Mid February I had a birthday, (don't ask, I'm not telling) it also coincided with my grandson February school vacation week, which my daughter took of from work..long way around to say that they drove up from the Portland area to spent a day with Grammie!! : }
We had decided to take a ride out to Orr's,and Bailey's Islands area !! It was a bright sunny day, with a bit of a nip in the air,so we hoped when we got there it won't be to cold !!
We hadn't been there in quite a few years!! It is a quite, quaint place in winter, populated by mostly Lobster men's families ,but a pain in summer with all the tourist and summer residences!!
A short bridge form the main land town of Harpswell
and your on Orr's Island ...5 miles long and less than a mile wide!
There was a small boat landing with a wharf just before you crossed the bridge
so we stopped and took some photos!!
"Common Male Eider"
We got surprised and caught of guard when some ducks came out from under the bridge
Not sure,but I have decided this is a female Mallard ...
so what do you think??
Before you know it you are at the bridge that takes you to
Bailey's Island which is 6 miles long and less then a mile wide !!
The bridge is called the Cribstone Bridge!!
The 1,150 foot long bridge built in 1928 consists of 10,000 tons of granite slabs from local quarries !!
Granite was considered strong enough to withstand wind and waves while the open cribbing
allowed the waters to ebb and flow freely!!
The bridge is reported to be the only cribstone bridge in the world!
Not great,but a close up of the structure!!
This is taken after we where on the other side of the bridge!!
In 1951 side rails where added (whew) and in 1961 a walkway was added to the bridge !
In 1975 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places!!
I'll leave you in the cove near the bridge : ) !!
Stay dry ; }!!
I enjoy a drive out to Orr's and Bailey Islands, too. We go every few years in the summer, so I enjoyed your winter photos. We usually take a little detour to Cundy's Harbor, too, and have a lobster roll lunch at Holbrook's on the wharf. Great area, and the crib stone bridge is definitely clever and unique.
ReplyDeleteI've no idea what your duck is.
ReplyDeleteThe bridge is just a brilliant idea. It is a wonder of the world.
Happy Birthday.
This bridge I have never seen. Interesting idea.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen a bridge like this, very unique! Looks like a cool place to visit.
ReplyDeletefabulous bridge design! SOOO cool! thanks for sharing that with us!
ReplyDelete(and happy belated whatever it was...) :)
What a really neat bridge! That's a new one for me.
ReplyDeleteThat bridge is very unusual GG, a good idea though.
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos . Looks like a lovely day was had by all ! A cute little fishing town looks like the ones we have just a few minuets away from us ! The duck flying here looks like a Gadwall breed ! Thanks for taking us along with you . Have a good day !
ReplyDeleteCould be a Blue Winged Teal !
ReplyDeleteLooks like a fun outing! The bridge is really interesting.
ReplyDeleteHi Grace...Happy belated Birthday, I guess we all get there in the end?...when it's easier to make the excuse that we're not telling how old we are, when in reality we can't bloody remember!!...lol!
ReplyDeleteThat's a nice trip you made with your family, it looks like an interesting place?...fantastic bridge, ingenious workmanship!
I think you're spot on with the mystery duck, it looks like a female Mallard to me.
Looking forward to seeing part two(?)...[;o)
That last shot, esp., is pretty. Enjoyed the little history lesson of the bridge. Very interesting! I think mallard, too. BWT don't have orange bills, and I wonder if they'd be back, yet. I keep meaning to comment on your header picture. So cute!
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos Grace! And I too enjoyed the history lesson.
ReplyDeleteBelated Happy Birthday Grace :-) I'm glad you were able to spend a nice day with your family. I've never seen a bridge like that before, it has a rickety look about it but I imagine it's pretty sturdy. I would definitely say Mallard for your duck in flight. Love the Eider, they're only seen on the coast here and I'm about as far away as you can be from it in the UK so have never seen one.
ReplyDeleteI also loved the pics of the Mallards on the previous post especially the last one.
Grace, happy belated birthday! The trip to the islands looks nice. The bridge is interesting. Your duck does look like a Mallard, I was also thinking of the American Black Duck. The Eider is cool looking, great sightings and photos. Have a happy day and week ahead!
ReplyDeleteThe shot of the flying mallard is beautiful...They are so graceful....
ReplyDeleteLove the structure of that bridge; it's so unusual...
So glad you got to spend the day with your daughter and grandson; that's always awesome whatever you are doing....and late Happy Birthday...
Happy Belated B/Day. I'm a February girl myself ... 10th! That is a most unusual bridge! But hey, if it works!!!!
ReplyDeleteGrammie, I have never been to this location and did not know about that very cool bridge. I believe your duck is a black duck, which is very common in Maine. Both the male and the female look like female mallards, but the body is darker, the head paler, and the colored portion of the wing, called the speculum, is purplish blue with no white border, exactly like your photo! The male American Black Duck has a more yellowish bill while the female's is more olive. They also hybridize with mallards. Here in AZ we have a similar species called the Mexican Duck which also cross-breeds with mallards! Nice shot!
ReplyDeleteWow! On the National Register of Historic Places are you? I'm impressed Grace.
ReplyDeleteHi again Grace. Sorry to go off subject and raise this here but I can't think of any other way. I think your email account has been hacked and hijacked! I had an email purporting to be from you last night, it had no subject and no message just a very dubious link which I didn't click on and it was also ccd with several other names, all presumably from your contacts list. I had something similar last week from another bloggers email address who is also on Yahoo and when I contacted him on another address he confirmed his account had indeed been hacked and that it was sending out all sorts of rubbish in his name. I googled the problem and see it is a big problem with Yahoo at the moment! I will check back here to make sure you have seen this as I obviously can't respond to any mail from your account :-( Sorry to be the bearer of bad news and apologies if you already know about this problem.
ReplyDeleteJan.. So so sorry about that ....Yes I got 8 Mailer-Daemon failures sometime around 11:30PM last night...had no idea since I haven't sent an email in a long time, but I spamed them all and have changed my Yahoo, and Norton Identify safe,at 8:30 this morning, and Facebook passwords an hour ago!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for telling me, I wish I knew who else with you that is 2 of the 8 !!! Again so sorry !! Grrrr
No worries Grace. Just such a shame these people have to make life difficult for us. Hope you get it all sorted.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tour, Grace, as you know we DO enjoy road trips and may just have to check out these places on a future Maine trip.
ReplyDeleteNice posr and your duck is difficult to id I think... thar could well be a black duck!
ReplyDeleteHOW cool to see the eider! WONT see one of those here in my area so a real treat for me to see that!! AN excellent spot to visit Grace, and Happy BDAY!
ReplyDeletewow..what a unique bridge! Never seen anything like it. Love the eider duck...have never seen one, I don't think. Happy Birthday, late! Looks like you had a nice present in this trip.
ReplyDelete