In Hancock and Piscataquis Counties, Maine
August slowly delights us and then suddenly leaves before we can say goodbye. We try to be content with memories of precious moments with her, but they fade quickly. To slow this loss, we’re sending you and ourselves August “postcards,” delivered by the link below. These are images of small moments in the month, each of which is special in its way. And, in total, we hope that these postcards convey the traditional message: “Having a wonderful time, wish you were here.”
(© 2015 R J Leighton)
So, we see August as the time when gaudy Mother Nature dons all her late-flowering jewels at once: dangling orange earrings of Tiger Lilies; broaches of yellow and white Goldenrod and Queen Anne’s Lace; a brazen red necklace of Viburnum berries, and so on. At times, we see her dance in veils of fog, which transform the once-bright charms of the garden into colorful shadows.
August is a time for us to travel down country roads to see the quirky functional art of Maine and the beauty of rural landscape: the funny mailboxes; the connected barns and houses; a front yard filled with a shamble of lobstering paraphernalia, and garages that are shrines to the Maine obsession with vintage cars. Or, sometimes, we just pause to appreciate the man-made grace of a curve in the wooded lane or the sunset gleaming on the white birches there.
(© 2015 R J Leighton)
August is full of birds and butterflies and animals that hide but can be found. Some soon will migrate away, such as the Yellow Warbler that is a flickering candle within the leaves and the Double-Crested Cormorant sunbathing with outstretched wings.
(© 2015 R J Leighton)
Some wildlife will disappear into hibernation, such as the swift Garter Snake that hunts grasshoppers in our Hay-Scented Fern. Some will be shot and killed according to deeply-seated Maine tradition, perhaps one of the White-Tailed bucks that we’ve seen this year.
(© 2015 R J Leighton)
August is a time to watch sunlight play on the waters of rivers, lakes, and the sea; it’s also the time to see people play on those waters in boats large and small. The joy of sailing in the grip of a good wind can be obvious and contagious.
There is much more to remember about this August, now that she’s left us, as you'll see.
You can join us on the virtual tour of August by clicking the link below to see the postcard images, which can viewed in less than two minutes. We recommend that your initial screening of the images be in full-frame on your computer monitor. To make that happen, click on the featured [largest] image on the gallery page to which the link will take you. Use your left and right keyboard arrows to go back and forth; press Esc to return to the thumbnail gallery.) Here's the link:
https://leightons.smugmug.com/Maine/Out/Postcards-From-Maine-August-20/
Cheers,
Barbara and Dick