6/13/20 Whaleboat Island

By this time we had been in Maine for nearly two weeks, but had not yet gotten the motor boat, so I was looking for ways to get out and explore a little further. I decided to up the kayaking ante again and make the trip out to Whaleboat Island. Given how often I have passed this one by I have wanted to explore it for quite a while.

I set our on a beautiful Saturday morning with very little in the way of wind or waves and made my way out. I took my first break at the goslings, a pair of small islands a little over half way out to Whaleboat. You can see Whaleboat on the horizon at the left edge of the image.

Though it was the longest crossing, the next stretch went quickly, and I pulled up near the campground at the north end of the island and got out. My original plan was to explore the woods a bit and see what the interior of the island looked like. As it turns out though, the interior of the island is an impenetrable tangle of downed trees and brush. It would have been a tough bushwhack in the best of conditions, but my shorts and flip flops definitely did not help.

I decided instead to walk down the shore of the island along the high tide line. Though much more passable, it was still slow going. I took my time and enjoyed the varied rocks and occasional glimpse of the resident herons.

Once I made it about half way down the island where the vegetation opens up a bit I decided I should make may way across to the other side and head back. Once again, I was surprised to see just how dense things were. Though I eventually found a way, it took quite a while to get across. In the process I came across a couple glimpses of the handiwork of people who once lived on the island. Not much is left of their farms at this point though.

Once I had finally gotten to the other side, I headed back north along the shore. Surprisingly, the shore was actually quite different on this side, with much more gravel and mud. After passing a family of geese and a flock of seagulls at the northern tip of the island I quickly made it back to my boat.

With a final snack and a drink of water I pushed off and made my way back. On the return trip I paddled around the other side of the goslings and Goose Island. In the end it was a 9.5 mile paddle and a 1.9 mile walk. Definitely a highlight of our stay in Maine for me.

5/15/20 Frogs in the Yard

During a recent afternoon break from the “office” I wandered around the yard a bit. As it turns out my timing was perfect, and I happened to spot this friendly lady relaxing on the leaf of our irises. She was quite cooperative as I captured a few photos of her, and even after I scared her a bit he sat on the leaves and struck a pose for me. The green coloration was really incredible to see up close, especially with the bright sunlight.

The very next day I came across her brown friend on a nearby rhododendron. He was not as willing to take photos, but I still managed to get a pretty good shot. Despite keeping an eye out for the two of them I have not seen them again.

5/2/20 Hopbrook Marsh Conservation Land

Well we made it to through another week in isolation and emerged into a beautiful weekend to kick of the month of May. We decided to take advantage of it and explore some new trails in the area that we have not been to before. Our walk began at a small parking lot with just a couple of other cars. The trail wound its way into the woods and through the marshes passing a number of houses. Pretty quickly though, we were well away from signs of civilization, and the wildlife appeared.

We eventually found ourselves walking around a small pond that was quite overrun with turtles. There were easily hundreds of them on every tiny island, and log. In addition there was a heron doing some fishing, and a family of geese eating from the grass in the sun.

With all of the wildlife and beautiful views came more people as well. After we got back I found out that there was a second entrance much closer to this pond, so it seems that a number of people we coming in from there. We wound our way back towards the car, and saw a couple more critters along the way, including this beautiful snake.

All told it was a great spot, a beautiful day, and a great way to relax a little. I would highly recommend this spot to others.

4/18/20 Spring Snow

The morning of the 18th of April featured a bit of a surprise this year: A coat of snow on the ground. It was particularly strange given how little snow we had during the actual winter. Of course given all of the hints of spring we had been seeing, it made for some interesting pictures that I really wanted to capture.

In addition to the snow pictures I also had another chance to work on my macro photography skills when we found a stinkbug hanging out on a chair. He or she was nice enough to model for a few photos before we released it back outside.

4/20 Macro at Home

Now that we are stuck at home, I have been experimenting with new things to keep myself occupied just like everyone else. On the photography side this has consisted of dabbling in macro photography. I started off with some familiar subjects, the flowers around the house.

As I continued to experiment, I started adding some flash to help bring out the details, and improving the compositions. I can’t say I know what any of these plants are, but I have enjoyed the color they provide around the yard.

I also spent some of the nicer days out looking for bugs more active things to photograph. These turned out to be the most fascinating subjects. It is pretty incredible to see the intricate details of these animals up close. I was able to capture some moments with various things, including this back yard spider (click to view it) .

Macro photography has turned out to be a very challenging, but also very rewarding pursuit. Hopefully you all enjoy them as well.

2019 Home Recap

In addition to all of the photos I have been taking and posting here from our various adventures, I also have a number of one off photos I have taken while home, or out and about. Given that I have (finally!) finished uploading all of my photos from 2019, I figured now would be a good time to share some of the highlights from the photos that I have not yet shared.

First up are a number of flower photos from bouquets and gardens we have been to. There are also a couple of nature shots that did not make it into other posts, and one majestic cat.

In addition, there were many, many photos of Rose, our pet hedgehog. I have included a couple of my favorites here. Happy new years!

9/29/19 Ammoudi

After the sun had set, we headed into Oia for dinner. We made our way through town and down the steps to the port of Ammoudi. We had read before hand that it was 1000 steps, though the real number is closer to half that. The way down was fairly easy, and we had an amazing fish dinner right on the water. We got to choose our fish and have it cooked to perfection on the grill.

After dinner we walked around Ammoudi and then made our way back up the stairs to Oia. Though the trip back up was significantly more difficult, we took our time and enjoyed the ever changing views of Oia on the way. Once we were back up at the top we got to explore the main shopping streets of Oia with hardly any people around. The local dogs and cats were out in force cleaning up after the tourists and guarding their shops. As the stores closed up, it was off to bed to prepare for another full day.

9/1/19 Garden in the Woods

After a busy Saturday hanging out with our nice and nephew, I decided that Sunday would be a good day for a quiet change of pace. So, I went to Garden in the Woods again. For this visit the plants had changed yet again, and the turtles and frogs were out in force sunning themselves. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the weather.

8/31/19 Davis Farmland

We had a bit of an adventure this weekend when we joined some friends and their kids at Davis Farmland. We knew nothing about it going in, but apparently it is local establishment for kids, allowing them to interact with a number of animals and have a good time in general. We had a great time watching all the kids get so excited about all of the things to see, and I had a great time photographing them and the animals. To top it all off, the weather was beautiful.

8/24/19 Boston Museum of Science

We have been wanting to see the museum’s Bodyworlds exhibit for a while, and this weekend we took the time to head in and visit it. Of course we also visited the butterfly garden, always a favorite of mine. We both found Bodyworlds to be quite interesting. It is a very unique perspective on humanity.

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