Skywatch Friday

In Humarock the 4th of July is celebrated on the 3rd, complete with bonfires and fireworks on the beach. With all of the rain that the northeast has been having the 3rd of July festivities have been a little dampened.

Happy Skywatch!

Enjoy ~SJ

Skywatch Friday or Photo Sleuthing?

A family member has been sending out old family pictures this week and asking for people to share if they know more about the story than just who is in the picture. I haven't been able to contribute much to this conversation but have been enjoying looking at the old pictures and learning more family stories. There was one photo that I could put in my two cents on and it is below. As I am sure that I have mentioned Worthley Pond has a long and deep rooted family tradition. Many generations of the family on both sides have spent their summers on the shores of the pond. The picture is just one piece of that family tradition. The part of the story that I could tell with the below picture is where on the pond the picture was taken, it happens to be not too far from my own house. I recognized the shoreline in the old picture and went down to my dock to confirm that this old picture was taken not to far from my own house - I decided to take a picture to prove it. I sent this all back to the family member who was happy to learn more about the picture. I am going to add it to my growing collection of family pictures from the pond.

Maybe doing a little Skywatch will help solve your own family photo questions!

Enjoy ~SJ

A Point Of Reflection

The last few weeks have been filled with the hectic finish of the school year, topped of with a pile of homework for my own courses. While sitting at my kitchen counter this afternoon reading and outlining this was my view, thankfully I stopped and took a moment to enjoy this reflection. I think that it makes a fitting Skywatch post.

Enjoy ~SJ

Skywatch Friday

The sky from the top of the Empire State Building, wish I would have tried to do a Kermit King Kong picture there. Click here for more Skywatch Friday posts.

Enjoy ~SJ

Skywatch Friday (ok Saturday)

Fresh back from his New York City tour, Kermit enjoyed many sights. His favorite was the Statue of Liberty where he can be seen here doing an impression of her. Happy Skywatch!

Enjoy ~SJ

Skywatch Friday

The Music Man and I took the motorcycles out for a ride last weekend to the Height of Land an the way to Rangeley. As always the view was amazing.

Happy Skywatch Friday!

Enjoy ~SJ

Skywatch Friday!

It has been awhile since I have posted a Skywatch. Last week while driving home from the middle school production of Annie the moon was reflecting beautifully on the river. Oh, and I guess I am the "Skywatch Host" for another week - such an honor!

Enjoy ~SJ

Skywatch Friday!

The ice is out, the ducks and loons are coming back, so that must mean that spring is here! Happy skywatch!

Enjoy ~SJ

Where's SJ Answer, or American Folktale & Skywatch

The two winners of the Guess Where SJ Is contest are Rach, and Uncommonly Common. Both will be winning the Dixfield University (Corner Store) gift card prize! Thank you for all participating.

Now onto the answer. Yes, I was standing at the foot of the Paul Bunyan statue in Rumford at the Information Center. While visiting the Information Center I learned why we have a Paul Bunyon statue, and how he grow up here in Maine. What follows is the Paul Bunyon story according to the Information Center.

"As the legend goes, Paul Bunyon was born in Bangor, Maine. At the time of his birth, not only one stork brought Paul to his parents but also it took five very large storks. He did not have a normal size crable because he was so large, his first bed happened to be a lumber wagon that was pulled by a team of horses. To rock Paul to sleep, his father would drive the wagon up to the top of Maine and back home again.

When he was just a few days old, he could cry loud, so loud that he scared all of the fish out of the rivers and streams in the entire agea. The frogs that lived in the ponds nearby began wearing earmuffs in the morning when Paul would scream so loudly for his breakfast afraid they might go deaf. The cows had a large order to fill as it took the milk from 24 cows to keep his bottle filled and his mother had to give him ten barrels of porridge every two hours to keep his stomach from growling and knocking the house down.

When he was only a week old, he could wear his father's clothing. When he was three weeks old, he rolled around during his nap and tore down the timeber on four square miles of timberland. His parents could not handle all the destruction that their young Paul was causing, so they built a raft and floated it just off the coast of Maine. However, this was not a great idea. He rolled over on the raft and caused a 75-foot tidal wave in the Bay of Fundy. The British Navy had to come to the resuce to awaken Paul from hi nap. It took every cannon on the entire fleet and seven hours of firing their cannons to awaken him. Paul woke up and stepped off his raft but accidently sank four war ships.

After this, his parents decided that Maine and the entire easter coast were just too small for Paul, so they moved to Minnesote."

So that is the tall tale about the childhood of Paul Bunyan growing up in Maine. This last picture is my Skywatch Friday picture.

Enjoy ~SJ

Skywatch Friday Guest Host

I was selected to be the Guest Host on the Skywatch Friday site. To be a host you simply have to send an email to the site moderator and wait your turn. I sent my request in late last week and got the good news a few days ago. You can click here to read more about how you too can be a Guest Host.

Enjoy ~SJ











Kermit at the Fort Worth Stockyards

Views From Worthley Pond, or Skywatch Tuesday?

We all can smell it in the air and witness it in the familiar new sights around us, spring is on its way. Winter coats are being put away, yards can be seen again after their months under heavy blankets of snow, and birds are coming back from their winter travels. The view out my front window is changing, but the exciting sign of spring has not happened yet. The ice is still on the pond and it will be there for at least a few more weeks. I took this picture last Friday for Skywatch Friday but got too busy to post it. If you look carefully you can see my snowshoe prints walking off across the pond. Although I am excited for spring to come, and am sadly going to miss my afternoons of trekking on the pond enjoying the sun and fresh air.

Enjoy ~SJ

Skywatch Friday!

This was the sky over Worthley Pond this morning as I warmed up the car. Pretty dreary and dull. On the up side the Hermit Island reservations came in the mail yesterday, the Music Man and I will be enjoying two camping trips there this summer. So let's hope that I can get more Skywatch Friday pictures that look like this! The Hermit Island Gods were smiling on us to get such great reservations, I think the offering at the Hermit Hut helped!
Enjoy ~SJ

Skywatch!

Happy Skywatch Friday! Like so many other Skywatch posters, we just can't take another snowy scene posting. This is a picture that I took last spring from the side mirror of my scooter. When I rode the scooter I spent so much time looking in my side mirror for cars that needed to pass me I decided one day to pull over and take a picture of the view. The scooter, seen below, was 49 cc Honda Metropolitan, with a top speed of 42 mph. It got over 100 mph, it has since been sold to upgrade to a "real" motorcycle. With all of the snow that we have been getting in Maine, I keep dreaming of the day when the bike can come out again. Enjoy ~SJ

Skywatch!

Fall leaves and blue sky, certainly not what we have now.

Enjoy ~SJ

Skywatch!

It was a little windy today, according to the Beaufort Scale I would estimate that we were between force 4 and 5. With the use of the Beaufort Scale whether on land and at sea you can use some simple observations to determine the wind speed. Happy Skywatch Friday!

Enjoy ~SJ

Skywatch!

A unique sighting for the mostly gray skies, nice sunny blue sky. Looks like a nice summer day, right? Nope, just another chilly windy day in Maine.

Enjoy ~SJ

Skywatch!

More sky from the parking lot of the new elementary school. There was an a amazing view on the drive up the road to the school where the sun was shining in rays up from behind the mountain filtering through the ice covered trees. Tried to take a few shots of it, but sometimes the camera just can't capture everything.

Enjoy ~SJ

Skywatch!

I liked the new and old juxtaposed in the Dallas skyline. Not sure what these two buildings are, but I think that the Majestic is a movie theater.

Enjoy ~SJ

Skywatch!

On my way to work on this frigid day (-25 degrees) I was trying to come up with some picture to take for Skywatch Friday. The trick was I didn't want to have to be outside of my car. When I arrived at our new elementary school (long story, but I'm working there a little as well as my regular gig) I noticed this amazing view. The new elementary school sits on top of a hill and the steam was rising off from the river. I realized that if I parked my car right I could snap the picture from the drivers seat and never leave the comfort of my heated seats!

Enjoy ~SJ

Skywatch!

The view in the back yard, I just love how the sun filters through the trees.

Enjoy ~SJ