Studio 36's Pet Portrait Contest Winners!

So, let me start off by saying that EVERYONE was a winner in Studio 36's First Annual Pet Portrait Contest. The pets involved were an absolute treat to work with. The pet owners were amazing, loving, and fun. The voters (which included many of the pet owners) were incredibly generous. And because of all involved, the Bangor Humane Society is the biggest winner of all ... as together we raised $1,602.88 for animal care at the shelter. Okay, so maybe that means the animals at the shelter are the biggest winners of all! Hooray!

Now for the winners ...

The picture that got the most "votes" was the winner. And "votes" were $.25 each ... so, essentially, the portrait that garnered the most donations was the winner.

This year's winner did his best to raise as much money for his portrait as possible. You may recognize him as a long-time employee of Mardens in Brewer ...

First place goes to Dana and his dog, Niko:

Niko was an absolute treat to work with. And because they won first place, I will be working with them again during another photo shoot :) They will also receive a spot in the local paper. So shine on you two ... you are soon to be famous!

Now, the winner of second place was totally shooting for coming in second, as she wanted to win the $75 gift certificate to Pet Quarters so that she could donate it back to the Bangor Humane Society. Great, huh!?

Congrats to Donna and her Labs, Mason and Ella:

These two were also such a pleasure to work with. And Donna is an amazing woman who does so much for animal welfare. She is incredibly generous and I am glad to know her.

In third place, we have an awesome little man, Osiris the Cockatoo:

I LOVE this bird. And even more so, I adore his owner, Gidget. Turns out that we went to school together back in 1989 in Hudson, NH ... but never officially met till now. She has had Osiris since he was a baby bird with no feathers ... and they are an absolute riot together. So glad they won third place, as now Gidget will receive an artist's rendering of her beloved bird.

I wish we had prizes for all 24 entrants. Maybe next year! I so look forward to doing this again next year. It was a wonderful treat to be able to play with so many sweet pets ... and to meet so many incredible people. THANK YOU ALL!

To see pictures of all those who participated in this event, please feel free to check out my Flickr site. Enjoy.

If interested in your own pet portrait session, please call us at 385-3940.

~ Jodi

Love on the Rocks.

Isaac has this incredible ability to find love everywhere he goes (I think he gets it from his Mama). He loves to strike up conversations with new people ... especially pretty young girls ... and often hugs them ... stares into their eyes ... and professes his unwavering love. And he means it. Truly he does. He loves SO BIG ... and SO OFTEN ... and he never forgets a love.

Sadly, his emotional connection to other young people is not often reciprocated. However, on a recent trip to one of our favorite beach-combing spots, Isaac met his match. He found a young girl who falls in love as easily (and as hard) as he does. Within 10 minutes, she was introducing Isaac to her other friends as her "new best friend". Meanwhile, Isaac was telling us that he just met his "new wife". Ahhh ... young love.

They had a such a great time together. Both families did. Meaghan was quite taken with Isaac's new wife's little sister. And young friends who came to join the little girls also joined in the fun.

Come to find out, our new "daughter-in-law's" family owns the Three Tides in Belfast, Maine. Another young family ... working hard to create their own family business while also doing their best by their children ... I can SO appreciate that. (And if you can too --- go check them out some night!)

Anyway, these two lovebirds were quite a pair ... searching for goodies together ... playing games ... sharing stories ... professing their love. It was wonderful to watch. I think Halis and I were beaming the entire time. So rare has it been to find another child as sincerely loving and sensitive as he. But, for whatever reason, we did not exchange names and numbers! I am sending this family a link to this post (and to the rest of the pictures) ... in hopes that we can get together again sometime. We ADORE Belfast (Maine) and will be back soon.

Hopefully, these two can walk hand-in-hand again ...

May we all learn from these sweethearts ... Love BIG, Love OFTEN, and Love without Question. (I think I will start within my home).

Love to you all,
Jodi

New Garden Buddy.

So, here is our new garden buddy ... discovered by Isaac ... and 'man-handled' by me whenever I get the chance ...

Even though I do get a bit jumpy when I watch a snake slither though the grass (is that a natural human instinct?) ... I still love the thrill of the chase ... and the feel of their skin once I grab him/her. Garden snakes are just so totally interesting (they move with lightning speed and can open their small little mouths to take in an entire frog - whole). And this one is pretty predictable ... always sunning him/herself on the rocks by the birch trees ... letting me get close ... flicking his/her tongue to "smell" me ... and fleeing down into the rock bed once we lose eye contact.

I love that Isaac and I periodically visit "our snake" while outdoors. I love that he is learning respect for all animals (I've only chased the little guy once, I swear). And I love that there is such a diversity of wild creatures here on our little farm.

So, any new friends your way?

Love,
Jodi

Brilliant! Celebrity Autobiography.

This may be the coolest comedy concept I have ever known ... check it out ...

And here is a taste of the magic ...

And when the kids aren't around, you may want to check this out. Absolutely hilarious.

ENJOY!

Love,
Jodi

P.S. Apparently Nightline did a segment on this ...

P.P.S. Apparently, I am WAY behind in learning about this new comedy brilliance, as The View also did a segment on this:

Any other press on Celebrity AutoBiography? I seem out of the loop ... but am loving watching these on You Tube!

The Studio - In Pictures.

For those of you who read this blog ... but are not from my area ... and have wondered about the Studio that I refer to ... here are some random shots of the photography studio that I created in downtown Bangor:

It is humble, homey, and I love it. Please feel free to drop by anytime you are in the area.

And for all those who have graced this space, thank you so very much for making it feel wonderful. xo

Love,

Jodi

Farm Updates.

Blossoms everywhere! Gosh I love spring ... and this spring in Maine has been wonderful. So early ... so warm ... and so much sunshine. Good stuff.

I recently found this colossal (yes, I think it is safe to use that adjective here without exaggeration) apple tree on our property. It must be 30+ years old, though I have no idea how to tell these things. I have read that we will need to significantly trim this tree up in order to get it to bear a good quantity and quality of edible fruit. So, we are currently in the process of learning about this. Anyone care to offer some tips?

I also just discovered that we have a broody hen sitting on about 8 eggs right now. I was so hoping that one of the girls would try to hatch out a clutch this year ... and I got my wish. The expectant Mom is our only Rhode Island Red. I am a bit surprised, as they tend not to be broody at all ... but she has been sitting on the eggs for at least 3 days, so we shall find out in less than 3 weeks whether any of them are fertile. Very exciting! (My fave chicken, Teeko the Red-Sex Link, is shown above).

As for Emily and Me, well ... they are not so in love with me these days. They seem to blame me for inviting 2 more goats to our farm. They used to nuzzle me and play with me. Now, they just stare.

Good news is that I believe Me went into her first "heat" ... so will be searching for a buck to invite over asap. I have a new connection and am looking forward to getting these 2 ladies "in the family way" when the timing is right.

The kids, You and Sweetie, are doing very well. Sadly, the kid that we purchased at the same time as You ... the one we named Mini-Me ... died about 28 hours after we purchased her. It was horrible. We called in a wonderful local vet and tried everything we could to heal her ... but she had no fight in her and passed away in my arms. A few days later we picked up Sweetie ... as our "replacement" for the deceased kid. She is an absolute treat. I think she is going to be our most friendly goat. She loves, loves, loves people.

You (pictured above) is also very sweet, but has an independent streak that tells me she may try to gain some dominance over Emily and Me as soon as she is physically able. Right now, she enjoys racing Isaac to the barn ... and watching it is a hoot!

The kids are down to 2 bottle feedings a day, and are currently eating greenery, so their timeline is healthy ... and I look forward to less feedings so that we can take some day long trips around Maine.

Halis has finished turning over the food garden plot. (Chase helped). We are almost to the point of planting some tomatoes and peppers in there. Just a bit skittish that we will see another frost. But I am thinking we will plant this week. Have any of you planted yet?

Today we will finish painting the goat barn ... and readying it for an extension to effectively house the new kids.

So - what is happening on your little piece of earth?

Love,

Jodi

Happy Mother's Day.

My annual Mother's Day ritual has been to read and listen to the poem: The Lanyard by Billy Collins. Here it is ... on YouTube:

Enjoy! Happy Mother's Day to all those women who do their absolute best by their children every day ... to all those who wake up every morning and begin their days by thinking of how best to love and protect their children ... how best to provide for them ... how best to fuel their self-confidences ... how best to encourage them, etc. Thank you to all the totally awesome Moms out there who make the world a better place.

Enjoy your day!
Love,
Jodi

P.S. To all those reading this post on Facebook, you will have to click here to see the video.