ME II: Goodbyes

· Maine Event

Today was cool and cloudy, the highs were in the 50s as were the lows. We got up early and sent Matt off to the wilds of Columbus, Ohio. I work in the same place and only periodically realize that there wasn't another person in the other room next to me. Work was busy with meetings and trying to move things forward. In the evening I finally got around to making the Thai Green Curry that I'd been planning on. It had chicken, mushrooms, kabocha squash, green beans, eggplant, and red pepper. Plus all the sauce-y things that make it so delicious. Anyway, it turned out rather tasty and I learned some things about how to make it better next time.

Meanwhile, I've been thinking a lot about tourism and over-tourism as today there are two gigantic cruise ships in the harbor here in Portland, Maine. They are so large and the harbor is so intimate that you really feel it even if you aren't all the way down in the Old Port area. There are several referendums that have put the reduction of cruise ships on the ballot here in November. It seems that at least one of the voting items is no longer supported by the folks that put it there after a compromise. I guess cruise ships go everywhere there is a port large enough. Turns out 400,000 people take cruises in San Francisco. In 2019, in Portland, there were 658,000 people on cruises. That is basically 10 times the number of people that live here. Anyway, food for thought... what is a balance of some tourism and not so much that it overwhelms the community.

red leaves
After saying goodbye to my love I turned around and there was this exquisite Sugar Maple just starting to become magnificently red.
rainbow chard
Lush Rainbow Chard in the Clark St. Community Garden
purple asters
The wonderful world of Asters. We learned many of them last year and have nearly forgotten all the differences. This is a New England one but it has a varietal name that once we knew.
gray clouds over a park with trees
Harbor View Park with gray skies and a steely gray Atlantic. No sparkles today.
reflection of trees in a puddle
Time of reflection
Young black and white cat looking out of a black framed window with white curtains with very green plants sticking up into the frame
Cats of Portland, Maine
Thai Green Curry in a pan
My first attempt at Thai Green Curry. My tiny kitchen was an epic mess but it is now all cleaned up and some extra containers are in the fridge and some in the freezer.
white white clouds with dark night sky and silhouetted trees
Dark skies with very white clouds. Incredibly lovely the image doesn't capture half of it.
water fountain at night
Water fountain at night
Sunflowers at night
I guess sunflowers keep blooming even at night. Don't they get tired?

Have a reflective evening. Let your imagination roam. There are white clouds out there.

Sending love, Tawnia

Birds from here and away

  1. Blue Jay
  2. Herring Gull
  3. House Sparrow
  4. Black-Capped Chickadee
  5. Osprey
  6. Eastern Phoebe
  7. Double Crested Cormorant
  8. Northern Mockingbird
  9. Snowy Egret
  10. Gray Catbird
  11. Rock Pigeon
  12. American Crow
  13. Turkey Vulture - Haven't actually seen these in Maine - this was near Boston
  14. Canada Goose
  15. Cooper's Hawk
  16. Mourning Dove
  17. Great Blue Heron - hereafter we have Ohio birds. The heron was on the side of the runway as we landed.
  18. Killdeer
  19. Chimney Swift