Downeast
Downeast in the 19th century was located ‘downwind’ when sailing ships sailed along the Atlantic Coast every summer. The winds were from the southwest ie driving the ships northeast. Originally the entire Norheast was considered Downeast, but over time became focused on the Maine coast usually from Ellsworth northeast in Hancock and Washington counties.
Challenged by poverty; determined by an independent character of fishermen, loggers and strongly-knitted communities; effervescent in its natural beauty; Downeast calls to us and embraces us, both to those who live here and ‘from away’. Here landscape is animate, and we are asked to reciprocate:
“The cold remote islands
And the blue estuaries
Where what breathes, breathes
The restless wind of the inlets,
And what drinks, drinks
The incoming tide;
Where shell and weed
Wait upon the salt wash of the sea,
And the clear nights of stars
Swing their lights westward
To set behind the land;
Where the pulse clinging to the rocks
Renews itself forever;
Where, again on cloudless nights,
The water reflects
The firmament's partial setting;
—O remember
In your narrowing dark hours
That more things move
Than blood in the heart.
‘Night’ by the Maine poet Louise Bogan
Click on photos to enlarge
Sky Speaks to Water
The Quiet, The Storm
Water Finds its Voice
Held by the Infinite--Acadia
Where Forest Emerges from Rain
Kindred Spirits Gather
A Home among the Ancient Ones
A Fellowship of Stone and Tide
Where the Ancient Waters Gather
The Sea Whispers, the Stars Listen--Bold Coast
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