What's in a Name?...The Local Color of Maine

The River Runs

Rustic Mystique

The General Store

At the Edge of the Wood

Late Bloomers

Old Workhorse

Kale With Pine Needle

Farm in Autumn

General Store

We drove the back roads yesterday, for an hour, at least. It was a beautiful, vibrant fall morning, which has given itself up today to a dark cloud cover and heavy rain.

Still faced with much work on our house and knowing the weather is changing, we needed the outing. With the aid of our new GPS, whom we have named "Jessie" for the Jessie's Mill Road she led us to, we felt free to wander without the burden of trying to read maps whose print is just too darned small for our old eyes to read!

We stumbled first on the tiny town of Bolster's Mills. I enjoyed the peace and quiet and the feeling of nostalgia it evokes. Were it not for our perception of the passing of time and the preciousness of fleeting Life, we could not experience nostalgia. But that's another story...

More than anything, I LOVED the general store, all set up with those rockers inviting one to sit awhile. Their presence only reinforced my perception of the fleetingness of our lives and our trappings on this Earth.

In the state of Maine, the appellations they come up with are as colorful as the autumn foliage or the sights along the road. From Puckerbrush to Cat-Moussem Road, to Menotomy Road and Hank's Hog Hill, one can only speculate as to what the inspiration was, for the names of these local byways. The local color here is fascinating.

I've got lots of new photos and I can't wait to do it again. There are whole worlds out there, nestled in every hollow and at every turn of the (paved or unpaved) road...

NOTE TO MY READERS: I usually make every effort to respond to comments and to make the rounds on a regular basis. This past summer, however, I had little item for blogging or my other passions, and have literally done NO painting! I just want you to know that I think of you and hope to be responding to comments more frequently, now that our huge project is a lot further along than it was in May when we again donned our hardhats for work on our house.

All video and text copyright Lynda Lehmann. All rights reserved.

If you would like to view 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.

Derelict in the Field: Weathered Truck Wrecks Taken Over by Nature

Sequestered

Last summer I drove past this wreck at least 20 times (well, maybe it was ten). Each time I said to my husband, "Wow, this is such a cool wreck. I've GOT to photograph it before it's gone!" And each time we got out onto that same isolated stretch of highway (to go to the nearest Home Depot for construction supplies) I forgot my camera. Talk about preoccupied...

The day I finally remembered to take my equipment along--in this case, my tiny point and shoot--the wreck was still present. There she was, basking in the heat of a late summer morning, nestled in the mayhem of all those weeds. Lucky me!

I got out of the car and took about 30 shots. Each view of the truck had something different to offer. The view of the tumble-down house behind it, the burnt-out cab, the white of the birches, or the barely-showing tires. You get the point.

Believe it or not, the very next time we took that road, the truck was gone! As if someone lurking on this seemingly derelict and abandoned property, didn't want me to have any more fun!

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Robbie, Sidelined

This wreck was on a more developed part of the same highway, in an area with lots of languishing old homes and businesses. Looking at this one, I had to wonder who "Robbie" is, and what's become of him. What might he be doing now, in his life? Are his truck-driving days a thing of the past?

Laid to Rest in the Birches

We found this derelict one steamy summer evening just before twilight, while the sun was still strong, even from its low point in the sky. This rusty specimen had a powerful presence, sitting on a hill, slightly above my vantage point. I have to wonder what jobs this truck pulled off in its lifetime, and what tales it might tell.

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.