Cape Elizabeth – Maine 2016
Category: Maine
Visions of Autumn
It’s officially autumn, so I thought I share a few photographs I have taken during the season over the years. Photos were taken in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and in Tennessee. Most are available for purchase, Click here. 
Visions of Maine – Part 3
Part 3 is the final post in the series of photos from my recent trip to Maine. You can find Part 1 here and Part 2 here.
Main Street, Bar Harbor
View from Inside Ellsworth, Maine Library
Flowers with Schooner
Belfast, Maine
Opera House – Belfast, Maine
You can read a bit of history at this link.
Bar Harbor Inn
Visions of Maine – Part 2
Part 2 in my series of photographs from a recent trip to Maine. You can find Part 1 here.
Somesville, Maine
Arcadia National State Park
Somesville, Maine
Bird Houses
The First Church of Belfast (Maine)
The steeple bell of The First Church was made by the Revere and Son Co., as in Paul Revere. It was installed in 1819.
Bar Harbor Schooner
Visions of Maine – Part One
A few photographs from a recent trip to one of my favorite states.
Arcadia National Park
Bar Harbor Reflection
Bar Harbor
Bar Harbor Sunset
Colburn Shoe Store (Oldest Shoe Store in America) – Belfast, Maine
Arcadia National Park
Murder, Mayhem and Christmas
Over the years, I have developed a bit of an addiction to reading holiday themed mysteries around this time of the year. Murder, mayhem and Christmas make for a good holiday treat. I thought I would list a few seasonal mystery books I have read over the years that you may enjoy.
Hercule Poirot’s Christmas- Agatha Christie
Technically, I have not read this yet. I bought a copy a couple of days ago and just began it last night. But hey, it’s Dame Agatha, so it can’t be bad.
Silent Night – Robert B. Parker
Robert B. Parker was one of my favorite authors. This slender volume was left uncompleted when the author passed away in 2010. The book was completed by his long time editor and friend Helen Brann. Subsequently, we got one last Spenser novel from the master. It’s not Parker at his best, but even middle of the road Parker is better than none at all.
The Spy Who Came For Christmas – David Morrell
Santa Fe, New Mexico is one of my favorite cities to visit. David Morrell, born in Canada, has lived in Santa Fe for many years. He knows the town and uses it’s famed art strip, Canyon Road, as the setting for this fast paced snowy Christmas Eve thriller.
Christmas at The Mysterious Bookshop – Otto Penzler
For 17 years, Otto Penzler commissioned a Christmas themed short story from one of his favorite mystery writers. The one criteria, besides a Christmas setting, was the story or at least some of it had to take place at Penzler’s famed NYC Mysterious Bookshop. In 2010, he compiled the stories and published this excellent collection. Among the authors, Lawrence Block, Donald Westlake, S.J.Rozan and Mary Higgins Clark. A must read.
Wreck the Halls – Sarah Graves
I earlier mentioned New Mexico as one of my favorite places to visit. The great state of Maine is another. Like New Mexico, I have been to Maine a few times. On one of our trips, my wife and I went to Eastport. Maine, the eastern most city in the United States. While walking along the small town’s main street we came across a hardware store. We noticed there was something odd about its window display. In one corner, there was a series of paperback books, all by one author…Sarah Graves. Intrigued, we went in and browsed through some of the books and decided to purchase two. The woman behind the counter, then asked us if we would like the books autographed? The author was upstairs, she said pointing to a staircase toward the back of the store. We climbed up and sure enough, there was Sarah Graves sitting at a desk. We talked for a few minutes, and she signed our books. While I never found out, I suspect Ms. Graves owned the hardware store. It would make sense, but then again, like her books, it’s a mystery.
Shadows of a Maine Christmas Lea Wait
Like Ms. Graves, Lea Wait is a Maine author, and she captures the state’s atmosphere superbly in her series of cozy mysteries. You genuinely feel like you are in small town Maine. Murder, a bit of violence, and long buried secrets all come to light in this holiday treat.
A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
Okay, it may be a bit of a stretch to include Dicken’s classic as a mystery, but think about it; the book is filled with suspense, ghosts and a bit of mayhem. I have read A Christmas Carol several times over the years and it’s always a pleasure,
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Flowers From the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden
The Coastal Maine Botanical Garden in Boothbay Harbor, Maine is a must see stop if you are ever in the area. My wife and I spent four and a half hours there recently and we saw only the tip of the iceberg. There are multiple gardens, waterfalls, walking trails, sculptures and more. The photographs of the flowers below represent just a small portion of what there is to see.
Chives
Dahlia’s
Peony
Lady Slippers
Delphinium
Iris
Calla Lily
Ornamental Onion aka Allium
Peony
Russell Red Lupine
Tumbleweed Onion
Pemaquid Point Lighthouse
Maine’s Pemaquid Point Lighthouse was commissioned by President John Quincy Adams in 1827 and was built that same year. Construction did not go well due to the use of salt water in the mortar mix. In less than ten years the structure began to fall apart and was replaced by a second Lighthouse in 1835.
The lighthouse was voted by the state’s residents to be featured on the Maine quarter as part of the 50 State Quarters Program issued by the U.S. Mint. The program began in 1999. Maine’s quarter was the 23rd in the series, issued in 2003.
Humpback Whale Taking the Big Dive
Humpback whales are beautiful, graceful and majestic mammals ranging 40 to 60 feet in length, weighting as much as 44 tons. We were fortunate to catch a couple of Humpbacks on a recent trip to Boothbay Harbor in Maine.
The Puffins of Eastern Egg Rock Island
A recent trip to Boothbay Harbor in Maine provided my wife and me with the opportunity for a boat trip to Eastern Egg Rock Island, an Audubon Society run sanctuary for Atlantic Puffins. The day was beautiful, a little cool out in the ocean, but more important was the number of Puffins that made themselves available to us to photograph. They are uniquely colorful looking creatures, only about ten inches in length.
No one is allowed to land on the island, except for Audubon employees and volunteers, so we had to shoot from the boat. Subsequently, the distance and the rocking of the boat made photographing a bit challenging at times. Still, with a little bit of luck and assistance from the Puffins, we got the shots.
