ME II: rainy quiet day

· Maine Event

The weather in Portland Maine always seems to provide variety for different folks and different moods. Today was cool and rainy with a high of 70° and a low of 61°. The Atlantic put on a show with waves that made it look ferocious - kind of like a sunny day with the Pacific. A slow steady rain started in the morning and continued through the day and is still going as the day sets. It sent some vacationers home (yay - there were too many of us) and others must have stayed inside to play checkers or watch television. It was blissfully quiet with few bikes, golf carts, or cars. A few joggers, a few walkers, and a dog walker or two. We went on several walks getting gently soaked and observed many happy plants and birds. We didn't stray far from the house other than to go to the one store near the ferry called Hannigan's grocery whose slogan is "if we don't have it, you don't need it" which is wonderfully "Maine" and kind of true. The vegetable selection on a rainy Wednesday was relatively meager and what was there looked a little old but upon bringing home a selection everything was of nice quality and they were only a little rough around the edges. An example, they don't peel off the old wilted lettuce leaves but once you do, there is a perfect head of lettuce. It was a good day to cook and Matt worked on his math problems while I puttered around the house and we occasionally went for walks in the rain. We love quiet days.

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This is a flock of Common Eiders, the largest duck in these parts. In Spring there were babies galore which everyone loves to eat. They are so incredibly cute. Read all about it here.
tip of an island with rose hips in the foreground
Here is the view out our front door of Cushing Island. It's a private island. In the sense of a gated community kind of private and the ferries don't go there. You would need a boat or take an island taxi (otherwise known as a water taxi). They do have lovely cliffs and long ago, like Peaks, they were even more touristy than today.
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Another view of Cushing Island with a couple of Herring gulls posing for the photo in the foreground on our beautiful Peaks Island rocky beaches.
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View of our sweet perimeter road that goes around the island. Interior roads are mostly dirt.
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Looking the other way on the little perimeter road that we are staying on.
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The cattail marsh and the cottage from the rear
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We spotted a bright yellow snail in the road and airlifted him to the other side. He is a common flat periwinkle. They are intertidal snails that feed on seaweed. It is probably an invasive from long ago. You can read more about that here.
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A simple white beach rose with dew drops from the rain.

[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m16!1m12!1m3!1d69266.89836002271!2d-70.16328425471073!3d43.72051761343565!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!2m1!1scascao%20bay%20island!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1660783187759!5m2!1sen!2sus&w=800&h=600]

This is the area we are talking about. In the lower left, that arm sticking out is Portland. Peaks you can see and directly behind it is Cushing Island. Take a stroll around the islands you can expand it to see more. There are an estimated 222 islands in Casco Bay many of them have no humans living on them. The white islands on the map are part of the city of Portland. The green islands on the map are those that have fought and won independence or the city never wanted them.

Sending love,

Tawnia

P.S. Birds seen today:

  1. Magnolia warbler
  2. Great Black Backed Gull
  3. Herring Gull
  4. Morning Dove
  5. Rock Pigeon
  6. American Goldfinch
  7. Catbird
  8. Northern Cardinal
  9. Common Eider
  10. House sparrow
  11. Song Sparrow
  12. Canada Goose
  13. Eastern Phoebe
  14. Great Blue Heron
  15. Great Egret
  16. American Crow
  17. Blue Jay
  18. European Starling
  19. American Robin
  20. Cedar Waxwing
  21. Barn Swallow
  22. Mockingbird
  23. Black Capped Chickadee
  24. Black Guillemot
  25. Chimney Swift
  26. Double Crested Cormorant