The First Dusting of Snow

We got our first dusting of snow overnight as the temperature dropped below freezing for a short time. Since the daytime high was only in the low 30's, the snow did not melt. Now, at 10pm, the temp is 24F (with a feel like temp. of 18F.) It feels so cold outside and will take some time for us to get used to the new lows!

Gardens Aglow - Boothbay

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is hosting the largest LED light show in Maine. The staff have strung lights (nearly 200,000) all over the main gardens for their Gardens Aglow exhibit. Check out Bangor Daily News article for a review. The Gardens will be open Thursday - Sunday evenings until Dec. 31st. I know that we are going sometime soon. How about you?

Pond Prowling at Sunset

I felt a great need to hop in the boat after what felt like a long week at school. With the time change, I rarely saw the sunshine during the week, so I just had to go for a pond prowl, even if only for an hour, and even though the air temperature had dropped into the high 40's.

The sun dropped down behind the trees within a few minutes of my launch, and the sky got dusky fast.

As you can see, the deciduous trees have all lost their leaves, and the starkness of late autumn has begun.

I crossed over to the western shore to check out a deserted beaver lodge.

Then, I headed to the north cove to check out the duck boxes, and to search for our resident beaver.

I didn't see the beaver, but he tail-slapped the water three times to let me know of his disapproval of my presence in his territory.

I soon saw the moon, situating itself high over the pond, signaling approaching darkness.

The shadows began to deepen, and I realized that I had better head for home as darkness was descending rapidly on the pond.

As I began motoring toward the south end, I found that I couldn't see much of the water's surface because I had forgotten to bring a flashlight. I came up with an ingenious solution! I periodically half pressed the shutter button of the camera as if to take a picture. Looking through the view finder, I found that the camera was quite good at gathering light, and I could see the surface of the water, and the tree-line, just enough to find the dock.

Of course, I had to take a few more parting shots of the calm, watery reflection of trees and clouds.

And, then I bid the pond a fond adieu...Sleep soundly, my friend...

First hard freeze

The surface water of the bird bath froze over this morning. This was the first hard freeze we've had this season as the morning temperature dropped to around 25F. Gee, winter might actually be arriving soon;-)

Commenting is now enabled

Due to a request by a good friend of ours (who is a Facebook aficionado), we have enabled comments on our blog. We tried this back in 2007, and it was a great success with family and friends. We had some great discussions, storytelling, and friendly banter about nature and photography. In the past, my students were so vulgar that we had to disable commenting, but we are now willing to try again. Enjoy! (P.S... If you are a student of mine who does enjoy the blog, and you are emotionally mature enough to comment intelligently and nicely, please feel free to do so;-)

Popham Beach State Park Scenery

There is nothing like a day at the beach. The soothing sound of waves caressing the sand, gull calls, the whinnying of horses, the happy chatter of children, barking dogs, and the contented sighs of adults as they all let go of their cares for a few moments in time...beach time, that is. Ahhhh....

We love poking around on the beach, and today was perfect. The temp. was nearly 60F, with a nice breeze under a mostly cloudy sky. There were horses galore, a group of greyhounds and their owners (us included), and random families spread over the wide expanse of beach. Never did we feel crowded. It was low tide, and we spent a good bit of our time climbing around on Fox Island. The views were spectacular.

We also did a bit of beach combing along the water's edge. I am trying to accumulate enough good photos for a scenery calendar this year. I found this clam shell getting pushed around by the surf, so I took a number of photos of it in different positions. And, the sand dollar was a bonus;-)

Pond Prowling on a warm afternoon

Ahhh... the joys of pond prowling after a rough week of school. Today seemed like the longest day ever. Maybe it was because I knew that I was going boating as soon as I got home. And, I did. I was out on the water by 3:45 pm, and I enjoyed every minute of the hour I spend poking around. It was rather cloudy out, and the sun set at 4:30 pm, but since the sky stays light until 5pm, I was able to bebop around to my heart's content.

The predominant colors are gold and burnt, orangey brown this time of year. The oak and beech trees are the only deciduous trees to still hang onto their leaves, but even they are dropping a few leaves here and there.

I love photographing sunsets, and the clouds added a bit of drama to the sky. 

This was my favorite photo from the prowl. I was still at the north cove as the clouds were lit from below. Shortly after this shot, darkness set in and I headed for home.

Firearms Season begins

Toby is ready for hunting season to begin.

Firearms Season begins today and runs until Nov. 28th. Please, please, please, do not go out into the woods without wearing blaze orange.