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March 7, 2016

MARSHALL POINT LIGHTHOUSE

... very early sunday morning chad and john and i wandered our way down to port clyde ... clear skies, calm seas, air temperature hovering just about freezing, in maine this is what passes as a nice spring day ...

... all the times i've been to marshall point, i don't think i have ever been so captivated by the convoluted strata in the ledge ridges upon which the lighthouse is standing ... in the first picture you can see john setting up to compose a photograph ... in the second, although it appears to be weathered wood, is actually 140,000,000 year-old ocean bottom ...
   

... exploring new perspectives i rather uncomfortably reclined upon the cold rocks ... to my surprise i found this rudimentary compass rose chiselled into the granite ... it's obvious purpose is as it seems, to provide what is most likely a carefully surveyed directional reference, but, as to its specific location, i remain mystified ...

... what appears to be poured concrete is in fact a magmatic intrusion of some sort of igneous rock ... in my next step i spanned a geologic era much greater than the entire species history of homo sapiens ...

... she died first, and, although i'm sure in time he learned to let go, i like to think william came to this favorite place they so loved so that he could hold her again ...

... john ... if you have to ask you're probably not a photographer ...


... john, who sailed the coast of maine, commented, "he's so young, like so many who don't return" ... a thought for the next time you're enjoying a steamed lobster ...

"Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters;
they have seen the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep."
PSALM 107:23

... owls head lighthouse, one of the most difficult of these structures to photograph from the land, so, once again, i played with the classic "stairs ascending" composition ...

... mirror-like seas, an almost doldrum air, a day when the lighthouse is superfluous ... welcome respite from the times when great crashing waves deposit wind-churned froth against the heavy glass panes protecting the arc lamp that is the purpose of the building ...

... a frightening thought, that the fog and sea mist can become so thick that the brilliant light cannot be seen, and, instead, mariners must rely on the ears to catch warning of the dangerous headlands they are approaching ... by the way, before you decide to stand in this spot while the foghorn is blaring it would be a good idea to see if your medical insurance covers total ear replacement ... 

... since i was four years old, sitting on my gram's beach in boddentown, grand cayman, i've never ceased to be fascinated as i watch a ship disappear over the horizon ... immediately after snapping this picture i dropped my "new" long-zoom ... the front element is now a very nice magnifying glass, all else is junk ... $12 on ebay with free shipping, i can live with it ...

... along one of the relatively obscure back lanes john was navigating us we stopped to view the strange ice formations along the rock ledge banks of a little mill pond ...

... something to do with the recent thaw-freeze-thaw-freeze cycle, i imagine ...

... remains of a granite dam, evidence of a time when a short length of swiftly flowing stream water dropping a dozen feet dictated the location of a community ...

... john and chad ...
   

... so much to appreciate in such a simple thing ...

... snowing right now, but i'm comfortable thinking spring is arriving ...