JOURNAL
Ponds here have been icing up, but are nowhere near ready to skate or walk on. Here you see the WoodenBoat School’s principal pond this week, with ice forming in the foreground and more solidified clear ice beyond that:
Although there is some ice in Patten Bay, there is none where Patten Stream empties forcefully into the Bay:
(Images taken in Brooklin and Surry, Maine, on December 5, 2023.)
Judging from the location (Naskeag Harbor), the international diving boat flag, and the added wooden hut, my guess is that this is a vessel that has been modified for a person who dives into the local waters to hand-harvest “diver’s scallops” or urchins.
The hut would be the shelter where the harvest is shelled and sorted by the diver and/or a crew member.
Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but sometimes functionality seems to be obvious to everyone. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on December 6, 2023.)
For those of you who were worrying about the WoodenBoat School boats not being sealed into their post-and-panel shed yet: I have it on good authority that they’ll be sealed in this week.
A last-minute boat shift and a very busy winter schedule (including Black Friday at the WoodenBoat Store) reportedly were the causes of the delay. The boats are still in very good shape and may have appreciated the view of Great Cove.
(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on December 5, 2023.)
Yesterday morning arrived gray, smothered in a blanket of clouds. But the sun broke through for a while, irradiated yesterday’s snow, and gave us good long-views of some of the islands that surround our peninsular.
Above, looking to the southwest from Great Cove Ridge, we see Babson Island helping to protect the Cove and some of the islands beyond, including Conary and Deer Isle.
Below, looking east from Amen Ridge, we see thin Green Island and Mount Desert Island rising in the distance. MDI is Maine’s largest island and includes most of Acadia National Park; it’s reachable by bridge.
(Images taken from Brooklin, Maine, on December 5, 2023.)
Displays of tropical flowers have become traditional in the United States during the winter holiday season. Shopping for them on a gray winter’s day can be an attitude changer. Here you’ll see part of the offerings at Mainescape in Blue Hill, but the flowers are in many nurseries and stores.
The tradition probably began with the display of red poinsettias in Christian churches during 19th Century Christmastimes. We can thank their namesake, Joel Roberts Poinsett, a physician, botanist, and the first U.S. Ambassador to Mexico. Although these plants originated in Africa, Poinsett introduced Mexican specimens into the U.S. and promoted their display during Christmastime.
Part of the promotion was the legend of the poor Mexican girl who couldn’t afford a gift to present the Baby Jesus in the church display. She collected some roadside stalks and placed them near the statue of Jesus on the day before Christmas. The next day, so the legend goes, the stalks had blossomed into beautiful, red-leafed flowers, now known in English as poinsettias.
Today, there reportedly are more than 100 varieties of poinsettias in many colors that are displayed during the winter holiday season. We also see other brightly-colored tropical flowers during “The Holiday Season,” including amaryllis from Africa, cyclamen from the Mediterranean basin, and “Christmas cactus” from Brazil. (Images taken in Blue Hill, Maine, on December 2, 2023.)
Our first snow flurry of at least two inches started last night and continued sporadically through the day. I was able to get out and take a few images while light snow was coming down.
Below, you’ll see the Trap Tree on the Town Hall lawn, the famous Camperdown Elm Tree in the adjacent Cemetery, and the three magnificent maple trees in front of Friend Memorial Public Library (as well as a glaring temporary detour sign):
Conifer trees collected plenty of snow in their needles and achieved winter wonderland status quickly, while their rugged trunks became snow-swept:
Deciduous trees and shrubs became natural etchings:
As usual, the roads and lanes were promptly plowed and spread with antifreeze chemicals, but there was at least one skid-off on Bay Road:
The snow-covered fields provided relatively smooth foregrounds for focal points, such as ponds and barns:
Late in the morning, the sun made an attempt to break through the snow clouds over the Town Dock in Naskeag Harbor. The sun managed to put a little slight gleam on the Harbor waters, but soon was swallowed whole by the clouds:
(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on December 4, 2023.)
Here you see part of a flock of bufflehead ducks out in Great Cove Friday. These birds (Bucephala albeola) have been arriving from Canada at least all week and collecting in small, energetic flocks. They’re the smallest sea ducks in North America, seldom reaching 16 inches in length.
Buffleheads fly here and there, seemingly whimsically, in fast, low formations that make no whirring noise. When in the water, they dive almost continuously for crabs, clams, and sea plants or flit, seemingly nervously, back and forth low over the water. Surprisingly, they nest inside tree cavities abandoned by flickers and pileated woodpeckers.
Their name refers to the black and white males, which have enlarged heads with a big white scoop behind their eyes that they can flex into a hood. Their flexed heads resemble (somewhat) those of American “buffalos” (“bison” to quibblers):
Leighton Archive image
The smaller-headed females are darker overall with just a dab of white behind the eyes. (Primary image taken in Brooklin, Maine, on December 1, 2023.)
This spectacular holiday season “tree” was created yesterday on the Town Office lawn on Bay Road, thanks in large part to the inspiration and efforts of Sarah Havener Brown and a number of other volunteers. It reflects the importance of our lobstering heritage.
Meanwhile, in the middle of a stand of woods beside Naskeag Road, there’s a nightly light show that goes on that is visible from the Road – blinking, shimmering, disappearing, reappearing reds and blues that cast intriguing light on the surrounding trees.
Perhaps it reflects the importance of our rural heritage. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on December 1, 2023.)
Overall, this year’s November was mild here — October-like — by Maine standards. It seemed to have more sunny days than usual and, during those, more interesting cloud formations than past Novembers:
November also was an unusually warm month, as were October and our summer and spring months. This global warming trend seemed to mute and delay our often brilliant fall foliage, leaving November to show off a fair amount of color late in the year.
We had a couple of hard rains in November and two snow flurries that lasted only minutes. The falling leaves in the woods retained their colors longer than usual as did the vibrant mosses. Even in the rain, the larch (tamarack) trees and many maples showed fall colors during most of the month.
Berries were abundant this November, especially winterberry, multiflora rose hips, Asian bittersweet (unfortunately), and chokeberry:
Probably due to the month’s mildness and lack of serious freezes, fungi also were unusually abundant this November, including some unusual species such as these netted stinkhorns that look like their scientific name (Phallus duplicatus):
The mammal wildlife that does not hibernate in cold weather showed off their heavier winter coats, especially our white-tailed deer, muskrats, and red squirrels:
On the working waterfront, the lobster fishing season ended in November for many inshore fishermen and they brought in their traps for storage:
However, a good number of our fishermen reinstalled masts and booms on there vessels at the end of the month to be ready to “drag” (dredge) for scallops when that mollusk season begins in December:
Of course, many working boats ended their seasons during this month and were brought ashore to spend their winter “on the hard” and sometimes shrink-wrapped:
On the recreational waterfront, all (or perhaps virtually all) sailboats and pier floats were brought ashore for winter storage, which was the case at the famous WoodenBoat School campus:
November’s full moon is called the beaver full moon because it occurs when those flat-tailed rodents are starting to spend more time in their lodges and, historically, when they would be trapped for their winter pelts. This November’s full moon was especially dramatic. It rose as a pale orange orb through low overcast clouds, took on its silver brilliance in a crevice of clear air between cloud layers, then ascended above fast-flying clouds and played peek-a-boo with us all night:
Finally, in addition to being the Thanksgiving month, November is best known here for its hosting the first of the cold-and-clear sunsets and afterglows that often are breathtaking in their subtle mixtures of rainbow colors:
(All images in this post were taken in Down East Maine during November of 2023.)
Here you see Fishing Vessel Tarrfish at the Town Dock in Naskeag Harbor yesterday. She’s having her winter mast and boom reinstalled for the scallop season, which begins in December.
FV Dear Abbie:, moored in the Harbor, already has hers installed, as do several of our winter fleet:
The mast and boom are used to lower, pull, and raise the netted “drag” that’s used to scoop up scallops from the sea bottom. The drag is a form of the historic New Bedford dredge that has been used to scoop shellfish in New England waters for centuries.
Abbie: appears also to have her temporary white “shelling hut” installed behind her wheelhouse. This wooden hut is where the dredged mollusks will be shucked from their shells and sorted during very cold weather. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on November 29, 2023.)
The lower and clearer light now is performing its winter magic in the Down East Maine woods. Here you see the morning light along a trail through mixed (hard and soft) woods:
Below, you’ll see the afternoon light sneaking into a stand of soft (spruce and fir) woods with lichen-painted trunks.
Note that December is almost here and the ground is not frozen, many recently-fallen leaves have not turned brown or black, and the moss is still soft and vibrant. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on November 27, 2023.)
As I write this, it’s raining, there are significant nor’eastern wind gusts, and we’ve lost electrical power. But, our generator is working fine and the temperature has been warm.
When the above image of silver grass was taken in the rain earlier this morning, it was 50 degrees (F), the recorded gusts were between 44 and 50 miles per hour, and the trees were swaying. This image of switchback grass was taken at the same time:
It’s supposed to clear by afternoon. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on November 27, 2023.)
Here you see Fishing Vessel Judith Ann made fast to the Town Dock in Naskeag Harbor the day after Thanksgiving. She appears to be bringing her lobster traps ashore at the end of her season. But, she’s also giving us an anatomy lesson as to parts of lobster boats that generally are not seen.
She’s resting on her long keel, which minimizes damage to the hull from groundings. If you look closely at the aft end of the keel, you’ll see her “skeg,” which is an extension of the keel that also protects the vessel’s propeller and increases cruising stability. It has top and bottom “rudder steps” to which the rudder is attached. Here’s a Leighton Archive image that has a clearer view of FV Blue Sky’s skeg and rudder:
Most etymological references indicate that the word “skeg” derives from Scandinavian words for “beard.” Perhaps in days of yore the skeg area of a vessel was considered to be (or look like) an “outgrowth” of the keel. (Primary image taken in Brooklin, Maine, on November 24, 2023.)
Yesterday might have been Black Friday for some, but it also was White Flyday around here. Massive convoys of low-flying stratocumulus clouds streamed overhead all day, causing the sunlight to flicker over the landscapes and seascapes. These aren’t rainclouds, they’re usually indicators of a weather change, temperature or otherwise. I chose two favorite cloud-viewing vistas to capture the event.
Above, you’re looking roughly east from Amen Ridge as the vapor fleet sails over Blue Hill Bay and Mount Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park. Below, you’ll be behind our field pond looking roughly northeast in the direction that the clouds are heading:
(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on November 24, 2023.)
Maine Governor Janet Mills has proclaimed today as “Maine-Grown Christmas Tree Day” in recognition of the contributions of the state’s Christmas tree and wreath industry. The production and sale of fresh Maine Christmas-related tree products is estimated to create more than $18 million in direct economic impact each year and provide jobs for nearly 800 Maine people.
“No Christmas is complete without a Maine-grown Christmas Tree. As Maine people kick off the holiday season this weekend, I encourage them to support our local family farms for all their Christmas Tree and wreath needs,” Gov. Mills said in a news release.
A list of choose-and-cut farms, wreaths and retail products for sale, and wholesale distributors across the state can be found on the Maine Christmas Tree Association website at www.mainechristmastree.com
The Maine-grown spruce trees shown above are examples of the live trees available in local nurseries to take home and plant as special specimens and perhaps decorate outside yearly.
These spruce and balsam fir trees are examples of some of the young trees that grow wild at the edge of the woods that can be cut by property owners (or those with permission) for Christmas trees:
(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on November 24, 2023.)
Here’s an example of November contrasts: A stand of leafless white birch at the edge of a sloping field being invaded by densely-needled young conifers and fruit-laden winterberry, among other growth.
The image probably would make a good jigsaw puzzle. (Image taken in Brooklin, Maine, on November 19, 2023.)
Here you see half of yesterday evening’s wonderful celestial see-saw – the sun sinking while the moon is rising – from our peninsular. We’re first looking to the southwest, where the sun’s last gesture is a burnishing afterglow as the islands in Great Cove, Eggemoggin Reach, and West Penobscot Bay darken.
Meanwhile, the moon already seemingly has risen from the Atlantic Ocean over our left shoulder to the southeast and is coming in our direction. It’s a brilliant waxing gibbous moon that’s high enough to still enjoy the sun’s direct light, yet sail through an already-dark sky:
As you may know, the waxing gibbous moon phase is when the moon is in the process of transforming from a half-illuminated moon to a full moon. The word “waxing” means getting larger. The word “gibbous” (pronounced “GIBB-us,” as in Joe Gibbs) is derived from the Latin word for hunch-backed. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on November 20, 2023.)
November is more than half over and it’s been remarkably mild here. The boats in the WoodenBoat School's boat shed the I monitor have not even been fully closed-in yet
Many of the working boats on the hard have not been shrink-wrapped yet or may not be wrapped this year.
(Images taken in Brooklin and Surry, Maine, on November 15 and 17, 2023.)
Here you see the tide rising on a cute little island in Blue Hill Bay yesterday. At low tide, this island is accessible by foot and a great place for smaller children to play pirates on their own island for a while or study the surrounding tide pools.
There reportedly are over 4600 islands off Maine’s coast as well as a good number in our state’s lakes. There are 15 sea island communities that are inhabited year-round, some of which are accessible only by boat or helicopter. Maine’s largest island, Mount Desert Island, is reached by bridge from the mainland and contains the Town of Bar Harbor and most of Acadia National Park. (Image taken in Blue Hill, Maine, on November 17, 2023.)
