What caught my eye here was the tufts of grass growing at the base of the fence. Seeing that the path had been built upon railroad ties these tufts of graft growing spoke to my sense of fascination with how plants will grow anywhere.
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The Bench
This spot in the botanical garden is always quiet, but this year it has also become a simplified space. In previous years there have been plant pots and even a fairy house on the deck with this bench which made it seem like a secret niche. Now with nothing on the deck but the bench I think differently each time I look at it; sometimes it seems something is missing, too open of a space, but other times it simplicity seems perfect, why would you need other stuff, just sit and enjoy the nature around you.
What’s that coming through the fog?
Howl’s Moving Castle is one of my favorite movies, and another one of those situations where I have owned the book for some time but have yet to read it.
This house is known in the area as the Kodak house it’s been around since I was in high school. The way it goes is that some one high up in the Kodak Corporation had the house designed to resemble one of their old style cameras.
Fog versus Sun
After the pubic beach at Biddeford Pool I traveled the short distance to Fortunes Rocks, as I parked the car I got this site of the sun trying to make it’s debut.
5-10 minutes later the sun was winning.
By the time I left I declared the sun the winner.
Foggy Morning
The weather forecast yesterday indicated that this morning would be foggy, however when I woke and looked out the window it was clear. I decided to head out anyway with the idea of seeing the lighthouse at Biddeford Pool. When I got to the turn at Fortunes Rocks Road the fog was thick as soup.
Recently I had a problem with my eye temporarily blurring and as I walked the beach I thought it was happening again, but finally I realized the fog was causing my glasses to mist over. I stood and laughed at myself for a good few moments.
I describe the beach in three stripes: the dry stripe which is that soft stuff farthest away from the water’s edge and is what sticks to your feet the most, the packed stripe which is the hard packed middle section where you don’t sink in as you walk, and the quicksand stripe which is at the water’s edge and if you stand still you begin to sink.
When walking on the packed stripe, if I was closer to the dry stripe I could hear but not see the water. After a while I walked toward the water and after a time wandering and looking at rocks and shells, I turned and could see nothing of the houses on the shoreline. I knew that I just had to walk away from the water to see where I was, but there was that moment when I thought I am not really sure where I am in relation to where I parked the car.
Of course this had the hallmarks of a mystery/thriller; the fog so thick you couldn’t see the killer coming at you until the very last moment.
Don’t Forget To Turn Around
I have been having an internal struggle with being alone, which tends to get prominent on the weekends, this morning was no exception. I had been lecturing myself while driving up the highway; reminding myself of all the gifts in my life, one of them being the ability to make these expeditions.
Not more than an hour earlier I had seen a large church with its doors wide open but I had no real desire to go inside. I was drawn to this chapel and was delighted to find the door open and no one about. In addition to taking some photos of the utterly stunning interior I enjoyed just sitting in the stillness.
When I took a photo of the chapel from the viewpoint of the altar I noted the bible there open and waiting.
I walked away from the altar to take some photos of the windows, but shortly made my way back to the altar. I felt that finding this chapel like this was meant to help me with my struggle and I knew that whatever reading the book was opened to was meant for me. Feeling so inspired I did not just read the passage, I read it out loud hearing the words echo through the space.
The Cuckolds
I was curious about the name of this lighthouse so I did a little google search and found at that the keepers house has been converted to an Inn. It will go on a wish list, but that will be the ridiculously expensive wish list. The Inn is only open from May to September, you are required to book for two nights, and the least expensive accommodation is $800.00 a night. While expensive based on what’s on the website it appears to be worth it. All meals are included, and there are only two rooms in the Inn. Talk about a luxury trip.
Oh and I never did find out the history behind the name.
The Heart and The Lobster Trap
I passed the lobster trap as I explored the beach knowing it would be a possibility for a photo with the heart, but knowing I could get it on the way back to the car.
Being so early in the morning no one else had been on this part of the beach so the only footprints were mine. As I came back upon the lobster trap I knew I wanted to try to get the shot without any footprints in it so I looped up behind the trap. I had planned to place the heart on the trap itself but once I saw the rope I knew where the heart needed to be.
Finding a poem or quote for this posting proved a challenge. I started with keywords of heart and trap but not only where the choices slim they were also morbid. I also searched for something about lobstermen and found very little and nothing that fit. Finally I searched the keyword of Sea and found this quote.
Wibbly-Wobbly-Timey-Wimey
Back in May I took Sil on an Expedition up the coast to feed her photographic needs for new places. At Pemaquid I tried taking a picture of the view through two windows. When we sat at lunch we were looking at the shots we had so far; I did not successfully get the view I had been trying for but instead was enthralled by the reflections in the window that were captured in the photo.
Since then when I am on an expedition and I see a building I take some shots of the windows, I apparently do it so much now that even the volunteer at one of the historic sites asked me why I was taking so many photos of windows. As is the case most times; being outside looking at the screen on my phone I can’t really see the details of the image, which makes for a bit of excitement when I get home and load them up on the tablet.
This particular barn had at least ten windows and I took shots of them all but only this one provided me a reward for the effort. In truth I did not see the reward in the reflection until I started cropping the photo.
Height of Land via Bethel Road Trip
Two years ago I took a trip up to Rangeley to hike a trail, along the way I was to stop and check out Height of Land a much talked about scenic overlook. Well that day it was under construction but from what little I was able to see it I told myself “I’ll be coming back to check this out”.
Right now I am not physically up to hiking so I decided this would just be a lengthy road trip, looking at the map there would be some other lovely scenic stops on the roundabout route that I planned.
I came across another of what I call my “Stone Men” in the Bryant Pond area. I lunched in the scenic town of Bethel and visited a lovely, but very expensive, Irish and Scottish shop, then it was back on my way.
Coming through the town of Newry I spotted signs for a covered bridge, so I sidetracked until I found it. There was to be a wedding taking place that afternoon at 3pm inside the bridge and I don’t know that the couple could have found a nicer spot on a very beautiful day.
Height of Land was truly a stunning view (no picture I took did it justice), it was also very very breezy up there. After a last look I enjoyed a leisurely drive up to Rangeley and then back home, coming through Stratton and Farmington.
aspillingovermind 