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MOUNT DESERT ISLAND CURRENTS Friday, May 18, 2012
The season's first Rhodora (wild azalea) in bloom yesterday evening. Our recent rainy weather has ended with a sunny, warm weekend coming up. The rain also brought many wildflowers suddenly bursting into bloom. Check them out on roadsides, along trail edges, in wet areas, and even in your front yard! You won't be disappointed! Tomorrow is the sidewalk craft sale and restaurant tasting in Bar Harbor. Plenty of people will be out enjoying that event, so
head on over and help to kick off summer!
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
This male hairy (not downy) woodpecker was spotted trying to extract lunch from, of all things, a deck railing!
The cruise ships return to Bar Harbor on Friday and again on Sunday. Along with them comes some great late spring or even early summer
weather. Plus, the tourists are arriving in larger numbers every day, so get out and enjoy our all too short
"season" while it is upon us!
Monday, May 14, 2012
There is a new attraction in Bar Harbor this season. Wild Iris Farms is offering carriage rides around town, and
folks got a preview when the first cruise ship was in port a few days ago. So if you are driving in the village
this summer, particularly on cruise ship days, don't be surprised if you find yourself behind a vintage carriage and
two beautiful draft horses making their way up Main Street!
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
It's raining today, and probably will be for the next couple of days. However, we thought you might want to see how things
looked from Cadillac Mountain on Sunday evening. There will be many more such evenings coming up over the next few months, and those
months pass very quickly, so take advantage of every opportunity to get out and enjoy our remarkably beautiful surroundings.
Monday, May 7, 2012
SuperMoon on Saturday (left, through the trees) and Sunday (right, over the ocean)! Hope you got out to see it! (By the way, where are all the witches when you need them?) Friday, May 4, 2012
Holland America's "Maasdam" at anchor Thursday on her first visit to Bar Harbor in 2012. Bar Harbor's cruise ship season kicked off yesterday under cloudy, but dry, skies and relatively mild temperatures. The schedule so far
indicates that we will see a total of 120 cruise ship visits between now and October 31 - a new record! Many of these ships are well known,
including the huge "Queen Mary 2" which will be here twice, and the new residential ship "The World" which will be here three times.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Two painted turtles catch some rays at Long Pond on Monday afternoon! Tomorrow will mark the beginning of our cruise ship season with the arrival in Bar Harbor of Holland America Lines' "Maasdam".
Streets will be crowded for the first time in about six months, and tour buses will be making their way around the island. Check it
out if you get a chance!
Monday, April 30, 2012
Picnic time is almost here, and the tables are ready for you! Friday, April 27, 2012
Ahh!! Warm spring sun! But that was yesterday! Our changeable Maine weather continues to live up to its reputation - we have rain this morning! Spring is a time of renewal, and accordingly, you might want to read, or perhaps re-read, our section under the
"Island Heritage" tab.
Mount Desert Island is a very special place, not only because of its dramatic scenery, but also because of its unique history. Our traditions
and our heritage make us who we are, and in large measure affect our special quality of life. Preserving this quality of life will require each of us
to constantly renew a commitment to understand and respect our remarkable past.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Stormy days sometimes lead to very dramatic sunsets, as can be seen from the photo above taken during our recent wet weather! Things
continue to be somewhat unsettled for the next few days, so get out and take advantage of any sun to enjoy all
the signs of spring!
Monday, April 23, 2012
A potent storm moving up the east coast has gulls and other critters - including humans - hunkered down for the day. There is plenty of wind, and rainfall here could be in excess of 2 inches! That's OK though, because things have been abnormally dry so far this spring. Don't look now, but our Happenings page lists the first cruise ship of the season arriving in less than 2 weeks on May 3!
If the schedule stays as it is right now, Bar Harbor will have seen 120 ship visits by October 31 - a new record! We'll be listing them all about 2 weeks ahead,
so check it out regularly, and run over to take a look from time to time.
Friday, April 20, 2012
April showers may finally arrive this weekend! The weather forecast indicates rain starting Saturday evening and
exxtending into the first of next week. We sure do need it! And remember - April showers bring May flowers!
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
The warm weather is back - at least for a few days. But with a mild winter and very little rain so far this month, our fire
danger is extremely high, so be careful with any open flame and don't plan on burning brush. You won't be
able to get the neceaasry permit!
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Click above to hear the special sound of our nocturnal spring peepers. These tiny frogs live in wet areas and only sing
for a couple of weeks each year during mating season. The
very high pitched "peeps" are from hundreds of peepers, while the lower croaks are wood frogs. This evening a bird adds to the chorus.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Another beautiful spring sunset. Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Bar Harbor Town Pier awaits the start of "the season". And it won't be long now! Acadia National Park announced today that the Hulls Cove Visitors Center, the Park
Loop Road, and the Cadillac Mountain Road will all open this Sunday. Carriage roads are also open now for bicycles
and foot traffic. Get out and enjoy these wonderful island assets!
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Friday, April 6, 2012
Bald Porcupine Island. Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Elvers nets in Somesville.
If you have driven through Somesville recently, you may have noticed the nets in the shallow water behind the library.
They have been set by fishermen attempting to catch elvers or juvenile glass eels. That may not sound like a very
exciting endeavor, but now it really is since elvers this week are fetching $2,000 (yes, that's $2,000) per pound at wholesale!
The high price has caused some law enforcement problems as you might imagine - but it is a blessing for those elver fishermen who
have seen far too many other fisheries struggle.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Otter Cove as March comes to an end. Let's see - it's April, the days are clearly getting longer, the snow is all gone, the sun is much higher in the sky, shops in
Bar Harbor are beginning to open, and a few tourists are starting to show up! Birds are chirping, peepers are peeping,
life is good, and summer is on the way!
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Spring Sunset. Monday, March 26, 2012
An intrepid cruising sailor tested the waters of Frenchman Bay last Thursday! And it's only March!!!! Go figure! Friday, March 23, 2012
Another photo of 20 scallop draggers moored at Bartlett's Landing late yesterday afternoon. Big-time commercial fishing action in a usually quiet little harbor! Very warm temperatures over the past two days have been breaking all-time records around Maine, and Mount Desert Island is no
exception! We hit 87 degrees yesterday and 81 degrees this afternoon - unbelievable for March!! It looks and feels like mid-July!
The weather should begin to return to normal starting tomorrow!
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Scallop draggers at Bartlett's Landing yesterday afternoon. Heavy activity at Bartlett's Landing since Monday reminds some of the "wild west"! A previously unknown and highly productive scallop bed was discovered in Western Bay between Oak Point anad Surry Neck, attracting scallop draggers from ports as far away as Jonesport and Stonington! Needless to say, parking at the landing, which is always a challenge even in quieter times, is almost non-existent now! Scallop season ends in a few days on March 31. Until then the boats will be busy while enjoying some Monday, March 19, 2012
Rock climbing yesterday on the warm and sunny east face of Champlain Mountain near The Precipice. Amazing for the middle of March! Friday, March 16, 2012
A relatively rare view of the planet Mercury in a 30 sec. timed photo earlier this week. One more day of showers, and then the forecast promises sunny weather and very warm temperatures right through the middle of next week! If you are a jazz fan - and many people are - you might want to check out the Maine State High School Jazz Festival this weekend at
MDI HIgh School. There will be a lot of great music and some of it will be broadcast on Maine Public Radio. The program runs from late
this afternoon through tomorrow.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Bar Harbor's big construction project, the new West Street Hotel, continues to make good progress in our unseasonably mild weather and is on track for a scheduled opening June 1. Meanwhile, the Bar Harbor Inn opens for the season on Friday and a few tourists have been spotted in the Acadia National Park winter information center at Park Headquarters on MacFarland's Hill. It won't be long now! NOTICE: All Carriage Roads in Acadia Park are now closed for about two weeks to prevent damage as the road surface
thaws. This includes foot traffic. The closure is early this year due to our warm winter!
Monday, March 12, 2012
Late winter (early spring?) sunset! Our recent snow is all gone, and temperatures continue to be surprisingly warm for this time of year. To make things seem even more
like spring, Daylight Savings Time began yesterday and sunsets now are after 6:30!! Friday, Marsh 9, 2012
The almost full moon seen without a telescope on Monday evening. Don't forget that daylight savings time begins this Sunday morning at 2 a.m. Spring ahead one hour before you go to bed. On Sunday we'll
have daylight until 7 p.m. - sounds like winter may be a thing of the past!
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Jupiter, Venus and Mercury in line on Sunday evening. Several interesting celestial events seem to all be happening at about the same time this March. The planet Mercury, usually not visible since
it is so close to the sun, can be seen faintly for the next couple of days just above the western horizon about 30 minutes after sunset. The planets Jupiter
and Venus are very bright and are coming into conjunction in the early evening western sky just above Mercury. The planet Mars is at its closest point for the past two years and
won't be this close again until 2014. Bright red Mars is rising in the east early evening and can be seen all night! On top of all that right now is the almost full moon! The
fifth visible planet - Saturn - will rise in the east starting around mid-month three or four hours after sunset.
Monday, March 5, 2012
A few remnants of last week's moderate snowfall still remain, but signs of spring are cropping up here and there! The Bar Harbor
Inn opens for the season in less than two weeks on March 16! Several popular restaurants like Galyn's will reopen around that time as well.
Before long, we'll start seeing out-of-state license plates around the island, and village streets will become crowded once again! Keep on smilin'!
Friday, March 2, 2012
OOPS!!! Welcome to March! Our mild weather this winter has made life difficult for ice fishermen who usually leave their shacks on local ponds for several weeks. That is a dangerous gamble in 2012, as you can see from the above photo of a partially submerged shack on Round Pond earlier this week. At least it is near the shore! The lack of snow recently has made our landscape a bit drab looking, but an old fashioned nor'easter yesterday and last night brought us
5 inches! That was enough to make sure we don't forget how to plow, shovel or use our snow blowers! We have started the "climb
up March hill" though, so it won't be long until birds are singing and all this will be just a memory until next season!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
One doesn't have to look very hard around Mount Desert Island to notice large stones (sometimes very large stones) resting in
unusual places around the woods and on mountain tops! These stones are known as glacial erratics and were deposited in their present
locations by the glaciers that covered MDI some 10,000 years ago! Erratics are frequently covered with small plants called lichens. The
lichens live on the stone and over time help to slowly break it down. It has been determined that the glaciers brought many of the erratics
from as far away as Quebec Province in Canada before leaving them where they sit today as the glacial ice carrying them melted. When you
are out and about on the island - maybe just in your own backyard - keep an eye out for these interesting remnants of a long-ago ice age!
Monday, February 27, 2012
Waiting for spring! Friday, February 24, 2012
February sunset yesterday evening. Once again, the MDI boys basketball team won on Wednesday, giving them a 20-0 record and a ticket to the Eastern Maine finals against
Gardiner tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 p.m. Maine Public Broadcasting will provide live television coverage! This is the first undefeated season for
the team since MDI High School was established in 1969. Needless to say, big crowds from the island will be on hand at "the mecca" in Bangor!
"Go Trojans!"
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Exploring tide pools in the middle of February is a rare experience because snow and ice usually make the shore very treacherous. That is not the case this year, however, as one can readily see from the photo above! If you get the chance, take a look! "Good Luck" to the MDI boys basketball team in this afternoon's semifinal game! If you can't make it up to Bangor, check out the live
broadcast on Maine Public Television at 3:30.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Great Head yesterday with Egg Rock Lighthouse in the background. An update on the high school basketball tournament - unfortunately, the MDI girls lost their quarterfinal game to Gardiner. However,
the MDI boys remained undefeated with a one point squeaker over Camden Hills. The boys now advance to the semifinals where they
will play Presque Isle at 3:30 on Wednesday. This one will be televised live by Maine Public Broadcasting.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Blue Hill Bay on an unusually warm afternoon in mid-February. Temperatures here continue to be well above normal with some light rain showers around this morning. Local spirits are not dampened too much, however, since we have a three-day holiday weekend coming up and next week is school vacation week! If you are a high school basketball fan, and most of us are, you know that both the MDI High School boys and girls teams
qualified for the Eastern Maine tournament in Bangor. In fact, the boys team went undefeated on the season View MDI.Net Archive Pages About MDI.Net | Happenings | Weather | Webcams Acadia National Park | About Mount Desert Island | Photo Gallery | MDI Blog | MDI Links |
