Leaves are Beginning to Turn

The kayaks are gone from across the cove. The red and yellow hulls leave a void in the area just above high tide. I suspect they disappeared Labor Day weekend, and I have only just now was able to discern what has changed in the view.


Yesterday we went to the Ocean Drive part of the Park Loop Road to catch sight of the waves from Hurricane Igor, some 600 miles off shore. The waves in the cove were small, with tiny white caps tipping seaward: an unusual sight! The waves at Thunder Hole were not what we had seen with the hurricane earlier this summer, but we were at low tide when there this time, so that likely affected what we saw. The crashing and splashing of the waves, the ebb and flow of the water, the multitude of colors that play as a wave gathers in the deep blue, becomes a dark line that moves closer to shore while growing in height, lifting to reveal a smooth pale green sheen that marks the top of the wave just before it begins to break and curl white that then crashes in sun-dazzled foam upon the rocks ... I know of few things better than finding a warm rock on which to sit and allowing oneself to be immersed in this centering environment.


We also saw our first signs of the tree leaves changing color. The bush outside St. John's in Southwest has had a red hue for a couple weeks, but we had not seen any Fall colors on any of the trees. As recently as last Friday, when we traveled to Bar Harbor do to a weekly grocery shopping, there was no hint of Autumn in the leaves of the trees. Yesterday we saw small splashes of color - a limb here, a solitary tree there: just enough to make us notice.


Papa Bear also took a picture of a Northern Gos Hawk (Accipiter gentilis) that landed in the trees just outside our windows, as well as a picture of a gull when we went to see the waves. The gull we had watched move from rock to rock as it evaded the waves. Papa Bear alleges that the hawk arrived to rest after a fierce battle with Ducky, the Creature of Duck Cove ... I was running at the time cannot say more about what happened.

This morning we greeted the day with popovers: not as good a those that Baby Bear makes, but still yummy!

More pictures from Papa Bear follow. His pictures are so amazing. I am grateful that he shares them.