June, 2006It's late June on the coast of Maine. The first major heat wave of the summer is with us. I'm a California resident and not used to the humidity that accompanies the heat here. I decide to go to Five Islands on the Atlantic to paint - there will be a small breeze coming off the ocean there. Just a few miles up the Kennebec River from the ocean the air is still and scorching. At Five Islands Cove, it's as quiet as only a hot summer morning can be. I smell green lawns just mowed and the tang of seaweed and salt. The ocean is flat calm - the outgoing tide makes a slight gurgling sound as sea water leaves little tide pools and rock crevices. On the lobster pier, a man wearing a shocking pink tee shirt that reads "Five Islands Lobster Company" is hosing off the wooden planks. His tee shirt also says "Lobster shipped anywhere" with a www. address. After a while he comes over to visit - he tells me I'm doing a painting of his boat - he sounds pleased about that. He goes back to work with his hose. In the distance I hear the putt-putt of a diesel engine as a fishing boat approaches the Cove. Summer time in Maine can be wicked good.
