Saturday, August 30, 2014

August 30: Shorebirds

Birded this morning at Lubec Flats, looking for shorebirds on the exposed beach at low tide.
 
Sandpipers panic
as the falcon sweeps past.
Heart-shaped beach stone.

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

August 27: Sweet summer perfume of hay-scented ferns

Long holiday weekend--
as I leave the office
sweet perfume of ferns.

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

August 26: 13 Crows

Neighborhood gang--
flock of thirteen crows
checking out the new home site.

Monday, August 25, 2014

August 25: Summer evening

Mist softens the mountains.
Waiting at home
a perfect avocado.

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

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.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

August 21: Harbor

Dusk, Camden Harbor--
Osprey carries off a fish,
we wait to be seated.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

August 20: Summer day

August hay fields--
tractor makes long windrows,
green apples swell.

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.

Monday, August 18, 2014

August 18: Tomato

Last cherry tomato
clings to the dying vine.
We make salsa.

Sunday, August 17, 2014

August 17: Loss

Wake from a nightmare--
I almost lose my mother.
Young crow calls all day.

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

Friday, August 15, 2014

August 15: Rainbow

We missed the rainbow
Three schooners at anchor
Late, lovely harbor light
 

Thursday, August 14, 2014

August 14: Blueberries

High-bush blueberries--
the mailman steals them
and here's the catbird...

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

August 13: Flood warnings

Flash flood warning--
heavy rain on the car roof
Mozart interrupted

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

August 12: Art Opening

We expected rain
at any minute.
She sold every piece.

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.

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.


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

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

August 7: Goldenrod

First glow of goldenrod--
the field shifts to gold,
summer's mood downshifts.

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.

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

August 5: Gathering storm

As clouds gather
the finches grow louder.
I need a nap.

Monday, August 4, 2014

August 4: Dusk

Sitting on the back step
while the cat grazes--
unexpected peace.

Sunday, August 3, 2014

August 3: Dinner at the Slipway

Waterfront dining--
egret flying over us
an added bonus.

Saturday, August 2, 2014

August 2: Migrating shorebirds

Popham Beach State Park--
the fisherman and I
marvel at the sandpipers.
 

Friday, August 1, 2014