Late Fall at Skylands
I love visiting Maine in the summer, when I can enjoy the great weather with family and friends, but it's also very beautiful there in autumn, especially at Skylands, my beloved home overlooking Seal Harbor.
Cheryl DuLong, who helps me care for Skylands, loves the outdoors and nature. She often keeps me updated by sending photographs of the property and the surrounding areas. While we are getting some much needed rain here in New York today, I thought I'd share some her most recent late fall images taken at sunrise and at sunset.
Enjoy.
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- On this day earlier this week, Cheryl wanted to be sure she caught the sunrise. What a beautiful photo taken between the trees. Skylands and the surrounding areas have already passed their peak of fall foliage – many of the deciduous trees are now bare.
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- This photo was taken of “Rockefeller’s Teeth” and a back footpath to my home. In summer, the area is filled with greenery – ferns and other perennials. They have all been cut back for the winter.
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- If you’re not familiar with “Rockefeller’s Teeth,” it is a name affectionately given to the large, irregular blocks of granite that serve as guardrails. One sees many along the carriage roads at Acadia National Park.
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- And see what is on the other side – a 30-foot drop. We’re thankful for those “teeth.”
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- This gazebo overlooks my tennis court. In summer, I set chairs and refreshments there for any players and their spectators.
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- This is the larger of two Jens Jensen–designed lost pools with its natural stone formation. Now it is drained of water and cleaned for winter. My outdoor grounds crew will fill the pools again in spring.
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- One will always get good exercise at Skylands. This is the walking path up on the hill near the lost pools. Low pathway lights guide walkers at night.
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- This is my Counsel Circle and fire pit – a wonderful place to gather for evening chats and maybe even a ghost story or two.
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- There is a lot of moss at Skylands. Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants that typically form dense green clumps or mats, often in damp or shady locations. During summer, we fill garden planters with moss and other natural elements. Once the season is over, we always make sure the moss we harvested is returned to the forest where it can regenerate and flourish.
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- This is my circular driveway in front of Skylands. In summer, it’s filled with color from the lush plantings – purple smoke bushes, hay-scented ferns, and these yellow spruce trees, Picea orientalis ‘Skylands’.
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- The stairs outside the council circle are guarded by Chinese Fu Dogs. Also known as Chinese guardian lions or stone lions, these are symbolic statues traditionally placed at an entrance to protect it from harmful spirits and people.
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- And this is a beautiful autumn view of Seal Harbor. Most of the boats have disappeared from their harbor moorings. Sutton Island is in the distance – a small, private island south of where I am on Mount Desert.
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- In the afternoon, Cheryl went out again, in search of more beautiful photographic settings. Here is a young rhododendron that seeded itself outside.
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- Here is a sunset view between the branches of a tall spruce tree from my dining room window to the west. Seal Harbor is in the distance.
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- This wall is seen outside the laundry room windows. The evergreens sometimes cast interesting shadows on the stone.
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- If you follow this blog regularly, you will recognize my large “cracked ice” terrace at Skylands. This photo taken from an upstairs terrace. Here, one can see the branches of the original kiwi vines on the house that are still thriving after all these years. The sundial above the doorway on the right is also original to the home. A sundial tells the time of day using the position of the sun in the sky. It has a flat plate and a gnomon, which casts a shadow onto the dial. It is very accurate.
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- This photo shows the charming Ox Ledge gazebo next to the Overlook garden.
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- Here is why I call it the lookout. This gazebo looks out onto Sutton Island, part of the Cranberries, and the ocean beyond.
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- At sunset, the brilliant colors are reflected in the clouds – stunning red and orange hues.
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- And here are “Rockefeller’s Teeth” again at the end of the day, now with the setting sun as its backdrop. Thanks, Cheryl, for these great photos. I am looking forward to my next visit to my beloved Skylands.
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