awesome country boards. Such cool custom work. 

coffee

This morning was a coffee morning! I have been wanting to try KittyTown ever since hearing of this amazing women-owned business whose slogan is "Drink Coffee. Feed Cats." With every bag sold, they donate to a shelter's general fund the cost equal to feed a kitty there for a week!

Every. Bag. Sold.

Ethically sourced, chemical free, each blend named after a kitty... and very yummy!

Will be making these coffees available to folks on Olive Street!

waiting

In the snow, in the quiet, the community bridge between Olive Street and the Lakewood Theater parking lot waits for heavier traffic.

Local folks occasionaly cross on thier winter walks, and to go ice fishing, but for the most part few go by this time of year.

Last summer it was beautiful to see her rail lit by a string of tiny lights each evening and I'm looking forward to doing that again.

Arts Access Sponsor

On Olive Street is so very pround to be an Arts Access sponsor to an upcoming show at the Skowhegan Opera House!

On Sunday February 26th at 4pm, the SOH welcomes the one and only Scot Cannon, who will present "Be Positive Be Productive" a Mime & Music Workshop Show for Kids & Families

Tickets are $5 each or $20 per family, but through the Arts Access program a number of tickets are FREE to children! Email Lyn at wesartsinfo@gmail.com or call/text 207-399-3181 for more information about this wonderful opportunity. 

I first met Scot a little over a decade ago when I was co-director of the Elementary Performing Arts Enrichment Program at RSU#3. His performance captivated the students! In years following that, he returned to Mount View to do interviews & recordings of various student projects for his WERU radio show, including school musicals, band performances, and the Mount View Chamber Singers. 

You may have heard my son and On Olive Street resident Jakob Sutton in his recurring radio role as the voice of Thor on the 'General Store Varity Hour with Annie & Andy' on HooSkow Radio WXNZ 98.1, but we like to say that Scot gave him his big radio break first!

This performance of Scot Cannon's show "Be Positive Be Productive" is presented by Friends of Skowhegan Opera House, and all proceeds will go to updating and renovating SOH.

let's get cooking

The cabins/cottages/houses here, the kitchens here On Olive Street, deserve some good cooking pots, pans, bowls, utensils and so on. Part of the project is community cooking. Growing our own foods in our own gardens and preparing them in meals for the other members of the residence on a regular basis, and occasionally the community at large. 

After quality research and budget considerations, the Pampered Chef plan was decided upon as a means to acquire the items through fundraising.  Eventually every residence will have a selection. Additionally we may use the Pampered Chef catalog/website sales for fundraising for the On Olive Street project in general.

Catalogs can be found in each of the residences to share with family and friends if you wish. The weblink is here  and there is a facebook group here. 

Lakewood Theater's 2023 Season

The season has recently been announced, and oh what a wonderful season it will be! For full descriptions, visit the Lakewood Theater website here

Final Appearance May 25th - June 3th

The Outsider June 8th- June 17th

The Great Fishing Derby June 22nd - July 1st

Half Time July 6th - July 15th

Hope & Gravity July 20th - July 29th

Catch Me If You Can August 3rd - August 12th

Leading Ladies August 17th - August 26th

Anatomies August 31st - September 9th

Lafferty’s Wake September 14th - September 23rd

Ticket information including seating chart available here

cats, dogs, lizards, fish

The indomitable MJ Clifford took these photos of my Peach & her Willow enjoying some sun upon the porch of the Sugar Tree cottage last September. Peach is a permanent year round resident at the cottage now, and Willow has her run of the place for as many weeks as she desires each summer. [She is Queen and was there first]

In 2021 we fostered a litter of wee kittens and their mum at the cottage, and are open to doing it again this year. Indeed I'm a 'cat lady' and simply can't imagine a home without a cat or two.

We've never been asked before - though if we had been the answer most likely would have been yes - but as we figure out lodging in the other camps and cottages for the 2023 season, we invite guests to inquire about bringing their cats, dogs and other friendly creatures along. We ask for a little information about how well your friend gets along with others and such, and we will need to limit the number of those we do allow, but here is the general annoucment that we welcome your compainions!.

Of course we will also be sure that at least one of the shared residences remain pet free for allergy and other reasons!  

the force of water

We, like many others in the area, had downpours of rain yesterday. Hayden Brook filled and swelled and raged past, and for a bit of time flowed ... yes, flowed... under and around the Sugar Tree cottage itself. 

Other than a sprint I took up the small hill to Hayden Street when someone called to say the roof of the Tower House was on fire - it wasn't, but a tree branch had fallen and ignited itself on the powerlines by the neighbor's, and from the individual's perspective it looked as if flames were coming from the TH roof - the strong winds and continuing rain made me think it best to stay sheltered and not venture too far in the dark of night.

The sun risen and the rain ceased, the brook has now returned to the confines of its path, though still quite high; and the banks indeed quite reshaped. 

On this morning's walk I found the heavy metal bridge frame at the Gardeners Cottage bent and twisted, and looking like it fought it's hardest against the water, ice, and tree branches the brook had accumulated along it's way.  

challenge for the bees

 

We've said it before... we love bees. We very much want to invite lots of happy bees to pollinate and buzz around our plants and gardens on Olive Street! And wouldn't it be cool to make our own honey...someday?

Personally, I am allergic to certain bees and wasps (doesn't prevent me from being friendly with them and housing Mason Bees et cetera though!) Well MOFGA is offering a three part webinar on beekeping for beginers starting in January... so here's the dealio: if you apply and are accepted for the 2023 Gardeners Cottage position, an artists residency, or Lakewood housing, and you take this course, we will reimburse you (at the $40 level) for it. If you commit to be a volunteer and complete a minimum of 100 hours by the end of the season, and you take this course, we will reimburse you for it.

Helps our project, helps the bees, helps the planet. A worthy investment for sure!

Read more about the course here