TGIF ~ July 24

I'm not doing a Funky Friday post today. Instead, I'm just saying this weekend, do whatever floats your boat! and have fun!

New York: an experiment with photos

I'm doing an experiment here... I'm playing around with pairing up photos after being inspired by Neville at Saint Verde Digest. He has such an amazing eye! I can tell already that I've been too literal, pairing a book about NYC with a photo of Manhattan, but that's OK. I learn by doing! I am going to go ahead and publish this post. Expect to see more of this sort of thing in future. (And hopefully, I'll be able to figure out how to get rid of the big space above the photos.)

New York: The Wonder City, 1939	Empire State Building, 2007

For those who are wondering, the booklet above was published by Interborough News Co. for The Merchants' Association of New York. There is a great letter on the inside front cover. Here is an excerpt:

"We like visitors because the presence here of people from other places helps bring about a better mutual understanding. New York is essentially a friendly, home-loving City. Our deep aspirations are your aspirations -- for peace, opportunity and good will."

I can't remember if I picked up this booklet at the 26th St. flea market when I lived in NY, or if it was given to me by my dad (antique dealer extraordinaire). In any case, I really like it and currently have it displayed on a side table in my living room.

Eagle update

I posted recently about the eagles I've seen this summer. I'm happy to report that a recent newsletter from the Natural Resources Council of Maine says that there are now nearly 500 nesting pairs of bald eagles in Maine, the highest number of any state in the continental US. Bald eagles have now been take off Maine's endangered species list. Looks like I will have plenty more chances to see magnificent eagles in the pine tree state!

Funky Friday ~ July 17

Last Friday after my cousin Jon and his family visited, I blogged about our excursion to Midcoast Maine, where we visited the Maine Maritime Museum and Reid State Park. While walking the museum grounds, I spotted this little building. I'm not sure what it was used for, but I love the shabby curtains! I don't know if you can tell, but they are very tattered. I said to my cousin's sister-in-law that I needed to stop and snap some pictures of it, because it is perfect for Funky Friday.

Later, at Reid State Park, Jon remarked on the lichen that grows on the rocks there. I looked back through my photos today and found this image that shows one such rock. I've always loved the rich mustard color against the granite-gray rocks.

In your travels this weekend, don't forget to keep an eye out for the unusual! A little weirness keeps life interesting.

Creative word collages on Wordle.net

My friend Rita just turned me on to a cool site, wordle.net, and I linked my blog to it to create a word collage. Pretty groovy! Check it out: title="Wordle: Mainely Words"> src="http://www.wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/999739/Mainely_Words"
alt="Wordle: Mainely Words"
style="padding:4px;border:1px solid #ddd">

A week for eagles

It's been quite a week for eagle sightings! In the last 6 days, I've seen 2 eagles' nests and 3 eagles.



The first nest is located along Route 1 in West Bath, and I've noticed it before as I've headed up the Coast to Reid State Park. Last Thursday, I decided it was time to stop and take some photos, and the results are posted here. The following day, I was traveling with my relatives to Reid once again, and this time we spotted a nest as we were driving down Route 127 in Georgetown. And then yesterday, as I was headed north on I-95 to Lewiston, I spotted an eagle in a tree along the highway.



From what I've read online, I believe that these were all bald eagles, which are considered a threatened species. I also read here that the breeding population of bald eagles in Maine has risen from a low of only 21 nesting pairs in 1967 to 412 nesting pairs in 2006. Therefore, since they are growing in number by about 8% each year, they are likely to be taken off the threatened species list.

Maine Maritime Museum

Yesterday my cousin Jon and his family took me to the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath. I'd like to share with you some photos of the day. Don't forget to click on the pictures if you'd like to see a larger view.