This September was, with one major exception, a wonderful month here. Most days were sunny and mild with a slight chill that was more thrilling than chilling. The exception was a consequence of that type of weather: We didn’t get enough rain and fell prey to moderate drought and potential wild fire danger. But we got some good rain toward the end of the month and hope to get more in October.

As for these September postcards, we’ll start as usual with the four local vistas that we document monthly through the year. Here are the September views of clouds over the western mountains of Mount Desert Island at sunset; the virtual mountain known as Blue Hill at the end of Blue Hill Bay at high tide; the iconic red boat house in Conary Cove at low tide, and the summer house on Brooklin’s Harbor Island in a light rain:

We’ll move now to the flora of September with its fruits and warmer early fall colors. The most memorable wild fruit trees were the many abandoned apple trees that we have, both red- and green-fruited, and the orange-fruited mountain ash trees:

The most colorful of September-shaded leaves were the deep reds of viburnum, pale yellows of katsura, and merlot shades of stewartia, although a few maples began to show some reds and yellows:

Of course, it’s the September fields that capture the changing spirit of the season. The greens disappear and the yellows and browns of goldenrod, whites of daisy fleabane, and pastels of pasture asters crowd each other:

The summer colors disappeared in the region’s September gardens and flower patches, but we saw the last of the healthy roses, clematis, and gladiolas during the month:

Marshes, ponds, and woods streams didn’t go dry in the drought conditions, but pond levels dropped and streams that once flowed powerfully became weak or pooled with slow water.

On the fauna front, September is when deer and red squirrels grow their thicker and grayer winter coats and the once small and speckled fawns grow large and fast enough to shed their camouflage speckles toward the end of the month:

Radical changes occur in September among our winged fauna who would rather spend their winters down south. This probably is the last full month that we’ll see our fish-eating great blue herons and ospreys. However, our loyal herring gulls and black-capped chickadees stay with us all year.

This September was a good month for sighting peril-ridden monarch butterflies and their caterpillars, but there were few chrysalises evident. What apparently was the last toad of the year also was sighted during the month.

On the waterfront, September is when the annual Windjammer Sail-In occurs in Great Cove. Seven ‘jammers visited Great Cove then and at other times during the month in varying weather:

The working waterfront at Naskeag Harbor was very busy in September, one of the more intensive months for lobster fishing. It’s the last month of fishing for some fishermen; others will continue for a month or more. We’re told that it’s been a relatively good season with mostly steady, fair prices.

Below are images of the convenience raft in the Harbor that sells bait and fuel and buys lobsters from the fishermen, as well as images of most of our resident fishing vessels during various September days. Note that no two vessels are identical:

On the educational waterfront, the WoodenBoat School’s sailing classes ended in the first half of September. The School’s harbor staff spent the rest of the month removing the classroom fleet from Great Cove and preparing it for winter storage. When the boats leave the Cove, it looks strangely vacant until flocks of ducks and other waterfowl lay claim to the area for the fall and winter.

Sailing is not the only attraction that draws people to our waters. Some prefer to propel themselves, others to paint their beauty, and still others to cast in them for stiped bass:

In case you didn’t notice, 2024 is a Presidential election year. It became abundantly evident here in September from the lawn signs, including some that were so artistic you couldn’t read them from a moving vehicle:

The September full moon — the Harvest Moon — was a good one. It formed first as a gold crescent and then arrived as a supermoon:

Finally, late September is when you buy your pumpkins to make Jack-O’-Lanterns in October and scare away witches and politicians:

(All images in this post were taken in Down East Maine during September 2024.)

September Postcards From Down East Maine