March means mud season in Maine . . . shall we escape to the beach?
Fort Popham reminds me of other half finished work.
An old wharf remembers better days.
Imagination is at home on an island.
Sea stars sparkle.
Shakespeare Watch: Macbeth opens on Thursday March 12, 2010 at the Theater Project in Brunswick, Maine. Director Al Miller blogged about why he staged Macbeth with teenaged actors. I've been observing rehearsals to research my young adult novel. I love the genuine delivery and passion that teen actors bring to the famous lines.
That lone house on the island is intriguing. There are times the solitude would be welcome, but quick trips to the store or going out to eat might make it inconvenient. Lovely photos, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteAnd to think it is right there in Maine! I loved this place as a kid.
ReplyDeleteI'm seeing similar views myself this week. Awe inspiring country for sure.
ReplyDeleteMaine is beckonning!! Stunning photographs Sarah - in the first the water looks like a giant puddle of blue syrup on the sand - great capture!
ReplyDeleteSarah, beautiful scenes on a sunny day and makes me yearn for the ocean.
ReplyDeleteWe used to fly kites on Popham Beach. Thnaks for the gorgeous photos as usual.
ReplyDelete'shall we escape to the beach?'
ReplyDeleteYes, yes! (jumping up and down like a child on fizzy drinks). when the photos are as spectacular as these ones, who cares about the mud? :-)
Greetings from London.
Dear Sarah, Your pictures are enchanting and made me long to escape to the seaside with the lobster pots, the breakwater posts and that magical house set alone on its island. How wonderful it all looks.
ReplyDeleteIn Hungary, which I love as a country, I am always conscious that I am land locked and, however beautiful the Lake Balaton is, and it is, nothing can compare with the sea proper.
Oh! Those gorgeous photos make me want to bundle up and go for a long walk along that shore. Breathless with awe.
ReplyDeleteIt might be "mud season" but the pictures reveal a wonderful charm.
ReplyDeletebtw - someday I'm going to visit Bowdoin College and see if Col. Chamberlain's bent sword is really there and find out if Mrs. Stowe's husbands classroom is still in use. :)
Hello Sarah
ReplyDeleteI wonder why Fort Popham would ring a bell for me...Would I know of it for any reason? (me not knowing anything about Maine)
The sea looks warmer than your last photos and I spy people out walking...
It must be warming up...
Happy days
I cannot imagine a lovelier image to behold on this gray day than that last photo. I wish I was right there.
ReplyDeleteThe sea, the sea. I know it is probably icy cold in Maine right now, but these pictures just shimmer with warmth. That last picture is magical . . . and do you know who lives in that solitary house? I wonder if they ever worry about being washed away, or flooded by waves.
ReplyDeleteHow long does mud season last?
My son participated in a reading at that theatre once. We go up to Brunswick every summer to see all the Maine State Music Theatre productions... have been doing that for years. It's nice up there.
ReplyDeleteLes, I believe it’s only occupied in the summer. You can almost walk to it at low tide. It’s an impractical dream of mine to live in a place that remote.
ReplyDeleteTina, my son loved racing around the fort when he was little.
David, that’s great that you are still in Maine for the better weather. Enjoy!
Bonnie, how true – I love your simile!
Di, I’m yearning looking back at these photos too. No time for the beach during the week, sadly.
Cid, that’s good use of Popham wind. You can’t tell in the photos, but it was windy.
ACIL, I love that image of you as a kid on fizzy drinks, ready to bubble over. Sand beats mud.
Edith, I know how you feel about the sea. I missed it even when I was living by the Thames.
Tricia, true, even on a “warm” day it is worth bundling up.
Troutbirder, I created a fictional Harriet Beecher Stowe School for my novel S.A.D. and now our town is building a real one. Even my Bowdoin professor husband doesn’t know which classroom Stowe’s husband used.
Delwyn, Popham was the oldest settlement in Maine. Maybe it’s just familiar from my blog. I forgot to include the Popham label but will do that now in case you want to find other Popham posts. It is warm enough to walk on the beach, but I wouldn’t recommend swimming quite yet. We’re still dropping below freezing at night, but most of the ice has melted.
Angie, I’m happy to share my sunshine with you. I fear your rain is heading our way soon.
Bee, it’s been the warmest and shortest winter I can remember. I don’t know who lives in the house, but it appears to be a summer resident. I don’t think it floods since it’s high on the rocks. I’ve never seen people there. It’s a shame that the nicest parts of mid coast Maine are only inhabited for a few weeks of the year while most lobstermen can’t afford to live on the water. Mud season is March and April. Spring doesn’t kick in until May, but maybe it will be early this year.
Elenka, yes, Al Miller has wonderful theater programs for kids of all ages at the Theater Project. This is separate from the Maine State Music Theater. I’m more into theater than musicals myself. It is nice to have a choice.
Imagine living in that house on the island! Edward wouldn't need a fence!
ReplyDeletePamela Terry sent me over here because I had written a post on Fort Popham today, too, as part of an alphabet series I've been doing on my blog. So glad I came! Your blog is lovely!
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Bath, and I'm a writer as well. I currently live in Lowell, MA, where my husband and I have taught at UMass Lowell for the past nine years. We spent last fall back up here in Maine living on Peaks Island, which I blogged about all fall, and we're hoping to move back up to Maine permanently very soon.
Looking forward to reading more of your posts!
All best,
Gigi
I love that mysterious house on the island but the island is so rocky which seems dangerous too. Your photos are great, the blues are so clear and neat. I love them.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous! I would love to visit Maine. Amazing photos. Visiting your blog has brightened my day!
ReplyDeleteI notice a lot of emphasis on structure and solidity in these lovely pics. Is it because of that boot-sucking mud? It's funny, but I was just commenting about that northern mud season to Marnie on her Roses and Lilacs blog.
ReplyDeleteI can barely tear myself away from that last photo to write this comment. It takes my breath away!
ReplyDeletePamela, a water fence would work for Edward but not for my water-loving retriever. It would be fun, though, to live on an island. Thanks for connecting me with Gigi below.
ReplyDeleteGigi, welcome to my blog and thank you! That’s such an amazing coincidence that we both blogged about Fort Popham on the same day. I really enjoyed your post and photos. I used the shipbuilding history of Bath as a model for a fictional town in my young adult work in progress, “as u like it.” My husband is also an academic, he teaches at Bowdoin, and we moved here from Cambridge, MA. What a small world! I do hope you find your way back to Maine. It’s so nice to connect with you through Pamela.
Andrea, I often wonder about the story behind that island house. It is a mystery.
Septembermom, your sunny sunflower brightens my day too!
W2W, yes, a solid fort, a sandy beach and rocky islands are the opposite of mud. Good eye!
Cynthia, it was my favorite image because it captured the sunshine. Thank you!
What I meant to ask was: is it just because of the mud, or are you struggling with something structural in your novel?
ReplyDeletew2w, I have been playing with structural elements in NOT CRICKET. I’m also working on a new young adult project, and those first chapters are all about laying the foundation. Interesting that these themes would echo in my photography and verse. You are very perceptive!
ReplyDeleteThe ocean looks so inviting and so peaceful. I can see why it must be a great inspiration to you. Yes, it's mud season here, too, but I'm happy it's not snow season anymore.
ReplyDeleteStaging Macbeth with teenaged actors sounds very intriguing; I've never heard of it purposely being cast with young people. If I were in the area, I'd definitely check it out!
I would LOVE to live there for at least 5 months out of the year. It's just gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteWhat a sense of place these pictures deliver! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteSara
ReplyDeleteSeems to be a nice place to visit. Cannot believe how blue the water is--so pretty and peaceful.
Best
Tracy :)
Rose, may your mud be short lived and produce many blooms. The Theater Project has a special Young People’s Theater with performances and camps. They also have adult productions with a professional ensemble. They do a mixture of Shakespeare and contemporary plays. The high school also stages Shakespeare. I’m lucky to live in such a Bard-friendly town. It inspired my writing.
ReplyDeleteKaylen, mud season wouldn’t be the months to pick, but Maine is gorgeous the rest of the year.
Lakeviewer and Tracy, thanks!
What a treat it is to visit your blog ~ a wonderful visual feast. The beach looks so inviting and a welcome change from mud. I loved the photo of the sparkling sea stars. It would be so easy to create various stories about the house on the island and its inhabitants through the years.
ReplyDeleteWatching the rehearsals of the Theatre Project must be fun. Can imagine the youthful exuberance.
Enjoy the arrival of spring!
Sarah, is the sky always so blue there?!
ReplyDeleteKate, it would be fun to pen stories for that island home – it belongs in a storybook. I really enjoyed watching teens rehearse Much Ado About Nothing and Macbeth for my young adult novel. Spring is finally in the air – 60s today! I hope it’s warm in Canada too.
ReplyDeleteJAPRA, the US navy chose Brunswick as the northeast coastal site for the naval air station because the skies are so often clear. We get our fair share of bad weather too. I just don’t take photos those days.
When you have blue days (re: Japra's comment) they do seem to be particularly blue! Maybe that light is what draws so many artists? I used to notice what a high proportion of children's lit illustrators live in Maine.
ReplyDeleteSo weird that you've had such a mild winter and we've had such a hard one . . .
Bee, the northern light, especially offseason, is amazing. Most artists are clueless and only come for the summer. It is easier to paint outside then, but winter is inspirational too. Maine is picture book land. It is strange that we swapped winters this year. As much as I love snow, I’m not complaining about the early spring. I hope we both see daffs soon.
ReplyDeleteA lot of people have commented on the island with the beautiful home on it. I have gone to Popham since I was five and slowly watched the house being built. It's a sad home for me to look at. The owners with their small son went on a sailing trip. The son fell in and the mother and grandfather, along with the child were all lost at sea.
ReplyDeleteOn a happier note, I love Popham. It's like coming home for me. I searched for pictures of it, as I need a break from my current reality, the daily regime. Thank you for the ten minute get-away.
Anonymous, I was just at Popham on Sunday and wondering why the house was still boarded up. Thanks for sharing the tragic story. How sad!
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed to find this. I sat on Popham beach last week as a first timer to the ocean. (I live in southeast Missouri) That house....I took numerous pictures of!
ReplyDeleteSheila, you picked a fine introduction to the ocean. I was at Popham on Wednesday, and I’m planning to return this weekend to enjoy the perfect weather. Welcome to my blog and to Maine!
ReplyDelete