Another month has gone by without many posts; this may be the trend until I finish up some of the projects I have been working on lately. I’ve been going through all of my photos and re-editing them, retagging them and reorganizing the folder structure. I am also working on writing a coffee table book and hope to have it published this winter. The month of May was a good month weather-wise and event wise for us.
During the first week of the month, on May 2nd, Robin and I went kayaking for a second time, this time after work; we put in at Sedgeunkedunk Stream as the sun was on its descent; my favorite time of the day to photograph other than in the early morning due to its golden light. The stream itself was full of life thanks to May’s warm weather; through every bend of the stream dune grass, lily pads and other aquatic life were spurting up, providing food and cover for wildlife. I thought I had spotted a beaver gnawing at some young poplars on the shoreline so I paddled over to investigate when I heard Robin call me over in which I ignored- by the time I finished with the unseen beaver Robin had paddled over and showed me some photos she took of a Lesser Yellowleg birds. We paddled back to the area where they were spotted, on a small mound of grass surrounded by water feeding on bugs; I was able to snap a few shots and thought the lighting was excellent.
Every time Robin and I go out kayaking I keep telling her we should get a set of walk-talkies or some sort of headset as we are always drifting away from each other in search of something interesting; however if I did I would be afraid of it slipping off my head and into the water. Further down the stream I spotted several Red Winged Blackbirds perched on top of an unknown aquatic plant. I find them to be a very interesting bird- I enjoy their call the most despite that when I was younger they annoyed me when trying to find turtles in a nearby pond. While paddling down an offshoot of the stream I spotted a Canadian goose acting as a sentry on what appeared to be a nest as the other one attempted to draw us away. We sat about 50 feet away watching, photographing and listening to their wonderful deep honking.
Second half of the entry:
Later in the week, on my way home from work, I saw that fog was rising from Brewer Lake and decided to snap a photo of the eerie scene; you could just barely make out the sun’s rays behind the thick fog covering.
This year I set a goal to photograph spring as I had not done so yet; I've always enjoyed the pastel colors of Spring and hoped to capture them the best I can. Michele invited us to Asticou Gardens in Bar Harbor; we met up in Ellsworth and carpooled the rest of the way. A few miles before we reached the gardens, Robin spotted two Deer grazing next to an old cabin; we stopped and photographed them until they were scared off by oncoming traffic. I was surprised by the design and overall complexity of the Asticou Gardens; the entrance was designed to look like a Japanese garden, the walkway was sand and stone that was combed with a rake. A small pond with bull frogs was located at the end of the garden with a very large Weeping Cherry Tree with branches overhanging the pond. Many Bumble Bees were pollinating the blossoms- a goal I was able to capture. Along the many paths were many types of flowers of different colors and types.
We visited another nearby garden that had not yet bloomed or been taken care of, however I spotted a Raccoon laying on its side in the middle of a trail. At first glance it appeared to be dead due to a green hue over its black eyes. After awhile I poked it with a stick and it slowly moved its head and legs. Unfortunately, I believe it may have been infected with rabies. We later visited Bass Harbor Lighthouse; despite to rainy weather the view was still pretty.
One evening later in the week Robin and I went kayaking on the nearby stream again; this time we encountered a noise we have not heard before. It sounded like a light hollow "OoOoOO's" that swarmed around your head; later on we discovered that it was from the Lesser Yellowleg birds. My favorite thing about kayaking this stream is that it is so alive near dusk; a symphony of frogs chirping and croaking can be heard as well as different birds such as Lesser Yellowlegs, Sparrows and Red Winged blackbirds with the occasional Loon call. On our way back we spotted a lone Loon fishing the stream.
Driving down Howard Street in Bangor can sometimes be a visual treat in the Winter after a heavy snow fall, in the Fall when foliage is at peak and during the Spring when the Cherry blossoms are in bloom along with Rhododendrons. After work I walked the street and photographed some of the Cherry trees and came across a Rhododendron plant that was buzzing with Bumblebees, I took many photographs in hopes of capturing one of the bees on the flower.
A few days later in the evening Robin noticed that the sky was very purple; we headed out to the shoreline and the colors were brilliantly beautiful. I decided to take some shots with my ultra wide-angle lens to see how it would capture the purple tones and the reflection of clouds on the lake. One of my favorite shots is this one; you can see three layers, the clouds on the water, the water itself and the rocks below. Unfortunately these vistas do not last very long; we only had about 10-15 minutes to enjoy this view.
Michele had told me about a Fox sighting she had seen on her way home, so her and I and Robin had staked out several nights waiting for the Fox kits to show themselves- I waited many hours in hopes to see them and I had one chance over a span of 5-6 days. However Robin was able to capture some excellent shots on her way from a meeting.
Robin had never been to Baxter State Park, I have not either technically, I have just driven the Golden Road. We drove up on Sunday afternoon; when we arrived in Millinocket we came across a Bull Moose whose pelt was moulting; the young moose was eating its usual diet, aquatic plant roots in a bog. Soon after we were on the Golden Road, driving down its road looking up at Mt. Katahdin's height and beauty. Robin wanted to stop at Abol Bridge; a one lane bridge that crosses over West Branch of the Penobscot River at Abol Stream that over-looks Mt. Katahdin- personally I think that its best time of viewing is during the fall.
We continued onward to Sandy Stream Pond, an area that I have wanted to visit; however the fun times soon stopped as I had made the mistake of taking our new Honda Fit on the trip. The paved roads soon turned to very bumpy dirt roads; determined to get to our destination I continued on for 8 miles until I saw the hand painted sign "Sandy Stream Pond" which led to an even worse dirt road, a road that would require a 4x4 truck. We had to turn around due to not wanting to damage our new car. I should have known better that a larger vehicle was needed to get to Katahdin. We stopped at a few ponds on our way back, one of them which had a loud and eery group of frogs chirping and the other stop had a young Bull moose grazing on roots. I noticed that Katahdin could be seen in the background and thought that if I walked down through some bushes towards the shoreline where the Moose had been eating that it would be an interesting composure; I sat on a boulder while setting up the composition and photographed the scene in amazement. Thinking back on this moment I can still remember looking through my camera lens at the Moose and hearing the water run off its head as it came back up from the water, chewing on the roots intermittently batting flies away with its ears.
In the last week of the month we headed out to Chemo pond after work, our first visit of the year. The weather was cool and semi-cloudy; however as the sun began to sit the clouds cleared up a bit to reveal the setting sun. I love how the golden rays of the sun can light up a plant's leaf revealing its inner workings. I played with the wide angle lens a bit to try to capture different angles and viewpoints some of which I think came out very nicely.
The Lupines are finally starting to bloom. Down the road from our apartment is a field full of Lupines, if you scootch down on your knees all you can see are Lupines- a beautiful sight.
On the last day of the month I decided to get up early for a sunrise in hopes that I could witness its beauty once more. At 0430 my alarm rang, I got dressed and grabbed my camera in excitement of the splendor I saw that awaited me outside. The fog was just starting to lift as the sun began to rise casting a pink and purple hue throughout the fog and water. The island exposed to the sun and its rear covered in pink, illuminated the fog. I sat for 30 minutes snapping photos as the scene constantly changed; by accident on my part I took two photos of the island that I noticed later in the evening that could be stitched together to form a magnificent panoramic shot of the island and the morning's beauty (God's beautiful Creation).
