Sticking to a plan, or not...

   Today's post was supposed to be pictures of the Porcupine Islands, probably my favorite place to paddle.  We haven't been there all summer, for many reasons.  One is that, to get there we need to go to Bar Harbor, which is a zoo all summer long.  Another is a longer story.

   Mark's tendinitis, which bothered him most of last year, has been more pronounced this year, so most longer kayak trips have been impractical.  We've done more short paddle board trips, which seem to bother his elbow less, and I've done lots of trips on the river. 

  And not much has happened on the river.  For a few weeks there was a seal pup hanging out, but no good could come from sharing that sighting, and other than that it's been the usual eagles, seagulls, ducks and crows.

Could you give away his location?

  Meanwhile, Mark, looking for exercise, has found pickleball.  Pickleball, played with whiffleballs, over-sized ping-pong paddles and a badminton-sized hard surface court seems like an odd choice for someone with "tennis elbow"  but he swears it's different muscles. 

  He started playing one day a week, but quickly ramped up to a five day a week program.  Then he began encouraging me to come along.  "Anyone can play!"  he claimed, "You can play at any level."

Ledges near Ram Island

  And so, one day I found myself on the court.  "Just lob the ball over the net,"  he coached.  So I did.  In short order, my opponent (not Mark) slammed the ball back.  It crashed into my knee at 40 mph. 

  "Anyone can play"  but not anyone can play well.  Mark has an advantage, having played ping pong for many years. Other pickleball players come from tennis, racketball or squash backgrounds.   I hadn't done any of those, though I had played badminton as a kid. (in our neighborhood we used a volleyball net to play, I was utterly shocked when my kids started playing to discover the net was only supposed to be 5 feet high - none of my skills seemed to translate to this new net.)  

   There are generally four players to each game.  In the non-competitive practice I went to,  a game lasted about 15 minutes, and the players got switched around after.  For a beginner, that's good news, because the people playing with you aren't stuck losing all night.

  Pickleball is known as a social sport, after each game we get to chat.  And the court is small enough that that we can talk during the game.  There's a lot of support at the game, from hints on playing better, to congratulations on a good shot.  I think I got my first congratulations when using the paddle to block my face, resulting in the ball actually going back over the net.  Then there are "Good games" all around at the end.

  Mark, as it turns out, is pretty good at pickleball.   They call him "The Wall", as in "No one gets past The Wall."  They call me "The Sieve."

  There are many good things about pickleball.  It is social, if you don't want to play the same game all the time, you have to find new people.  One day a group of woman came down from Grand Manan Island seeking new opponents (victims).  It helps us exercise, and lose weight.  We lose weight primarily because we can't eat before we play, if we have any hope of moving fast enough to get the ball.  And, once we're done, what we crave more than food is water, more water, and icy water.

  So, in addition to working around work schedules, and planning shorter kayaks trips, we've also been working around pickleball.  Today, Labor Day was supposed to be reserved for a trip to the Porcupines.  Then a few weeks ago, a pickleball tournament was announced for Saturday.  Mark was quickly snapped up for a men's double team.  And eventually, someone convinced me to be their partner.  Mark's team came in second.  Ours didn't place quite that high.  But even with the tournament, we were going to save today for the Porcupine trip.

  Sunday, Mark and I found ourselves paddling on the Penobscot.   Mark had pulled a few muscles in his games, but he felt sure he could do a Porcupine run.  "I'll just stay away from rock gardening and bracing." 

   It can be hard to resist the lure of popping into keyholes, but it's certainly possible.  But, I'm not sure I could guarantee that Mark wouldn't have to brace.  I can't control the weather, or the wind.  I can't promise there wouldn't be confusing waves.  Especially not if we were going by the cliffs, and if we weren't going by the cliffs was it really worth it to face the Bar Harbor mobs?
 

   So instead we went to Castine, where the harbor and islands interact to protect the water and assure there's probably a calm route back to the launch.  Because making sure the water is within your capabilities is something you need to determine before you find yourself 3 or 4 miles offshore.

   And to tell the truth, it was a wonderful time in Castine, with some amazing scenery; it is hard to imagine a better day!

   The seal pup picture was taken on the Penobscot River in the spring, the rest were from Castine, today.

  Details for trip planning can be found in earlier posts
     Some prior Castine Trips:  Halloween Tour, Best Laid Plans, We do have a plan (Castine is apparently our top choice for plan related blog posts)
     Some Porcupine Trips:  Porcupines Again,  Porcupines Islands in Late September, Seven Reasons to visit the Porcupines.

  

Mount Hope Cemetery Animals

 More animal shots gathered off the water, this time from Bangor's Mount Hope Cemetery.    There are entrances off State St and Mount Hope Avenue.  The State Street Gate is open more hours.

"I'm flying"

Mount Hope is the second oldest garden cemetery in the United States.  (The oldest is Mount Auburn, Cambridge, MA.)   It has a stream running through the middle which widens into several ponds and a seperate turtle pond by the main office.  The water, and the banning of dogs, makes this a great place to find animals.

    Groundhogs are especially common, as are squirrels.  Unfortunately, by October, all the groundhogs are hibernating.

     In the spring and summer, uskrats are frequently seen in the ponds, or on nearby banks.  This one is just a baby.

    Less rarely seen are chipmunks.  And just once this summer were we able to spot a fox or mink.

Eastern Bluebird

  A variety of birds show up through the season.  For awhile Merlins were nesting in a tree.

    But this Cooper's Hawk just showed up recently.

There are an abundance of frogs, and tadpoles in season.  Surprisingly, herons and kingfishers are not there every day.
    But there are lots of mallards.  These ducks are hoping for some food.

   I hope you're having some wonderful fall adventures!

Essex Woods Animals

Green heron

   This may not surprise you, but it's a lot easier to get pictures when you're not in a kayak.  This is especially true if not being in a kayak means you can use a camera you wouldn't dare take on the water because it's not particularly waterproof. 

Solitary Sandpiper

  But there's a second reason it's harder to get pictures while kayaking.  Kayaking takes us to many wild areas where animals are not acclimated to people.  Walking, on the other hand, takes us along trails frequented by many other residents.

Cedar Waxwing

  These pictures are from Essex Woods, a 70 acre park tucked beside I-95 and situated between developments.   Featuring a path around a 40 acre shallow swamp, the park does not overwhelm with beauty, but it attracts an amazing variety of wildlife.  Essex Woods is one of several Bangor parks, accessible from either Watchmaker St (off Essex) or Garden Way (off Stillwater.)  Visiting is a great reminder of the discovery and wonder which can be found in local parks.

Cormorant- just noticed the ripples line up with some ruffled neck feathers

Green-winged teal

Flicker

Sora

These are just some of the animals we've seen there.  It's not unusual for us to see more than 20 species in a day.  Experts probably see many more.   And there are also, lots and lots of mallards there.

Essex Woods is near the Bangor Dog Park, so in addition to runners, walkers and birders, expect to see lots of dog walkers.   You might even meet John and Kelley, of Hiking in Maine with Kelley, who provides this nice map with his posting. 

Belfast Harborfest - Cardboard Boat Race

This weekend was Belfast Harborfest- which included a Pilot Gig Rigatta, a small boat display, the boat building challenge, (where teams were given three hours to build a boat), a 5K Road Race, and much more.  Sunday was the cardboard boat race. 

   There were two main styles of boats, canoe-like and row-boat like.   The full rules are here, but a summary we were given was:  Cardboard with water soluble glue and water soluble paint.  Duct tape is allowed only at the seams.

  Style mattered, as there was a People's Choice Award.  Three boats were decorated in Viking style.  But heart mattered too.  Apparently the Rollie's Bar and Grill teams began work at 9AM and were able to make the 10:00AM start with two entries!

   It was a moist morning, those who brought tarps used them frequently.  After the boat parade the vessels rested on the beach.  Most of the first heats were two boat races; one was three.  Waiting contestants lifted their boats, rested them on paddles, or in some cases cardboard.  There were three Viking themed boats, this shows two- Angry Dragon and Valhalla.  In front is an international competitor- the Rondy-Turcotte family from Quebec, Canada.

 Like a Rock 2.0  the Dutch Chevrolet entry paddled with confidence.  Their heat was against Rollie Red, which barely left the starting point.

  But Rollie Pink did better; here they are battling against Coburn Shoes' Boat Shoe.

    Unfortunately, the unfinished boat did not hold up.  But the race was held in shallow water at low tide, so after the back paddler rolled out, he was able to push his boat to shore.

  The Waldo County YMCA set the fastest time in any heat, finishing the course in just under 2 minutes.

   Size matters, originally  Barque Ahoy, built by the Penobscot Marine Museum was going to be paddled by three people.  But Archimede's displacement theories held, and after a quick sinking, a second attempt was made with just one paddler.  (She has a life jacket under her shirt)

   Yellow Submarine, sponsored by Searsport High was built at a Penobscot Marine Museum Cardboard Boat Camp in June.  It won its heat and placed fourth overall.

  The Norseman Nightmare, by the Vanderhoof Family, also suffered a quick roll at the start.  But they quickly got back into the race.

  Perhaps because the boats were fading fast, one final heat was done for the winners of all previous races.  There had been six heats, but only four opted to participate in the final race.  

   The Angry Dragon wound up with the overall prize.   (This picture is from their first heat.)

Sage Sign in Ellsworth

One alternative to paddling is visiting nearby towns.  We went to Ellsworth one Sunday, where we discovered this sign containing  such sage advice, we felt it should be shared.

  Now I feel like I should go back on a warm summer's eve and see what sort of people need a sign like this...

Alternatives to Paddling - Crossword Puzzle Answer

The answer:

Alternatives to Paddling - Crossword Puzzles

I've been working on building a crossword puzzle, related to kayaking.  It seemed like an easy enough idea to start; kayak, canoe, lake - they have so many letters in common.   But, like all of life it turned out to be far more difficult.  Sure, it would start easily enough, but then I'd need a word that started with dk and ended with zt.   Anyway I preserved, (lots of ice and below zero days makes that easier to do) and now I have this:

It''s not perfect.  There are two two-letter words (rules require three letter words); one square does not have a secondary clue at all, and several clues are obscure.  But it contains a lesson I learned, so I thought I'd post it here.  Enjoy!

The clues:

Across

1.  Not weak or soft

5.  VW model

10.  Western Hemisphere Org., initially

13.  Dull, continuous pain

14. Archaic wanderer

15.  Apple seed

16.  Part one of lesson learned while making this

18. Wrath

19.  New in Bonn

20.  Compass dir.

21.  Oft thought while creating this

22.  Part two of lesson

25.  What Sting did with Edin Karamazov

26.  The desire for this ruins many kayak rolls

27.  “Monic” and “thin” follower

28.  Large, dark birds

29.  1947 Dennis O’Keefe movie

31.  Moved quickly

33.  Employ

34.  State not to mess with

36. Low light level

38. Not to be left unturned

42.  Part three of lesson

44.  Part four of lesson

45.  Discovered on a Scrabble word site.  Also a Roman cloak

48. Poor paddling alternative, initially

50. Baffinpaddler’s lake

51.  Enlist for a third time?

52.  Part five of lesson

55.  Father of Aoris

56.  One paid to kayak

58.  Glee’s Michele

59.  Part five of lesson

60.  Prophet

61.  Can’t do it

65.  Zorba recites the alphabet?

66.  Laud

68.  Iranian currency

69.  An aid to golfing

70.  Final part of lesson

Down

1.  60’s awesome

2.  Ward for the very ill, initially

3.  King snout-horned beast?

4.  Homer’s River

5.  Middle Brady girl

6.  A kind of moth

7.  Elf stunt double Ty

8.  A distinct pitch

9.  Adams or Poehler

10.  Drug containing opium

11.  USAF guys

12.  Disburses

14.  One who sees

17.  Period toward evening

21.  Fancy bedspreads

22.  American suffragette

23.  Of the ancient Mariner

24.  Two words which can finish this sentence:  “To shape a dugout wood you could use an ax --”

25.  Beverage made of yogurt

28.  Symbol for Ruthenium

30.  Italian city

32.  Zero

35.  Takei’s memorable role

37.  Allot

39.  Just one

40.  US Ocean Org., initially

41.  Abbrev. list enders

43.  Electric bug killers

45.  Former PLO chief

46.  NHL Flyer’s coach

47.  A fruit and a color

49.  Put a price on

52.  A type of waterwheel

53.  Fair type favored by the SCA

54.  Maldives money unit

57.  As ye sow, so shall ye …

60.  Luxurious retreat

62.  Storage container

63.  Fall behind

64.  Spanish article

67.  Neighbor to WY

Best Nature Sites Midcoast Maine

 Here's an interesting tidbit for an icy day...did you know that the hippocampus of a black capped chickadee grows over 30% as winter comes on?

It does, researchers feel it might be so they can better track where they've stored food.  Not sure that applies to humans as well, but there should be some reward for making it through the cold.

Here are a couple more questions:

Which U.S. state is the only state in the lower 48 to have a breeding population of eiders?
(can you guess based on the blog title?)

How did Native Americans use false hellebore to help select the most worthy candidates?

If you enjoy having bits of trivia on hand to add to a conversation, or like exploring a series of ecosystems, Best Nature Sites of MidCoast Maine might be the book for you.  It covers public locations along U.S. Route 1 from Brunswick to Belfast, but it's real strength is in the interesting details it includes about the many flora and fauna found in these locales.

We found this book at MaineSport in Rockport, but it should be at many other locations.  It is also available  online.
Answers to the questions in the comments.

Another Old Kayak Picture

     As I rummaged through the collection of clutter which makes up our estate, (looking for a decent calculator) I happened to glance up at the wall and noticed we had another old kayak picture displayed there:

 This is a drawing by Luther Bradley, one of Mark's distant relatives.  I'm not sure it's an accurate portrayal of kayak construction, but it's an interesting depiction of intrigue at the polar cap.  "Stefansson" is Vilhjalmur Stefansson, a Canadian Arctic Explorer who helped establish the US Army Cold Region Research and Engineering Laboratory at Dartmouth.  Luther Bradley was a cartoonist for the Chicago Daily News from 1899-1917.  This cartoon was initially published Sep. 20, 1915 while Sefansson was in the midst of his Canadian Arctic Expedition.  In fact, Stefansson has just spent 14 months exploring the ice pack. 
     In addition to editorial cartoons, Luther Bradley also wrote two amazing children's books:  Our Indians: A Midnight Visit to the Great Somewhere-or-other and Wonderful Willie!  What He and Tommy Did to Spain.   I especially wish I could share Our Indians with you. Our Indians has illustrations of a flying canoe pulled by birds.  I've haven't been able to find a full copy, but a few illustrations for Our Indians are here.  They are marvelous pictures, well worth scanning down the page.

A few Luther Bradley Resources:
A Tribute to Luther Bradley by His Boss at the Chicago Daily News
A digitized version of his book, Cartoons by Bradley,
A short biography of Luther Bradley  Another post by Allen Holtz on Luther Bradley
Scared Motherhood Poster by Luther Bradley

Old Photos

Winter nights are perfect for reviewing old photos.  These pictures come from my grandfather's collection.  In the early 40's he signed on as a cook on the Alaskan Highway Crew, then found work as a cook at a gold-mine in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Pictures of Kayaks and Canoes:

The caption on this postcard reads: The Seal Hunter Returns.  It was taken by Jacobs/Nome.  I believe it was also taken in Nome. 

These two pictures are from:  The Alaska Sportsman Book:  Pictures of the Last Frontier by the Alaska Frontier Publishing Company.

Some miscellaneous pictures:

Henry Dreier, "Gen Del" in a wonderful sealskin coat and rather hasty put on boots.  This picture was approved by the Army Examiner, so its probably from the Alaskan Highway.

A wonderful Christmas card from Maurice, though I'm pretty sure that's not what you're supposed to do with bears.

I wish I knew the story behind this picture.  I never asked my grandfather about his photos from Alaska.  As a kid, I was mostly interested in seeing if my grandfather had any spare gum.  Beyond the gum, I loved looking at his display of ivory figurines, small polar bears and geese, he'd brought back with him.  And on an especially good day, he might pull out the coporlite, mammoth teeth, tusks and other treasures he'd found with near the gold mine.

And speaking of the mine; here are a few pictures:

The smelting process

My grandfather is the one on the right.  He believed in basic food and plenty of it.  His recipes were for 200 biscuits, gallons of beans etc.  He was a frugal man who believed in saving.  He could not understand why any of the men at the mine might chose to go into town and pay for meals when they were given free meals at the mine.  When he moved back home, he kept a huge garden for vegetables (loved his tomotoes!), fished and clammed for other meals.

   I hope your winter memories are keeping you warm!