Bernard Harbor, ME

I did a painting of the Bernard Harbor Lobster Pound. I got permission from 85 year old Irving Silverton to paint from his lobster dock. Irving has a Light House chapel that he marries couples in memory of his departed wife. He always wanted to be a lobsterman but ended up marrying people instead.

Lobster boats unload lobster here and you can buy them right off the dock or go to the famous Thurmond Lobster restaurant and have them cooked with an ear of corn. There was a long line so I went across to Bass Harbor and traded a watercolor for dinner at the Mainly Maine Lobster shack.I keep forgetting to take pictures of all the paintings I've done and some have been sold or traded. I've got to watch that and try to get them recorded.

I thought we were busy driving carriages before but now it's Cruise ship season and we will get waves of riders.

I've met lots of great people, the weather has been choice. I'm coming to terms with maritime landscapes enough that folks are buying them. The hardwoods are starting to turn. In a few weeks I should be painting waves of color.

I met another pleinair artist Grant Hughes and plan to go out painting with him.

I missed our Ferry County Fair for the first time in 20 something years and feel pretty down about that but I went to the Blue Hill Fair here in Maine to see one of our teamsters compete. I saw some of the biggest horses and oxen I've ever seen. A couple Belgians weighed over 2700 lbs. and some oxen were as big as draft horses. Unfortunately I didn't get to see the oxen work and would have liked to have seen the National field dog trials.

eclipse of the moon over Seal Harbor, ME

Update, I've been driving horses from dawn to dusk, picking poop from paddocks and roads. Painting on my days off and eating lobster when the opportunity arrises which is quite often. I've traded paintings for lobster many times because I'm usually painting down at the docks where the lobstermen work and they like paintings of their boats. Sold a painting today at Penny Chau's and altogether am having a great time of it all. I've been invited back next year and look forward to becoming part of the Wildwood family and explore more of Maine.

more from Mt Desert Isle and Wildwood Stables

It's a pretty intense time driving horses on Mt. Desert Isle. There are 6 teamsters 12 teams and 8 wagons.

We're out in the paddocks by 5a.m. and bring the horses in to feed them oats. Then we go clean the manure out of the paddocks and then we get to go eat our breakfast and start our day.

Here's a shot of the crew. left to right. Charly from Mississippi (Postal Man), Neal from Tennessee (you can just see his bald head, Randy Money (Mr. Manager a.k.a. coach, cool dude, always laughing, the more serious the situation the more he laughs), Oolah (Danish road apple mechanic), Janey (coaches wife and all around girl friday, vet, emt, cook and office manager), Mrs Bobbi Winterberg, (gracious southern Bell), Les Peters ( expatriat east african who played rock and roll in Rome with 10 yrs after, hendrix and a bunch of other legends, now hunting guide for LL Bean), and Jim Davis (local horse pull champion and all around draft horse expert). Most of these guys have been together for 20 years putting this shindig together. The stories of the past are outrageous. I hope to get some down in print, like the guy who impressed girls by roasting marshmellows between his fingers and bending horse shoe nails into rings for his girlfriends.

I thought I might acquire a down east Maine accent but all these folk are southerners, Yawl!