August 10: Hat

Sun on the sidewalk.

Little boy in flip-flops, shorts,

furry leopard hat.

Posted with Blogsy

July 19: Osprey nest

Atop the old mill's smokestack

nest of loud Ospreys.

The whole town hears them.

Posted with Blogsy

November 5: Owl visitor

Camden village green--

a dozen raucous crows mobbing

one calm Barred Owl.

Posted with Blogsy

December 31: Mount Battie star

The whole town hiked up

for the last star lighting--

here, we value beauty.

 

Posted with Blogsy

October 30: At the planning workshop

Morning, downtown--
skein of geese flying
past the opera house.

March 7: Mill sunset

Sunset's rosy glow--

even the peeling old smokestack

is radiant.

Posted with Blogsy

May 23: Downtown bird

Walking to my car in downtown Camden tonight after enjoying pizza with friends, I was a little surprised to hear a Black-throated Green Warbler singing his buzzy song in the handful of trees in the tiny Village Green.

Over traffic hum,
over the spatter of rain--
one warbler singing.

February 5: Downtown eagle

I was in the middle of the crosswalk in downtown Camden's busiest intersection this morning when an adult Bald Eagle soared overhead, white head and tail shining in the sun. I gestured to the driver of the car stopped for me, urging her to look up, and she saw it too. The sighting was even more fun for being shared with a stranger.

Later, at the office, two eagles flew downriver right past our windows. An eagle kind of day.

Eagle flying over Main Street--
sometimes I think
my town is a movie set.

January 7: Illumination

Another Monday back in the office, with another week ahead of numbers to juggle, memos to write, meetings to coordinate. The cold feels like it's settled into my bones, rendering me bleak and partly cloudy myself. But as I was driving back from an errand, snowy Mount Battie rose up ahead of me, its radiant presence glowing in the late afternoon sun with an almost ethereal light.

Confronted by such beauty,
the spirit rallies.
At least until darkness.

May 29: Peace sign

Photograph (and peace sign) by Clifford Pendleton

It was all over Facebook among friends here in Camden--or those from Camden--on Memorial Day. Cliff Pendleton had somehow managed to create a perfect peace sign by burning rubber right in the center of town the night before. The street serving as the canvas to this masterpiece of public car art is Main Street (a.k.a. Route One), at the intersection of three other major streets, the literal crossroads of town. The precision driving required to create such a thing boggles the mind a bit. 

As Cliff wrote when he posted this: "Fuel to town ten bucks, court summons [by the Marine Patrol, no less] hundred thirty nine, miles of smiles PRICELESS!!" This is civil disobedience at its best, in my opinion. I especially enjoyed seeing a photograph posted later of the town's Memorial Day parade passing over the peace sign. What better way to honor our fallen dead than to wish for peace so that no more fall in combat?

Tire tread mark peace sign--
sometimes a small disruption
can make a big point.