In the Right Place

  The drizzly rain and thick fog that blanketed us Friday through Sunday enjoy this place so much they’ve decided to extend their vacation here until Wednesday, June 21, according to the weather forecast. Grand vistas of the rolling sea under blue sky and rockbound coast under tall spruce have disappeared; the end of our world now is a visually impenetrable wall that is less than 100 yards away.

However, within that 100 yards, some of the smaller scenery is lush and lovely. Here we have a Dwarf Iris, bejeweled in raindrops. The flower is named after Iris, the Greek Goddess of the Rainbow. We’re hoping to see its namesake in a day or so. (Brooklin, Maine)

In the Right Place

It’s been wet and foggy here the past three days, which has led us to muse about a moment partly captured by this image taken Thursday, June 15. It’s early, breezy, and cool as we stand behind the Pond, gazing up the slope of the North Field.

The morning sun is just now touching the field’s wildflowers and grasses, making them glow with appreciation. Stratocumulus clouds are commuting to work above, their reflections gliding across the slightly rippling pond water, where the frogs and turtles are stirring in the increasing warmth. The sun’s fingers are probing into the woods slowly, as if taking care not to alarm the deer, the last of which has just eased into the trees after spending the night in the field.

A good day begins. (Brooklin, Maine)

In the Right Place

A Broad-Winged Hawk has renovated and taken up summer residence in an old raptors’ nest in the nearby woods. She’ll soon conduct summer camp for her fledglings, which may number up to five. They’ll learn to hunt in the dense woods and field edges, where they’ll develop tastes for frogs, toads, snakes, small rodents, and large insects. In the fall, they’ll instinctively head for Central and South America.

However, right now, these potential campers are incased in shells beneath their still and well-camouflaged mother. She innately knows that danger surrounds her – raccoons, porcupines, owls, hawks, and crows around here prey upon nested eggs and fledglings. (Brooklin, Maine)

In the Right Place

The Hibiscus flower is daylight sex on a stem. When it offers itself, it offers all it has – it becomes a cosmic explosion of unfurling, exotic colors and shapes that attract humming birds, bees, and many humans. At night, it wants to be alone and closes itself tightly.

In Tahiti and Hawaii, the tradition is that a woman wearing a red Hibiscus behind her right ear is looking for a relationship; a woman who wears one behind her left ear is signaling that she’s in a relationship. Around here, the Hibiscuses usually are in movable planters, rather than behind ears. (Brooklin, Maine)

In the Right Place

The Lewis R. French motored into Great Cove with sails furled during an afternoon stillness Wednesday; yesterday morning, she charged out with a 15-knot tail wind. Here she is moored near the WoodenBoat School, which her passengers visited as part of their tour.

The schooner was launched in 1871 out of Christmas Cove, Maine, where she was built by the French brothers and named after their father. In her youth, her life was varied and hard: Among other things, she freighted bricks, granite, fish, lime, firewood, and Christmas trees.

Now, the French is a classic and almost luxurious vessel out of Camden, Maine. She takes visitors out for leisurely, week-long sails among the islands and coves of Down East Maine. Here, the last passengers are returning from ashore, and the French hoists sail.

She tacks into the wind and then veers off with the wind behind her.

//5. 5843

(Brooklin, Maine)

In the Right Place

In the Right Place: It’s Flag Day. On this day in 1777, the Second Continental Congress resolved that “the flag of the United States shall be of thirteen stripes of alternate red and white, with a union of thirteen stars of white in a blue field, representing the new constellation.” Congress didn’t specify how the stars should be arranged in the flag’s upper left field (the “union” or “canton” of a flag). Consequently, flag makers arranged them in circles and other designs.

This “Stars and Stripes” version was the second “American” flag. At the time of the Declaration of Independence, the original Continental flag also had the 13 alternating red and white stripes, but its canton was a variation of the British Union Jack. (Brooklin, Maine)

In the Right Place

Maine has four species of the orchid known as the Lady’s Slipper: The Pink and Yellow Lady’s Slippers are uncommon; the Ram’s Head and Showy Lady’s Slippers are rare. (Yes, “Showy Lady’s Slipper” is the real name.)

The problem is that these attractive plants not only require special conditions to grow, but humans like to collect them.

Lady’s Slippers need soil that contains the mycorrhizae fungus; the plant must carry on a symbiotic affair with that fungus to obtain the energy and nutrients it needs.

The image here is of a Pink Lady’s Slipper. (Brooklin, Maine)

In the Right Place

June is the time when many lobster traps and their buoys are trailered to the shore, sometimes looking like a traveling art form. (Three-dimensional geometric abstraction?)

This gear is then stacked on the fishing boat’s deck, often taking up almost all available room there – and more. (See the second image, below.)

The traps are taken for a ride to their seasonal destinations, where they’re lowered in little colonies onto the craggy bottom, while their buoys bob in colorful patterns on the sea surface. (Brooklin, Maine)

In the Right Place

Roses are in bloom. Greek legend has it that the rose was created by Aphrodite, the goddess of love, from her tears and the blood of Adonis, the god of beauty and desire (and her lover). The truth is more mundane.

The rose apparently has been developed into one of the world’s most loved and varied flowers by eons of competitive growers and exhibitors. They continue to create species and give them marketable (and trademarked) names. The rose in this image is an Italian Ice® rose. (Brooklin, Maine)

In the Right Place

In the Right Place: On a clear day, we can't see forever here; but, we can see the June moon 238,900 miles away. (Brooklin, Maine)

In the Right Place

The phrase “to know the ropes” originated with would-be (or impressed) sailors on wooden sailing ships that once ruled the waves – the men had to learn the rigging to protect their lives. Rope was important to sailors then and it still is, even if they’re not sailing on a Ship of the Line.

In the harbors here, maritime ropes are as common as sea gulls. They can be gracefully still: hanging, coiled, or piled. They can be in action, forming quickly-thrown cleat hitches to lash a boat to a dock, or running up a sail.

In this image, the old, multi-stranded rope is hanging patiently near a ramp into Great Cove at the WoodenBoat School. It’s been spliced with a knowing hand and the end is whipped to prevent fraying. (Brooklin, Maine)

In the Right Place

Yellow Warblers have returned from Central America with mating on their minds. This male Yellow is singing one of birdom’s most melodious songs: “sweet, sweet, sweet, I’m so sweet,” trilled repeatedly up and down the scale.

He’s hoping to attract a blonde beauty with which he’ll likely be monogamous, at least for the summer. When she comes along, she’ll be identical, except she’ll have very light chestnut-colored stripes on the breast or none at all.

One of the collective names for this species is, aptly, “a sweetness of Yellow Warblers.” (Brooklin, Maine)

In the Right Place

 Water Lily stalks rising from the murky bottom of this pond are reaching the surface and spreading out into pads. These pads are the leaves of the plant; they're also aircraft carriers for dragon flies and food for beavers, muskrats, and deer.

The flowers – the actual white and yellow Water Lilies – will come up on stalks soon. In this climate, these non-tropical varieties bloom only in daylight; they slowly close each afternoon as the sun fades. (Brooklin, Maine)

In the Right Place

It’s raining, but softly. So, we go into the North Field, as planned, to see if we can sort out the fast-growing wild flowers, grasses, sedges, and rushes. As usual, we become overwhelmed and focus on something we know a little about:  Wild Lupines. 

Their luminescent flowers are in the process of sheathing the plant’s spearhead from the bottom up, transforming the weapon image into a little blue Christmas tree.

Pronounced LEW-pin, this plant also is known as the Quaker Bonnets Plant, due to the shape of its flower pods. Its real name, derived from the Latin Lupinus, is not so quaint: It means “of a wolf,” referring to the plant’s ravenous attacks on its docile neighbors.

Nonetheless, lupines are legumes and, for centuries, their beans have been eaten after being brined to take out toxins. (Brooklin, Maine)

In the Right Place

Sometimes, as we stand within the light sweeping across the coast of Maine, we get overcome by wonderment. It just wells up from within – no complicated thoughts; no articulation of words; no thinking of ourselves. Just pure wonder. Later, we think that this must have been happening to some people here for hundreds of years, and we feel a kinship with them.

(Brooklin, Maine)

In the Right Place

In March of 2016, our old, red, rundown General Store closed amid a mind-boggling scandal involving its manager. The Store had served the Town since 1872. Here's the entrance on the day it closed for good:

The community shuddered. It would take close to half an hour of driving to get the basic groceries and gasoline (not to mention the beer and wine) that we had gotten within five minutes. More important, there was no special place to spend early mornings having coffee with friendly neighbors. Then, four publicly-spirited and wonderful local people decided to buy the property and update it. They faced enormous problems, including a surprise determination that the rotting Store needed to be torn down.

Yesterday, our new, blue, spiffy General Store had a merry and grateful opening reception. We feel as if a long-lost relative has not only returned, but has returned looking more beautiful than ever. Outside, the Store fits in well at the Town "crossroads":

Inside, the Store has a wonderful look and feel:

(Brooklin, Maine)

In the Right Place

For Those of You Nearby: Today -- see a large, high-definition “portrait” of the handsome Stephen Taber we know and love – and try to balance munchies and wine while you’re doing it.

That is, try to stop by at our “Beautiful Brooklin” Photography Exhibit Reception between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. at the Brooklin Inn. (Brooklin, Maine)

In the Right Place

 Bald Eagles are flourishing, especially along the coast of Maine. They've been off the endangered list since 2007, but our national symbol remains protected from human harm and interference by federal law.

However, some people are questioning whether that protection should be lessened in light of the growing number of Bald Eagles that are preying upon other sea birds (not to mention free range chickens). 

Nonetheless, we suspect that most people who have had the thrill of seeing a magnificent Bald Eagle dive at close to 100 miles per hour want to keep that protection in place for a while. (Brooklin, Maine)

Postcards From Maine: The May Collection

In Hancock County

May is the month to love and honor those who gave others life (Mother’s Day) and those who risked their own (Memorial Day).

It’s also the time to enjoy the reappearance here of new lives and lifestyles in the form of birds, boats, and buds. Among the first birds to arrive here in May are the Tree Swallows, Red-Winged Blackbirds, and Ospreys.

May also is the month when our resident male Wild Turkeys get into the act by recreating themselves as other-worldly creatures that puff up to twice their size and slowly strut to get female attention.

The doors of boat houses are thrown open and the smaller boats brought outside and cleaned in May.

Moorings are anchored and checked and smaller boats backed into Eggemoggin Reach.

The coastal schooners begin to take tourists here in May.

Stephen Taber (1871)

In the bud and bloom department, the May gardens are simply outrageous with color.

At the end of May, the renewal is still in process: Wild grasses in the fields have not yet grown high; wildflowers there have not yet reached profusion, and leaves on the deciduous trees are only a hint of the dense canopy that they soon will form.

For larger versions of the above images, as well as additional images of moments in May that we want to remember, click on the link below. (We recommend that your initial viewing be in full-screen mode, which can be achieved by clicking on the Slideshow [>] icon above the featured image in the gallery to which the link will take you.) Here’s the link to the full tour of May in Down East Maine:

https://leightons.smugmug.com/US-States/Maine/Out/2017-in-Maine/May-Postcards-From-Maine/

Cheers,

Barbara and Dick

In the Right Place

Star Flowers are rising now in the mossy areas of the woods, including many “Lucky Stars” or “7-7s” – star flower plants that have seven leaves and a seven-petalled flower.

Soon, we’ll have May Apples in the same areas; but, of course, Maine May Apples usually don’t come until June. (Brooklin, Maine)