A Summer Day in Maine

On my quest to visit all 50 U.S. states in my lifetime, Maine is the latest. It was on the day before the first day of summer, but it felt more like the end of winter. It was a brisk day in the upper 50's with a boat load of fog to go along with it. But nonetheless, it was extremely beautiful in this quaint northern town.

A glance down main street in Bar Harbor


A walk in the park for a closer look at the flowers.


A beautiful pink peony


and more flowers, of which I am not familiar. It looks like some sort of sage, and perhaps a geranium.


Oh, how I wish I could stay for the entire summer!

myly

A Visit to Green Gables

A visit to Prince Edward Island means a stop at Anne Shirley's (or better known as Anne of Green Gables) house.


And one cannot miss a walk through Balsam Hollow, so aptly named by the young girl with a vivid imagination.


I can see why these woods gave her so much "scope for imagination." They look as though they are out of a fairy tale. Ostrich (if my memory is correct) fern covers the floor of the woodland,


along with a beautiful and delicate blue wildflower.



The woodland is alive with the melodies of song birds and the gurgling sounds of the creek as it passes under the foot bridge.


What a beautiful place to get lost in one's imagination.

Canadian Flowers

We just returned home from our vacation to Canada and Maine. Springtime is in the air with cool temps, lots of fog and beautiful flowers. This photo was taken outside of a sugar shack in Quebec.


A rock garden planted on Prince Edward Island


I don't know what these are but they're beautiful.


A hosta and iris garden on Prince Edward Island


Same garden on Prince Edward Island


Peggy's Cove (Halifax, Nova Scotia) garden in full bloom.


And, the lighthouse at Peggy's Cove shrouded in fog.


I don't know what most of the flowers are with the exception of hostas and irises. I think the pink ones might be bleeding heart (fuschia). Perhaps someone will enlighten me.

The Start of a New Season

It's the start of a new season, and I don't mean a new "gardening season." Nope, on June 1st the 2008 Hurricane season began. I was out spraying some water on my orchids when this bright color among the green grabbed my eye. Yep, the "hurricane" bromeliads were putting out their first bloom of the year - right on time. I guess that's how they got their knickname the "hurricane" bromeliad.


Here's the scoop on Hurricane season from the national hurricane forecasters: "For 2008, the outlook indicates a 60 to 70 percent chance of 12 to 16 named storms, including 6 to 9 hurricanes and 2 to 5 major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale).

The main factors influencing this year’s seasonal outlook are the continuing multi-decadal signal (the combination of ocean and atmospheric conditions that have spawned increased hurricane activity since 1995), and the anticipated lingering effects of La Niña,” said Gerry Bell, Ph.D., lead seasonal hurricane forecaster at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center. “One of the expected oceanic conditions is a continuation since 1995 of warmer-than-normal temperatures in the eastern tropical Atlantic.”