Leaf Entrance

Here's another West End image. As you can see, the doorway and many of the windows are still shrouded in reds, yellows, and tinted browns. Even after the strong winds of Monday, they're still hanging on. What's up this weekend? It's going to be a beauty, with lots of sun and temps, maybe, reaching the low 60s. But me? Basically two words: moving wood.

Veterans' Day

Happy Veterans' Day!
My Dad would have loved this flag. Last summer on the way to Kitty's place in VT, we came across this flag. Love the flag; love the windows on this one. Dad always said, when it comes to windows... "gotta have six over six". Here's 'twelve over twelve'. Whew! That's a cleaning job. His dream for me was always to have an old house. "Are ya satisfied Dad?" On our floors, settlers walked pre-Civil War. Gentleman farmer, Jacob Hamblin, traversed our fields, walked our hallways. The night we moved in in '77, I waited patiently for sounds of 'back then'. Nothing! But I'd be less than honest, if I said I haven't heard Dad and Mon whisper my name late on winter nights, like a moth dancing on a summer screen. I stir to my elbow. Silence. I'm waiting tonight.

Autumn Bridge

It's Deering Oaks Park in late autumn. In childhood and now, I never miss a chance to take a stroll 'through the Oaks'. The skating pond, the duck house, the bandstand, this bridge, the warming hut and the seemingly, endless pathways were all a part of my youthful ways and still are. I like to think that I'm still a bit 'youthful'. In many ways, the antics I pulled in Helen Kibler's seventh grade reading and social studies classes still linger very much in my adult psyche. I readily believe that those who know me well, today, certainly my siblings, would probably agree. This park is special to me, always has been. So, I was very excited, last Christmas, to open a lovely ornament of the Duck House from my PA(Personal Assistant... hahaha!) and dear friend Donna. It'll be hanging in another 3 weeks or so, filled with special times among these shrouded paths.

November Boatyard

The wind and rain have passed from the last few days. The pre-winter clouds are moving briskly by overhead. The boats here are either wrapped for winter or will be soon. Back home, I'm passing time getting the yard and garden set for spring; collecting and cleaning birdhouses, piling brush to burn this weekend, splitting and stacking some recently cut wood and bringing in the deck furniture. Of course, it's not something I'm excited about doing. Why? It's that final 'death knell' of another summer here in southern Maine.
And this summer... my dentist recently asked me, "Ever remember a summer like this?"
"No." I replied.
"Know why?" He continued.
I took the bait.
"Why?" I said.
"Because, we've NEVER ever had a summer like this!" He laughed, grabbed his drill and went back to work.

Sunday, Sunday

As the song goes, I don't know if you can trust that day or not. However, to tell you the truth, I seem to have pretty good luck with Sundays. And ya, I know it was about Mondays, but Sundays for me fall into that category. For me, unlike Mondays, my week mentally begins on that 'day of rest'. Come noon, on a Sunday, my week often begins. No matter how I try, my mind seems to always begin to drift to the coming week. We arrived back from Jersey late. Now, if the Patriots get embarrassed(34-14... the Browns?), and I wake up to a terrific, pounding wind and rain, like this morning at 4 AM, the day begins to slide downhill fast. Throw in an electricity failure and what a start! There was one positive..., but I'll keep that one to myself.

Warm Fuzzies

It was a special day: Devin and Victoria's Wedding. It was a wonderful afternoon and evening with all sorts of emotions. I like this photo taken recently. It sort of goes with a lot of the fanfare and emotions of a day like this. It's always so much fun getting together with Elenka's extended family and the Jersey crowd. We had a time!

Devin's Day

Happy Wedding Day Devin! Today, my nephew Devin and Vicky are to to be wed here in Jersey. I love this shot of the cousins Daniella, Justin and Devin, taken a few years back, on Babka and Papa's couch. Lots of mileage separate them these days, but it's always so much fun to see them interact with laughter and stories, as they did last night. There are always so many beautiful, indelible images of a wedding day. If I close my eyes, I still can replay many of of ours like they happened yesterday. Devin and Vicky enjoy yours. It's your day! LOVE you!

Another Side

This one's plain and simple. Can you beat a good Irish pub on a Friday afternoon? I think not! About a year and a half ago, I photographed and posted the other side of this establishment. The one with the large parrot. It's usually a challenge to get into before or after a concert at the nearby Civic Center. This fact reminds me of a Yogism, humorous quotes from former Yankee catching great Yogi Berra, "Nobody goes there anymore, because it's too crowded." Enjoy the weekend. Celebrate something; we will!

Orange on Peach

As my better half always says, "Jeese, take a step back and see what's in the picture... background, background, background. Do you see what you're doing?" Now, to be perfectly honest, she's mostly not talking to me, and for that I thank my lucky stars! To be perfectly honest on this one, I saw the background, but I never saw the tree... just the 'peachness' of the side wall of the house. As you can see, the black-lined branches are starting to show themselves here on the West End. The house is peach with the orange leaves holding on for dear life on a side street. Fall wanes.

Circus, Circus

Well, the elections are over, and the Circus has come to Maine... for the next four years and maybe beyond. Growing up on Stevens, the voting booths were located at the Arbor Street Fire Station. We woke up on Election Day one year and gigantic shoe prints were painted in white leading to the station. On our way to school, we figured that the neighborhood had been overrun by giants from another world, wearing HUGE shoes, until someone mentioned it was voting day. And of course, all the footprints led to the fire station, where red, white and blue bunting was hanging just above the three doors. We all had a good chuckle on that one. We kids had been had! With "We Like Ike" signs everywhere, it was Eisenhower easily winning a second term.

Mr. Pumpkinhead

Look what I caught hanging around my garden Sunday just before sunset. With apologies to Jamie Wyeth and Shipyard Brewing Co. and of course Washington Irving... it's my Mr. Pumpkinhead, here among the dead sunflowers and corn stalks.

http://www.shipyard.com/taste/

Theme Day: Public Transportation

Today, November 1, 2010 is Theme Day across the CDPB(citydailyphotoblog) community. Gotta love Converse making their way back onto the scene. I'm sure they'd say they never left, but take it from me they were GONE for quite awhile. I wore them as a teen and as an adult. High tops, low tops didn't matter. Pretty cool! As a matter of fact, there is a wonderful shot of J- sitting on my knees on the back steps. He's about 14 months; me in my red lowtops and J- wearing his red Nikes. It's one of my favorite all time family shots. Strange: teens today call these shoes; I call 'em sneakers. Kids today?!

Falling House

Happy Halloween!
One All Hallow's Eve, we knocked on a witch's door on a dare and was invited into her kitchen. There, in front of a blazing fire, she dropped apples into each of our bags. That was a pretty scary experience, but I don't think, in the DARKNESS, I'd ever knock on this door--- Ever! Would you?

Rendezvous

One of our favorite places to hang out through the seasons is here at the Portland Harbor Hotel. Summers sipping a martini in the garden courtyard, with the afternoon sun lighting the tables, is a mighty fine experience. Merry Madness, an evening of shopping and merriment in December, when it was held here was the best. February brings Ice Bar memories. My brother and I attended the very first one, when it was held here. As I recall, Elenka was visiting Florida( she wouldn't have ventured out with us anyway... had it been the Heat Bar, she certainly would have been up for a night), and the temperature that day had hovered at about zero. That night Mr. Mercury dropped to somewhere between 10 and 15 below, and Marchin and I were off to see what it was all about. The lobby, bar and restaurant areas were packed shoulder to shoulder. There was food all over, but the beverages were served outside in the courtyard. Now, they had the firepit blazing, with plenty of guests sitting and talking, and a few of those large propane patio heaters were scattered about providing some warmth. But it was still FREEZING! We finally got to the Ice Bar (a HUGE bar cut out of a block of ice), ordered a couple of brew and bro handed the poor, young lady bartender a hundred dollar bill. Oh my! Between the temps, her gloves, the change for the 100, (I think it took her about 5 minutes to make the change) it was like a cartoon frozen in time. I'm still smiling!

DownEast5

Our weekend trip ended in Lubec, Maine, the easternmost point in the US, with a brief sojourn to the red and white candy striped West Quoddy Head Light. There has been a light here guiding ships through the Narrows since 1808. This distinctive light was built on this spot in 1858. Did you know it's the closest point to Africa in the 50 states? That is a strange fact, if you ask me. Later in Lubec, we stopped for coffee and stared across the water at Canada. The town reminded me an of an old West ghost town, abandoned buildings and few inhabitants. Soon we headed off on our 5 hour trip back home, across the airline to Bangor, then south. There were lots of sights along the way, with the autumn colors taking their final curtain call.


http://www.lighthouse.cc/westquoddy/

DownEast4

We stayed at Elsa's Inn on the Harbor, a delightful B&B in Prospect Harbor. It was the perfect place for us! Outside our windows as we traveled, some delightful names whizzed by: south china, east palermo, the kingdom, searsport, stockton springs, verona island, bucksport, orland, sullivan, steuben, milbridge, columbia falls, hulls cove, otter creek, gouldsboro, prospect harbor, winter harbor, jonesboro, machais, whiting, lubec, northfield, the airline, beddington, the whaleback, aurora, amherst, clifton, eddington, newport, fairfield, sidney, litchfields corner, gray, standish and by then it was 'home again finnegan'! Quite a two day romp, if I do say so.

http://www.elsasinn.com/

DownEast3

One of my favorite hangouts in the Park is Schoodic Peninsula. It's bit of a longer drive but the 'pot of gold' at the end is well worth the extra miles. Once many years ago, I awoke at 4 AM one summer morning and set out to negotiate summer traffic on Route 1. Why? The allure of those rocks and the falling sun. I got back well after sundown, but with a camera full of dreams.

DownEast2

So many great images... so hard to choose. After lunch, our 'road trip' took us along the loop trail which circles Acadia National Park. It's cliched, but around every bend on the road there was an opportunity for different images. In this photograph, one of the many carriage paths travels overhead, but below was where beauty was hidden for me. Startling... the camera is humbled here.

Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean. -John Muir

DownEast1

It was a DownEast weekend adventure for us. All we really knew, when we started Saturday morning, was that we were spending the night at Prospect Harbor at a B&B. We left the house at about 7:30 AM, with our first main destination Bar Harbor, but we stopped a few times along the way to take in some sights with the camera. We pulled into 'Bah Hahbah' about noon and walked the main drag taking in the shops. This is a shot of the town square in its autumn colors. Later, we drove the loop road around Acadia National Park and to the top of Cadillac Mountain for lunch that we had brought in our cooler. Delicious roast beef sandwich for me, while Elenka went with her usual nutritious meal, that seems to always put me to shame. Delicious views too!

Paintbrushes

Good morning from Prospect Harbor, Maine! Last night we ate in a small diner in Winter Harbor. What great names!

Here's a bit more color, although there's not a lot of autumn tints here. We're moving into this final week of October, with lots of final bundling up of the homestead on the docket. It's also a week of Halloween festivities. Believe it or not, I'm not big into Halloween parties and dressing up in a costume, at least not on this spooky night. I guess when I finally grew out of that devil costume, I left that chapter of my life behind. But don't get me wrong... I do enough 'masquerading' in my other life to suit me and my friends just fine.

Blue and Cream

By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea!
You and me, you and me, oh how happy we'll be!
When each wave comes rolling in
We will duck or swim,
And we'll float and fool around the water.
Over and under, and then up for air,
Pa is rich, Ma is rich, so now what do we care?
I love to be beside your side, beside the sea,
Be side the seaside, by the beautiful sea!

This song is from the 1914 musical score "For Me and my Gal" made famous by Spike Jones and the City Slickers. Dad loved this guy and his music. I just thought the name Spike Jones was so cool. He'd often play the radio in the darkened den on Stevens Avenue, and this bandleader's hits were a favorite. Unbeknowst to others I might be with, I'll find myself humming or softly singing this tune while walking along the beach or even here at Bug Light.

Off on a day trip DownEast, and yes, I'll be near the beautiful sea!

House Afire

Is this another example of the randomness of life? Or is there something else going on here? Heading off to photograph a couple subjects and all of a sudden this strange building passed me by. Is this a house? Is this a storefront? A grange hall? How about a relic of a country church? Is it just a remodeling job gone bad? I'm a bit perplexed by this one. How about you?

Fall Scatter

The pond at Deering Oaks is edged with autumn debris these days. Walking around the entire edging, the other morning, brought me up close and personal with many ducks, a wonderful fountain and lots of scattered leaves. This morning, this image reminds me of skating here many moons ago and stopping to search out oak leaves entombed in the frozen ice. Don't ask me why I looked for them, or even why I was so intrigued by their sight. Frozen, close to the surface, it was like they were held in some microscopic, suspended world, that I could examine so easily. Strange, what triggers the old memory bank.

Tree Death

It's sad when a tree dies. For most, it's a slow death. Sometimes... when we lived on Washington Avenue, and I was in First Grade, a hurricane hit the city. Mom, Dad and I watched as a huge elm teetered and tottered all afternoon and eventually came down across the road. It took telephone lines with it and rendered the house dark for a few days. I'm sure it was a pain for my parents but for a six year old, it was some exciting. That tree waved back and forth in a fierce wind before she toppled over. Once she started leaning, her life expectancy was greatly reduced.Today, we have a couple of trees on the property that soon will be taken down. One is this one, a type of cherry, that leans perilously towards the family room The other, a once proud maple, is slowly losing its majestic shape on the lawn. Its twin was taken down ten years ago. When the day came to take her down, I spent the day away; I just couldn't bear to see her hit the ground. I still miss that old maple. Ol' sentimental me.

Tank Design

Looking off towards Portland, I spied one of many storage tanks at one of the local tank farms, as they call them. I don't know if there is much 'cultivating' going here amid the fuel storage systems; however, the blueness, tank edging and shadows caught my eye. It was a lovely autumn morning: made more so by a nearly clear, blue sky and a brisk breeze.

Pine Grove

I've always told people, if they wanted to listen to me, that one of the most beautiful places in the city is Evergreen Cemetery. As you head in the main gate that leads towards the cemetery office, bear right on the main tar drive and look for these iron gates, that indicate the small Pine Grove burial grounds. It's a small private lot that is almost indistinguishable from the main cemetery. Growing up nearby meant that I spent a lot of time wandering the myriad of roads and trails in these parts. We always entered the cemetery, regardless of the season, via the very step hill that leads to this old section. Whether it was skating on the many ponds in winter, playing golf among the stones or daring each other to get from one end to the other near midnight, it is a place that clutches lots of memories.

Sail Away

Yesterday, the Explorer of the Seas spent her last call in the city for 2010. Seeing this majestic ship in Portland helped to recall our spectacular 9 day trip to the Caribbean, on board her, this past June. I wrote this summer that we love cruising, but that, unlike the fanatics that sail away a couple of times a year, we space ours out a bit. For us, it seems to bring forth that added ingredient of the mix of longing and coming excitement. And yes, the eye does not deceive. The water looked almost black to the eye at Bug Light, where this photograph was taken. And the wind was nasty too out on the point. I love this setting, looking off to Portland; it provides a dramatic angle of the city when sky, weather, sunlight or night lights paint the skyline.

Signs, Signs

Growing up art Morrill's Corner, there were six gas stations scattered about a short distance. The Sunoco, the Esso and the Shell stations all could be seen from my second floor bedroom on Stevens Avenue, and I had adventures connected to all of them. Further around the corner, just past Howard's Variety, you could have found a Texaco, an American and a Chevron. Six distinct brands in such a short proximity. Now, a Subway sandwich shop, a McDonald's, a Wok Inn, a lumber supply building and car wash have overtaken the neighborhood. At last look, one station remains where once six, proud, 'full service' islands stood. Few relics endure of a bygone time.

First Born

october 15
she paints
she cooks
she cares
she loves
she travels
she creates
she jokes
she wines
she dines
she gardens
she sews
she teaches
she learns
she plays
she shops
she listens
she prays
she dresses
she accomplishes
she's there
she's then
she's memorable
she's forward
she's back
she's the difference
here, there and everywhere
elenka

Rake 'em!

Rake 'em, if you got 'em! Ya, they're almost mesmerizing now, but in another three weeks, they'll be the bane of homeowners. Once the 'leaf peepers' head back home in a few weeks, it'll be up to us to clear up the damage. Back in my teens, it got to my job on Stevens and Coyle to rake the leaves into the street set the piles on fire. But, of course, that's a no no these days. Now at our house, we've raked them into tarps and lugged them to the field and in other years to the compost pile. These autumns, I just mulch the leaves by driving my riding mower over them, again and again pushing them towards the street. After that, I just let the autumn winds do their thing. 'What God has joined together let no man put asunder'... except when it comes to that painstaking job each November of raking dead, brown leaves off my front lawn.