Guardians of the Seeds - Coastal Maine Botanical Garden Trolls

The Trolls, the Trolls! My buddy Shannon, and I, made it to the Botanical Gardens yesterday. What an amazing Troll-filled day we had. Note that all quotes (in brown) are from the information posts about the trolls in the gardens.

ROSKVA

While crossing the bridge from the visitor's center to the gardens proper, I happened to look to my right and spied the first troll, Roskva. Can you see her?

As we got closer, some of Roskva's details and amazing height started to become obvious. I don't know about you, but I was so excited to see this masterpiece of recycled wood. Click here to learn about the artist and the trolls at the Gardens.

When we reached her, up close and personal, I was overwhelmed with her actual size! Until you see the trolls in person, you cannot truly appreciate them! And appreciate them we must as they are the Guardians of the Seeds. 

"Roskva stands for the TRUNK of the tree. Roskva is the heaviest, hardest, and strongest of the trolls. Every day, Roskva climbs towards the sky, and every year she grows taller and wider. If a troll forgets something, they can always ask Roskva–she counts the seasons and remembers everything that happens around her."

A docent was kind enough to take a photo of Shannon and I with Roskva. We were dwarfed by her height!

BIRK

We walked down the Haney Hillside and then along the Shoreland Trail to visit with the next troll.

Oh my goodness! As we rounded a bend in the trail, Birk's head could be seen above the young pine trees.

There he was, lounging on the ground, or so it seemed. You see, "Birk holds the ROOTS of the tree." But there is more to his story...

"Birk is the wisest and most mysterious of the trolls. He hides in the shadows and listens to the whispers of the soil. He knows everything that happens in the wild, and every day he tells tales to all the other creatures of the forest."

"Birk knows that a tree's roots are as big as the branches above it. In the forest, these roots are all connected to each other."

"Trees use this wood-wide web to signal to each other who needs food or who is in trouble from pests and disease."

Shannon posed next to Birk's foot show the scale of this fabulous troll. As he lounges here year after year, the wood that makes him up will return to the soil and nourish the tree roots below.

Of course, I had to have my "troll time" as well!

GRO

We left Birk and made our way toward the Rhododendron Garden. As we traversed the North Trail we came upon GRO.

I felt immediately at peace. "GRO smiles with the LEAVES of the tree."

To know GRO is to love GRO.

"GRO is a wanderer. Every fall she disappears, but the trolls are not worried because every spring she returns to the forest. On her return, GRO walks around to make sure every friend of hers is fed. After hurrying to catch a few sunbeams and a handful of raindrops, she creates a feast for the forest."

Those of us who are lovers of forests appreciate all of the bounty that GRO provides. "Most of us can't eat sunlight, but GRO knows trees can–with their leaves." "Using the Sun, leaves make animal life on Earth possible."

SØREN

After admiring the waterfall and flowering plants in the Rhododendron Garden, we took the Maine Woodland Trail toward Birch Allée.

As we walked, we saw an unusual troll sitting in the middle of the trail with his hair sticking straight back as if the wind was blowing it. SØREN was here.

We followed other visitors and entered this section of the trail under SØREN'S bent knee. First came Shannon,

followed by me. What a funny way to walk a trail! SØREN was so whimsical. 

"SØREN sticks up for the BRANCHES of the tree." And, branches he has for his hair!

"SØREN is a very curious troll; his head is always turning and twisting, searching for places ever higher. He dreams about drifting around on a cloud in the sky, and when the wind is blowing, he loves to celebrate with a dance."

"SØREN can see that up in the branches there is a whole other world. Branches are alive."  Reach for the sky, SØREN!

LILJA

Our last stop was to see one of my favorite trolls. To get to her we hitched a ride down Birch Allée toward the Children's Garden.

Oh my, I felt an instant connection to LILJA. Why is that, you might ask? Well, it is because "LILJA holds the scent of the FLOWERS of the tree." And, for some silly reason, I felt the need to tickle her tummy!

"Just last summer, Lilja came out from her hiding place. The youngest of the trolls, she's still just a child. She loves the colors and the scents of the flowers and when bees and butterflies fly among branches." 

I truly get LILJA because I am the same way. I adore flowers and I truly believe that "Everybody needs flowers!" And, off we went to the Children's Garden where flowers, fairies, veggies, chickens, frogs, and fish thrive! LILJA's spirit is part of everything we saw there! 

By the way, we walked close to 4 miles on this adventure!

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens..so many flowers!

Shannon and I went to the Botanical Gardens today. It was rather drizzly and downright rainy at times, but that didn't diminish our spirits or our sense of wonder and fun.  

As we walked toward the Visitor Center, we came upon waves of Bee balm which is one of my favorite flowers, and I've never seen so many different colors of it!

We saw a new garden construction and were wondering what it will look like in August/September when we visit again! This one is just beyond the butterfly house. 

There was an intriguing willow tunnel near the butterfly house. Unfortunately, I couldn't bend down and walk under it with my bum knee.

If you saw my post about the trolls, the first troll we visited was Roskva. To get there, we walked across a bridge over a pretty pond. Here you see the pond and a gorgeous cement sculpture of a Great Blue Heron.

From there, we walked under an arch to enter into the Learner Garden of the Five Senses.

This is such a wondrous place. To our right was a little pond which flows over a wall and into a lower connecting pond. The landscaping around it is fabulous!

To our left was where we filled the rest of our senses! We love the vertical gardens and Shannon is bound and determined to create one of her own some summer.

This one caught my eye with the patterns of plants, colors, and textures. It is so lovely.

As we walked to our next destination, we saw mounds of pink calla lilies in so many gardens. They prefer a much warmer climate to grow all year and have to be lifted in autumn.

I have a love affair with lilies, and this color and size were so spectacular!

Throughout the gardens, we also so oodles of chipmunks and little red squirrels scurrying this way and that. This little chipster had absolutely no fear of us and was busy munching on a seed outside of his burrow.

We headed down the Haney Hillside which connected with the Shoreland Trail. We passed a lovely little creek which gurgled over some artfully placed rocks. Water flow is so calming.

We took this trail over to the Landing Trail, then to the North Trail which brought us to the Giles Rhododendron Garden! Whoo...long hike! The rhododendrons were no longer blooming, but it was so peaceful there. We waited out a rainstorm while standing under an accommodating pine tree.

Who doesn't love a waterfall? This is one of my favorite spots in the Botanical Gardens. With it being so chilly and rainy, we decided to skip dangling our toes in the pool above and headed toward Birch Allée where we picked up a ride toward the Children's Garden.

We were dropped off near the back side of the Bibby and Harold Alfond Children's Garden. As we walked, I had to pay tribute to Mother Earth. I love this statue...

Talk about filling your senses...the Children's Garden is amazing. There were instruments to play, lobster traps to haul, books to read, fairies to visit, chickens to feed, and vegetables to grow! 

Is this dill? Wow, what a stunning flower head!

There is a shed for kids to explore which is surrounded by flowers and an innovative fence.

The fence, whose posts are topped with cats, has lovely flowers lining its entire distance.

As we walked further down the cat fence, a gorgeous Monarch butterfly decided to sup on a black-eyed Susan. In past years there were so many more butterflies than we see nowadays. Sad...

There were some intriguing prickly flowers as well. The leaves and stems made you think twice about touching the flowers.

Check out the texture of this lacy flowerhead. It looks like an intricately crocheted doily!

And, the daylilies were at their height of bloom. This one was so lovely with all the raindrops on it.

After leaving the Children's Garden, the sun started to peek out from behind the clouds and we headed for the Great Lawn. Here, Shannon could relax in one of her favorite chairs.

At the edge of the Great Lawn, there were coneflowers galore!

Oh my... the colors on this one took my breath away! I could go on and on about the flowers. But, you'll have to go there yourself to experience the total joy that the Botanical Gardens can bring to you as the seasons progress.

Loon Survey # 6 - Re-nesting has occurred.

Whoo Hoo! The loons created another nest and another egg! In the video, you can actually see the loon manipulating the egg, (zoomed way in) at between 3:26-3:30. Cool!

In looking at this nest, it is directly exposed to wave action of the pond. 

It is on a tiny island opposite the metal dock at the south end. I hope it survives rain and wind events that occur over the rest of the summer. The original nest was much more protected.

Of course, I think the building of this second nest occurred during the time I was in Florida, the last 10 days in June. Ugh...I seem to keep missing the big pond events. Hopefully, I will be available for when the chick hatches out, but I think I will be up in Millinocket when hatching occurs. My trip is from July 27-30, and egg incubation is approximately 27 days. Unreal! We'll see!

The loon parent was not amused as I paddled past the nest on my way to the other end of the pond. It flattened down so that I would not see it. 

P.S. I have been so pleased with the Nikon P-1000 camera's video and still shots. If I can stabilize my hands enough I can be at a far distance away and zoom in to get pretty good shots and not disturb wildlife, which is always the goal.

Caesar Pond Paddle

 

As always, I puttered around Caesar Pond after hanging out with the loons. I immediately made my way to the north end and parked myself in front of the beaver lodge. This is my favorite location on the pond. 

As I sat there, I saw lots of tree swallows, and I cheered them on as they captured so many flying insects. Look at this bird's profile. Isn't it just lovely! I love how the wings are settled down and the tail is up. Ready for takeoff at any moment!

The belted kingfishers were very active this morning, and I was lucky to see one settle on top of one of the dead larch trees on the island next to the beaver lodge. He was chattering away!

I paddled to the farthest part of the north boggy area and settled myself in somewhat near the outflow area. There were masses of gorgeous pickerel weed in a natural "water garden" . They attract all kinds of flies, wasps, and bumblebees.

A flock of 6 Cedar Waxwings flew onto a tiny tree about 15 feet in front of my boat. They tend to fly together as they nab insects in the air above the pond.

They always give me a chuckle as they look like masked bandits! All told, I spent 3.5 hours of absolute joy on the pond. The weather was so perfect that it was difficult to tear myself away. Nature is so wondrous and exciting.

Post-tropical Cyclone Elsa dropped much needed rain

Wahooo! We got 2.43" of rain from Pos-tropical Cyclone Elsa. Luckily, it was too far out to sea to give us any wind. Our precipitation total thus far is 5.63" for the month of July.

Counting raindrops

We are in a drought. Last month we barely got 2 inches of rain, and less than than in the two months before. Springtime is supposed to be our rainy season and we got heat. But, this month is different. We are finally getting our life giving rain. Thus far, we have had 3.2 inches as of this morning, and more rain is on the way for the next two days. Our July historical average is 4.0 inches. Let's see if we can hit that goal! 

Loon Survey # 5

Just a short update: I only saw one loon swimming and fishing on Caesar Pond. But, neighbor Billy said that he saw one and heard another one, so I need to go out and do a more thorough search. He said he saw a loon on an island near the southern shore.

Caesar Pond Paddle

As I was doing my loon survey, I looked to my right and saw this gorgeous spiny caterpillar on some grasses of a little island.

So as not to disturb the loon any longer, I decided to paddle toward the north end of the pond. I always like scanning the western shore as there is always something of interest to see. There are a multitude of rotten stumps supporting ferns and other plants with their nutrients. I am a fan of stump gardens!

Unfortunately, I happened upon two dead tree swallow chicks. One was in the water and one was on the bank as you see. I fished the one out of the water and put it next to its sibling.

Then, about 15 feet further down the western shore, I found a tree swallow chick perched on a twig at the water's surface. It gave a little chirp as I "rescued" it, but died about 10 minutes later. I can only assume that the chicks all either fell off a branch high up above the pond, or were all kicked out of the nest for some reason.

But, a bit further down the shore I saw two cedar waxwings flitting about catching insects on the fly. They would briefly perch on branches before continuing their hunt for breakfast. Birth, life, and death happen continually. Sadness and joy are intermingled during each day on Earth.

It's Puffin watching time!

 It's that time of year again. Check out the Audubon Society's Puffin Cam on Machias Seal Island! Fun, fun, fun! Below are some screen shots that I took from the highlights of this season. The web cam's WIFI isn't working very well.

Puffin parent.

Puffin parent building nest.

Puffin parent with egg.

Puffling!