Jennifer Steen Booher

Snowy Owls at the Bar Harbor Airport

We’ve had an unusual influx of snowy owls here in Maine, and there are five who have settled in at the local airport. I was lucky enough to see three of them today (but only two were close enough to photograph.) The owls are huge. The one on the telephone pole was probably twenty feet away from me (and not at all fazed by the five or six paparazzi snapping photos), and I would guess it to be a good two feet tall. The wingspan of the one below must have been four feet. They are an arctic species who usually nest on the ground in the tundra, and what I’ve been told is that their main prey species (lemmings? or voles? some sort of small rodent) is prone to population spikes and crashes. When the prey population crashes, the owls come south looking for food. And here they are – hello there, Hedwig!

P.S. I’m testing a larger type size – what do you think? More readable, or too big?

By Jenn | February 4, 2014 | Maine, natural history | 3 Comments |

Hulls Cove, August 6, 2013 (Beachcombing series No.70a)

It was another perfect summer day, and I spent several hours on the beach. There were so many interesting things that I’ve had to make two photos for this day. This one shows three European Green Crabs (Carcinus maenas) and a random crab claw with a length of the nylon rope used to tie lobster buoys to the traps. I couldn’t resist the juxtaposition of the orange-and-turquoise rope with the crab shells, and the rope was just too stiff to incorporate into a more elaborate composition, so this is No.70a. I’m still working on 70b.

It was an interesting day for wildlife, too: I saw a baby guillemot, a small flock of Semipalmated Plovers, and a Sanderling: I posted photos of them last week, but the guillemot was so cute I’ll have to show you another one. Something about those little feet paddling away:

I went all the way out to the point – that’s the village of Hulls Cove back there.

By Jenn | February 2, 2014 | beachcombing, Maine | 2 Comments |

Critters

I ran into a bunch of interesting animals last year that never made it onto the blog. Either I didn’t have enough information to write a whole post, or I just never got around to editing the photos. I thought you might enjoy them, though, so I’m rolling a whole bunch of random critter pictures into this one post.

Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) on the beach at Hulls Cove:

Eggs of the Longfin Squid (Loligo pealei), found by a friend of mine, also on the beach at Hulls Cove:

Eastern Willet (Tringa semipalmata). Aren’t those wing patterns dramatic?

Beavers (Castor canadensis) on the Eagle Lake Beaver Pond just after sunrise:

White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) just off the Jesup Path:

An alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) struggling up the fish ladder to Somes Pond:

An osprey (Pandion haliaetus) looking for alewives in Somes Pond and the Somesville Millpond:

And to finish off, a baby Guillemot (Uria aalge, I think). Just look at those little feet!

By Jenn | January 23, 2014 | Maine, natural history | No Comments |

I learned a new word

Shinrin-yoku

It’s Japanese.
shinrin = forest
yoku = bath

I gather the idea is to take a walk in the woods to refresh oneself and reduce stress. Some of us have always done that, but apparently it’s a Thing now, like yoga or aromatherapy:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_bathing
www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24806994
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2793346/

By Jenn | January 22, 2014 | Maine, natural history, quirky | No Comments |

Renovating the studio

Want to see what I’ve been up to? In September, after the summer rentals ended and we moved back into our house, I started renovating my studio so it could be an additional bedroom during the summer season. It still has to function as a studio for the other 9 months of the year, though!

Here’s what it used to look like:

And then I started renovating:

Now, after four months of getting rid of stuff, painting the walls, moving in a daybed, and hanging curtains, it looks like this:

Well, it can look like that, and it will for the renters. But right now, because it’s a working studio, it actually looks like this:

Still very full of cool things, but a much nicer place to spend time. I can invite friends and clients into the studio now without worrying about their safety! It isn’t quite finished – there are two large photographs still at the frame shop, and as you can see there are several heaps of things on the floor for me to deal with. I’ll post new photos when the space is truly ‘done.’

Come summertime, the books will stay in place, but all the boxes, sculptures, and drafting materials will have to go into storage. I’m not going to worry about that til May, though. Right now, I think I’ll go curl up on my cozy daybed and do crossword puzzles!

By Jenn | January 21, 2014 | Uncategorized | 5 Comments |

Bar Harbor Bed Races, November 9, 2013

Bar Harbor Bed Races Maine Early Bird Pajama Sale

What happens in a tourist town when tourist season is over? In Bar Harbor, we have a Pajama Sale to celebrate. Stores open at 6am, with coffee, doughnuts, and discounts for anyone who comes in their pajamas. This year was the 19th annual Pajama Sale, and it has become enough of an institution that lots of us have bought special pjs just to wear for the sale. Some people go all out with curlers in their hair, sleep masks, and green face goop. At 10am, when I am usually shopped-out and starting to feel a little silly wearing my robe and slippers in broad daylight, there are Bed Races. A short segment of Cottage Street is barricaded off for the racecourse:

The racers line up at the Village Green and parade down Main Street so everyone can admire the beds and the costumes. The lobster exoskeleton below is pieced together from plastic Solo cups:

The Town Band joined in this year for the first time. Official racers have to follow the rules – strict bed dimensions, four people to push and one to ride on the bed – but the band was only there to make noise and have fun, so they loaded ‘er right up and marched along making music.

They had the slowest time ever registered at the race, too, a fact which makes them very proud.

Other teams took it quite seriously, planning out the lightest weight beds and the toughest wheels. This was the R.M.Foster team (defending champions from last year: they won again this year):

These guys called themselves the “Beach Bums” – I think they were the Jackson Lab’s team. It was about 40 degrees out that day, so they only stripped down for the actual race. Brrr! That’s serious dedication to a costume theme:

Governor’s is a sort-of-local restaurant (their closest branch is in Ellsworth):

And this was the team from the Bar Harbor Inn, serving up a stuffed lobster (in a bed):

Here’s the plastic-cup-lobster-woman again:

And the wildly enthusiastic team from Camp Beech Cliff:

It may have been dreamed up by the Chamber of Commerce to perk up post-tourist/pre-holiday spending, but frankly it’s a genius of a “holiday” that comes just as winter darkness is taking over, lets creativity fly, and has no cultural expectations, family baggage, or general holiday stresses. I mean really, how tense can you get rolling around town in your jammies?

By Jenn | November 12, 2013 | Maine | 2 Comments |

Fall colors at Eagle Lake

Took these photos about two weeks ago at Eagle Lake on a grey October day with a chill in the air and the leaves glowing all around.

By Jenn | November 5, 2013 | Maine, natural history | 2 Comments |

Sometimes birch trees do this

birches do this sometimes by quercus design

By Jenn | November 4, 2013 | Maine, natural history | No Comments |

The Common Ground Fair 2013

It was pouring rain the morning we had planned to go to the Common Ground Fair this year. A few years ago that would have meant a change in plans, but the weirdest thing has happened since I got interested in photography. Bad weather means more interesting photos, and comfort has become secondary. Temperature is 8 below zero? Awesome, there will be fabulous frost photographs. The full moon is going to set right behind my favorite ruined house? Who needs sleep – road trip at 3am!

So off we went in the downpour. Last year you might remember I chaperoned the 6th grade; this year it was just my husband and me. He went off to the insulation and heating displays and I watched the sheepdog demonstrations. Sadly, the rain trickled off and we had a beautiful day.

One very excitable young dog was herding these geese around the arena, following the farmer’s instructions. The geese didn’t seem particularly upset by this. They waddled pretty darn fast when the dog was behind them, swerving when the dog did, but looking somewhat bored the whole time. When the demonstration stopped, they stood around looking at the sky and the spectators with an air of resignation, for all the world like off-duty performers.

After the sheepdogs finished, I found this fabulous display:

Called the “Ammend-O-Matic,” it was an elaborate machine that would carry a dollar bill through a series of slides, ramps, bells, swinging doors, and spinning signs into a politician’s mouth. There were signs all over like “Stamp money out of politics!” “A corporation is not a person!” and “Make your money talk!” They were selling ink stamps that you could use on your own money with those slogans. It was very entertaining to watch.

Next I went looking for lunch and ended up mesmerized by the potato-chip-makers:

They’d put a potato on the spindle-thing, which spun it against a blade, making these super-thin potato shavings. Then they fried them, and voila, organic potato chip ribbons:

I bustled around doing my shopping – honey, a gallon of maple syrup, hickory-smoked sea salt, some home-made marshmallows, beeswax cloths to use instead of plastic wrap, 5 pounds of beets, and another 5 of carrots … And then I saw a man with the most amazing dreadlocks ever: