Summer in Maine 2024
Whenever I go to Skylands, my home in Seal Harbor, Maine, the days are always filled with lots of activities and good quality time with family and friends.
This summer was especially memorable. Aside from all the wonderful meals, I also enjoyed boating, hiking, visiting seals and cormorants, touring nearby gardens, shopping, and of course, spending time at my beloved home. The weather was pleasant. The flowers from my gardens were abundant and beautiful.
Here are more photos from my summer in Maine, enjoy.
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- I always try to pack as much into my trips as possible. Here I am “emerging from the door” at Skylands.
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- I visited the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden. The garden was designed by the legendary landscape architect, Beatrix Farrand, for John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and his wife Abby Aldrich Rockefeller in the 1920s.
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- This is a reproduction of the Moon Gate created by Beatrix Farrand in 1926.
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- Set within acres of beautiful moss-carpeted woods, the Garden is designed to be at floral peak this time of year.
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- This frog did not seem to mind me getting up close to capture this photo.
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- The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden is enclosed by a high pink stucco wall. The wall is capped with orange tiles imported from China.
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- The Garden contains many Asian structures and statuaries. These are called the Garden Spirits.
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- On another day, I ventured out to Duck Island where we almost always see seals sunbathing or swimming around the rock pile.
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- These seals are curious from a distance. I was able to get a few great photos of these beautiful animals as they watched our boat.
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- Both gray and harbor seals are found on and around Duck Island.
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- Along the Maine coastline, there are also many cormorants – medium-to-large aquatic birds.
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- This year, I was asked to christen the Lady Clare, a day excursion boat offered by the Claremont Hotel for trips to Acadia by the Sea, lighthouse tours, and sunset cocktail cruises.
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- Here I am with the bottle of champagne before the breaking ceremony, when the bottle is broken against the boat’s bow.
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- At Skylands, my gardeners Mike Harding and Wendy Norling, worked hard in the woodland gardens, planting moss in bare areas along the footpaths.
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- Wildlife love to walk through the woods at Skylands. This wild turkey was seen strolling between the trees on a warm, but quiet afternoon.
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- This is my West Terrace, where I always display plants during summer. These planters are new to Skylands this year. They were large terracotta planters we painted Bedford Gray and sent up here to Maine from my farm.
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- Here is a lovely lily arrangement in my Living Hall – all flowers are grown right in my garden.
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- I also road aboard the sailing yacht, Rebecca. Here I am at the helm, the steering station of this gorgeous vessel.
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- Rebecca is a 138-foot luxury sailing yacht built at the prestigious Pendennis shipyard in 1999, designed by the world-renowned yacht designer German Frers.
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- And here I am with my loyal and gorgeous dogs – out for a refreshing hike around Jordan Pond in Acadia National Park. The pond covers 187 acres and has a maximum depth of 150 feet. I walk around it every time I am in Maine.
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- And here’s a view that never gets old – looking out to Seal Harbor from Skylands. My trips to Maine are always chock full and so enjoyable. I only wish my time there didn’t go by so fast. What a lovely summer.
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