I woke up on early Tuesday morning greeted by a cool breeze and a dark horizon, it was time to take a shower and head to the Bangor International Airport. When I passed through TIA’s security checks I boarded the near-full aircraft to my surprise; most of the commuters were from Maine. Earlier during the week I had read an article on how to take photographs through an airplane’s window as it’s something that I’ve wanted to attempt the next chance I had; unfortunately my window was scratched to the point where they would show. The sun started to rise as the jet engines were warming, by the time we were in the air the sun was just above the horizon illuminating the dark blue sky that display a beautiful gradient. As we climbed higher Maine’s many bodies of water were covered with a light fog- a common sight in the mornings of Maine.

I arrived to the Cincinnati, OH airport a mid-sized airport and from there we were up and down in about 45 minutes. I arrived to Roanoke Airport in Jeans and polo with an under T as it was cool in Maine but in Roanoke it was roughly 90. We had dinner at The Cracker Barrel, I had the same meal as last time- Hardy Breakfast.

Thursday the 30th was a little cooler, in the high eighties with very high humidity. Mom and I hiked Otter Creek Trail which was roughly four miles long consisting of river bed trails, tree root stairs, crossing the stream, walking under bridges and the woods up and down mountain stream crevasses. At the end of the trail a log cabin restaurant awaited us at which Jack treated us for dinner.

On Friday the 31st we headed out to Jamestown, VA to visit the original and permanent English settlement that began the US’ history. Friday was probably the hottest day that I experienced for a very long time, the temperature was at 100 with very high humidity. When we first arrived to Jamestowne we drove the park loop that had informational signs depicting what the inhabitants did to survive. At the beginning of the trail a male Eastern Box Turtle was crossing the road; Jack stopped so I could take a look at it as I’ve never seen a Box Turtle before. Near the end of the loop there’s a path that leads to a beach on the James River, since it was hot, mom and I went in knee deep- the water was bathtub hot something a Mainer is not accustomed to.

Once we finished the loop we headed to the original settlement where excavation was still in the works, we visited the first Christian Church, a remake of how houses were built, remake of the three ships that landed and a museum that hosted many artifacts that were dug from the site. Tools have always interested me, especially early tools man has used to ease his work; the museum had a lot of old tools ranging from eye glasses, ear picks, make-shift knives, hoes, metal shards meant to stop intruders, etc.

Afterwards, we headed towards Virginia Beach only to find out that traffic was very very heavy- what would normally take 45 minutes took us roughly two hours. Once we arrived we walked on the beach and I went knee high since I did not not bring my swimming shorts.

Sunday the 2nd was my first visit to Thomas Road Baptist Church since Jerry Falwell passed away a few months ago; his son, Jonathan Falwell is now the primary pastor for TRBC. I am always amazed at how God has blessed Jerry’s work and the people he’s help bring to Christ and one of the many things that show this is TRBC and its members. During the service I started to regret turning down a job interview for Liberty University last year because there are so many groups and outreaches that I would like to be apart of. TRBC posts the majority of their sermons on their website, even if you’re not a Believer, I suggest that you at least check one out, especially “Preparing To Build, Part 8″.

Monday’s weather was a cool (for Virginia) 82 with partially clear skies, Sharp Top Mountain’s visage was semi-clear. On our way to Sharp Top Mountain we stopped in an Angus field to snap a few photos. We purchased bus tickets to the top of the mountain as didn’t want to spend the majority of the day hiking; while waiting for the bus one of the Game Wardens allowed me to take their pet Box Turtle out so I could properly photograph it. Once we reached the top, the skies were regrettably hazy but we still enjoyed the limited view. On our decent a Doe walked passed us, ate a few leafs of a lower hanging branch, walked passed us again, stopped and stared at us. Mom was just inches from feed her a handful of leaves; the Doe was very calm and curious, she followed us down the majority of the trail, eating and watching as we walked. As funny as this may sound, I think she was a gift from God as I was complaining that I didn’t have an opportunity to take a decent shot of much today.

Later in the evening I photographed the Moon hours before the full lunar eclipse that I woke up for very early in the morning.

Early in the year the topic of Puffins arose between Michele, a fellow photographer co-worker of mine, about how we wanted see them in person and have the chance to photograph them in their own habitat. A local magazine had an article that highlighted pros and cons of each Maine Puffin tour, we both decided on Norton’s Puffin Tour due to having the option of actually getting on an island to view the Puffins- all but one other tour guide is not allowed to set foot. The island that Captain Norton is allowed to dock with is Machias Seal Island, an island only occupied by American and Canadian Game Wardens and of course various bird species and seals.

I woke up around 4:30am and left with Michele at 5am to arrive in Jonesport by 7:00am; on our way we saw several Blueberry harvesters in the fields of Machias and other Western-Maine towns. We arrived on time and boarded “The Chief”, an old Lobster boat that had been refitting to hosts roughly 25 people- thankfully we only had 18 people on this trip which allowed everyone a seat. We set sail and shortly after leaving the harbor the weather dropped by at least 15°, the seas were very calm. After an hour we the island was in sight with Puffins throughout the air, sea and land; as we got closer more wildlife came in to view, Puffins, Razorbill Auks, Grey Seals and even a spouting whale in the distance. The captain said the island hosts 3,000 Puffins which I had a difficult time believing but now that I have actually been to the island that has changed. Once we were on the island Michele, myself and two other photographers went into a 5′x7′ shed with little spy windows. Once we heard the pitter patter of Puffins on top of our shack we opened the blinds and to my surprise Puffins were everywhere, literally covering the rocks for as far as the island spans. Puffins make an interesting call or chatter that is similar to the noise of a chainsaw in the distance.

After a few minutes, Puffins gradually moved closer to the blinds allowing us to see them up close; they are such a unique creature, no larger than an American football, with orange feet, black feathered wings, their rear plumage consists of coarse black hair, the same with the chest and belly but white and the features that makes these birds so unique is that their black eyes are immediately surrounded by an orange and red triangle with a similar colored large beak, their head capped with the black plumage with white face. Their look resembles a mix between contentedness and sadness when viewed from the side. The Puffin is a member of the Auk species which is interesting as their cousins; the Razorbill Auks are very different in terms of their color.

We were in the blinds for over an hour which is more time than most people are allowed, I was able to take roughly 200 shots; unfortunately I was overwhelmed by how many Puffins there were- I did not think enough to capture them during their normal routines of fighting, cleaning, squawking and beak rubbing. After an hour of watching and photographing the birds we re-boarded The Chief and headed back to the shore; I slept most of the way back despite the loud motor.

We stopped by one of Michele’s family run business; they harvest and process Blueberries right out of their garage. They built a machine to separate the Blueberries from the bushels; the entry point of the machine has a vibrating conveyor belt to remove twigs and rocks, the belt proceeds through an enclosed vent that sucks up leaves, the berries are then dropped down on to another conveyor belt where they are dispensed in to different size Blueberry boxes. After visiting for awhile, we drove down the road to their Blueberry store that ironically is designed to resemble a Blueberry from the outside; being a connoisseur of berries I purchased two scones and a Blueberry Pie.

Last year for Christmas, mom gave me one of her bird feeders that sits in a window sill and has a two way mirror so I can watch birds. I installed the feeder at the beginning of Spring, filled it with a mixture of seed and waited a month before a Sparrow found the feeder. As the time went on, more and more birds discovered my feeder, eventually I purchased a Thistle Nyjer Stocking and hung it above the original feeder which successfully attracted 6 sets of American Goldfinches. As the summer months came I eventually was able to attract more birds with different types of seed such as the Black-capped Chickadees, a pair of Northern Cardinals, Purple Finches, Chipping Sparrows, and Cedar Waxwings. Usually every morning I wake to these different birds chirping and or fighting over the feed, once in a while I am able to actually open my window without scaring off all of the birds, unfortunately I have not yet been able to capture a Cardinal or Cedar Waxwing, but I have been able to capture a few Goldfinches, Sparrows and a Purple Finch from my 2nd floor apartment window.

I enjoy sitting on my bed watching the birds fly in and out of the feeders, fighting, feeding and listening to them sing while reading my Bible in the morning and or after supper.

Today was one of those beautiful summer days that you just need to experience every time they occur; the temperature was hovering around 75°, the skies were mostly clear with a very light breeze. Some of my favorite ways to enjoy such as day are as follows: Four wheeling, hiking, walking in a field barefoot, kayaking, driving down the road along the coast with the windows down, sitting above the coast listening to the waves below, playing Xbox and swimming.

After Church, I decided to put my kayak to use and headed to Eddington which is ten miles from Bangor. Eddington hosts a few ponds and streams, one being Chemo pond. While I was unloading my kayak a man with a Saab was loading his kayak onto his Thule Hull-a-Port- a system that I am considering purchasing for my car as the foam blocks are not working out that well. I asked him how his trip was and his thoughts on the Thule system; he explained that he does not regret the purchase and that they make the entire trip more enjoyable due to the ease of use.

I set sail and sighted a destination for today’s trip; a stream on the south eastern edge of the pond. Streams and small rivers are one of my favorite bodies of water due to the amount of wildlife and plant life that you can encounter. This stream’s width fluctuated from 10′ to 40′ throughout its many twists and turns and hosted beds of Lilly Pads at every bend giving off a sweet aroma. The shoreline was lined with thick berry bushes, exposed stumps, Pitcher plants, mud clad mounds and razor grass. The water was very calm and clear which allowed me to view fish swimming along the bed of the stream, Painted turtles sunbathing at the surface of the water, Bull frogs basking in the sun on Lilly pads and beavers moving hewed trees. As I neared the end of the stream, beavers had built a dam that I could not transpose but it did however allow me to utilize my new 70-300mm lens. While relaxing in my kayaking, taking in the sun, listening to the water trickle over the cluster of twigs and branches, Sparrows and Goldfinches chirp I heard splashing near by; the reason why I waited had come to fruition, two young beavers were swimming around enjoying the sun. I was able to quietly paddle close enough to them so that my lens could reach in on one of the beavers scurrying a way from me; they are very agile in the water.