Today was a nice warm day that was forecasted for sporadic thunderstorms due to high humidity and temperatures in the mid 80s; I decided to head to Kokadjo to visit with Dad and Karen and of course to pick Raspberries since they are ready to pick. When I arrived I quickly found out that Bing, their Collie dog was sprayed by a skunk a few days ago; he received a much needed bath not only due to the skunk but by being outside all summer long.

After visiting for awhile Dad and I went raspberry picking out in the woods off of a logging road. The berries were plentiful along the first road; Black Bears made the picking easier from their freshly created trails as they enjoy any type of sweet food. I had hopes of coming across a bear while picking like I did when I was a child but unfortunately we did not- I am patiently waiting for an opportunity to photograph one. Dad and I were able to fill roughly a quart and half of berries on this stop; we headed to two other roads and filled another quart and half. We decided to call an end to the picking due to the waxing sun drawing out our sodium causing our bush scrapes to sting- a small price to pay for enjoying such a sweet and delicious fruit.

On our way back we took a newly created logging road and when I say new, I mean new due to the fact that it was very rough covered with down trodden branches, jagged rocks and eroded pits. This road encompassed a mountain and unveiled a side normally not seen to man, the fallen trees revealed a very steep path from the road, it’s amazing that loggers are able cut and carry trees. This road had many unearthed flat stones that dad was searching for which is one of the reasons he took this path; we loaded around 8 stones for Karen’s garden.

Today one of my co-workers and friend David, stopped by my place and asked if I wanted to go to the coast; he stated that he wanted show me a few places around Scoodic Point that many people do not know about. We headed out and arrived about an hour later, I have never been to Scoodic Point before so I was curious as to what I was going to see. It’s a National Byway / Park that circles around the peninsular and the road is one-way only which makes the drive much easier to stop and go which is almost always a guarantee when visiting as there are many places to explore along the coast line. One of the areas we stopped at as at first appearance a normal coast trail where the bed of the forest was covered with ledge, loose soil, snake berry shrubs and surfaced roots from the pine trees when suddenly the tree line stopped and the ledge plummeted 50′ down to the Ocean; there’s a section of the ledge that resembles a small peninsula that’s roughly 5′ wide and 30′ long that runs out over the Ocean. This vantage point provides an excellent place to sit and take in the sun and let the scent of the salty Ocean and the cool breeze off the Atlantic wash over you as you listen to the waves crash against the ledge below. I wasn’t able to capture the scene properly as David was in a hurry but I was able to snap a few photos. The trail we took earlier split left and right, we headed down the left trail which brings you to a similar scene but provides a less sheltered view the coast, the water was very bright and green almost like an emerald which is something I’ve always found fascinating.

A little later on we stopped at a rest stop that at one point hosted an active lava tunnel where magma spewed up from the cracks of the ledge and into the Ocean which you can clearly see. The ledge beach provided a good place to sit and watch waves crash literally in front of you while being cooled from its mist. There’s an area that consists mostly of boulders that were once covered by dirt that the Ocean eroded as far as it could reach and at the top of the boulders are pine trees that let in pieces of the setting sun’s rays; scenes like this always remind me of of God’s Glory shinning down on you.

This summer I wanted to focus on visiting other “tourist” sites that I have either not visited myself or have not visited in awhile, so I took Friday off from work and headed to Bucksport, Maine. Earlier this week I was reading through a book Jack had gave me for Christmas, “Quiet Water Maine” and found several options for this weekend, after reading each of the lakes high-points I decided to visit Silver Lake, because of its size, layout and it’s located near the new Penobscot Narrows Bridge along with Fort Knox.

I arrived at Silver Lake and found that two other people were Bass fishing in various spots. I put in around 9am, the sun was roughly 3 hours above the horizon which gleamed across the western portion of the lake that created a nice are to sun bath along the muddy shoreline for a Muskrat; although I believe it was actually diving for soft-shell clams. I tried to get my camera out in time to photograph it but Muskrats are very quick in the water. I found a very shallow portion of the sore that had roughly 50 opened shells which obviously must of been a feeding ground for the Muskrat; it had quick access to the water, the shore and cover from small shrubs that had possibly flooded this spring. I followed the shoreline for awhile looking for turtles and after 30 minutes I found a young outstretched Painted turtle a foot down sunbathing on a clay mound.

I paddled by an island within the lake lined with jagged ledge that would rise high enough to climb and at times plunge beneath the surface only visible when the sun was piercing the shallow water. In the distance I noticed a large bird perched on stump in the marshy portion of the lake, once I got closer I could tell it was a Great Cormorant with its distinctive pose (partially outstretched wings shaped as an M). Near the end of my kayak trip I spotted two Loons diving for fish, I think they are very exquisite looking; their long sharp bills used for stabbing prey, black head / neck with maroon eyes, white belly with a black back and white speckles. They are very illusive, I followed them for roughly 30 minutes before giving up on them- I was able to snap one decent shot of them with my 28-135mm lens.

After spending another 30 minutes fighting the unforcasted strong wind I loaded up and headed towards down-town Bucksport where the Penobscot Narrows Bridge is located. I found a nice walkway that follows the shoreline of Penobscot River, it overlooks Fort Knox and the Narrows bridge. I crossed the bridge for the first time and it was much more narrow then it appears (Narrows does not come from that though rather from what the colonists 150 years ago named this passage). There’s an official rest-site to view the bridge from its best angle with a plaque explaining the history of the bridge and narrows, the road that this site lays was once beneath a few hundred feet of ledge that was blown out for new passage to and from the west side of the bridge. I signed in to the visiting area for Fort Knox and the Narrows bridge and parked directly below and in-between the new Penobscot Narrows Bridge and the old Waldo-Hancock Bridge, which provided an interesting perspective of the two. From the 440 foot observatory pylon, you can see 60 miles as the crow flies on a clear day; I could just make out the outline of Mt. Katahdin. The view from the top was incredible, from the vantage point I can see why the colonists chose the location for Fort Knox as it provides excellent coverage of the Penobscot and Orland river that converge from the invading British.

I drove to Kokadjo Saturday afternoon to visit with Dad and Karen, they were not around so I walked next-door (or should I say camper) to my Aunt and Uncle’s to grill a few burgers and visit. Once Dad arrived we drove around on the logging roads looking for Black bear and Moose; while driving down the road we heard an alarmingly loud crashing in the woods, we looked over and to our shock a bull Moose jumped out of the woods and ran parallel with the truck, if Dad would have stuck his arm out the window he could have pet the Moose. We stopped a few miles and jumped over a fence the logging company had installed and walked down a trail that lead us to log cabin encompassed by pine trees. There’s a patch of woods that stretches for 1/8th of a mile until it meets the shoreline of a pond, the bedding of the forest was lined with orange pine needles giving off the sweet aroma of pine and pitch. As we walked back towards the truck a young Bull Moose walked out in front of us and observed a creature that it probably as never smelt before. On our way back to the camp we crossed over Lazy Tom Stream, the sun was just about to meet the horizon behind Big Spencer Mountain; which illuminated the cloudy sky which reflected beautifully off the calm water, the only disturbance you could see came from a Moose in search of a meal.

Jack and mom drove up for the week of the Fourth and just in time for the “Cornerstone Baptist Fly-in”. Stan, the pastor, hosted a fly-in and Russell O’Quinn was the guest. Russell is an active experimental test pilot for the US Military and is 78 years old, yes, he still is testing top-secret experimental air-craft for the Military. Mr. O’Quinn started his speech off from the beginning of his life-life aviation adventure which promptly started at the age of five when his father needed to watch him and shingle the roof of their house, so his father nailed him by the seat of his pants to the roof. While nailed to the roof, Russell would watch the air-plains fly over head and from there on he secretly learned how to fly since his parent’s were afraid of aviation. His family was not Christian, but one of his aunts was and she paid for his college education (Christian college) where not only did he get an education but also purchased an old military fighter plane and learned how to continue his love of aviation. I won’t go into anymore details other then with the help of aunt and a caring professor he was led to Christ and was enabled to fulfill his dream and whiteness to others at the same time.

After the speech, the entire church and guests (~500) ate at the BBQ which hosted an “All-you-can-eat” buffet.

After work on Monday I ate dinner with Jack, mom and two members of Jack’s family at Angeler’s in Newport. I took I-95 from Bangor to Newport and the view was beautiful, the sky was filled full of large Cumulonimbus clouds as they are associated with thunder storms. When I had reached the restaurant it started to rain heavily and as we were leaving the rain had ceased in the distance stood a rainbow, unfortunately power lines and buildings were in the way so I did not take a photograph. We headed to the camp Jack & mom stayed at and when I say camp, I use the term loosely as it was built in the 1930’s and had very little up-keeping, very rustic. After the tour of the cabin we sat around the fire and watched a beautiful sunset over Sebasticook lake.

Tuesday evening right after work I headed to Dexter to watch their fireworks show at the local high school. As I was driving through Corinth a light shower let up and two rainbows appeared over a potatoe field and another just down the road. The latter photo was so close to me I could have walked through its amazing light spectrum of vibrant colors illuminating the surrounding trees.

I arrived shortly after the rain shower and was able to photograph another image that I find to be interesting due to the row of corn and different cloud formations. The fireworks were about the same as they always are, sporadic and quick to end but enjoyable none-the-less. The evening sky was fairly clear but not clear enough to see the Milky Way; I wanted to take advantage of the un-polluted skies of Dexter to attempt my first astrophotograph.

Mom stopped by in the evening of the Fourth; we decided to watch Bangor’s fireworks show which is usually a decent showing. We drove to a local store, parked and walked about a mile to reach the waterfront. We found a nice hill with a flat surface that overlooked the Penobscot River and was above most other people. I set up my tripod and had everything positioned and configured just right to photograph the fireworks but as I was shooting, the camera battery ran out which was a little upsetting. The next day I purchased a second battery.