ME II: Arrival of friends

· Maine Event

We had a relaxing day with a walk to the community garden and Harbor View Park. While we were sitting on a bench under a White Swamp Oak, the drawbridge opened up. It turns out that there has been a bascule bridge over the Fore River connecting Portland with South Portland since 1916. That bridge was known as the Million Dollar Bridge and it was issued by the Secretary of War in 1893. The bridge we witnessed this morning is the replacement named the Casco Bay Bridge and is higher than the original. It was opened in 1997. It is the most miraculous thing because it is a big 4-lane highway with a pedestrian path and a bike path. Then we walked out to meet our friends, Karl and Rebecca, from the Bay Area who were taking the train up from NYC. The transportation hub is on the outskirts of town and we walked on the Fore River Trail which you can catch over by the Western Cemetery. It goes right by the Fore River upstream from where we usually are and you are up close and personal with the tidal river. It was low tide and the oceany and mud smells were strong. We walked them back a slightly less "off-road" way and then had a sweet little dinner together in our tiny kitchen (we had to borrow a chair from their apartment across the hall). So fun. It's kind of magical to be here and have people visit us from our other life. I'm really looking forward to this week.

https://youtu.be/sheXlxvzUHk
This is a slow real-life video of the bridge opening. It is about two and a half mins.
Bascule bridge over the Fore River open
Here is a still if watching a video of a bridge opening isn't your thing.
tarragon plant
Beautiful tarragon plant in the garden.
beautiful cardinal in a tree
Look at this amazingly RED cardinal (not to mention the lichens). So fetching against the green. I can only imagine how striking when all the leaves are gone and it's the cardinal and the white snow and no leaves to hide behind.
mushrooms growing near a tree stump
Mushrooms!
Approaching the Fore River
Approaching the Fore River Trail and you can see that it is low tide.
Two men and a woman with suitcases
Yay! Our friends are here. Welcome, Karl and Rebecca!!
white huge Dahlia
This is just one large specimen in an over-the-top front yard flower garden of dahlias.
red pompom dahlias
One more to add some color.
night sky no moon
Good night little people.

Have a peaceful evening.

Sending love, Tawnia

And then there were birds

  1. Blue Jay
  2. Mourning Dove
  3. Grey Catbird
  4. Herring Gull
  5. Rock Pigeon
  6. Carolina Wren
  7. Northern Mockingbird
  8. Northern Cardinal
  9. American Crow
  10. European Starling
  11. House Sparrow
  12. American Robin
  13. Canada Goose
  14. Ring-Billed Gull
  15. Sandpiper sp (least or semipalmated).
  16. Eastern Phoebe
  17. Warbling Vireo