Sunday, June 21, 2009

Serene Lake Scenes, Seen from the Shallows

Glory

Heading Out

Pointing West

Preening Loon and Mate

Reflections of Heaven

Where A Tree Grows

Heads Up

Tendrils

Emerging Lilies

A Whisper and A Prayer

Emerald Grasses

Cove

Yesterday we worked until 4:30. It was time to call it a day, a bit earlier than usual. We needed a break so we took our small aluminum boat out. It's well-suited to shallow waters, and easier to handle than a canoe, when encumbered with a camera and bag.

We headed into the fresh-water marsh at the near end of the lake, and here are a few photos of the delightful sights we saw. I didn't get a good shot of the new beaver lodge--last year's is abandoned--but I'll post it when I get one.

As you can see, the most elegant and luminous golden grasses sparkled in the sparkling water, while emerging, fresh (as yet uneaten by beetles) lily pads with unfurling scalloped edges floated in the sun. In the photo above, what you see sprinkled in the water around the lilies, is pollen. Pollen was everywhere, in staggering amounts, washed into long necklace-like strands that coated plant life, boulders, and fallen snags. It seemed a fitting counterpoint to the ice lines etched on the flanks of rocks protruding from the water.

The globes of yellow lily flowers poked their heads above the water's surface like little echoes of the golden sun.

A large turtle basked on a sunken log, and he stayed still as we cut the engine to float nearer to him. When finally I made the mistake of moving my leg over an oar--we always take oars in case the engine fails--he disappeared.

We saw a Baltimore Oriole singing on a bush, seemingly a song of joy. Unfortunately my shots of the Oriole are blurry, so I left them out.

At the far end of the marsh we cut the engine again and sat transfixed and awed by the symphony of bull frog and peeper calls that echoed out of the shallows, filling the world and transforming it with sound, as the gentle breeze rocked the boat and caressed our cheeks.

Shadows of clouds in the water made an alluring parallel universe of ripples and reflections.

I just wanted to convey some of the splendor and pouring forth of new life that we were able to partake of. It's not easy to get quality shots from a moving (and rocking) 17-foot boat, but I try.

Being in Maine makes me feel at peace. It's like being on another planet, a planet once lost and forgotten but forever imbued in our consciousness... All my dreams return to me and come alive when I'm here. I LOVE the deep, resilient silence of the starlit night, and the infinite shimmer and flux of the lake by daylight. And the cries of the loon....

I only wish I could share it all with you in real-time.

I wish you peace and joy on Father's Day!

All images and text c Lynda Lehmann. If you would like to view more of my art or make a purchase, please visit Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or my gallery at Imagekind, where you can choose from several sizes and paper types or buy my prints plain or matted and framed.

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27 comments:

  1. Dear Lynda...

    Thanks so much for coming by Creative Confections!

    By so doing, you have led me to your beautiful blog and your beautiful photographs and your beautiful art!

    These shots are magnificent and do indeed capture the glory of the natural world in which you live...

    I plan to bookmark your site and return often to spend more quality time here!

    Best wishes!

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  2. Lovely photos, thanks for taking us on a short vacation with you

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  3. Your photos are shot with such clarity even in the rocking boat. Thanks for sharing such a beautiful journey with us. Your words and photos are great. Have a nice night.

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  4. Oh Lynda, very relaxing and beautiful pics. Love the pointing west one especially.

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  5. Gorgeous pics, what a lovely celebration of the summer solstice! I could smell the lake and feel the heat. Quite a feat as it has been raining here on this high desert plain all June!

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  6. Hey Lynda,

    Aww...such beautiful photos, darling! One word comes to mind when looking at them: peace!
    My favourites are: the turtle's "heads up" (so cute); the Nuphars "Emerging Lilies" (also from the family of the Nymphaea Lotus: they symbolise harmony, balance, strength) and "Emerald Grasses" - these are an absolute marvel :D!

    "Being in Maine makes me feel at peace" - et voilá...the word peace :). We are on the same page!

    Thanks for this visual gift, darling :D!

    Cheerio

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  7. Lynda, so lovely photos! They take you immediately in - I can even hear the little noises the water makes on the boat's side, that murmuring and the little splashes.
    The loons are beautiful - do they make noises similar to the cobbles (?) - I find these voices absolutely magical.
    Many thanks for sharing these beautiful photos!
    Hugs, Petra

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  8. Hi Lynda: thanks for stopping by.. I've been busy with work and don't always get time to reply to comments these days.
    Hope your house building is going well.. remember that winter comes early up there in the north country! Not sure if you've mentioned how far north you are, but my dad's family came from Berwick near the southern border and we used to vacation some summers in Ogunguit and Wells Beach when I was a kid... I hated the cold water. My dad still likes to take a trip to the northern lakes area every year in the fall, after the mosquitos and black flies have died out:)... and I still recall how peaceful and beautiful Maine is. Your photos capture it perfectly. Excellent work, as always.

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  9. Lynda...
    Again beautiful photography. I know how difficult it is to expose both the sky and the foreground in order to have both properly display without shadows or blown highlights and yhou have done this with your lake /sky shots. Truly beautiful.

    Dan

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  10. Hello JACOB - Thank you for your positive and kind words! I will have to come back to visit your blog again, as well!

    I wish everyone in the world had access to beautiful places. Encountering them is so transforming. :)

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  11. Cactus Jack Splash - You're welcome, and thanks for stopping by. I'm glad you enjoyed them. :)

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  12. MICHELLE - I only wish we hadn't been rocking and that I had been able to capture that bullfrog and peeper symphony. There's always tomorrow, I guess, though I will likely still be in a rocking, small boat!

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  13. BOB - You must have a lot of beautiful open country around where you live, too, as Canada has such a large proportion of undeveloped land. Or maybe that has changed?

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  14. CONDA - It's been raining here too, for most of the past month. We have to sneak out between the showers.

    You can see in some of the photos, how dark the sky is, on the horizon!

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  15. MAX - Again, something to learn from you! I didn't know the lilies are from the lotus family, although I was aware of what the lotus symbolizes.

    Peace, something we all seek and savor. I feel it so deeply here and I love sharing it with my blogging friends.

    Peace to you, my dear Max.

    Now, to head upstairs and wrestle with those kitchen cabinets that just got delivered...

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  16. PETRA - Yes, the loons are magical in their behavior and in their many vocalizations. And of course, they have those RED eyes that send boat-gawkers like us running when we move too close!

    They have amazing feeding habits, all together in a diving circle to corral the fish!

    I don't know what kind of bird you are referring to when you say "cobbles," so I can't tell you if they're similar.

    Great to see you, Petra! I wish you a wonderful and creative week.

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  17. Lynda, the scientific name is "gavia immer" which is probably "loon". It is sometimes difficult to find the right translation for me.
    I have not seen these birds ever in the wild but have watched lots of docus in TV and heard their magical song. Apparently they only live in northern hemispheres not in our region.

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  18. it looks like paradise Lynda...
    and your photos are sublime...
    I would imagine the peace and serenity to be so meditative....
    your interpretation certainly is :)

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  19. Oh Lynda this is one nice trip you had. I love the photo of the loon, and I always love the sound they make. I had only one opportunity to see them in real life in Nova Scotia, it was one serene feeling. Amazing photos as always. Anna :)

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  20. What beautiful photographs! Lovely and serene and peaceful. I enjoyed each and every one!

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  21. Oh dear Lynda, you KNOW I love these photos. My heart cries out to be there.

    This looks like so many places I lived in Maine. I grew up on Lake Pennesseewassee in western Maine and I canoed that lake all summer long. Often from one end to the other. Then many years later I own a house way up in northern Maine near Baxter State Park and these photos remind me of all the dead waters I canoed up there. I recognize the cat-o'-nine-tails, the pickerel weed, the water lilies and can even remember the smell of the water and pine and all of it.

    It is sooooo deeply imprinted on my soul that I only have close my eyes and I can hear, smell, feel it all. Have you ever been in Maine in the autumn? Oh my word it is to die for. And yes, the pitch-black star filled nights with the milky way spread across the arch of the sky is like no where I've ever seen it since. I am deeply move by these photos and your thoughts.

    Do me a favor and walk outside one day or night and tell Maine I miss her and am loving her. She will remember me.

    Hugs,
    Robin

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  22. PETRA - We're in the North Country and one is swimming on the lake in front of me, right now! I watched him/her dive for fish, even as the sky is still dark from a thunderstorm!

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  23. KIM - Sorry it has taken me so long to respond. It is paradise, and I'm reminded of how many beautiful places exist in the world, for us to revere, and explore in joy. Not to ravage.... :(

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  24. ROBIN - I'm still reeling from learning that your earliest experience with nature was here in Maine, because Maine has long been so symbolic for me, of a (mostly) unspoiled ecosystem. I just LOVE the feeling of wilderness (well, ALMOST wilderness...) surrounding me, and I'm filled with peace.

    I certainly will say "hello" for you. One day maybe we will canoe together and watch the sunset from my favorite granite boulder in the middle of the lake! I would love to share it with you.

    Peace and beauty to you, my friend. :)

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  25. ANNA - Since you are so much further north than we are, I would think you could find loons on your lakes. I do hope you get to see and hear them, as they are so mysterious and beautiful. Their calls are varied and very plaintive... They give me shivers sometimes.

    Wishing you well, my dear, and a joyous week ahead with your family!

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  26. Tangled Stitch - I'm glad you enjoyed them. Sorry I'm late with responses and with getting around. I'll be over soon!

    Hope all is well with you. :)

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