Something Downeast

All the ways Maine is wicked good

Month: October 2018 (page 1 of 1)

October 23, 2018 / 0 Comments

Red Squirrel

I saw a red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) a few times during the winter in 2017, but it disappeared before spring. Recently a red squirrel has been gleaning on the ground near the bird feeders. The red squirrel is a reddish-orange with a white belly, smaller than the numerous (and greedy) Eastern grey squirrels. In late summer and early fall there’s a dark grey to black stripe between the red squirrel’s red-brown body fur and the white belly. That fades as winter nears, as does the bright orange-red body color of the squirrel.

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This has the Eastern Gray squirrel on the left and the Red squirrel on the right. I didn’t realize the Gray squirrel was in the photo when I took the shot. 
October 4, 2018 / 0 Comments

Wolfe’s Neck Park

I got a chance to visit Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park, near Freeport today. I’m hoping to go there again some day. There are several trails, ranging from the “wheel chair accessible” White Pines Trail to the slightly rugged, winding Harraseeket trail, which runs partway along Harraseeket river, and partway along Casco Bay. Today was one of those Maine Autumn days that threaten to rain, but never quite deliver. I took a lot of photographs.

A photo showing the upper branches of a Sgar Maple, its leaves mottled with orange an red autumn color changes, bright against the back drop of other deciduous trees green leaves.

Sugar Maple eaves already showing mottled red and orange, striking against the bright green of other deciduous trees’ leaves.

An unknown bright reddish orange mushroom against the detritus of the forest floor.

Not sure what species of fungus this mushroom is, but there were many of them, large and small.

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Picture of a lady slipper, probably the pink variety, with a not-quite-ripe seed pod.

Lady Slipper with seed-pod.

The glossy green leaves and bright red berries of the Partridge Berry plant, growing close to the forest floor.

Partridge Berry

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Another picture of Partridge Berry plants, this time showing the small oval green leaves with a faint vertical stripe down the center of the leaves, as well as the bright red berries.

Partridge Berry Mitchella repens L. 

Partridge Berry is one of the plants I love. It’s really common in the Eastern U.S. and it’s a favorite food for grouse. It takes two flowers to produce a single berry.

Very tall evergreen and deciduous saplings, less than twenty years old and reaching for the sun

Most of these saplings are less than twenty years old.

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A very large partially moss-covered Granite boulder.

Glacial gift

The floor of this forest is rotted vegetation over soil. A foot or three (at most) of soil that’s covering bedrock, or what’s locally called ledge. It’s the same rock you see as outcroppings along the Maine and N.H. and Canadian coastline.

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I don’t know what this is. It’s shrub; maybe an Elder species?

A spray of partially turned Sugar Maple leaves, mottled with bright orange.

A spray of partially turned Sugar Maple leaves, mottled with bright orange.