The background is changed to obscure the location. In New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania Barn Owls are on the Species of Special Concern List. In Connecticut and Vermont they are on the Endangered List.
In England, Barn Owls are doing better population wise. in the mid 1990s there were around 4,000 breeding pairs. Today they estimate between 8,000-12,000 breeding pairs.
Tonight the TV show Best Medicine airs on Fox. It is already on Hulu. It airs 8 pm Eastern time zone. They has a preview episode on Sunday night. I highly recommend this show.
This show is based on the British show Doc Martin, but will not follow it exactly it appears. The humour was changed to fit in with American audiences and the cast and crew represent the diversity of the U.S. Some new characters are added that do not have representations in the original series and that in itself could lead to new story lines.
This show is filmed throughout the Hudson Valley of New York in multiple counties and locales. However, the fictional location of the show is Portwenn, Maine. I was lucky enough to be allowed to watch as a spectator the first few months of filming when it was at a location closer to me.
Some seasoned actors are regulars in this series. Josh Charles, who plays Doc Martin, a doctor that admittedly hates people, but switches to general practice after he develops a blood phobia while a surgeon. Charles is known for playing Will Gardner in the Good Wife, Commander Wharton in Handmaid’s Tale, and Knox Overstreet in Dead Poet’s Society among many other roles.
Abigail Spencer plays Louisa in this show. Louisa is a charming, local teacher that everyone loves. Her character and the Doc get off to a bad start. She has appeared in Suits as Dana Scott, was Dr. Megan Hunt in Grey’s Anatomy, Juliana Marano in Extended Family and has appeared in many other productions.
Cree Cicchino, plays Elaine, the administrative assistant to Doc Martin. She comes off as a bit flaky, but ambitious. She is a wannabe social media influencer that annoys the Doc, but she has redeeming qualities by the end of the episode. Cree has appeared in many productions. She was the character Emily Arlen in Big Sky, Marisol Fuentes in Mr. Iglesias, and Babe Carano in Game Shakers among others. Cree has Ecuadorian heritage.
Josh Segarra plays Sheriff Mark Mylow in Best Medicine. His character appears to be happy go lucky and comes off as likeable in a town that probably sees very little crime. He played Manny in Abbott Elementary, CO Stephanovic in Orange is the New Black, Giorgio in the Big Door Prize, Adrian Chase in Arrow, Justin Voight in Chicago PD, Hecto Ruiz in the Electric company, and many other roles. Josh is of Puerto Rican heritage. I do not have access to a promo photo of Josh.
Annie Potts’s character is Aunt Sarah, the aunt of Doc Martin. Her character is an owner of a lobster boat. She is a no nonsense kind of person with a heart. Most recently she was in Young Sheldon and its spinoff Georgie & Mandy’s First Wedding, playing the same character,”Meemaw.” She has a long list of credits including Bo Peep in Toy Story 1 and 2, Mary Jo in Designing Women, Dana Palladino in Love and War, Louanne Johnson in Dangerous Minds, and Mary Elizabeth Sims in Any Day Now.
This show appears to be a charming adaption of the original show it is based on. It falls under both comedy and drama. It seems to be the right mix in a sea of reality shows and sports driven content. The characters can be quirky, but you warm up to them. Watch Best Medicine Tueday nights starting tonight or view it on Hulu.
I came across this lovely little shed or booth where you could buy a wreath. It was outside a town, so I can’t remember exactly where, but it is near the Maine coast.
It is a lovely little display, don’t you think? I hope you had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
The modern lobster traps are made of metal. They are used today because the are more durable. Metal traps are better at handling salt water erosion, they are lighter, and can be stacked more easily. These are two examples of lobster trap trees made with metal traps.
The above tree was I believe outside a seafood shop in Kennebunkport.
I believe the above tree is in the Cape Porpoise area of Kennebunkport outside a family house. Could the owner be a lobster fisherman? Have a super Saturday!
Different locations bring their own culture and traditions into how they celebrate Christmas. Maine incorporates its fishing industry into its holiday displays. Lobster trap Christmas trees are part of displays in different towns.
The ones I am focusing on this post are the ones made of the old style wooden lobster traps. They are stacked up like a tree. Then decorated with buoys, lights, and or greenery. Personally I love the ones that combine the greenery with red buoys. The ones above and below use a lobster image as a tree topper.
It sounds like the lobster trap tree tradition was initiated in Gloucester, Massachusetts first in 2001 and the idea spread to other towns in New England. Many times these trees are community organised with local lobstermen lending the traps for the displays.
This last tree is my favourite because of the views around it. This one is at the Beachmere Inn. It is topped with a starfish. The Beachmere has a great restaurant with views of this tree and the ocean. You can eat lunch or dinner and enjoy this view when sitting near the windows.
What do you think of this tradition? I hope you had a Merry Christmas and I wish you a Happy New Year.
Short Eared Owls are winter visitors to New York. They spend the warmer months up in Canada and Alaska, but end up coming down south for the colder months. We have usually seen them between November and the beginning of March.
I did not expect to get any good images of the owl the day I was there. However, we had a brief window of light between the clouds and a cooperative owl who flew near me during that time period. Don’t you love it when they do that?
Later, when it was just too dark, it flew quite close to me, but alas the images were just too grainy.
Here’s hoping I can see them close up in good light. Have a Terrific Tuesday!
Are you getting into the holiday spirit? The post office is. These are two of their windows that were decorated by Splash Art Murals.
SplashArtMurals can be seen through the link below:
https://splashart.biz/collections/all
Have a splendid Sunday!
This was a vintage Ford truck I saw in front of an old stone farmhouse. It appears to be a Ford F-3 pick-up truck.
The First Generation F-3’s appear to be sold from 1948-1952. I did play with the colour between the two images.
Have a splendid Sunday!
According to one definition, shenanigans can be a high-spirited or mischievous activity. Here the elf is pushing Bumble in a pint sized shopping cart.
What shenanigans are you up to? With all the Covid, flu, and other viruses being passed around, I hope all are healthy. Have a fabulous Friday!
The Palisades is a long stretch of steep cliffs on the west side of the Hudson River that runs from lower NY into New Jersey. At their highest point they are about 540 feet in height and their length is about 20 miles. Peregrine Falcons like to nest on buildings, cliffs, and under tall bridges. The Palisades is a good spot to view Peregrines.
Peregrine Falcons are the fastest birds in the world. They can fly faster than 200 miles per hour. I caught this one before sunset. It never moved from the tree while I was there.
This falcon was perched on a tree cliffside but was facing the land on top and not the river. A pair of squirrels was chasing each other nearby, but the falcon did not seem interested in them. They are known to capture a variety of birds, but will steal fish and rodents from other birds. They also eat bats. I am trying to significantly reduce the size of my picture files to conserve space on the blog, but the images when I do that are not as sharp as the original. Have a wonderful Wednesday!
