Maine Winter Landscape

As cold as it gets, the Maine landscape does have a magical beauty to it in the winter. The way the light shines on the snow and ice creates the illusion of a winter wonderland. Sometimes it can take a while to get there though. The nor’easter the week before had left up to a foot of thick, heavy snow covering the ground along with scintillating icicles hanging from the rooftops. In contradiction, this weeks storm brought heavy rain instead and washed away the thick layer of snow from the week before. The reveal of the cold ground beneath and the rise of flooding waters left me thinking of spring.

It had cooled off dramatically over night from strong winds. The temperature wouldn’t climb above 20 degrees that day. After being woken up in the night by the howling wind, I was surprised to find there wasn’t very much ice, as predicted due to the drop in temperature after the heavy rain. Many had lost power and suffered damages. It was Christmas Eve, and the stormy skies had cleared by morning. 

A thin haze clung to the bitter cold air. A tragedy had occurred in the night. A historic house had caught fire that morning and the smell from the smoke was still strong. Responders were still attending the fire after noon. Looking out over the railroad tracks to the river below, I thought the waters were looking high. A group of mallard ducks were huddled close to shore. 

The low winter sun was already casting long shadows at 1 o’clock in the afternoon. The sun doesn’t climb very high in the winter. In the summer, the ducks and geese stay away from this part of the river because it is crowded from boats and people. Now that is it winter, they get the place to themselves and will gather openly at the waterfront for the majority of this cold season.

As I made my way closer, I noticed the road into the landing had been blocked off. Initially I wondered if it was because of the fire. However as I approached the steps to the path below, I understood why. The river water was so high it covered most of the grass up to the walking path. The path to the left abruptly ended in water.

The river had taken over and there were geese floating happily where the path would have been. As I walked to the edge of the water, they started to swim off down the stream. Following them as they floated away to the right, I saw that the boat landing was filled with water and the ducks were moving away from me as I approached them.

Jumping over a pool of water, I moved even closer to the group of ducks who were now swimming in the rising water that flooded into the boardwalk. Male and female mallards gathered together, and the sun brilliantly highlighted the emerald green feathers of the males. They swam back and forth along the walkway. As they swam, they tipped upside down with their tail feathers above the water and orange webbed feet on the surface. Ducks feed in shallow waters, and the flooded grass made a great opportunity for plants, grass, seeds, and small insects. One duck was swimming isolated on the opposite side of the boardwalk. 

I could watch them swimming all day, even in this cold. However even as I stood there, the tide was getting higher, slowly creeping in to fill the rest of the parking lot. If I didn’t leave soon, I might get stuck there. Suddenly I became aware of how cold I was, realizing that my face and neck were numb from the chill in the air.

Sometimes the cold makes me want to stay inside where it’s warm until the spring comes. But the possibilities of photographing the Maine landscape in winter have been driving me outside lately. It’s good to get out in the sun, especially during these darkest months. Even in the cold, there are exciting activities to take me through the winter months without my garden. The adventures of ice skating and ice fishing are yet to come. And I got a tiny Christmas tree that I’m going to try to keep alive until spring and then plant. The days are getting longer, and before long they will be warm enough for things to grow again.