One of the magic tricks that August does here every now and then is to briefly and unexpectedly pull the clouds over the sun on a breathless day and create eclipse-like light. The waters become like reflective black ice and the spruce and balsam fir trees along the shore become dark shadows.
Here you see such a dramatic moment happening in Naskeag Harbor on Wednesday afternoon. What made it extra-special was a small, white catboat slowly and soundlessly entering and leaving the still, dark scene -- gliding smoothly about as fast as the second hand on a clock.
(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on August 20, 2025.) Anticipating Questions: My guess is that the boat is a 14-foot fiberglass Handy Cat (“HC”), a Merle Hallett design.