I confess, I’m a morning person. I love to get up as soon as it’s light. Whether I head out immediately to take a walk, which is what I’m doing these days, or if I simply make my breakfast and enjoy it in the peace and quiet, being up early starts my day right. I know there are night owls, but I don’t know how that works. By 9:30 PM I’m usually missing half the plot of whatever mystery we’re watching as I doze in my chair. I’m not complaining, It’s worth it to be awake all the hours of the day that it’s light.

One of my very favorite things to do in the early summer mornings in Maine, is to gather my painting gear and head down to the neighborhood dock, and do a quick painting before I’m in the way of those heading out on their boats. There’s just something about that time of the morning, it’s still, you can hear the gulls squawking, you can smell the mud flats at low tide, that really earthy but not unpleasant smell, you can hear the put-put of the diesel engine on a lobster boat, and if there’s any breeze, the lap of the small waves on the rocky shore. You can practically taste the salt in the air.  Being out in the early morning is such an immersive nature experience.

 We have a couple of benches at the end of our pier, very convenient to sit on while painting, but you have to be careful not to loose a brush or a knife in between the slats. It’s high up above the water so you can see quite far. Cousins Island, Sturdivant and Basket islands. And our own little rock of an island, which used to be call Pumpkin Knob, now called the Nubbin on the nautical charts. If you look the other way, you can see up towards Freeport, and the bridge to Cousin’s Islands. Truthfully, I usually leave the bridge out of paintings… These early morning painting sessions are such a treat.

Bobbi Heath