Snow White Cotton

Charlie took an afternoon off from work last week, so we could drive around and look at the fall foliage and fields of snow white cotton. October is a favorite month of mine, the fields really do look pretty before the cotton is picked, and the small gins are humming from October to December. After the cotton is picked it is partially pressed into large 'modules.' The modules stay in the field until the gin is ready for them, then a truck goes out and picks them up.

Modules next to the road are sometimes spray painted with political or funny messages. I had to investigate this one....

No, I didn't bring a can of spray paint with me to alter the message!

While we were checking out the messages on several modules, a very cool looking cotton truck drove past us in a direction away from the gin. Well, we had to follow it!

We thought we had lost it, but found it again several miles away (tiny in the picture below at at the far end of the field on the right).

I thought it would be fun to try a panorama photo.

A beautiful day in Acadia National Park

Here we (Carolyn and Thea) are atop Cadillac Mountain at the end of a long, lovely day in Acadia National Park. (It was very windy up there.) What a beautiful park. I wish I could go there every summer!



One of many stops along the 26 mile Park Loop Road, these might be Sand Beach.





These people knew how to relax:

Carolyn took these photos.

Jordan Pond and POPOVERS !

We arrived at Jordan Pond House at 11:15, and the line was out the door. Happily, we discovered they had not yet opened. When the doors opened at 11:30 we were immediately seated on the lawn. We enjoyed soup and popovers while gazing at the beautiful view. Sigh, life is good!



Toward the end of our 3+ mile walk around Jordan Pond, looking back at the "Bubbles:"



We (really just me, Carolyn took a little convincing) were somewhat fatigued after our two hour walk around the Pond, so what did we do? We stopped at the Jordan Pond House for popovers again, to refresh us! This time it was just lemonade and popovers. We were revived.

Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village

Carolyn and I stopped at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village on our way home from Maine. I think I have been to every Shaker Village now, and I have wanted to visit this one and attend a Sunday worship service. (It is the only Shaker village with an active community of Shakers present.) We arrived at the village too late to attend service, and the buildings open to the public were closed on Sunday. But we did get to walk through a small part of the pretty village, and enjoyed a conversation with a member of the Friends of Shakers there for a Friends' Weekend.

Maybe I'll get back there another year for a Friends event or Sunday worship service.

Carolyn, a fiber artist, was very interested in the sheep, and she took these pictures.

Barred Owl

Crows were raising a ruckus out front on 17 June 2011, and we discovered this Barred Owl roosting in our Norway maple

Little Falls - Illinois R OR

Nice spring day, 22 May 2011 on the Illinois River in SW OR.

Myrtle Tree

Record tree -- large butt swell