I Took A Walk Thru the Back Garden Today...

.......and it is beautiful.  Its been awhile since I took photos but today I brought along my camera when I went to take out my trash.
I also took a couple of pics of the Canada geese that are returning to swim around the waterfall.

A view of the geese swimming near the ledge.

And above they are out of the water and drying themselves.  They like to graze on our back lawns when they are hungry.  I'm thinking that round
swirl of water in the foreground may be our resident snapping turtle checking out her possible menu.

Above you can see the dirt parking lot where fishermen park when they fish in the reservoir that you can see behind the metal fence.  Beyond that it drops down into the flowing river.  The Snowball bushes are doing fine this year and getting bigger.

These are Black-eyed Susans in the forground with their yellow petals.

There is a blue birdbath among the flowers this year.

Above are the potted veggies that our resident gardener puts up every year.  There are tomatoes and cukes here.  The tomatoes are starting.  When I go past I give the branches a little shake to distribute the pollen so they can grow more tomatoes.  Its a tip I learned years ago when I was starting out as a home gardener.

Echinacea or what's known as purple cone flowers are doing well.

A few yellow lilies nodding in among the flower bed.

A vast array of flowers in these raised beds.

This is the pathway, different view.

This last is the flower box at the end of our property.  Across the road you can see the garage which was a former fire station but it moved to larger quarters near the police station about 4 miles down the road (to the right in this photo) about a year after I moved in.  Its only used for storage these days.

What are our days like here lately in Southwestern Maine you ask?  Well, like most of the country we are getting very hot weather for us.  High 80sF scheduled for the next couple of days, maybe even hitting the dreaded low 90sF on the thermometers.  Sunny and bright for the most part.  Luckily I, like many of you, have A/C so I do not suffer from the heat.  I bless the persons who invented the first ones and have since improved upon them.  What would we do without our air conditioning.  At least we who live in Maine can enjoy our evenings when the temperatures often drop to high 60sF or low 70sF which cools us off nicely.  I can turn of the A/C in the evenings and be very comfortable to sleep.
Right now I am enjoying a Ginger Ale Float.   Soooo refreshing.

I hope you are all staying comfy and not taxing yourselves.  Those that can enjoy the oceans and lakes, do so with care and distance and stay safe.
Have a good day.

The Geese May Be Here To Stay

I was thrilled to see the flock of Canada Geese yesterday, drying out on the ledge over our waterfall.  They are there again today so I took pictures.  I hope that means they have found their summer home for this year.  I love watching the geese and then the fishermen now and then out my window.

I took a few pictures to share today.  Its a lovely day here and will remain in the high 70sF today.  The best thing is that in the evenings here in southwestern Maine, temps may rise in the daytime but at night they always go down to livable numbers, from the 60sF to the low 70s so I am a happy camper as a resident here in Maine.  I am enjoying my summer.
Hope you all are having a good day. 

It Was Great to See Canada Geese Today

Its been over 2 years since we had a visit from our Canada Goose family.  I doubt this is the same pair with new goslings since they are all so big.  But its nice to see the geese visiting us today.
They patrolled the back garden grazing on the green grass and laid about on the dam's dirt parking lot for their siestas.  I enjoyed watching.  I counted a total of 14 birds today.

You will notice that usually one goose stands tall as the sentinel keeping watch for predators while the others happily graze without a care.

And here above I caught a view of one of the sparrows making its home in this birdhouse behind my  apt.  Can you see it peeking out  just inside the round hole?  There is a pair busily coming and going in and out so I think they have a nest of babies inside.  This birdhouse is usually occupied every spring and since I have been here its been with sparrows.  The pink thru the leaves is a small view of some of the wild roses on the bushes along our lawn beside the dam's dirt track.

I hope you all had a good day.  We started with a t-storm that lit the skies and thundered with the angels bowling.  Luckily we did not lose our power today.  The storm did not last beyond an hour so it was all things plugged back in, I boiled some eggs for my potato salad with egg yolks.  Mmmmm, its was good.

Stay Safe my Friends.

I Missed The Fireworks This Year

These days I live in an apt. dedicated to seniors, away from the bustle of our largest city, Portland, Maine.  For many years I lived in Portland a half block up from a scenic area known as the Eastern Promenade.  Its a lovely place and busy, busy on the Fourth.  Thousands came to see the fireworks propelled from a barge in the bay.  Lovely site and worth the trip.  Luckily for us, we did not have to find a parking spot, but we always planned to stay home that day because we would no doubt be blocked in our driveway from the cars of strangers, trying to find a place to park.  We allowed it because we know the parking problem for others.  Our friends enjoyed safe parking in our driveway for the duration.
Anyway, I miss those lovely days, the walks, the swimming at the beach, the little league games and watching the tennis players.  On Thursday nites we had a band that played in the gazebo.  Many came to listen and enjoy.

Here is a birds' eye view of the great expanse of the Promenade.  Green from left to right, spanning many blocks.  That wider street about in the center of the photo is our main street, Congress St.  It runs for many miles thru the middle of the city.  The train tracks along the ocean edge used to run the Canadian RR line from Portland to Canada, but recently it runs a small scenic train that especially enjoy it in winter when Santa Claus is seen to ride the train.

The above hi-rise is known as The Portland House and has views not only of the bay but also the harbor where ships and fishing vessels and boats of all kinds enter and leave.  You can see the train tracks below the cliff and the walking paths along the shoreline.

The Prom is a great place to walk or just lay about on blankets on a sunny day.

This view shows the gazebo where the band plays.  There is a great parking area for those that want to look out into the bay and its many island and boats coming and going.  It was a great place in my youth for necking in the evenings with my guy.  Its ok, I married him, the great love of my life who I miss after 45 years of marriage.

There is even a white sand beach below the cliffs where I spent many an hour during my youth and even with the kids.

That beach brought me many hours of pleasure thru the years.  I used to bike up the hill from our lower city apt. when I first moved here when I was 10 years old.  That beach is where I enjoyed many hours of my youth.

Its named the East End Bathing Beach and was the highlight for many youths growing up.

For many of my adult years I lived a few houses up from that white house on the corner (the 5th I think) so was never far from a great view or a great walk.  And the fireworks displays.

Another view from the parking area is that of Fort Gorges out in Casco Bay and beyond that the islands.

On the Fourth of July thousands of people converged on The Prom. With blankets and chairs and picnics, they made a day of it.  There were boat races in the bay and a little league game and bands playing and other things to keep everyone busy and content thru the day.

Come evening on the Fourth, it was fireworks from about nine at night when it got dark enough, til they ran out of them maybe 15  minutes later.  

I miss the bright spectacle of the evening.   I am just lucky to be one that could enjoy this area and the displays for so many years for which I am thankful.

I just wanted to share this with my friends and others.   I hope you had a good Fourth of July.