natural history

Satellite moving through Orion Last night was the peak of the annual Orionid meteor shower, and I persuaded some friends to go star-hunting with me very early this morning. There were three reasons for going in the morning:1. It rained…

By Jenn | October 21, 2012 | Maine, natural history, photography | No Comments |

Our family had gathered to celebrate my father-in-law’s birthday when we were distracted by the drama unfolding in the sky. First a fragment of rainbow began to spring upward from Ironbound Island. Then a second rainbow shot off at a…

By Jenn | October 1, 2012 | beachcombing, collections, Maine, natural history, photography | No Comments |

Ship Harbor, May 25, 2012 (Beachcombing series No.64)

Beachcombing series No. 64 Last Friday I chaperoned the 5th grade field trip to the Ship Harbor Nature Trail over in Bass Harbor. One of the many wonderful things about living in a national park is that honest-to-goodness Park Rangers…

By Jenn | May 30, 2012 | beachcombing, Maine, natural history, photography | No Comments |

West of Matava, Kadavu; March 16, 2012 (Fiji Beachcombing series No.7) : Metal lid labelled “Tokin Mathematical Instrument Box,” clam, coral, crab claw, Nerites (Nerita sp.), ‘mudstone,’ unidentified shell, coconut seed (Cocos nucifera). This is the post where you finally…

By Jenn | May 19, 2012 | beachcombing, Fiji, natural history, photography, travel | No Comments |

Seal Harbor Beach, Valentine’s Day, 2012 (Beachcombing series No.61)

It was 9:30 in the morning on a bright, sunny Valentine’s Day when I headed over to Seal Harbor to see what the sea had washed up. There was a light but steady breeze from the east that made it…

By Jenn | February 22, 2012 | beachcombing, Maine, natural history, photography | 5 Comments |

A Long, Wandering Post in which I Have an Adventure

If you are too cold, too hot, hungry, thirsty, lost, hurt, frightened, nervous, or in new territory, and you are not sure when things will improve, you are having an adventure. I say this to my kids when we’re in…

By Jenn | January 18, 2012 | beachcombing, Maine, natural history, photography | 12 Comments |

Bar Island, May 28, 2011 (available here) It was my mother-in-law’s 70th birthday, and a huge crowd of relatives had gathered for a week of feasting and talking. The day was cold and wet, with a low gray sky that…

By Jenn | June 18, 2011 | beachcombing, collections, Maine, natural history, photography, sea glass | 2 Comments |

Sargent Head, April 12, 2011 These black stones are so smooth your fingers glide right over them. I think they are basalt, which is a very fine-grained igneous rock. Apparently it forms much of the ocean floor, and is also…

By Jenn | May 4, 2011 | beachcombing, collections, Maine, natural history, photography, sea glass | 4 Comments |

Sand Dollars, Seal Harbor Beach, February 14, 2011 …at least from the beachcomber’s point of view. The echinoderms might not agree. It was a cloudy grey but relatively warm day in February, probably in the 40s. There was just enough…

By Jenn | February 21, 2011 | beachcombing, collections, natural history, photography | 4 Comments |

Sand Beach, November 25, 2010 I don’t photograph everything I pick up on the beach. Sometimes it doesn’t all fit. Sometimes a shell or feather won’t show up against the white background. And sometimes an object just isn’t interesting but…

By Jenn | December 8, 2010 | beachcombing, collections, Maine, natural history, photography | No Comments |

Jennifer Steen Booher

natural history

The Orionids

Rainbows, September 4, 2012

Ship Harbor, May 25, 2012 (Beachcombing series No.64)

Fiji, March 16; Crab Habits

Seal Harbor Beach, Valentine’s Day, 2012 (Beachcombing series No.61)

A Long, Wandering Post in which I Have an Adventure

Bar Island, May 28, 2011

Sargent Head, April 12, 2011

A Good Day for Echinoderms…

Beach Trash