A quick post today, just a few flowers from around Mere Point. The big highlight here is this hummingbird moth. I haven’t seen these before, and they are pretty cool. They look and sound like a hummingbird, but aren’t actually birds. Just like hummingbirds they are incredibly hard to photograph in flight, so I have to apologize for the blur.
We made the trip out to Jewell island again this summer, but this time with the rest of the family. We spent quite a while relaxing at the punch bowl. My niece and nephew had a blast playing in the shallow water, and I poked around looking for some of the interesting sights, including this pink snail.
I have no idea what made it so pink. It looked completely unlike the rest of the snails I saw. I also made my way out to the rocks on the edge of the punch bowl, where I found more interesting color. This time it was a combination of red oxidized rock, little blue mussles and yellow barnacles.
We also walked to the other end of the island to check out the WWII era fortifications, including the tower. The kids had a great time checking out the view, but they were much less interesting in exploring the old battery. A few of us stayed back to spend some time there while the rest returned to the boat for lunch. Though they aren’t huge, there is quite a bit to see in the dark tunnels, assuming you bring a light.
Starting at the end of our stay in Maine we had access to the motor boat, and thus were more easily able to get out on the water. One of the most common sights are the harbor seals relaxing on the rocks. On this trip though there were some seal pups hanging out on the rocks as well. They perked up and watched us carefully as we floated by.
Not long after that it was back home to reality. Though it was a bummer not to be on the water any more we did appreciate being home. The clematis flowers in our front yard were quite the treat as we arrived. The color and texture of the flowers was simply amazing.
Well, here we are on the third and final set of sunset photos from our summer trip to Mere Point. The first photo is from an evening we spent at the end of the point with some family, a rare treat this summer. As you can see, the horizon had some thick clouds, but we were still treated to some excellent color, and the ocean delivered some great foreground scenery as well.
After that evening, the weather finally decided to mess with my routine. We ran into a string of dreary days that left us inside more often. I got some chances to get out and take some photos, but none of them would really be called a “sunset”.
Once the weather started to clear up though, it really came through with a couple of incredible evenings. This first evening came after a full day of thick fog. Most of the islands were completely invisible. Just before sunset it cleared up though, and I had the end of the point all to myself. I quite liked this view of the kayakers returning from their foggy paddle. Shortly after this was taken they called me over to confirm where they were, as apparently the fog had confused them. Fortunately, they had navigated correctly and were headed for the boat ramp just a few minutes paddle away.
The next day unfolded along similar lines, though it didn’t look as promising. The fog was just starting to clear as the sun was going down, so I decided to get out for a short boat ride. Fortunately I grabbed the camera, because I ended up floating into the middle of the sunset itself. The thin clouds and fog were all around me lighting up everything in vivid pinks, oranges, and yellows. Up above, the blue sky was showing through. The sun lit up the clouds all around me in amazing ways. I had a ton of fun taking the photos, at least until my camera battery died.
I’ve thrown a few more shots in here as well. All of these were at least taken around sunset, though some are not quite on theme. Still, I thought they were worth sharing.
With this week’s sunset photos I really aimed to branch out and get to some different parts of the point. The first photo is actually right near where last week’s were taken, but I thought a different angle served this one well. The sunset produced a beautiful orange glow, but there were simply not enough clouds to really make is spectacular. As a result, I stayed focused on the rocks and waves.
The next evening was another middling sunset. The colors never really came through the way I wanted them to, and the clouds that did light up were off in a strange direction. I did my best to take them in from a new angle, this time a little further down the east side of the point.
Given my results on the east side, I decided to try finding a spot on the west side. This little cove created some great lines in the image, and I was able to incorporate some of the boats moored just offshore. The water was calm and quiet this evening, enough so that I could see it slowly drain as the sun went down.
I have to admit, this one is a bit of a lie. Though this sunset was the next chronological entry, it is not actually at Mere Point! On this evening I decided to make a sunset crossing out to Sister Island to see the sunset from there. I ended up perched on top of a large rock at the south end of the island where I took in this view. I don’t think the photo really does it justice. On the other hand, maybe I was just mixing up the adventure with the beauty of it and it did not look as good as it felt in the moment. Shortly after the sun dipped down I raced back across the bay and made it home just before it got completely dark.
After the adventure the previous night, I returned to something a little more tame. Though it didn’t take much to earn the view, this sunset really turned out to be a beauty. As the sun faded behind the horizon the colors just kept getting better. This photo was probably taken 20 minutes after the sun set, but I just couldn’t help but sit by the water and take it in. Hope you enjoy it too!
One of my favorite things to do as we spend time at Mere Point is to watch the sun set. Because the end of the point, just a short walk away, offers such an expansive view of the bay and the surrounding islands it almost always looks great. During our extended stay in Maine in June I tried to get out to see that sunset almost every night. And now, after an unacceptably long delay, I’m sharing my experiences on those evenings.
First up, we have the evening of June 6th. This sunset was initially somewhat disappointing with thick clouds near the horizon keeping the glow to a minimum. However, as you can see, it came through in the end.
The next evening offered another set of mixed results. The clouds were again thicker than would be ideal, but just as the sun dipped down to the horizon it lit up the underside of the clouds with a soft pink glow that reflected down to the water. I really liked how the perfectly smooth tide pool gave a view of the cool gray clouds overhead as well.
The next evening the clouds looked much better, and I decided to return to that same tide pool to see if I could catch it with better lighting. In the end I’m not sure if it’s a better or worse picture, but it is certainly interesting as well.
The more time I spent at the end of the point the more I tried to mix up the angles I was capturing. After all, no matter how interesting the sunsets, they will all start to look boring if they keep repeating the same shot. Given that, I spent some time the next evening capturing this view looking at the dock to the north west. I love the way the setting sun was lighting up the seaweed and rocks.
The next couple nights were spent with other activities including everyone’s favorite: the zoom calls. However given how the first few days of sunset hunting came out, I was hooked.
To start things off, I have a couple of odds and ends style photos I wanted to share. The first one is a shot of the end of Mere Point with the classic red buoy in the background. I liked how this one lone seagull seemed to be taking in the view, perhaps just waiting for a crab to show itself.
We also had this little friend stop by the plastic pool that was sitting in the back yard. Our jumpy friend spent a few hours swimming around (to the delight of my niece and nephew) before heading back into the woods where they came from.
After a couple weeks of glorious weather, we got a whole different treatment. Over the course of a couple days we were essentially fogged in for the whole time. However, the weather never really got bad enough to force us to hunker down, so we just kept on enjoying the outdoors. I had a lot of fun capturing the quiet mood on the point as most people stayed inside. Everything felt like it was hushed and wrapped up in a blanket. The heron silently fishing in the seaweed fit right in.
We took a number of walks while we were up in Maine. One of the highlights of these walks were the flowers that people have planted in their yards. The lupine was particularly beautiful with various colors on display. My favorite were these red and pink ones that were lit up by the setting sun.
I have included a few more shots of other flowers below, along with one very excited puppy out for a walk as well.
Today I have a grab bag of shots from our stay at Mere Point. I have been working on a larger themed collection of shots as well so I apologize for the relative silence. I promise there is more coming.
These photos were taken on various kayaking trips and walks around the point. We were very lucky with the weather for an extended period of time, so we had plenty of chances to take in the nature that is all around there.
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.
