Another Springtime flower shot today. Here is a tulip bud that is soon to blossom. In fact it did blossom the day after I took this photo!

I was lucky to catch this old time car driving past a photo shop named Old Tyme Photo. I used a default filter in my editing program that is supposed to make the photo look like a 1960’s slide. I think the effect worked pretty well.

I wanted to show this angle of the Nubble Lighthouse so that the white trolley system to the left could be more easily seen. This trolley was used to transport supplies and food to the Light Keepers who lived on the island.  One interesting story I read about online told how one of the Light Keepers from the 1960’s used to put his children in this basket everyday to ferry them across the ocean for school. When a photo appeared of one of the children in the basket suspended over the water in the local newspaper the district commander decided to ban families with school age children from living on the island. If your interested in reading a lot more history about the Nubble lighthouse and want to see the famous photo from the 1960’s of the child  in the trolley above the water check out this very  informative Light House website.

Forget a quarter this seagull was not going to let anyone use this viewfinder at the Nubble Lighthouse unless they paid him with some treats!

Finally a Springtime photo from me! This is a branch from a Forsythia bush in my yard. Behind it is a large rock if you are wondering what that is.

I am not sure what kind of plant this is but I took this photo in Maine a couple of weeks ago before any leaves had started to sprout.

Sorry I have not been posting or visiting your blogs the last couple of days. I went to my brother’s house for Easter and did not have time to post new photos. Hope you all had a good Easter! I am taking a break from Nubble Lighthouse photos for a bit but will post some more soon. For now here is another shot of Salem Willows in Salem MA. This was taken in March and this street with arcades and food stands that is usually mobbed in the summer was like a ghost town.

This is the third photo in my Nubble Lighthouse series. Here is a closer look at Nubble Lighthouse showing all the buildings on the island.  The little red building in the front contains the emergency generator that powers the lighthouse light and foghorn in case the island loses power in a storm. I wanted to share a fun fact about the Nubble Lighthouse that I read on Wikipedia:

“The Voyager spacecraft, which carries photographs of Earth’s most prominent manmade structures and natural features should it fall into the hands of intelligent extraterrestrials, includes a photo of Nubble Light [along] with images of the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal.”

I just thought that was a pretty cool trivia tidbit!

This is the second photo in my Nubble Lighthouse series. Here is a closeup of the light tower on the Nubble Lighthouse converted to b&w. I decided to leave the light in color so it could be seen easier. One interesting thing I noticed  about the lighthouse is that it seems to be easier to see the light from afar then when close up. It must be designed that way I suppose.  Later I will post a photo of the lighthouse from much further away so you can see.

Here is the primary reason I went to Maine in the first place to take photos of my favorite lighthouse the “Nubble Lighthouse” (also known as The Cape Neddick Lighthouse).  This lighthouse is located in York, Maine. The lighthouse was built in 1879 and has been in continuous service since.  A light keeper lived on this island until the lighthouse was automated in 1987.

On this particular day it was so foggy that the foghorn on the lighthouse was blasting every 10 seconds or so to warn sailors who could not see the light.  Starting today I am going to start a series featuring photos I took of  the Nubble Lighthouse on this foggy day.

Taken the same day as my other “foggy” Maine shots. It was a cold March day but there were already surfers enjoying the waves! The fog and the black wetsuit combine to make the surfer look like a  shadow.

Ghost fishermen endlessly sailing in a dizzying sea of fog and shattered dreams. Cursed to eternally search for the “Big One” that got away.

This walkway and bouncy green suspension bridge lead to a cool little island with a nature preserve and trail to hike on. There was a surprising number of people out and about despite the foggy weather.

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,
And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I thought this poem entitled “The Rainy Day” was perfect for this photo since Longfellow was from Maine and this shot I took of a sailboat moored in the fog was taken in Maine.