This April has mostly been true to its coined phrase, “April Showers” however the last week in April started to show signs of summer. We had temperatures in the highs of 88° on the 28th and the remaining week of April stayed in the mid-sixties.

Robin and I were itching to get outside and spot more Owls and other wildlife, along with kayaking, however we still had snow during the first week of April. We walked along some of the trails near the Orono Boardwalk; most trails were covered in about a ½ foot of snow. We searched for Owls for about an hour until we came across a King Rail bird that Robin spotted walking through brush; its beak is so strange looking- very long and has a slight downward curve to it. Unfortunately it was too quick for us to snap a photo. We continued on and came across freshly chewed trees; I looked around and found a Beaver house with its owner adding onto its house. The house was too far away to be able to capture a close up shot.

The following week had rained for the most part, which kept us inside at night. I have been reading through the Left Behind Series and catching up on other books I have as well as playing Xbox 360 and finishing up on the last season of Star Trek: The Original Series that Robin purchased for me. I am becoming an avid fan of Star Trek; I enjoy reading about the different races, star ships, characters, etc.

During one evening, I noticed that the tree line along an island in the lake outside of our apartment was colored in a very vibrant purple hue; Robin and I grabbed our cameras and headed down to the Field’s Pond stream to watch the sunset. This type of sunset occurs only a few times during the summer or at least that I have personally witnessed. The warm colors of the setting sun are so vibrant and a contrast of cold blue and purple clouds on the outer rim of the sunset. While watching and photographing the sunset I looked over to find Robin and she was 50 feet away taking a neat shot of silhouetted Cattails.

Robin and I attended a very full Cornerstone Baptist Church on Easter Sunday; if I remember correctly a few hands were raised at the end of the service indicating they asked Christ into their hearts, so that is always exciting to see. I received a call from Robin’s father; he asked if I would order a TV for him from Amazon. The following week it arrived; Robin and I drove to Prospect Harbor to set it up. Earlier that day we attended the annual Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race; we sat and photographed the race at Six Mile Falls. The water wasn’t as high as last year; however people still dumped while going over the falls. I concentrated mostly on crashes and spills this year. One of these years we will actually participate in the race, hopefully without spilling.

The next day Robin and I visited the Field’s Pond Audubon; they have a very nice building with a variety of mounted animals, information and photos. We walked around on various trails, mostly consisting of large old Pine trees, looking in one area you could probably count up to 30-40 of these trees with thick dead underbrush. Robin spotted a loan Turkey walking along an animal path. Near the end of our hike we noticed bird activity near the Audubon building and decided to watch, I was able to spot a Chipmunk running with a large nut in its mouth as well as Chickadees, Woodpeckers, Mourning Doves, Sparrows all feeding amongst each other. During this time I looked for Robin and once again she was off on her own as she spotted the same Chipmunk; its borrow was in a washed out pit that was filled with roots, dead leaves, Acorns with the walls of the pit covered in rocks of varies sizes. We watched the Chipmunk poke its head out wondering if we were dangerous or not. The previous photo was taken by Robin as well as this video.

We took Patriots day off; the weather was nice so we went back to Field’s Pond Audubon and Robin spotted a Woodchuck; she called me over and I was able to capture it peaking out at us. The hole was on the outer edge of the pit. The hole was not there last time and the dirt was freshly dug, indicating that the Woodchuck may have just come out of hibernation. Robin really has a good eye for spotting wildlife and is doing an excellent job at taking photos, I’m really happy to be able to share this with her. Later in the evening we started in on the first 6 Star Trek TOS movies; my favorite having to be Star Trek: The Search for Spock and The Undiscovered Country. Now that I’ve finished TOS era of Star Trek, I am starting in on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

The last week of April we took our first kayak trip; we went to Hirundo Wildlife Refuge in which Pushaw Stream flows through. I was surprised at how flooded the stream was, on the Northwest side the water flowed over the bank roughly 40 feet allowing us to kayak over land and throughout the trees. Overhead we heard an Osprey; hunting for fish. We paddled around for awhile and decided to head back to the car; on our way back we heard a noise and stopped to listen- we then heard two separate Owls- at that moment we both paddled in the direction of the sound until we reached shore and departed from our kayaks. We walked around in the forest looking for the Owls. Eventually I spotted a Barred Owl 30 feet up in a pine tree- I was able to take a photo, however, it did not come out well due to branches.

Later in the week, I wanted to test my new ultra-wide angle lens on a sunset; after supper Robin and I road our bikes to Fields Pond stream to watch the sun set. While waiting for the sun to set Robin found a Porcupine foraging for grubs. We stood watching the sun sink below the horizon while also keeping an eye on a pair of Osprey in their nest from as it appeared that they were mating. I took a photo of the sunset at 10mm and 28mm; I can see that I will be switching back and forth between the two lenses for different effects.

Robin and I visited her Aunt & Uncle at their camp on Green Lake today; I was told that Bald Eagles have been spotted on the lake eating fish carcasses left by ice fisherman. When we arrived we talked for awhile about what has been going on since the wedding, miscellaneous animals that have been spotted on the lake.

Robin’s uncle mentioned that he heard some children talking about seeing an Owl in the woods; Robin, I and her aunt headed out into the woods in search of the owl. While starting out on snow mixed muddy trail we came upon the kids playing in the woods as they were constructing a tent out of dead branches and bark they stripped off from a tree. While talking with them I noticed in the corner of my eye a brown and white flying object. I walked of the path into the marsh-like woods where the snow had been compacted from constant melting and freezing of our day/night cycle. We had looked around for a few minutes and could not spot the Owl- discouraged I ended my search and headed back only to hear Robin say that she had spotted the Owl 20 feet from us about 20 feet up in an Evergreen tree. I looked and couldn’t believe I had overlooked the Owl, they really know where to blend in with their plumage. I kept thinking to myself how well God designed all of the animals and how they match with their natural habitats. We stood watching the Owl gaze back at us with its big black eyes, occasionally turning its head looking at the kids and their dog running around. While snapping off shots I noticed that Robin had moved closer, clicking photos in excitement. I’m not sure what was more enjoyable for me, having the opportunity to photograph the Barred Owl or watch Robin move forward, crouched, snapping photos with her beautiful smile.

The Barred Owl granted us a long enough time to get close enough to view it up close, almost directly under the branch. While backing away, it “hooted” and yawned- I think we were keeping it from its sleep. As Robin started to move away from the Owl’s perch it spread its wings and fly close over Robin’s head and landed in a closer tree where she took a really good shot.

Now that we have spotted our first Owl (Barred Owl) in the woods, we are going to keep our eyes peeled in any type of forest that we’re hiking through; hopefully we will spot a Great Horned Owl, Snow Owl and a Barn Owl this year.

March has had several snow storms bringing in at least a foot of snow each time; Robin and I have kept up with snowshoeing through each storm. Unfortunately all of the snow storms either occurred during a work day or at night so we have not been able to snowshoe during a storm which is something I have wanted to experience again; there’s a different feeling in the air when you’re in the woods while snow is falling, sometimes so quiet that you can hear the flakes landing on top of old snow, the creaking and cracking of tree branches trying to bare the additional load.

Normally whenever mom is scheduled to visit from Virginia during the winter her flight is delayed however this year it was not; in fact it was a few hours early. I picked her up from BIA late in the evening; she stayed at our apartment from Thursday to Sunday morning and then came back later in the week. We went for a walk on the Bangor Trails; the weather was in the 40’s. We walked for about a mile in search of the Great Horned Owl but were not able to spot it; I read in the paper that people have been attacked while walking and skiing the various trails. I have not yet photographed an Owl and is something that I’d like to spot in the wild.

Later in the week we bowled at Brewer/Bangor Bowling alley; none of us knew the proper method of keeping score, so whoever knocked down the most pins won. Mom knocked down 74, I knocked down 55 and Robin knocked down 54. I treated us to dinner at Governor’s before mom was scheduled to fly out. We didn’t get to do a lot but we had a good time while mom visited.

Robin and I purchased snowshoes a few weeks ago; she has LL Bean and I have Atlas. I had never snowshoed before so I was excited to try it out. A few days before we had actually set out to snowshoe it had rained, so the snow had a crust top layer which made snowshoeing very difficult on the lake. After 10 minutes of struggling we decide to trek through the woods behind our apartment where the rain hadn’t touched the snow as much. I was surprised at how easy it was for a beginner to trek through fresh snow. We navigated around bushes, trees and shrubs and found many little hunting trails created from rabbits and fox; one trail led to a hole in the snow that led down to an overturned tree stump, unfortunately nothing came out to see what the noise was about.

A few weeks later we headed out to the Bangor Trails which connect with the Orono Board walk, Robin and I spend a lot of time out there walking and biking so we thought it would also be an excellent place to snowshoe. Many people were out skiing and snowshoeing; we made our own trail in a secluded portion of the sanctuary which was very fun- the snow had at least a foot of fresh powder on top of the crust. Trekking in powder is much easier and enjoyable. The time of day was roughly 3PM; the sun was starting its decent, casting neat shadows through the forest. Robin and I continued through the woods where we came across a path made by Deer, we followed it to where we found an area that they had used for bedding and continued on until we found a bog, we stood around playing with our cameras for a bit taking in the sounds and scent of a calm cool forest.

A week later we headed back to the Bangor Forest, expect this time we trekked on the Orono Board Walk side. We walked around for a couple of miles and exploring trails. Our Sigg bottles finally made their first snow adventure today as well. We enjoy snowshoeing, not as much as hiking or kayaking but it is fun and allows us to get outside and experience Winter a bit.

January has had several beautiful snow storms, the kind that snows all night leaving a soft, fluffy covering over everything. On our way to work one morning, the snow had just stopped falling and the skies cleared and the sun came out as it was starting to rise, I decided I had to stop and take some photos- it was one of those moments that only happen once or twice a winter.