FLYday - Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Ruby Throated hummingbird, female feeding at Impatiens

FLYday is an homage to what our feathered friends do best, fly.

SCENIC SUNDAY- Vacationland, Maine

View to south from Totman Cove, Phippsburg, Maine

FLYday - Double Osprey Delight

FLYday is an homage to what our feathered friends do best, fly.

These are Osprey, also called Fish Hawks. The bird on the left is an adult female chasing a first summer, male bird away from the nest. The mother bird on the left has two new chicks in a nearby nest. The younger bird on the right was hatched last year and probably was trying to come back to the nest it knew when it was a new chick. Kind of sad!

FLYday - Osprey

Osprey, or "Fish Hawk" in hover flight. Phippsburg, Maine May 2011

FLYday is an homage to what our feathered friends do best, fly.

Sequin Island Light

From Videos

From Videos

Last summer, I went to Seguin Island with friends. Afterward, I made this is video about the island and it's history. Sequin is a landmark familiar to most of us on Casco Bay. We see it off in the distance and hear the fog horn lowing in the night. But, not all of us get to 'know' her by going on the island. There is no anchorage and only five moorings maintained by the Coast Guard. Tying up is on a first come, first serve basis. To get to the island from the moorings requires a dingy or a good cold swim. I did go swimming while out there. The second I dove in I thought I had lost my mind and would surely have a heart attack. The water was so cold it sucked the breathe right out of me! Going onto an island by boat brings out the little kid in everyone. You can't help but think about pirates, ship wrecks, or being stranded. It stirs up feelings of adventure and as with any good adventure, feelings of vulnerability. What if you got stuck out there, or lost at sea along the way? Would you have what it takes to live out there?In the past, light house keepers have lived there year round. The island would have been a mean block of ice with no way off. Now, The Friends of Sequin (seguinisland.org - a non profit organization that maintains the light and keeper's facility) has 'keepers' just for the summer. The positions are already filled through 2010. In the summer, it's magic. The 360 degree vistas of the ocean are breathaking. You feel closer to heaven on top of that rock and more so up in the lighthouse tower. There's nothing quite like salt air and the Atlantic Ocean to make you feel really alive.