Tag Archives: Great Blue Heron

Abrams Pond 2015

Once again, the Lord blessed us, allowing us to be able to get to our favorite vacation spot for the fifth year in a row. Another week at Abrams Pond in Eastbrook, Maine. Often I sit and think just how fortunate I am. God has blessed my family and I so many more times than I could count, or even begin to fathom how or why we deserve life’s rewards. So, with humility, I share the pictures that tell the stores of our week in Maine.

You may be standing right next to me as I notice something flying in the sky half a mile away. I am constantly looking to the skies, to the depths of the waters, to the shadows between the trees, or along the sides of the beaten paths. And sometimes, I am fortunate enough to see the life of the wild that is around me.

Wildlife

 

A juvenile eagle welcomes us to Abrams Pond

A juvenile eagle welcomes us to Abrams Pond

 

Great Blue on a grey day

Great Blue and the greys

 

Swimming duck

The ducks are a constant around the dock

 

Our Bald Eagle friend made several appearances during the week

Our Bald Eagle friend made several appearances during the week

 

Of course, we travel as a family. It’s a family vacation. One of the things that we love so much about this place, is the speed of life, or the lack thereof. The kids love the yard, the house, and of course the lake. As the kids grow, so does their enjoyment, and therefore our pleasure. I look at these and I smile. Sometimes, all I can do is trail behind and just try to keep up.

Kids

 

Eyes on the prize

I want to look at the camera but my eyes are on the prize

 

Check out this catch

Check out this catch

 

Lake fun

The sun is down, but that doesn’t stop the kids’ fun on the water

 

Our little fisherman

Is there pride in those eyes of our little fisherman

 

Photo with the fish

All smiles with a handful of fish

 

Proud of their fish

This twin team is proud of their fish

 

That's a proud boy

Different day, probably the same fish

 

The lonely fisherman and his can of Pringles

The lonely fisherman and his can of Pringles

 

Time and space to chill

We love it here, because all ages have time and space to relax

 

Looking for crabs at Acadia Schoodic Point

Looking for crabs at Acadia – Schoodic Point

 

Lonely swimmer blues

Lonely swimmer blues – Lamoine Beach

 

Then there are the scenes we have become accustomed to around Abrams Pond. There are many, and a few of them are captured here. Some might be repetitive from previous years, but we never tire of them.

Scenes

 

Chair by moon reflection

A favorite spot of my wife, day or night

 

Calm reflection

The calm reflection of another perfect evening

 

Lakeside fire

We do love our fires, at home or in Maine

 

The incoming tide creates a river from one basin down to another

The incoming tide creates a river from one basin down to another – Acadia Schoodic Point

 

Moon over the lake

The moon rises in peace

 

Over the hundreds of posts I have published here, I have used thousands and thousands of words to tell stories or share pieces of my life. But then, there’s the sky. The sky that makes the rest look so small. The sky that changes by the second. The sky that can hold my attention for hours at a time. The sky that only God put in its’ place. Graphics nowadays are tremendous on games and screens, but nothing beats the sky in all of its’ grandeur.

Sky

 

Abrams Pond 2015

Afternoon on a splendid day at Abrams Pond 2015

 

Abrams Pond Evening 2015

The silhouettes fish under this gorgeous evening sky at Abrams Pond 2015

 

Abrams Pond Sky 2015

Imagine the senses engaged by welcoming each and every second of the changing evening sky

 

God's canvas

How many times is God’s canvas wiped clean only to be replaced by a picture more beautiful than the one before

 

Huge sky

The lake and its’ 400+ acres just seem smaller on some days

 

Moon rising and reflection

The sky was already beautiful and then the moon was revealed

 

SuperMoon Eve

The eve of Super Moon 2015

 

What else do you need

The air is warm, the breeze just right, the day empty of to do’s, what else could I need

 

All I can say is that, we are hopeful to return to this favorite place in 2016. I thank God for the blessings that allow this trip to come together for five years running. I thank my family, all around, for making this place come to life each summer; I am the beneficiary indeed. Thank you J for all you do to make this place what it is. I, we, enjoy the correspondence we share. And J, I also enjoy sharing my love of this place and the love of baseball with you. Abrams Pond 2015, was completely our pleasure. Thank you.

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The heron, an eagle, loons, and me

It was the middle of the day when I climbed in
A two seat canoe, a paddle, and me, I did begin
 
The water was calm and close to crystal clear
Moving through water, and birds, all I could hear
 
Not a cloud to be found among the blue sky
The sun warmed everything from up on high
 
I imagined this place in a time centuries before
Wishing it were then, and how I’d still explore
 
I moved slowly, and quietly, letting my senses record
The smells, the sounds, the sights, while aboard
 
A faint noise from above sparked my heightened sense
I moved toward the cattails and reeds oh so dense
 
I squinted and searched for the origin of the sound
And soon, a great blue heron in a spruce, I found
 
Moving away to allow it some space, another sound
I heard from across the cove and closer to the ground
 
It was another heron calling, or at least to be heard
When above my head appeared, yet another bird
 
Passing the spruce and gliding in, a bald eagle did rise
The majestic bird landed with grace before my eyes
 
Once in his perch, silence ensued, nothing dared move
Or so it seemed, but for me, my site to improve
 
All at once a splash from behind, and I turned to see
But nothing was there but ripples left for me
 
Resuming my gaze the calm pierced masked in black
The loon appeared from below, after a snack
 
My masked playmate called another yards away
The eagle, or not, the loons wanted to play
 
Time stalled and rested with me there in the sun
Sitting still in nature, watching, I was having fun
 
My mind raced to the eras past, land minus flaw
And I wondered what I missed among all I saw
 
As self-imposed limits do, measurement moved me
I paddled in, slowly, so as to stretch time, there to be
 
The loons called across the water while the heron hid
The eagle cleaned his wings, and I smiled like a big kid
 
I left, wanting freedom for always, to just be
The heron, an eagle, a pair of loons, and me