Nesting Osprey
It's days like this when I'm so grateful that I dragged my camera along with me during my travels. Inevitably, when I don't have my camera, I come across the most wonderful sights. On my drive to Cutler, Maine this morning I noticed a platform...
Springtacular
Springtacular is an ever so brief period in Maine. It's the blissful moments after the snow melt and mud season are over but before the arrival of the black flies. It's short, and if you blink you might just miss it. We're in the middle of...
Softball, Forty and Frigid
Excited for Hannah's first softball game of the season, we arrived at the field with jackets and lawn chairs. Yet, we spent 99% of the game in the car wrapped up in blankets watching the game through the windshield. Frigid temps and bitter winds...
A New Backyard of Birds
This week at my folks house in Pennsylvania has given me a new audience of birds to photograph. Each morning, this Carolina Wren (a first for me) perched on a branch outside my window three stories up and serenaded me awake. I don't ever recall...
Swimming on the Blueberry Barrens
The melting of a significant amount of snow is creating ponds where they ought not to be found. At first glance, these American Black Ducks look to be enjoying a quiet swim on a local pond. When they're really enjoying a makeshift pond in the...
Great Blue Heron Spotting
Cruising through the countryside yesterday, I paused on the side of the road to photograph a pair of ducks. I ended up alarming the ducks and then flew off. However, in their wake, I spied this great blue heron doing a great job of blending in with...
Open for the Season!
Arriving home from work this afternoon I marveled at what a week of warm weather has done. The pond is half melted, and the snow around one edge has disappeared. The ducks, however, had little interest in exploring the new found amusement. So I...
Rooster Battles
Chicken testosterone has been running rampant around the farm this spring. Last year's batch of bantam chicks leaves us with two young roosters in addition to Spice, our Chief Rooster. This is how they spend their days. Posturing. Ninja moves....
Roaming Red Knot
You're lucky if you spot red knots as they stop briefly on their way from South America to the Arctic tundra. The trick with this ornament is trying to find colors that do justice to the subtle colors of this little bird. Have fun! To download the...
Joyful Day
What is a Joyful Day? It's the first "porch" day of the year with my coffee and camera - despite the snow banks that still line the house and yard. It's watching this little guy continue to drain my bird feeder. It's the flocks of dark-eyed juncos...
Signs of Spring
My world was full of signs of spring today. There's no more iconical image of spring than a robin. Well, unless it's two robins. The Canadian Geese are back enforce. Only in this case, they are accompanied by a lone snow goose who doesn't seem to...
A Good Mud Puddle
Today felt like Spring! Sixty and sunny, the ducks got some supervised play time outside their house. I guess you could call them puddle ducks as they were having a ball in the melting driveway. Splashing and preening, they were, feathers flying....
The Difference in a Few Weeks
Winter. Spring. Cadillac Mountain across the Mt. Desert Narrows.
A Most Unusual Deer
The late afternoon shadows hid this critter from view. More focused on not getting stuck in the snow and mud than in my surroundings, I wasn't even sure it was a deer until I pulled out my camera and studied her through the zoom. She gave me but a...
The Company of a Herring Gull
I paused in Lubec this afternoon to enjoy my lunch and soak up a few moments of spring-like sunshine, car window open. It wasn't long before I had company. This guy took up residence right outside my window, hoping for a handout. Not shy at all, he...
The Charming Common Goldeneye
The only sign of spring in these parts lately is the opening of the water on area rivers. What was once completely covered in ice now boasts open pools for paddling. Inspired by the ducks congregating on the Narraguagus this week, I bring you the...
Inky Beauty of the Crow
In search of bald eagles to photograph, I found only a crow on my latest outing. Common he may be, he's beautiful all the same with his inky black feathers. Equally appealing to me is the way the light plays off the barren tree branches on this...
Digging Out the Woods Road
The unusually bitter cold of February has put a huge dent in our woodpile. With another six weeks left in the heating season, we need to take some time to add to the wood pile. The challenge is, with all this snow, how do we get to the trees? Down...
A Little Melting Going On
Today was fabulous and 50 - a wonderful taste of spring with some serious snow melt going on. Despite the lovely weather, I was a bit taken aback when I arrived home to this: The 3+ feet of snow that had been lingering on the mudroom roof finally...
The Tiny Bufflehead Duck
This little bufflehead duck was inspired by buffleheads I spied in the waters surrounding Schoodic Point on Saturday. They are the cutest little ducks with a most ungainly, wobbly flight - and pink feet! Right click here and select "save target as"...
Cabin Fever Trouble
Longing to be outdoors today, I strapped on the only remaining pair of snowshoes we have that are whole. I took off at a very slow pace into the woods, testing the snow. The snowshoes are too small for both me and the deep snow we have, but they...
Running Away From Cabin Fever
Do you ever have those moments when things are not going right, and the answer is likely simple, and probably staring you in the face, but you cannot see it? That was me this morning. Rather than chasing my tail and wasting an entire day on a...
Black Capped Chickadee Show
It took a little time, but my new bird feeder that delivered so much amusement with the squirrels last month, is finally dinky birds. The chickadees are providing me a new source of entertainment. And photo ops. Thanks, Mom!
A Wind Swept Landscape
A late afternoon drive through Roque Bluffs State Park found me eager to walk the beach. Even with temps near 30, a few moments outside the car and I abandoned that idea. The wind was so biting and cold that I quickly determined I was not properly...
Farewell February
It's a wonderful thing to bid good-bye the most ferocious February in memory. February 2015 brought mayhem to my world. It was the coldest month on record. Ever. Seriously! Mother Nature delivered more than 8 feet of snow! This is the view out my...
