Late Fall

In November Frank took another week and visited his friend Scott and his family in Maine. This time he arrived in time to see the trailing display of golden tamaracks. The tamarack is a deciduous conifer, as they loose their needles in the early winter they turn a brilliant gold. Against the background of green trees and deep blue sky, a sight to behold.

More tamaracks.

The red berry of a Hawthorn is contrasted against a beautiful Maine blue sky.

The northern winterberry, Illex verticillata, (that's ILLEX) the holly of New England.

Scott had a small job of cutting up some firewood for a friend in return for the friend keeping their dog while Scott and his family was on vacation last summer.

Any wood pile job can go faster with help.

A sharp chain is important, especially when cutting oak. You can see Scott's web page about his family's trip to Yellowstone elsewhere on this CD. Or click here.

Rosey. This incredibly friendly pooch was brought home to the owner (seen left in above photo) by their other dog. And Rosy just stayed.

A variegated Daphne cneorum. Variegation is actually caused by a type of harmless virus infecting the plant.

The beautiful flower of Indian Paintbrush, sometimes called Hawkweed.

A Salvia patens, or gentian sage. Scott's favorite color of flower, blue is relatively rare in the flowering world.

A Campanula carpatica, or Carpathian bellflower. This small blue flower is a favorite in northern New England gardens.

Still another Lychnis coronaria. I just can't get enough of this marvelous little flower. Maybe it's because of the ultra violet effect which stands out so strongly on a digital camera.

Arctic Kudzu, this is an imported plant to the "Down East" Maine area. Heading the invasive plants list for this area, it is a tree strangler first class. Even at that, its fruit is a site to behold.

I just love the color contrasts of this photo. A white spruce, Picea glauca with a very heavy load of spruce cones.

Looking out toward Frenchman's Bay from Marlboro Maine, not too far from Scott's home. Using a long telephoto lens, we can see Bar Island on the left and Bar Harbor on the right.

Another job, this time pruning apple trees. These trees have had a rough life from poor pruning practices. It's Scott's job to try and give more life into the trees.

A foliose lichen grows on the apple trees. Sometimes an indicator of a heathy environment, lichen's do no harm to the tree.

More tamaracks. There is just nothing else like them.

An interesting seed cluster, Rhus-Staghorn sumach.

Close observation of the apple trees shows the many shoots which are a result of improper pruning.

The corrective measure is to trim off the knot which has grown from cutting new shoots above the branch instead of at the root.

Scott's son Daniel plays with his newly acquired computer upgrade. The Hadleys have come into the world of networking and power users.

Their dog Pepper lounges in the dining room waiting for someone to rub the tummy.

Thanksgiving found us again camping at Quantico Marine Corps Base about 25 miles from home.

This is a lovely spot and we were all alone in the campground.

From across an inlet we can see the trailer.

The site has full hookups, and probably the best views to be found in any campground in the area.

Thanksgiving day, we invited Laurie for dinner.

Finally, on the evening of December 13th, we had a freezing rain storm.

While it could have been a major problem, there was just enough ice to make everything beautiful without causing undue destruction.

Last, but not least, our Christmas tree for 2000.