Sandpipers panic
as the falcon sweeps past.
Heart-shaped beach stone.
Saturday, August 30, 2014
August 30: Shorebirds
Birded this morning at Lubec Flats, looking for shorebirds on the exposed beach at low tide.
Posted with Blogsy
Friday, August 29, 2014
August 29: Riptides
The tides of Cobscook Bay in Down East Maine are big and ferocious, punctuated by a boiling mass of whirlpools called the Old Sow. Gulls feed in a frenzy here as the churning waters swirl fresh food through the bay.
Old Sow boils over
Appetites of tides, gulls
We want to see it all
August 28: Jasper Beach
Jasper Beach--
running down heaps of stones
sea-worn, a kid again.
 |
| Now I cast a long shadow. |
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Monday, August 25, 2014
Sunday, August 24, 2014
August 24: Weskeag Marsh
My husband and I visited Weskeag Marsh this morning, a salt marsh in nearby South Thomaston that this time of year can be teeming with migrating shorebirds. Numbers were scant on the rising tide--just a handful of yellowlegs and "peeps" and a gathering of egrets almost out of sight in the back of the marsh--but it was a beautiful morning to stand in the fading weeds at the marsh's edge, soak up some sun, listen to the crickets, and just be.
cicada's long whine
reeds waver in heat shimmer
single yellowlegs
cicada's long whine
reeds waver in heat shimmer
single yellowlegs
Saturday, August 23, 2014
August 23: In the backyard
To preserve the health of both our cat and the surrounding bird life, our cat is only allowed outside for brief supervised forays of the backyard while wearing a harness and leash. We both enjoy these mellow respites in the green backyard by the river. Despite the restraints, she calmly eats grass and explores the lawn, while I do a crossword, read a book, or check email on my iPad...
Cat on a leash
hunts for crickets in the lawn.
I wait for your email.
Friday, August 22, 2014
August 22: Summer on the hill
Beers on the porch.
Waxwings catch flies in the field,
fly off together.
Waxwings catch flies in the field,
fly off together.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
August 19: In the woods
I was up on Ragged Mountain today helping with some boundary work on a property Coastal Mountains Land Trust hopes to conserve. Indian Pipe (or Ghost Plant), a parasitic flower often associated with beech trees and now in bloom, was scattered throughout the forest understory.
Mountain understory--
dropped acorns and ghost plants
haunt last year's beech leaves.
dropped acorns and ghost plants
haunt last year's beech leaves.
Monday, August 18, 2014
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Saturday, August 16, 2014
August 16: Homing
Attended a talk/reading in Belfast by behavioral zoologist Bernd Heinrich, whose most recent (and very interesting) book is The Homing Instinct: Meaning & Mystery in Animal Migration. He read from the book and also talked a bit about the human connection to home.
Talk on homing instinct.
Driving back roads--
geese gathering in mown fields
Talk on homing instinct.
Driving back roads--
geese gathering in mown fields
Friday, August 15, 2014
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Monday, August 11, 2014
August 11: Waxwings in the blueberries
My mother's birthday.
Waxwings gorge on blueberries,
a happy flock.
And Mom, you'll appreciate this: later in the day, the blueberries were approached by an acquisitive family of four crows that strutted together right down the driveway for a snack, much to the annoyance of the local Blue Jays.
Waxwings gorge on blueberries,
a happy flock.
And Mom, you'll appreciate this: later in the day, the blueberries were approached by an acquisitive family of four crows that strutted together right down the driveway for a snack, much to the annoyance of the local Blue Jays.
Sunday, August 10, 2014
August 10: Up Mount Battie
We played tourist today. Sailed on the Schooner Surprise this morning out of Camden Harbor with (almost) my whole family, to celebrate my mother's birthday. Then we all enjoyed an al fresco lunch together on the river: lobster rolls and whoopie pies. Later, my husband and I hiked out our front door and up Mount Battie in nearby Camden Hills State Park, making the most of this long, sunny summer Sunday and a rare day off together.
Familiar trails,
same vireo singing--
you still laugh at my stories.
Familiar trails,
same vireo singing--
you still laugh at my stories.
Saturday, August 9, 2014
August 9: Sapsucker
Hiked up Beech Hill today with my birder friend Brian, who goes up there almost every day. He pointed out a pattern of sap wells that a sapsucker had made a few weeks ago, and sure enough, a young sapsucker--hard to pick out in its drab juvenile plumage--was there feeding at them. A hummingbird also buzzed by to check them out, as well as many bee-type insects. A veritable community feeding station.
Sapsucker fledgling
sips from its parents' sap wells
surrounded by bees
Sapsucker fledgling
sips from its parents' sap wells
surrounded by bees
Friday, August 8, 2014
August 8: Winnowing
I spent the afternoon selling organic blueberries at the Land Trust's blueberry stand on Beech Hill, as the berry crew worked busily behind me feeding boxes of freshly raked berries through the winnower (which removes the leaves and greenies). Boxes and boxes of berries, berries rolling past on the conveyer, squished on the floor, piling up in buckets...
The winnowers
will dream streams of berries,
hear their rolling thunder.
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
August 6: Summer evening, Rockport Harbor
After the storm passes--
mist in the wet fields,
small clouds of Queen Anne's Lace.
mist in the wet fields,
small clouds of Queen Anne's Lace.
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Monday, August 4, 2014
Sunday, August 3, 2014
Saturday, August 2, 2014
Friday, August 1, 2014
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
