Images

Horseshoe Crab

They're not really crabs, but modern-day trilobites, more closely related to spiders and scorpions.  These animals show up by the hundreds on the shore during full or new moon nights, corresponding with the highest tides in spring.  They spawn, laying thousands of eggs, and return to the water.  Unless for whatever reason, they don't -…Read more Horseshoe Crab

Mushrooms

It's the time of year for 'shrooms.  Between about mid-August and mid-Autumn (after the leaves have fallen), and particularly after periods of rain, the large unseen fungal mats below the leaf litter are sending up their flowering bodies to release spores.  Mushrooms are the "flowers" of the fungal world.  If you're really lucky and find…Read more Mushrooms

Blueberries

Depending on the variety, and whether the animals have found them, there may still be a few blueberries out there.  The various types start to ripen in mid-July, but some low-bush blueberries are still going strong! Photo Credit - Lynn Abbott

White Birch

Another shot from Maine.  A fallen white birch, being overtaken by moss.  I don't know exactly why I like this shot, but it's compelling - Lynn just has an eye for seeing these things! Photo Credit - Lynn Abbott

Common Merganser

Being from a fair bit south of their habitat, we don't see mergansers very often.  This was one of about five that were flocked together on Jordan Pond in Acadia National Park.  I loved how she would paddle along with her face in the water, scanning, and then dive and swim REALLY fast along the…Read more Common Merganser

Prospect Harbor Light

Closing out the week with one more Maine lighthouse.  This is Prospect Harbor, on the Schoodic Peninsula.  Fog persisted everywhere within about 5 miles of the coast all day, and it was a clear blue sky everywhere else.  Hard to complain, really - since that's why these lighthouses were built, and why they continue to…Read more Prospect Harbor Light

Red Squirrel

Taking a break from landscapes, I had to share this little guy.  These Red Squirrels are a little larger than a chipmunk, smaller than the grey squirrels so common at home in the Mid-Atlantic  They're adorable.  They also chatter with a high-pitched trill that sounds like the initial handshake on an early-90's dial-up connection, so…Read more Red Squirrel

Great Head

Just over the ridge from yesterday's picture.  This is a shot from the coast of Mt. Desert Island, in Acadia National Park near Thunder Hole, looking east toward Great Head.  One of the things that makes Acadia so popular is that mountains and sea come together very dramatically, in a very small area. Photo Credit…Read more Great Head

Acadia Sunset

What a difference a day makes.  Got to use that "flying" part of the Flying Squirrel name and get to Maine for a couple days, replacing our usual sandy marshes with granite.  Here, Champlain Mountain looms over an unnamed pond. Photo Credit - Lynn Abbott

Tobacco Hornworm

Our tomato plants have been attacked, and very quickly decimated.  But at least I got to learn something - this is a Tobacco Hornworm (Manduca sexta).  You can tell because of the straight-line stripes (like cigarettes), and the red horn.  A Tomato Hornworm has V-shaped stripes (like "vine-ripened"), and a blue or black horn.  Since…Read more Tobacco Hornworm

Black-Eyed Susan

Another native wildflower, the Black-Eyed Susan is a relative of the sunflower, and originated in eastern and central North America - though it now appears everywhere on the continent and in some places in China.  It was used by Native Americans in a variety of medicinal uses, and is the State Flower of Maryland. Photo…Read more Black-Eyed Susan