I’ve made it onto the lake about five times since last summer. I’ll gratefully take what I can get.
This summer is the first in years that my entire body has agreed to even modest, slow hikes, so I joyfully go out in the morning with one or two dogs (three is impossible for me) and see what the day holds. We are once again sharing the underside of our deck with nesting phoebes (unclear whether there are chicks.) We put up a bluebird house and a pair moved in. Bluebirds are so, well, blue – but in a delightfully happy way.
What else has the nature of Maine offered me? A doe and can-barely-walk-yet fawn. Deer flies in abundance. A choir of birds that I’m missing even while they are here. Owl calls but no longer any owl sightings due to excessive development and shrinking habitat. Hawks. Ravens (easiest for me to distinguish from crows by their calls.) Deer ticks. Dog ticks. Fleeting lupins (how have we hit mid-July?) and morning after morning after morning of crushing gray skies.
These days it seems that everyone has a fancy camera and time on hands so the temptation to keep these grainy photos to myself is strong. But the temptation to share them is even stronger, so here you go:
Many of these photos were taken in a sub-optimal conditions (low light). Adult loon defending chick from another adult (possible mate). Pro tip: do not get your kayak caught in the midst of a loon dispute.
Same mother and chick – query whether adult is the same one she was fighting with several days earlier.
Not the best series of photos but we can no longer wait for the sun to shine.
Osprey feeding chick.
I was about to jump in the water when I saw this flash from 50 odd feet away. Not a great shot but still interesting. I think this is a mink.
Loads of little fish nibbling my toes. Tried to get my husband to sacrifice his toes for better photos but he wasn’t having any part of it.
The Nature of Maine 