What the Walrus said . . .

Photos and Anecdotes from a vagabond!

Seawall, Rain and a Leutistic Duckling

I tried, I really did, to outrun the rain . . . and for a short time I thought I had it beat! But . . . no such luck!

After vacating Canada (I filled my car with gas before I crossed the border because I was less then “empty” and running on prayer . . . $118.00 dollars) and took a break in Ellsworth, Maine, to dry out and get some laundry and reshuffling done. The following morning, the weather looked like it was breaking up, so I tossed a coin to see if I continued south or headed out to Acadia National Park. Acadia won . . . and to the sea I went!

The section of Acadia National Park that I was staying in is called Seawall. It is just that, a long stretch of beac that is now protected by a massive rock wall of boulders and rocks that the ocean has pushed ashore, forming a natural seawall. It is beautiful to see . . . but total hell to walk on! LOL If the rocks are not rolling and slipping under your feet, then you are slipping off of them because they are covered in slimy algae. It is a great way to break an ankle if you do not take your time and check each foot before shifting your weight.

This is the seawall at about mid-tide (not yet fully low) and you can see the massive number of rocks that the ocean has piled up. The darker area of the rocks shows the limit at high tide, but storms can, and do, periodically push up and over the seawall.
Another shot of the seawall. The weather my first afternoon here was really nice and I had hopes that the rain would continue to hold off and maybe slip north.
There was not an abundance of wildlife to photograph, so I started looking for new flowering plants. I found this one right outside the entrance to Seawall. This is a Clematis and is not native to Maine.
The same applies to this strange growth. It is an ergynium, and also not native to Maine.
A splash of color definately stands out surrounded by all the green of the forests and wetlands. Sorry but SEEK kept trying to tell me these are roses . . . I know better! LOL
Seawall with a returning tide. Notice that the clouds are coming back!
An hour later, the clouds were thinning again! I was confused! LOL
I already showed you the same flower, but in pink. They are paper thin, and the sea breeze eats them up as soon as they open, but still I was able to get a couple of shots.
The bees were very busy, flitting around, checking every blossom, sometimes multiple times. Once they realized that I posed no threat, they did not mind me getting close to watch them work.
Not certain if SEEK is correct. This is in the Daisy family, but SEEK states that it is a Max Chrysanthemum.
Orange Hawkweed with an attendant. One of these blossoms is bright al on its own, but when they assemble in a cluster, it is just almost too much color!
One of the tiniest spiders I think I have ever seen . . .and white as well!
This little flower grows on a stalk no more than three inches tall, surrounded by grasses alongside the road. SEEK was not able to identify it, and an hour after I took this, the Park employees mowed the grass!
Finally, a forest creature appeared . . . and then just as quickly disappeared.
Yellow Rattles. Again, not a very large plant, mixed in among the grass on the sides of the roads. It grows in single stalks and stands about six inches high.
Yes . . . it is a fungus!! Actually, it is a Hexagonal-pored Polypore. It just caught my eye as something unique!
Tufted Vetch. These beautiful purple flowers grow singly, scattered about in grassy fields. They are short, no more than six inches tall, and if it was not for the brilliance of the color, they would be easily lost in the clutter.
When I first saw this low bush with this spiky sort of bloom, I did not expect it to be a fern, but it is! This is a Sweet Fern and they are native to Maine.

As you can see, the storm clouds never became fully formed and the rain slipped into being a maybe for later in the day. I continued to wander, as I usually do, with no set path, just letting nature and my curiousity take the lead. Sometimes this can lead me into trouble, but today I found something just a bit different!

This is a female Mallard Duck with her two offspring. As you can see, the middle duckling appears quite normal, with plummage much like its parent. However, the little duckling closest in the picture seems to have an issue.
It seems that this duckling is suffering from leucism, an abnormal condition that results in the loss of norml pigmentation.
The abnormality does not cause the duckling any harm other than making it stand out much easier, which could mean that it could be predated easier. The mother duck was keeping a very close eye on her two kids, so hopefully, this little duck will have a good, long life!

So . . . this was all for my first day at Seawall. I went back to my camp site, made myself a rehydrated dinner, devoured some choclate chip cookies and a small milk, and called it a day. By 2 AM I awoke to the gentle tapping of rain on the tent canopy . . . and it gently rained for the next 20 hours! LOL I did suit up in my Frogg-Togg Rain Gear and ventured out, but all I got was wet!! The woodland critters had better sense than I did, and they were nowhere to be found. The flowers were all drooping from the wet, and it just wasn’t any fun!! Instead . . . I went back to my tent, cleaned my cameras, ate more cookies, read more of my book . . . and napped.

On a side note . . . As I was driving to Seawall, I passed through the little hamlet of Southwest Harbor. I noticed that there was a local craft fair in progress in the center of town. As it turned out, I had arrived at Seawall before the approved Check-in time of noon (Rangers do not waiver on Check-in time!) so I turned around and went back into town, with the sole intent of locating for a good Latte. I did find a very good one too . . . along with some unique New England crafts (the wonderful ladies in the region knit their little hearts out during the long winter months, and some are incredibly creative!!) And being my very extroverted self, I met and chatted for probably way too long, with a very talented singer/songwriter by the name of Carolyn Currie. Carolyn has won numerous awards and accolades in the music world (Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Napa Valley Music Festival and Rocky Mountain Folks Festival to name a few) and has a softly unique sound that, to my ears, is a melding of Folk, Bluegrass and Celtic sounds. What I really liked about Carolyn is that like me, she is working hard to follow her dream (with the amazing support of her husband and kids!) so, please, give her a listen. You can find her at http://www.carolyncurrie.com, as well as on Pandora, SXM and other music channels.

Looking at the weather across this country, I wonder where my journey is going to take me. As we all know, Yellowstone has been almost eliminated from my trip due to the record flooding and devastation. I do not know how the flooding has impacted Grand Teton national Park, but I hazard to quess that it is not faring much better. Now I just saw that Glacier National Park just recieved two feet of snow!! This is the first day of summer and Mother Nature has gone out to lunch!!

My plan now is to continue on to Gettysburg tomorrow, followed by Mammoth Caves, followed by Gateway Arch National Park. I will be stopping to visiti friends in Michigan, and then may head up to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, but after that I am uncertain except that it will still be west!!

Keep checking in . . . and I will keep cranking out updates . . . as long as I can find places that have working wi-fi!! LOL

majik756

One response to “Seawall, Rain and a Leutistic Duckling”

  1. I was was also at Seawall many many years ago. Beautiful area! Thanks for the wonderful stories!

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