Ordinary Maine

This evening we had a chance to go out to my sister-in-law's house to spend time with family and do some trick or treating! It was great fun to spend time with the kids and enjoy the company of family. Madilyn dressed up as a Monarch Butterfly and Camden decided that he wanted to be the Incredible Hulk, so below are pictures of them from tonight.

And of course what would a blog on Halloween be without a picture of the Candy?

Trick or Treat!

Tony

Each year the Westbrook Chamber of Commerce closes down Main St. in Westbrook for is annual Halloween on Main St. event. This year Camden and Madi took part as the Incredible Hulk and Monarch Butterfly.

Boo!

Tony

Today I had to stop by the Civic Center in Portland on some business. While driving away on Free Street this scene just made me pull over and take a picture. I was drawn by the traffic, the parked cars and general busy atmosphere of the downtown.

Anyway sometimes you only take one picture on any given day. In this case this is my one shot. Have you ever thought about what you would photograph if you only had one picture to take all day?

Tony

Every once in a while I like to take some time to enjoy the many birds that call Maine their home for all or a part of the year. A few years ago while helping a buddy build his log cabin, I was lucky enough to catch this rare fine in the lens. I hope you enjoy this rare find.

Great OrdinaryMaine!!!!

Tony

Sometimes the little things in life can be the most interesting to watch happen. This picture was taken in April of 2005 when the then three Besseys took a trip to the local part. Camden was about 15 months and he had just mastered walking after having tubes put into his ears. As you can see mom (and Dad) was quite surprised to see Camden meet his life long companion. You see he was not reaching for anything on the ground, but rather trying to touch his shadow. It was just a great thing to watch. Today my little buddy is just as curious as ever.

I took a little ride around town today to snap some pictures of all the signs we are seeing pop up for the election season. As one time I was responsible for a very large share of this visual clutter all around Westbrook, Maine and I understand its purpose. A candidate needs to have you see their name 8 times before they are remembered. I am not sure who first told me that, but it must be right because everyone likes to put out signs.

Anyway here is a collage of local campaign signs that I was able to photograph in less than an hour. One thing to note is that last nights storm did major damage to a lot of signs. It is very clear from driving around who is, and who is not on the ball with regards to cleaning up their signs. Either way I hope you enjoy. We have less than 9 days to go before this is all over.

Tony

Over the weekend I took the time to research the proper way to change templates with the blogger system. While this change took a little planning (on a napkin) and some computer know how, the total time investment to make the change was about one hour. I have wanted to go in the direction of a three column blog for some time now, so I am pleased with the results.

Please note that news items from local, AMG, National (via Fox) and custom feeds are on the left column of the blog. That is also where you will find some ad content. There is also one add at the bottom of my blog column in the center. The right sided column is where you will find information about OrdinaryMaine, my profile and photography news. I have also added some quotes from Ben Franklin and Mark Twain.

It is my hope that you will enjoy this new layout. I am still getting used to it, but I am really liking the results. I look forward to blogging in this new format. I hope you enjoy this new look to my OrdinaryMaine!

Tony

Summer is definitely gone and while on my morning drive to the office today I noticed these guys hanging around near Stroudwater Street on the Portland / Westbrook line. In 1982 turkeys were reintroduced back into the southern counties of the State of Maine. Given Maine's climate the turkeys were not expected to move much further than the southern Androscoggin and Oxford Counties.

Today they are all over the State. I have seen them in Aroostook County and my uncle's neighbor in Oakland used to have five or six of these things follow him every time he mowed his lawn. I have always wondered how these wild turkeys would taste, but in all honesty turkey hunting, because of methods used to hunt smart turkeys, is one of the most dangerous hunting sports in all the land.

We ended our Saturday activities at the "Back to Basics" Camporee this past weekend by holding a catapult contest. The units in attendance for this event were not lacking for ideas. This little gem below was constructed by Troop 51 of Windham, Maine. It consisted of a pair of tripods some twenty feet high that supported a catapult art which used people power to spring into action. As I watched all the boys and their adult leaders work on these contraptions, it was clear that a good time was had by all.

The funny thing about such a program is how the boys respond to this real world activities. You can offer to teach them lashings and knots in a Troop meeting and luke warm response. If you ask them to build a catapult then somehow they are willing to learn all about lashings and knots without ever realizing what they are learning. Two hundred kids were involved in this activity and it was clear they had fun. That is one of the greatest rewards I earn from my job.

Great Scouting!

Tony

This was the scene last night before dinner at the Casco Bay District Camporee in Auburn, Maine. The event was held on the tree farm of one of the Council's Board members. This weekend weekend presented Troops and Webelos in the Greater Portland area with the opportunity to learn and demonstrate many basic scouts skills. Special thanks goes out to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife's recreational safety division for their help with animal management and survival skills.

Our host told me the view of the trees would be spectacular just before dinner and he was absolutely right. Special thanks go out to all the adult volunteers who made this weekend possible. You are truly a shining example of why "Casco Bay Leads the Way!"

Great Scouting!

Tony

This past week has been so much fun. Due to the change of weather and seasons my I am not dealing with one of my two bouts of bronchittis for the year. I have had so much fun staying home in bed taking antibiotics and living off of my inhaler. All the while life has gone on right outside my window. Today I opened it a crack to take a picture of the leaves on the tree that is across from my house.


Alas it is the view outside my window.

Tony