Tag: Photos

Does anyone else envy the summer guests on Star Island?

~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment
The historic Oceanic Hotel is now part of a conference center run by a consortium of Unitarian-Univeralists and the United Church of Christ. Its week-long programs are a popular family destination. Cape Ann, Massachusetts, sits on the horizon.

The second largest island in the Isles of Shoals, Star is the only one with commercial boat service to the mainland. The state line between New Hampshire and Maine runs through the small harbor.

Here’s an idea of the hotel’s isolation. You say you want to get away from everything? Apart from your fellow guests, this is just about perfect. But forget about going in winter. That ocean can get wild. 

 

Closer up. In the 1600 and 1700s, the Isles of Shoals became a major summertime fishing camp, where cod were dried for European markets. They garnered four times the price of Norwegian cod. The chapel remains from that era.

Guests and supplies get to the island on the Thomas Leighton ferry, which plies the waters from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It can be a jolly experience, if the ocean’s on the calm side.

Regular service. This one’s returning to Portsmouth. Appledore Island rises to the left, while Star Island is just to the left of the ferryboat.

 

It can be a popular ride. Some people go out as a day trip.

A glorious big sunburst  

~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment
Sometimes I think it’s worth growing squash plants simply for their lovely big blossoms. The fact they also fill our plates with all kinds of squashes, including zucchini, simply adds to the pleasure. The blossom is a common motif in Native American artwork, too, one that reminds me of living at the edge of the Yakama Reservation in Washington state many years ago.

Where the coastline remains an Impressionist impression

~ Jnana Hodson ~ 2 Comments
Appledore Island scenes like this, off the mainland of Maine and New Hampshire, inspired some of American Impressionist master Childe Hassam’s great paintings.

 

There was no nude model with her back to us when we visited, unlike at least one of Hassam’s paintings of this geologic rift formation.

 

One end of rugged Appledore Island is still home to fishermen.

 

Rockweed on the intertidal zone of a white rock makes a bold image. The standing gulls add their own touch.