Archive for the ‘spring’ Category
Drama in the skies.
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009
The skies in Maine can be very dramatic. This was just a crazy cloud formation. What was going on up there?
But this was a giant storm cloud that moved quickly across the bay, pounding us with a swift douse of heavy rain.
Sunshine wasn’t far behind.
Gray is beautiful.
Sunday, June 28th, 2009
Some call it June gloom. If you’re in an area near a large body of water, you’ll often experience this soggy, gray shift from spring into summer.
Lucky Maine is just as beautiful in neutral tones, as in brilliant ones.
Especially when framed in silvery mist.
Abstract irises.
Sunday, June 21st, 2009
Georgia O’Keefe was famous for her irises. So was Van Gogh. He liked the blue ones. They’re complex. And when you look closely, very abstract. Irises are found just about now, in many Maine gardens. This is a fluffy German Iris.
The ancient belief is that the iris represents a warning that needs to be heeded, as the flower was named for the messenger of Olympus.
The fleur-de-lis, based on the iris, has been used used by numerous European royal families for centuries. Especially in France, since Louis VII first used it in the 12th Century.
Florence based it’s coat of arms on the native white iris. And when the Medici family took over, they reversed it to a red iris on a white background. They’re still trying to develop a red variety.
And here’s a note about copyright – ©. Thank you. It’s very flattering to find 2bnMaine photos on other web sites. Yes, there are ways to find originators of content. As with all other material you find on the web, all the content on this blog is under copyright. Not so sure these watermarks on the photos look great, but they are an experiment and a reminder.
2bnMaine is delighted by the interest, and happy to share, but would very much appreciate a request, a reference, a thanks, or a link.
Blooming spring.
Sunday, May 24th, 2009
Spring begins at Surry Gardens.
Wednesday, May 20th, 2009
Elvers in Ellsworth.
Thursday, May 14th, 2009The quirky, and pretty, elver nets are back on the Union River that flows through Ellsworth. They’re quite puzzling if you don’t know what they are. Here’s last year’s post about fishing for elvers. Elvers are young eels.
And here are some really amazing American Eel facts:
- The American Eel, Anguilla Rostrata, is considered to have the broadest diversity of habitats of any fish in the world.
- It has survived at least one ice age.
- The eggs are laid, and they hatch, in the Saragasso Sea — two-million-square-miles of warm water in the North Atlantic between the West Indies and the Azores.
- The tiny transparent larvae follow the ocean currents and salinity in the water for about a year to arrive at various destinations. Some remain in the ocean, some go far up fresh water streams and others remain in estuaries. This is called facultative catadromy – meaning taking place under some conditions but not under others, or optional.
- In the next phase they’re called glass eels because they’re still transparent but have developed their adult shape.
- Their sex is eventually determined by the density of the population — more eels = more males, less eels = more females.
- They can cover their bodies with mucus — ’slippery as eels.’
- They reach sexual maturity at various times between 3 and 40 years!
- They can move equally well forward and backward.
- Some females can get to 5 feet, most males reach 3 feet.
- They can breath through their skin and their gills, so they can travel on land.
- They are carnivores and eat fish, frogs, insects, clams, etc. and any dead animal matter.
Here is more info from The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
The nets will remain in Ellsworth until the end of the month. So if you want to see them, you’d better hurry. You can also visit the wonderful Rooster Brother at the same time, and harvest some of their fantastic freshly roasted coffees.
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Breaking ground.
Monday, April 13th, 2009
Easter Bunny arrives in Maine.
Sunday, April 12th, 2009
Gardeners enter the starting gate.
Saturday, March 7th, 2009
A thoughtful Christmas gift sets the stage for the next season. Don’t forget — daylight savings time begins March 8.
