This December in Down East Maine was both beautiful and beastly.
Take Christmastime, for example. It’s a time of paramount religious importance for many and of winter festivity and glad tidings for all. This year, at first, December lived up to its festive expectations, with Mainers hanging a profusion of Christmas/Holiday wreaths, buying seasonal flowers, attending concerts of traditional music, and even making fun of Santa Claus:
But, then came the Christmastime Surprise, a mega-storm that eliminated power with near-hurricane-force winds on December 23 here and evolved into lashing rains that kept the power off for days in our coastal area. (We got our power back on December 26, but some were less fortunate.)
Nonetheless, we can’t let a difficult week characterize all of December. It had its very good days, as well:
Of course, there were gray, wintery days and a little light snow, which disappeared fast in December’s above-average temperatures, but even these had a seasonal attraction:
One exceptionally fortunate event for us happened this December: We beheld the rare sight of a male bobcat pacing around and guarding the carcass of a deer that he may have killed. (Bobcats have been known to take down sick or crippled deer bigger than they are and then cover them with leaves or grass as a food stash.)
On the working waterfront, the scallop fishing season began in December as usual. Some fishermen dredge for the tasty mollusks, some dive to hand-harvest them, and some do both.
This December had its special poignancy in our area. The beloved 1926 rainbow bridge over Blue Hill Falls was demolished and cleared away during the month and a detour over a temporary bridge was installed until a new, mundane flat bridge is finished next year:
The weakening old bridge was an iconic cement rainbow-arched rarity. Only one now remains in Maine. Here are two images of it from our archive:
Leighton Archive Image
Leighton Archive Image
Finally, we look to the December skies, which usually are dramatic and this year was no exception. The partially-full moon appeared during the day early in the month; yet, it was fogged-in when it rose full. Nonetheless, it’s the sun that is special in the winter. December is the beginning of three months of our most spectacular sunsets, and the one below met the test.
(Except as noted on two images, all other images here were taken in Down East Maine during December of 2022.)