First Film of Ice on Caesar Pond

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The first film of ice formed on Caesar Pond this morning. It didn't last long as we got rain on and off, but it was there, nonetheless. Drew photographed it as soon as he got home from running errands.

I know that you can barely see the ice, and the pond is not completely covered with it, but this photo shows a bit more detail.

And, here is a view of the southern shoreline from the dock (which, by the way, we need to pull up onto shore this weekend;-) You can actually see raindrops on the surface. I wish I had been home as I love photographing ice, close-up... Soon, I'll have some opportunities over the coming weekends.

First Snow of the season!

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Yahoo! We got snow (about 1.5 inches)! It wasn't much snow, but it sure did make the landscape real purty.... 

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Drew snapped these photos at around 9am. Caesar Pond is always gorgeous, no matter what the season or the weather;-)

Gardening and Weather Update

This weekend was my last weekend to finish planting bulbs, and plant I did. I also dug up as many gladiolus bulbs as possible and put them on trays to store in the basement. I just finished the job in the rain. Yup...rain! Yesterday, our high temp. was 57F, and today we'll reach 48F. Yowzer, it is warm outside;-) In fact, our weather will continue in this vein, through Dec. 4th, with daytime temps in the low to mid 40s each day!

Environmental note of encouragement

Post-election blues... Upon coming home this evening, after a rather somber day at work, I read my e-mails and found this uplifting note from Lisa Pohlmann, exective director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine. I'd like to share it here as I will need to read it periodically to stay positive.

Today we awoke to the results of a bitter and divisive election, wondering what it all means. 

The outcome has many of us deeply concerned about whether the harsh rhetoric of the campaign will translate into policies that put our communities and places we love at risk.

At a time when we need to be coming together to solve problems facing our state, nation, and the planet, the campaign caused increased polarization, and tapped into fears and hatred like nothing that we have seen before.

Rather than despair, we must focus on those things within our reach that we can actually influence. We need to keep our eyes and hearts on what we love and are determined to protect.  We know how to stand up for the people, places, and values that matter to us.  And we will. 

I want you to know that the Natural Resources Council of Maine is more determined than ever to protect the places that we all love.  We will work with citizens and elected officials at every level—from the White House to the Maine Legislature to town councils—to protect a healthy environment that provides the foundation for our communities and our economy. 

There will be new environmental champions at the State House, too, like former NRCM Executive Director Brownie Carson – a new State Senator – and several other lawmakers who are longstanding NRCM members. They will join many other lawmakers who care deeply and will work hard to protect Maine’s environment.

We know that an overwhelming bipartisan majority of voters here in Maine value clean air and clean water just as much today as they did yesterday, and they are not interested in rolling back crucial protections. 

In the past year, we have seen more Mainers take action than ever before to promote solar energy, fight against weak mining rules, stand up for the Land for Maine’s Future program, and support establishment of Maine’s new Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. 

We are inspired by the impressive efforts of Maine people who are working for a better future.  They are actions of hope, and expressions of love for Maine. We will face the effects of these elections for months and years to come, and continue to draw strength and encouragement from the importance of our mission and the support of people like you. 

NRCM will never let down its guard in defending Maine’s environment.  Now more than ever, we look forward to working with you to continue to move our agenda forward.

All our best,

Lisa Pohlmann
NRCM Executive Director

Vote Early and Boat Often

Wow, what a nail-biter of an afternoon and evening. First, we went to our voting place and saw some cute signs created by some elementary school students.

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Then, we hightailed it home and I quickly got out onto the pond for my last pond prowl of the season. As expected, there were very few leaves left on most of the deciduous trees, so many of which are maple trees lining the shore.

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Neighbor Carla came along for the ride, and we headed for the north cove in hopes of seeing more beaver activity, but the pond was extremely quiet. We did see quite a bit of golden color on the dying leaves of larch trees (unusual conifers that lose their leaves in autumn.)

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The sun was getting low in the sky and we were pleasantly surprised to still see a bit of color from beech trees and mighty oaks that still retained their leaves. As you can see, some trees are already producing their leaf buds for springtime. The pond is so pretty, even without the color of the maples.

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And, I leave you with a beautiful photo of the area around our dock. We have a huge number of oak trees in this area. This is the last view I will have of the eastern shore of the pond, until ice-in when we can again walk on the pond this winter.

Mainely Wild Things Calendar - For sale

My newest 2017 calendar is now on sale. It is called Mainely Wild Things, and features some of my favorite animal photos. Also, visit our newly updated Maine Nature Bookstore for our other seven calendars for 2017. There, you can preview each calendar page. 

All calendars are $16.00 each. And, yes...all photos were taken by Drew and I. A portion of the profit will be used for enrichment activities at Star Academy.

Our 8 Calendar titles are: Mainely Wild Things, A Bevy of Birds, Just Lilies, Maine Garden Flowers, Basin Brook Farm Foxes, Mainely Butterflies and Moths, Fanciful Flowers, Maine Scenery. If you live locally, send me an e-mail of the titles you would like to order and I'll add them to my bulk order.

Pictured below are small snapshots of portions of the different calendar pages for the newest calendar, Mainely Wild Things.

Calendar Cover.

January through April.

May through August.

September through December.

Now, check out the rest of the calendars at our Maine Nature Bookstore. Click on "More Detail", then "Preview", to see the pages of each calendar you are interested in.