Photographed 5.15.2012 along the abandoned railroad bed formerly of the Maine Shore Line Railroad Company, Hancock, Maine; one of several vernal pools spotted with egg masses.

Many thanks to Phillip deMaynadier, Ph.D. wildlife biologist with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Endangered Species Group for identifying ALL egg masses as spotted salamanders at different stages of development; the majority of egg mass / clusters darkest green being the oldest, the single cluster / mass in the lower right with dark nucleus light blue-green being the freshest laid, or dead whitish, almost glowing. He also pointed out that the tadpoles, also seen in this image were likely grazing on algae.

More in this series to be presented when work on the FBC-Kilkenny Cove – Old Pond Railway Trail page has been completed – stay tuned!

On the mornings of April 24, 25, and 26, I arrived to glimpse the low water levels in early light in an effort to scout out a future location for a more optimal station point and time of tide – dead low at dawn won’t be for another week from this posting (5.1.2012) – maybe I’ll try it again then…

Sunday’s turn out to hear Flash! in the Pans was fantastic! Donations went to Everybody Eats! Free Community Meal. In between the steel pan orchestra’s sets, members of the audience got to see up close the fascinating locally made musical instruments and even try them out.

For more information on Flash! and their up coming schedule visit their website at: http://www.flashinthepans.org/index.html

For more information on Everybody Eats! Free Community Meal visit their website at: http://everybodyeats4free.blogspot.com/

What started out as an interesting exploration into the geocoding capabilities (and shortcomings) of the Yahoo geocoding service built into Global Mapper turned into something a bit more sobering. And truth be told, it actually started out in efforts of helping the widow of a surveyor (dear friend and fellow Buckeye) now saddled with how best to responsibly deal with his old survey records. So in one sense, Harry’s passing reveals an even greater loss to our profession than by just his departure alone.

In March of 1993 there were 882 surveyors licensed by the state. Today that number has dropped to 523 and of that number, only 389 have Maine mailing addresses with the remainder getting their mail elsewhere.

To interactively see where all 522 of the (523) currently licensed surveyors are scattered, check out this kml file produced by Batchgeo. Note, one record Batchgeo had trouble geocoding for reasons still unknown. And for those of you that don’t have Google Earth installed, here’s a link to the interactive Batchgeo map complete with all of its annoying and obligatory advertisements. Click on markers for names and addresss.

Field Trip 3.3.2012 – Bar Harbor

Okay, so it was pretty lousy weather – cold and blowing rain the whole morning having started out as snow earlier in a lesser light – but a few of us convened anyway at the appointed place and hour before our individual photographic explorations into Bar Harbor’s waning winter.

Onantakah

The devastating fire that started on October 17, 1947 altered the psyche and landscape of the island, something that can still be witnessed even in today’s rushings 65 years later.  Driving southerly into Bar Harbor along Eden Street with glimpses of the timeless majesty of Frenchman Bay to the east and palatial manors on your right rising from the road and built after that apocalyptic event, remnants of what stood on the 16th of October can be noticed emerging from the white.

Transference of the stones’ shape through the snow only too subtly recalls the transfer of property just a year earlier and the planned retirement of Andrew and Jennie Peterson from Brockton, Massachusetts to their new post-war-era life in Bar Harbor running the Onantakah Inn. Continuing south, and next to the inn was Norman and Jane Roy’s place and then the estate of the late Frederick Hamilton McCormick-Goodhart all situated at the foot of Mary Roberts Rinehart’s Farview when the fire broke out; all of which were reduced to cinders.

Download the whole kit and kaboodle zipped (about 10 MB)

Hiking from the end of the Guzzle Road up along the frozen stream and pond to photograph one of the amazing preserves of Frenchman Bay Conservancy during winter was wonderful in spite of the 3° temperatures and the very grayness of that January morning.

For more on this particular preserve (and the others), visit the FBC website.

This house, featured in the 2011 house tour to benefit the Schoodic International Sculpture Symposium, is comfortably situated in a rural setting and was designed by Robert Knight of Blue Hill, ME.