I know you from somewhere........

Jonathan Livingston's cousin - Earl

Can you see Kyle?

Hurricane Kyle is out there about 100-150 miles.
Surprisingly, there was no wind only rain.





We have had rain since Friday night. Today, the
rain has been off and on. These pictures were
taken from Duxbury Beach, Duxbury, Mass.
Sept. 28, 2008

Rangeley, Maine

Rangeley is centrally located between the headwaters of both the Androscoggin River and Kennebec River, the town lies on the eastern shores of Rangeley Lake in the northwestern mountains of Maine. A sign in town notes that Rangeley is halfway between the Equator and North Pole. It is named after an Englishman, Squire James Rangeley, Jr.

The cool mountain climate and abundance of sport fishing made Rangeley a highly desirable and ultimately exclusive resort destination. Some inhabitants became fishing guides, and among the anglers was President Herbert Hoover. The big hotels would decline, however, with World War II. In 1958, The Rangeley Lake House was razed. But motels have taken their place, and Rangeley remains a popular resort.

Portland, Maine

Portland is the largest city in Maine with a population of 64,000+ according to the 2000 census. Tourists are drawn to Portland's historic Old Port district along Portland Harbor, which is at the mouth of the Fore River and part of Casco Bay, and the Arts District, which runs along Congress Street in the center of the city. Portland Head Light in nearby Cape Elizabeth is also a popular tourist draw. The city seal depicts a phoenix rising out of ashes, which aligns with its motto, Resurgam, Latin for "I will rise again", in reference to Portland's recoveries from four devastating fires. The city of Portland, Oregon, was named for Portland, Maine.
(Information gathered from Wikipedia).

Need suggestions for a calendar

I am thinking about making a 2009 calendar from pictures from my blog. I would love suggestions. If you have a picture that you would like to see on a calendar please send the information to me in an email to: cgibsonrvt@yahoo.com.
Please include the post title and month in the email.
I look forward to hear which pics. you choose.

Crazy as a Loon?

What in (English-speaking) Europe is called the Great Northern Diver is called in North America the Common Loon (a species of bird). It has a weird, haunting cry which presumably suggested to someone the howls of the insane. Hence, crazy as a loon.
(This description was found on the internet from a google search).
The loons you see above were on the lake behind the lodge where we were staying in Stratton, Maine.

Bullwinkle

Gina and I checked in the Tranquility Lodge in
Stratton, Maine. www.tranquilitylodge.com
This is the most clean place I have ever stayed
in all my travels.
Now, for the moose story!
We told Melodie, the B&B host that were wanting to
see a moose over the weekend. She told us lots of
stories about people seeing multiple moose. She
said that our best chance of seeing the animal was
to go back down the road to the "pits" down by the
salt piles which are used for the roads in the winter.
Melodie said about dusk or just about dawn would be
the best time to see the moose.
Saturday evening about two hours before dark we
drove to the "pit" to wait for the moose. Several other
people stopped to see the moose as well, even a tour
bus came by for a few minutes. It was now getting
very close to dark and we had yet to see a moose.
Gina said we would wait until 7:30 and then head down
the road in search of the mysterious moose that we had
yet to see. We drove about 2-3 miles down the road toward
Rangeley, Me. on the road which is known as "moose alley".
I am traveling about 35 mph around a curve and Gina spots
a moose coming out of the edge of a field toward the road.
I pull the vehicle over to see it better and can't see it very well
so I do a u-turn and park on the opposite side of the road.
The moose was as big or bigger than a Clydesdale horse (used
in the Budweiser commercials). The rack on the moose was
at least 3 feet wide. I couldn't get a shot off because I was so
excited that the strap on the camera got caught on the gear shift
of the blazer. I was so aggravated that I didn't get a pic. but it
probably would not have turned out very well because it was now
dark.
We drove back to the lodge and bedded down for the night to rise
early the next morning and head back out at 5:30 in search of more
moose. We go back to the "pit" and shined the headlights into the pit
and did not see anything. We drove further down the highway than
we had the night before and still no sighting. So, we turn around and
head back toward the lodge. As we approached the "pit" I thought
what the heck, so I pulled back by the pit and there it was just standing
there waiting for us. He milled around for a few minutes and then headed
back into the woods after being spooked.
We were so excited to see this animal. We then headed back to the lodge
to look for the next animal on our list.
Stay tuned to see whether we found the next animal............................

Real life up in the north woods of Maine

Weekend Update

Sorry everyone that I have not posted since Thursday. I tried to post on Friday but there was something wrong with the server. Sat. morning Gina and I went to the north woods of Maine and there was no Internet there. We had a great weekend. I need to process all the pics. from the weekend before I post from this weekend. Hopefully the pics will be good, I got some of wildlife that I had not previously photographed. Can't wait to share them with you.

The above picture was from Cape Cod at Truro.

Have a great week everyone and stay tuned ..............................

PF and SG

Excuse me sir, would you like some wine with
that squab.


Head spinning magic trick.


Hey buddy, do you see that chick over there?


You put your left foot in take your left foot out,
you put your right foot in take your right foot out,
do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around,
that's what it's all about.

Giant Bathtub Toy or Miniature Boat---You Decide

Gina and I were walking out on a rockwall breakwater
and saw this little boat. Rumor has it that
this boat belongs to the harbor master, although,
I couldn't prove it.

Bridge and Lighthouses - Cape Cod

The Sagamore Bridge crosses Cape Cod Canal
which separates Cape Cod from the rest of Mass.
The canal is part of the Atlantic Intracoastal
Waterway and is just over 17 miles long.



Both of the above pictures are of Cape Cod
(Highland) Lighthouse which is located in Truro.
The lighthouse is the oldest and best known which
was established in 1798.




Nauset Beach Light current was
moved from Chatham where it had
been part of a twin-tower, two
light system since 1877. Nauset Light
replaced the "Three Sisters of Nauset"
which was a set of three lighthouses dating
back to 1838. The Three Sisters had to be
removed due to erosion.

Plymouth, Ma. Air Show

P-51 Mustang - Maximum speed 437 mph.

Cranberry Harvesting and Processing

This is a walk behind harvester. The person uses
this to go over the cranberry bog while going with
the "grain" of the plants which keeps from harming the
plants. The burlap sack at the back of the machine
catches the berries as they come through the machine.

The berries enter through the front tines
at the bottom and are worked back through
the machine to the burlap sacks.
All of the harvesting equipment is handmade.


When the burlap sacks are full of berries they are
placed in these plastic bins which are stacked three
high. These bins are set on the delivery trucks
using helicopters. That is why the straps are at the top.
These plastic bins were designed at Flax Pond Farms to
replace the heavier wooden crates.


This is where the cranberries are separated.
Not all the berries are put in the bags that are
sold in the stores. The smaller berries are sold
locally for pies, jams, etc. Interesting
fact about the white colored berries that
you sometime see in the bags. They make
the white cranberry juice from these berries.
The white berries are not fully ripened.



This is an irrigation ditch that
surrounds the bog. It is used to drain
off water from the bog keeping the plants
from rotting. In the winter, these ditches are
used to "flood" the bog with water. The plants
have very shallow roots and would freeze in the
winter if not covered with about four inches of
water and frozen. After the water freezes they
spread sand on top of the ice at one inch depth.
In the spring when the ice melts the sand goes down
to the root system thus replenishing the root base.

Thanks Dot for the tour and the great information
about cranberry farming.

Do you know how cranberries grow?

I always thought that cranberries
grew on bushes. Well, think again.
Gina and I went to Flax Pond Farms
today to visit a cranberry bog.






This is a dry harvest farm. You've seen the Ocean Spray
commercials on Television where the two guys are
in a "pond" of cranberries, that is a wet bog and the berries
are harvested differently. In a dry bog the berries are harvested
with handmade equipment which will be in another post.


You can check out the website for the bog that we
visited today: www.flaxpondfarms.com.
Jack and Dot Angley own and operate this farm.
Dot gave us the tour today which was very informative.
I recommend going to flax pond farm for a tour of their
cranberry bog if you are ever in the area.

Stay tuned for more posts on this subject.