So this is what procrastination looks like.

To say we have been a little busy of late seems an understatement, though I assure you - or at least I try and assure me - that the bulk of it has now passed and we are embarking upon a quieter and perhaps more restful phase.

Here in this post (dated several weeks ago) I continue to throw on more and more photos without so much as a word. Well here come some words.

In the past I have spent a lot of time ordering the photos so that I can complete a time-accurate narrative, but this time I am just going to brush through and give the outline form so that I can actually finish this and begin working on the the next post complete with pumpkins, apples, and who knows what else.

First up are a few shots from our local Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. It is a wonderful 250+ acre park just 3 miles from our home. I set out yesterday morning to play a little with a new lens (Nikon's new 60mm/f2.8 Micro) and put in a few of my favorites on just for fun.


I slowly extended my arm out and got the camera within a few inches of the frog before he decided it was time to go.

Before reaching out, I had already set the camera to focus on a spot in the upper right corner where I hoped to frame the eye, but you never know exactly what your going to get when you shoot blind like this. You just try and line up the camera accurately and steadily and hope for the best.


The lily shot was another blind shot as I had to reach out over the water to get as close as I could to being over the top of the lily. With the frog I had one chance, with the lily I had the luxury of a do-over.


I find lichen to be forever fascinating. This particular patch was in the shape of a 'bulls-eye' pattern about 3 inches across, though the image contains only a section of it.


I had started to write that I don't know much about flowers, but then I had to question that as it occurred to me that more specifically what I meant was that I don't know the names and the more academic and technical aspects of flowers. I do however know what I personally like and appreciate about plants and flowers, and so in my own way, know quite a bit about them I suppose.

Not to get too philosophical here, but within the educational system, and within the way in which we often ascribe and confer a degree of understanding upon a body of knowledge, there remains a vast disconnect between the emotionally devoid practice of factual regurgitation and the individuals ability to connect with, relate to, and express thoughts about that subject.

Hopefully these images underscore and demonstrate my personal connection.


I stopped and watched four distinctly different types of bee/wasps each making use of a different flower or plant. The interconnectedness of their purposes and missions are incredible as is the individual specialization that allows all of the these organisms to flourish.


Beauty and individuality bounded by order.














The ragged wing tips of the bumble bee are a testament to the furious work it carries out crawling in and out of these deep and narrow flowers.


Tougy is very hands on with most anything. I still have not decided whether it shows incredible bravery or palpable recklessness - time will tell. For now it seems our role is to continue to expose her to as great a range of 'new' as her patience can tolerate and to let her begin to assimilate them as best she can.

I sometimes marvel at all that she has seen, done, felt, touched and experienced in the brief nine months that we have been home. Why just yesterday she pet a shark, held a lobster, and tried to kiss a hermit crab.

So now we get on to our most recent visits, beginning with our friends Winston and Caroline and their son Charles who conveniently is just 12 days younger than Tougy. The three of them joined us here in Boothbay for nearly a week after we joined them on their sailboat in Nantucket for a brief but enjoyable 'second-half' of the Labor Day weekend.


Tougy and Charles are both of the mind that anything with a wheel to turn trumps all other possible distractions. Tougy loves to sit in my lap in the driveway and roll down the windows, turn up the stereo, make the windshield wipers go full speed and 'drive'.

When Charles saw the lawn mower in the backyard, he knew he just had to have it, though first he would have to fight Tougy for the chance to control the wheel. It is a wonder she can even see the wheel.

Yes we are aware that her hair is getting long, we just want it to grow out without bangs, so we are stuck in that awkward stage where it is not quite long enough to go back, and our attempts to control it with clips and bows last about as long as an ice cube in a Kazak Baby House in Winter.


Always and only the left thumb. She can be so snuggly.


Winston and Caroline look out off Cape Newagen towards Cuckolds Light.


The working boats(lobster) sit on their moorings awaiting the next morning run.


The ubiquitous buoy - they permeate the landscape both on and off the water.


Setting pots.


Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Boothbay Harbor, the most photographed church in all of Maine.


Caroline and Winston with Charles on the rocks at Ocean Point


The Maine coast is so spectacular.

Much in the same manner as I prefer our blueberries, I prefer our coastline to the flat, linear repositories of shattered mountains past that stand in for coastline throughout so much of the outside world.

To view our coastline from above is to acknowledge that while, as humans, we may for a time believe ourselves to be beyond reproach in the animal world, Mother Nature and her accompanying geologic forces will carry on doing amazing things with or without us.


Happy in spirit and solid in body. That's our Tougy.


Ram Island Light. One of five lighthouses visible (on a good day) from the waters off Boothbay Harbor.


With most of the summer crowd now safely back home, it seemed a good time to go out on one of the whale watch boats here in town. It was a fantastically clear, sunny day, if a bit chilly.


Tougy had fun looking over the side and pointing out boats, birds, planes, buoys and even the occasional whale.


While not a great day whale-wise, we did see several Finback whales and a couple of Minke whales as well as some harbor porpoise, and harbor seals. Certainly well worth an afternoon.


The best part of any outing.


There is a water feature at the Botanical Gardens that Tougy loves to splash and play in. This time around she was able to entice KJ to blow bubbles with her.


Tougy found this highly entertaining, and each time Kj would stop and pull her head up, Tougy would reach over, put her hand authoritatively upon KJ's shoulder, and make it known that KJ was not yet finished entertaining her. That is her way!

So now we back up a bit tho the later half of Labor Day Weekend as amazingly a four day weekend had enough room for two fantastic adventures.


As a last minute plan, we drove down to Cape Cod, loaded up a boat, found our way across Nantucket Sound and joined Winston, Caroline, and Charles aboard their sailboat.


Though it is a bit confusing because of the order of the post, here we were together again for the first time since Charles and Tougy spent time together in Florida back in January half their lives ago. They fell right in with one another and as the time went on, Tougy made sure Charles understood his place.

It was so incredible to watch these two wonderful children laugh and play together.


The next morning the kids had fun playing on deck and waving to the birds and boats.


Boats are magical places for exploring - full of nooks, pass-throughs, and hatches. Tougy loved finding this one that enabled her to watch what was going on in the galley as breakfast was being prepared.


After motoring out of Nantucket Harbor and out the channel, it was finally time to go sailing. I don't expect any of you to know how special this was so I will provide a little background.

I first met Winston 17 years ago and we have wanted to sail together ever since. Soon after we met, she embarked upon a 3-year stint alone upon her 28' Shannon and I went back to Sailing Schooners along the East Coast.

Over the years we have tried numerous times to line up our lives and schedules to get together somewhere and do the very thing that we were now doing. Who could have imagined all those years ago that we would finally make it happen here in Nantucket with our families.

To hold my daughter in this beautiful moment and to feel the excitement in her body as she drove this 60' boat in 25 knots of wind was a feeling I will never forget.


Thank you Tougy for all your unbelievable gifts. We love you so very much.


Of course all good things lead to nap time. Even the most thrilling adventures must pause here and there for a bit of a recharge.


After a quick nap and a tug on the old bottle, it was time to go exploring town and seek out some ice cream.


Where Tougy got this from I don't really know, but she is now fond of walking with her hands upon her back in this way. It is very endearing, if a bit perplexing. She walks with such conviction and alacrity.

I feel compelled to admit that I had first written 'conviction and authority' but for reasons I cannot explain, alacrity soon popped into my mind seemingly saying 'pick me, ooh ooh, pick me.

Not trusting that I really knew what it meant, I looked it up to be sure and there it was 'brisk and cheerful readiness' - that's it, that's what I wanted to convey.

To say that I have never been much of a reader would leave you thinking too much of me, and so I must admit that I have not finished a book since I was in my village in the Peace Corps nearly 10 years ago(Skinny Legs and All). From where the vocabulary comes I don't fully know.


What I did to deserve the 'stink-eye' I do not know. What I do know is that he sure got his point across.


After our excursion to town, it was off to explore a small island close to our anchorage. Tougy had so much fun playing with Winston. As has been noted before, Tougy's mantra seems to be: higher, faster, farther.


Charles practices his eloquence and charm with his moms before trying them out on Tougy


I couldn't resist this shot of Winston as we were up on deck watching the sunset. She was just so happy to be on the water with our spouses and children. Special moments.


These two shots need some background as well.

I grew up in Cincinnati(Terrace Park) Ohio in the 70's and to say it was something less than worldly would be an understatement.

Don't get me wrong, it was a magnificent place and time to be a child - fishing at Church Creek, collecting fossils along the river, digging for artifacts at the 'indian mounds' behind the log cabin, and stealing candy from King Kwik - but as for learning about the rest of the world well, I had two trusted sources.

The first was a globe I had in my room and the second was TV. I loved that globe. It amazed me that I could cover my whole existence with a pinhead leaving a seemingly immense space that wasn't Cincinnati. I remember I had a small spiral bound 'Steno' notebook taken from the office supply closet of my dad's office in which I would write out ever more detailed lists of geographic features.

Beginning with continents and going through countries, oceans, seas, rivers, mountains, and moving on to lists such as African cities that begin with the letter N (Niamey, Nouakchott, Nouadhibou, N'Djamena...). What was out there beyond my world captivated me from a young age.

As for TV, sure Vicki and Julie showed me Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco, but it was Dr. Marsh along with Clarence and Judy who really set the tone for my first love affair - that truck with the tire on the hood that could go anywhere and back.

Despite my years spent living and working in numerous countries throughout the African continent, my Daktari fantasy of driving and owning a Land Rover finally became a reality about two weeks ago here in Boothbay.


So here it is, my new 1965 Series IIA 109 Station Wagon. I love it.


As I mentioned above, the Labor Day weekend came in two parts. Welcome to part 1.

Having spent time with the Robinson's in many different locales, it was finally time for them to come up and see us in Boothbay.