Thursday, January 03, 2008

Winter in Maine- Day 1

Megan's parents live in rural western Maine. The towns near them are quite tiny and fairly provincial, and they live five miles or so outside of the town center. When the original owner built the house in which they now live in the early 1990's, the house wasn't even on the electric grid! It was powered by a generator and heated and lit with propane. Now, the Woods' house on little pond is on the grid, but the place has kept its rural charm.

One of the greatest things that has happened to Megan and I is Skybus Airlines. We can fly to Portsmouth New Hampshire for literally dollars, rent a car, and drive just under two hours to get to Little Pond.



Little did we know that below these clouds would be a winter wonderland.



Once on the ground at New Hampshire, we picked up the rental car and drove to Maine. New fallen snow coated everything, and our drive was nice and sunny. When you start seeing snow plows and logging trucks, you know you are in rural Maine.



Little Pond sits just to the left of this road which is Maine State Route 117. We turned into the driveway, and what a sight it was! The snow was piled up everywhere.



Once we arrived, I immediately started taking pictures. I grabbed the telephoto lens and shot from the deck out across the 26 acre frozen and snow covered pond. The small pine trees in the foreground are black spruce growing in the sphagnum bog, while the taller trees are mostly white pine.



A quick trip out to the bird feeding station revealed what I was expecting. Dozens of black-capped chickadees and several red-breasted nuthatches.



Later on in the day, a male hairy woodpecker visited the feeding station.



Later on in the day, this tree ornament caught my eye.



What a great first day in Maine. Smooth travel, wonderful scenery, and it was great to see Megan's parents and brother. And what better way to end a day than with a wonderful meal grilled on the stove top by Megan's brother Mike?



Be sure to stop back for days two, three, and four.

Happy New Year,

Tom

8 comments:

  1. Yeah Tommy! I wish we could be back there now that I am over my cold! It is really beautiful there- especially with all the snow- and the fact that WE don't have to live with it for months! Wanna go back?

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  2. Hi Tom,

    These are beautiful photos. I'd love to live in a quiet, rural setting like this. -Mike.

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  3. You have the most wonderful blog full of the most breathtaking photographs. It is an absolute pleasure to wander through your posts, enjoying the moments that you have captured in the lense. I am definitely going to be a regular reader.

    Best wishes ~ Graham

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  4. Thanks Megan....Maine was fantastic. It's also great that we feel so good there...almost like being kids again.

    Mr. Grudge, it is awesome there in Maine. Fabulous place to visit, not sure I would want to live there full time like my in-laws.

    Thanks Graham! Please come back often.

    Tom

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  5. Did you know that tree ornament is by George Carruth, who is from Ohio? He's in Waterville, just south of Toledo. :-)

    Maine is so beautiful. We were there in August of 1979 and would love to go back.

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  6. Hi Kylee,

    As far as the tree ornament goes, I didn't know it was an Ohio made artwork. However, my wife's Aunt and Uncle live in Perrysburg, so I'm speculating that they may have purchased it for my in-laws. Thank you for the information.

    Tom

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  7. Hi Tom-
    Love your photos. When we gave G & K the Carrouth signature piece I don't think that they were overly thrilled. :) But I think it is perfect there.
    I would move there in a heart beat. Maybe Chuck and I can switch with them.
    Wendie/Chuck

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  8. Hi Wendie!

    I think there is along list of people that would like to trade houses with G and K! How about we set up a time share?

    Tom

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