JOURNAL
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!
It's snowing as we speak.
Thanks to neighbor Judith Fuller for this. She displays ever-changing banners with seasonal themes at the entrance to her driveway. It’s a bright spot when driving down Naskeag Road to the Harbor. (Brooklin, Maine)
It’s a sunny 31 degrees as we speak; there are patches of snow in the woods; sea ice is forming along the shore, and snow is predicted for tonight. But, the snow is gone from our North Field, where this doe and her yearling fawn are frequent browsers.
We haven’t seen a red-nosed deer yet, but it’s several hours early for one. (Brooklin, Maine)
The Matilda Bay, a fishing vessel out of nearby Blue Hill, sank in the cold waters of Naskeag Harbor Wednesday night or early Thursday, possibly having been swamped during high winds. Here we see Matilda Bay as she was being brought up off the bottom yesterday afternoon:
For reference, here's an image of her moored picturesquely in the Harbor during a snow flurry four days ago (December 19):
A significant local effort was made to raise her and tow her to shallow waters for pumping and inspection. Hours of bitter cold labor were endured by, among others, the crews of the fishing vessels Captain Morgan, Christopher-Devin II, and Dear Abbie:, as well as Al Hutchins on his derrick barge and professional diver Greg Canders, who braved the 38-degree water.
Above, we see a red float marking the location of the Matilda Bay and Canders surfacing after an inspection and positioning of air bags. Then, as the air is pumped, she begins to rise. Below, Hutchins' derrick gets hold of Matilda Bay's mast and starts the lift:
Part of Matilda Bay's cabin breaks the surface:
Towing lines are attached, and she's brought into shallow water to await a low tide pumping, inspection, and movement to a repair facility
At low tide early this morning, Matilda Bay suffered the further indignity of being caught in this snow and sleet storm:
For larger versions of the above images, as well as a few additional images of this operation, 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 for more:
(Brooklin, Maine)
This is a mobile home lot that won’t open until spring. Now, it’s a cemetery of washed-up shells once owned by Periwinkles that have gone to snail heaven.
In the spring, Hermit Crabs will arise out of their “crab torpor” (hibernation within the ocean bottom) and come into the shallows looking for a place like this. Some of the crabs will need to trade in their tight, old shells for bigger ones. Here's one from the summer:
Periwinkles are non-native sea snails that were introduced here from Europe centuries ago on the rocks used as ballast in the old sailing ships. Now, they occupy rocks along our shore:
Periwinkle shells often are collected and made into jewelry. The snails, themselves, can be cooked and eaten as appetizers. (Brooklin, Maine)
Here we have last night’s Waxing Crescent Moon sailing over Great Cove at dusk. At that time, the whole orb can be seen, but most of it is in shadow. “Waxing” is archaic English for “growing” or “expanding.”
The illuminated part of a waxing moon grows in crescents from the right, getting larger each day until the Moon’s First Quarter, when half the orb will be illuminated by the sun. We’ll see the First Quarter on December 26 of this year and a Full Super Moon on January 1, 2018. By the way, a “waning” (decreasing) moon opens from the left. (Brooklin, Maine)
As you know, we’ve been monitoring some of the old, gnarly, and long-abandoned apple trees that simply won’t let go of some of their apples – despite several snow storms, a fair amount of wind, and the year’s end being near.
Scientifically, it may be an enzyme deficiency that keeps the fruit glued. Imaginatively, it’s Mother Nature getting the Christmas Spirit and creating ornaments for her old trees.
(Brooklin, Maine)
It snowed yesterday afternoon, complicating this commuter’s life. Wild Turkeys are big birds that need plenty of food, but the “servings” that they eat often are small. In the winter, they eat nuts, berries, buds, seeds, mosses, fern spores, and peck fallen apples, among other things.
The snow continued through part of the night. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to sugar the trees out back, which always is a nice wake-up sight.
(Brooklin, Maine)
Here we see Captain Morgan in Naskeag Harbor yesterday. She and most of the other “lobster boats” that remain in the water have been rigged as trawlers and have been dredging for scallops. Some boats also are platforms for SCUBA divers to hand-harvest “Diver Scallops” in certain areas.
Scallop fishing is highly regulated in Maine, where the season lasts 60 or 70 days, depending on zone. Those fishing days are spread out a few days each month from December into April. The daily limit is 15 gallons, shucked. (Brooklin, Maine)
Downy Woodpeckers are year-long residents here. They’re our smallest woodpeckers, usually growing to between six and seven inches. Yet, they’re tough; the red patches on their heads were considered by Native Americans to be badges of courage.
Downeys also are monogamous and often travel in playful pairs. They’re among the woodpeckers that can extract larvae and other hibernating insects out of wood by spearing them with their barbed bony tongues. They also gulp down berries ferociously and can be bullies at home feeders.
(Brooklin, Maine)
As we speak, it’s brilliantly – squintingly – clear and 19 degrees (F). Last night’s light snow decorates parts of the fields and stones like powdered sugar. Slow-moving shafts of sunlight are probing the newly-cleansed woods. There is no wind; Great Cove is an unblinking blue eye.
The image of a nearby wooded trail, above, was taken about this time on a similar day, December 10. With the posting of this report, we’ll boot-up and enter the day. (Brooklin, Maine)
This is a good looking woodshed designed and owned by our neighbor.
An estimated 50 percent of Maine homes use wood for supplemental heat and about 14 percent use it as their primary heating source, according to the latest Census data we’ve seen. This creates tradeoffs.
Firewood is an inexpensive, renewable resource, which is good. But, burning wood produces potentially harmful emissions, especially if burned in a fireplace or old stove that does not meet Environmental Protection Agency standards. That’s not good.
Nonetheless, we regretfully confess that, for us, one of the more satisfying things in this short life is being in front of a wood fire on a snowy day and rediscovering what “cozy” means. See second image. (Brooklin, Maine)
We have many beautiful country roads, and some of the most beautiful are hidden and privately maintained.
The hidden ones usually are of “rotten rock” gravel and often wind sinuously through woods, where they’re intersected every now and then by driveways that lead to houses deep within the trees or out on the shore.
It’s a joy to walk along these roads after (or during) a green summer shower or after (or during) a white winter snow storm. Here, we’re walking on a nearby lane earlier this week. (Brooklin, Maine)
Around here at this time, if you see what appears to be a post-and-panel barn without doors and no footprints going to and fro in the snow, you’re probably looking at a boat shed.
Here’s one on the WoodenBoat Campus; it has a small opening in the back for access. There are beautiful things hibernating inside that won’t be awakened until the spring.
(Brooklin, Maine)
It’s snowing as we speak, but not everyone is inside. Majestic Bald Eagles still fly; crazy photographers still pursue them. The eagles have the advantage.
They have inner, third eyelids that slide horizontally every few seconds like windshield wipers to clear the eye of snow and sleet (their nictitating membranes). They also have a bony ring around their eyes that gives them the large, overhanging eyebrows that produce the “eagle stare” (their sclerotic ring). This image was taken during a former snow storm, but we’ll soon be going out to try to find another eagle. (Brooklin, Maine)
Here we see (and wish we could hear again) the Bagaduce Chorale being led by Director Bronwyn Kortge in its annual winter concert in Blue Hill on Saturday.
The Chorale’s next (and last) performance will be Sunday, December 17, in Ellsworth. It’s a must-see for anyone who loves Christmas choral music. This year, the Chorale is accompanied by an orchestra in performing, among other works, two “Epic Glorias”: one by Francis Poulenc and the other by Karl Jenkins.
Director Kortge leads the ensemble with her usual energetic grace:
Soprano Katelyn Parker Bray gives an extraordinary performance in each Gloria:
(Brooklin, Maine)
Director Bronwyn Kortge Soprano Katelyn Parker Bray
Our first transformative snow storm of the season began yesterday afternoon and continued through the night. It was fairly tame; we went to Blue Hill for a performance and dinner and had no trouble driving in it.
Judging from our deck, we got about six inches. Here, we're looking southwest over our north field toward Great Cove and Eggemoggin Reach early this morning:
To our east, the Spruce and Balsam Fir Trees got a good coating.
To the north, the River Birch Trees seem sugar-coated.
(Brooklin, Maine)
It’s reassuring to come home on a winter night and see the welcoming lights of the Brooklin General Store (and our Library, which we’ll talk about on another day).
We’ve had a general store as the heart of the village since at least 1872, except for a worrisome 16 months that ended in June of this year. During those prior months, the rickety old store, shown here, was razed.
It was replaced by this spiffy one in the summer, thanks to publicly-spirited neighbors:
The importance of an all-year/every-day general store to coastal villages cannot be overstated, nor can the difficulty of keeping such a store going nowadays. Our General Store is more than a local place to get basic groceries.
Among many other things, it’s a place for fishermen and other early workers to have coffee, breakfast, and conversation beginning at 5 a.m.; it’s a café for residents and workers to get together for lunch; it’s also a nearby spot to get gas, oil, and air for the car, and it’s where you easily can pick up some beer, wine, or desert on the way home -- until 8 p.m.
The General Store's parking lot and the Library lawn across the street also are congregation points for July 4th parades and other public ceremonies.
(Brooklin, Maine)
A few vibrant Beach Rose leaves have extended their visit into December to remind us of Autumn. They’ll leave soon and then the plant’s bright red rose hips will take center stage.
These hips are packed with Vitamin C and antioxidants and harvested for food and cold remedies. Nonetheless, Beach Rose (Rosa rugosa) is designated by Maine as an invasive species.
The irony is that it was imported from Japan more than a century ago to stabilize erosion along New England beaches – which it does well, but it also turns into large, uncontrollable, and thorny barriers that are almost impossible to remove without harm to the shore. (Brooklin, Maine)
The burbling of this woods stream could be heard a quarter mile away yesterday. Overnight and morning rain added to its vivacity.
The stream is one of our favorite places and a popular hidden waterhole for wildlife, especially deer. The cascading water is cold, sweet, and even aerated at this point. (Brooklin, Maine)
Sunday’s Super Moon left us a reminder of its power over our coastal community. We’ve had high tides of more than 12 feet for the past three days. Yesterday, the tide reached 12.9 feet, more than a foot higher than shown in this image of WoodenBoat’s pier taken before the tide peaked in Great Cove.
A 12-foot tide often is visible to the naked (and patient) eye; it comes rolling in at more than two (vertical) feet an hour. (Brooklin, Maine)
