Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Rowing the boat was just one of the activities at camp over the weekend. Gary and Andy took the boat up Fish River and had a great ride as you can see from these pictures.  Here is Andy as they start out on their trip. Gary is running the boat as they travel along.  As they start back, at the top of the lake, the motor dies and they have to paddle back, the whole length of the lake.

 

Here we see them rowing back, close to their destination.

Besides rowing,  Louise had a birthday this weekend. Andy came up Saturday and brought a birthday cake. A good time was had by all.

 One of the highlights of the weekend was a great campfire Saturday night. We have some nice photos of the campfire and the lake at night.

Here Andy tends the fire.

Gary worked on the rock wall again, and here he is with Andy placing rocks. Of course he brought a few more in the truck.

Life at the lake is good, as you can see.

We hope for a long, warm, sunny summer season at the lake.

Saturday Adventures

 Finally spring is with us! Ryan visited this weekend, and we had some fun adventures. We began Saturday with working on the raised beds, getting them ready to plant when the danger of frost is over. At this point there are some lettuce plants and onion sets in the ground. Here you can see Ryan helping to get the beds ready.
It will be another couple of weeks before we can be sure that frost won't kill the garden.

 Gary and Ryan worked away in the yard, occasionally taking breaks in what Ryan has named the Hang Out in the back yard.

Here you can see the hang out.

The bleeding heart and tulips are in blossom now, as are a few stray dandelions!

The red tulips are starting to go by. They did not blossom as profusely this year as they once did.

For the afternoon we went to Portage lake and enjoyed the warm weather there. Along Route 11 we found a black bear beside the road. Here it posed for the camera.

We found the Trillium in blossom at the camp. Unfortunately the black flies were there also. It is a bit early in the season for them, so that is not a good sign for the days ahead.

It was a busy day. We close with a picture of Ryan and Grampy taking a break.

Spring Slowly Arrives

Wet and cold days abound this spring with very few sunny, warm ones. Today we decided to spend the afternoon at Portage to enjoy the 60 degree sunshine.

We took our chairs out by the lake and enjoyed some peace and quiet, except for the dogs of course. The lake was as smooth as glass, and we had a pleasant afternoon in the sun.

Louise took her knitting and Gary read some magazines. Except for the winter coat, one might think it was summer!

The tulips at home are starting to blossom, and we have great hopes that warm and sunny days are ahead soon!

Aroostook County Spring

It is Easter today and it is snowing. The forecast is 3 to 6 inches. There are forecasts for either snow or rain or both every day for the next week. These pictures were taken this morning:

The snow is drifting down, the trees are covered, boots are needed, and it certainly looks more like January than April.

We have filled the bird feeders and the chickadees and goldfinches have returned to eat. In most respects it looks very much like it did in December when we left for Florida.

The summery clothes have been put into the back of the closet and winter duds and sweaters have been found. The tulips are up under the kitchen windows, but they are certainly not ready to bud soon.

So we have our spell of winter after all. The budding trees and blossoms will have to wait a few weeks in northern Maine.

Ryan spent yesterday and last night with us. Here you see him helping Grampy get the winter greens out of the window boxes.

Here we have Ryan and Gary putting out forsythia and creating spring decorations.

And that's the way it is - spring in Washburn!

The Trip Home

The Coles traveled four days from Florida to Maine. This post will be in two parts - the trip home and spring in Washburn. As we headed out on I 95 north climate changes were most obvious. We spent a night in Wilson, North Carolina, where it was nearly as warm as it had been in Florida. Here we have a road picture from the first day.

We noticed lots of purple trees flowered out, and wondered what they are. We never did find out.

As we moved north into Virginia everything was green and blossoms were abundant.

We spent the second night in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and needed jackets. It was windy, chilly, and spring was not in bloom. The third day we moved on to Massachusetts where we met up with Bob. They treated us to a night in a lovely inn, and dinner at the Wayside Inn.  Here we have Bob and Bridget:

The Wayside Inn in Sudbury, Massachusetts:

That is Bridget out in front of the inn. Here is a nice photo of one of the dining rooms:

We spent a lovely evening and had a wonderful meal here. Early the next morning we headed north to Maine and met Jon for breakfast in Portland. We spent much of the day at the Maine Mall getting a computer, so we were late heading north. We first noticed snow in the woods beside the road in the Lincoln area. Upon reaching Houlton the snow started and it snowed most of the way to Presque Isle. We finally arrived home well into the evening, cold and tired.

Farewell for Another Year

Today we are packing and cleaning. Our time in Florida has come to an end, and we will be leaving early in the morning tomorrow.

We have had an eventful winter here and will miss the sunshine and warmth, but spring will come to northern Maine and we will be there to enjoy it. One of the negative things about Florida is the lack of season change. Things are greener and more trees are in blossom than there were when we came in January, but the changes are not dramatic like the snow melt, the ice out, and mud season.

Gary has made many strides in his art career. Here you can see the gallery that he has been working with, and one of his original paintings on display in the window of  the gallery.  He is leaving two behind with the hope of selling them here. The car is going to be full of paintings, prints, and cards to bring home. He plans to exhibit and sell them there.

The only guest we have had this year in Florida is Louise's cousin, Tobey Lombardo. Here is a picture of the two of them together.

And so we conclude our winter trip to the south. There is much we have come to love about Florida. The sunshine and warmth defy the imagination, and this has been a very warm winter. There is an ease of living here that defies the New England ethic of being busy every minute and working hard to get by. On the other hand, it is very busy, has lots of traffic and crazy people. It isn't home. We look forward to visiting family and friends we have missed over the past three months.

So as we load the car to make the trip, we say farewell to another winter in the sun. See you soon!

Friday at the Wildlife Refuge

Friday was a beautiful, sunny day spent at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. We need to get a good variety of photos to fuel the painting over the next few months. We share with you the beauty of this quiet place.

Here we have a blue heron hiding under a bush

Alligator swimming

We only have two weeks left to our trip to Florida, and soon we will be back to Maine enjoying spring and watching the snow melt! It is hard to think of snow in such warm and sunny weather.