Dancing with Eagles

The bald eagle hung in the sky over Sebasticook Lake in the heart of Maine. He peered down and could see the mother duck and her four ducklings. Yes. The ducklings were the perfect breakfast. He swooped and glided, his enormous wingspan leaving a shadow on the smooth water of the lake. The mother duck sensed the immediate danger. In some mystical way, she communicated to her brood. "Dive, Dive, Dive." That was her simple message. They did just as the eagle touched the water. Mom ducked under at the same moment. Her brood was safe.
The eagle flapped, lifted and pulled into the sky for another attack. He did this four more times as I sat by the window of our friend's home on the side of the lake. Four more times the duckling and mom dived under the water and the eagle had to lift off the water and soar again. He tired of these wily birds and climbed to 500 feet to reconnoiter before seeking another possible breakfast. It goes down, for me, as one of those lifetime moments. Delicious to see the much less powerful duck and her family figuring out by instinct or smarts just what needs to be done to stay alive.
Jo and I now are on the coast of Maine. This is home for us. We feel at peace surrounded by the craggy rocks, the seaweed, the wheeling seabirds, the fog, the people who are without sophistication but who endlessly exhibit honesty and straight forward commonsense.
We spent time with friends Bob and Rita Norling in Concord, New Hampshire, before climbing over the hills into Maine.
We stopped in Yarmouth, the home of the DeLorme map company. We use DeLorme on our computer to find our way through the various states. We have been experiencing some strange behavior in the computer with the software and I wanted to stop in and talk with a technical support person since I had not been able to resolve the issues via the Internet.
We spent an hour with a young man who was as perplexed as we are. We decided the problem centers on the new computer we have bought. It is the latest, greatest, and uses 64-bit technology. In trolling the Internet for others who have had problems we kept seeing that the 64-bit system seems to be the hangup. They assured me they are working on a patch for this. So we asked if we could stay in the parking lot for the night. No problem, the receptionist told me. "Just park at the back of the lot." We did and had a delightful night. As the darkness fell, I wandered over to the three-story front of the DeLorme building. The glass wall allows you to view Eartha, the world's largest free-standing globe. It is the building's centerpiece.
We parked the next couple of nights on the side of Sebasticook Lake, at friends Rick and Gayle's fabulous home. This is where we saw the eagle. And this is where we gain weight because Rick loves to cook. Every meal was a treat.
We moved Downeast, which is what the coast is called. We drove over to Southwest Harbor where we had spent many memorable weeks while sailing earlier. Now we parked our rig in the back parking lot of Wilbur Yachts, when former sailing friend Dave Larson works. We stayed with him and his wife Bena for a couple of nights and Bena outdid herself - again - by performing culinary delights, including roasted chicken that was slathered in yogurt and herbs. We had a spectacular honey and yogurt parfait laced with fresh strawberries on Saturday morning. Along with that there were muffins laced with salmon with cream cheese and capers. Mmmmm. Fabulous.
Now we have come down the coast and look across the water to Islesboro, one of our favorite places, standing out in Penobscot Bay. This is perhaps our favorite place to sail. Every yard is a new vista and is more breathtaking that the one before.
We feel so fortunate to be able to enjoy this beautiful place.