Today's photo is a frozen soap bubble taken against a background of snow. Like snowflakes, the frosty design that forms inside each bubble is unique. The soap bubble forms the perfect sphere while the water vapor in the air inside the bubble condenses and crystalizes to create the frosty design. According to Caltech, frost crystals have similar shapes as snow crystals. These crystals resemble "fernlike stelllar dendrites" often found on snowflakes. Frozen soap bubbles are short-lived and burst and collapse within a minute or two, but they are amazing to observe.

This pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) has been lurking in the wooded area behind my home for several years. I have caught glipses of him in the distance and have heard his call. But, yesterday was the first time he has come close enough for a decent photo.

These impressive birds reach an adult size of 16 to 19 inches with a wingspan of 26 to 30 inches. Although they are common year round in Maine, they are listed in the Migratory Bird Treaty Protected Species Act. The pileated woodpecker prefers wooded areas with some dead or downed trees as they feed on carpenter ants, beetles and other insects that make their home in the dead wood of trees. 

I have observed them near a small stream that runs through a wooded area and in an area of the woods that was recently cut. They often fly from one area to another along the same path at the back of my yard.
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This image was created from a photo I shot of winter berries this fall. The Christmas ball was created by distorting the photo and designing the ball around the distorted image. It was then placed over the original photo. This technique can be used with any photo. While some photos work better than others, it can create a stunning image. 

I think I will call them my nature baubles.

Stay tuned for more of the amazing images I have created using this technique coming soon!

Today's photo was taken at sunset of the abandoned paper mill in Lincoln, Maine. The mill served the community from 1882 until it closed its doors in 2015. Hundreds of families owe their livelihoods to this mill over the years.

Today's photo is of Mt. Katahdin as viewed from Springfield, Maine. Katahdin is located in Baxter State Park in Millinocket, Maine. Mt. Katahdin gets its name from the Penoscot Indians and means "the greatest mountain". This mountain is just shy of a mile high with a height of 5,267 feet.

Today's photo is a 300-year-old elm tree from Lincoln, Maine. This shot was taken in the early spring of 2016. Unfortunately, the tree was uprooted by a freak windstorm during the summer of 2016. While I am told that some people referred to the tree as "Elmo" I honestly had never heard it referred to as anything but The Tree. It's majestic beauty is sadly missed.