Nature

Nature

The FNCA is located on over 20 acres of natural pine forest bordering the Saco River. Our site is gorgeous! And our photographers love taking pictures of the beauty of Nature at the Assembly.

NEW photos on this page in recent months:
Title or Theme Year    Posted
"Amazing Moth" (2nd photo)          2010    2/19
"Violets"                                       2008     2/19

2020 2021 2022 2023
2010 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2003 2008 2009
1990 1994
1961

2023

"Misty Mountain Morning"

"Grass Closeup"

"White Lined Sphinx Moth"

"Bee on the Hydrangea"

2022

"Dragonfly"

On the Bray South porch.

"Spider"

"Gorgeous Sunset"

"Circle Tree Damage"

"Perry Cabin Tree Damage"

The two photos above were taken in December 2022. There was extensive tree damage from a major windstorm. The lower photo is of the open area in front of the Perry Cabin. (That's the Boston Cabin in the background.)

2021

"Magnificent!"

"Trevor Trimming the Blueberry Bushes"

Most likely, the last time this job was thoroughly done was here.

"Flowers under the Blueberry Bushes"

This was taken during the work in the photo just above.

"Columbine in June"

"Your Moment of Zen"

2020

"Upstream from the Lawn 7/11/20

"Green Blueberries 7/11/20"

"Daisy at the Waterfront"

"Phoebe Nest on the Woof Cabin"

© Becky Matsubara 2018The upper photo was taken from the ground with a little bit of zoom. The second photo was taken with a lot of zoom from the top of a ladder. The third was taken with all the zoom available. At right is a close-up from the internet.

The Eastern Phoebe is a plump little flycatcher that migrates north in the very early Spring. It builds a mostly mud and grass nest in a protected space near water and usually in or very near the woods. It has a very familiar fee-bee fee-bee and sometimes fee-b-b-bee call that it repeats over and over and over again.

"Honeysuckle in the Rain"

"Red Pine Bark"

"Giant Moth!"

A polyphemus moth from inside the window, so you're seeing the underside of it. The lower picture contains a normal sized moth so you can see how big this giant really is!

2019

"Mid-April at the Assembly"

"4 Work Weekend Sunsets"

"Gray Tree Frog (Hyla versicolor)
on the Perry Wing Porch Railing"

Here's what the Gray Tree Frog sounds like:


Audio Credit: USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

"Patiently Waiting"

2018

"More Pinecones Than Ever Before!"

Due to two Nor'easters in a row, there were more pinecones on the ground when the Work Weekend crew arrived than any time even the old timers could remember. Most of the first day of Work Weekend was spent raking pinecones off the road and paths to the cabins.

"Falcon on the Wood Pile"

According to the painters (of the Main Building before camp), this falcon sat on the same tree, on the same branch, every day waiting for its meal to run across the front lawn.

"Tree Across the River"

This tree came down before camp during a storm in June.

"Flying Squirrel in the Bell Tree"

"Hydrangea at the Bray Cabin"

"Flowers by the Claxton"

"Year of the Hoverfly"

These little hoverflys hadn't been seen before at camp, but this year there were hundreds and hundreds of them. Since they're flies, they don't bite, but they would land on you and suck the salt off your skin. It wasn't painful, although it could get a little annoying after a while, but they are harmless.

"Sunset"

2017

"Majestic!!"

"A Lovely Little Starflower"
between Twitchell and Lawrence

"Tree Over the Saco"

"Dusk"

2016

"Little Tiny Flowers
at the Bottom of the Perry Wing Steps"

These flowers have been growing in the back field for decades, but only the lucky few ever get to see them because they always get mowed down a few days before camp starts. Luckily, I got here early this year.

"Violets by the Ramp to the Deck"

"Luna Moth by the Woof Cabin Door"

"Fungus Among Us"

"Bug"

"Flowers by the Claxton Cabin"

"Bertha"

Explanation: This large rock near the old rope swing was named "Bertha" way back when. Don't know by whom, but the name has stuck. Standing on Bertha with your head above water, you could watch the ropeswingers rocket by just a few feet away.

"Taking It In (1)"

"Taking It In (2)"

Monroe, Elin, Serena, Nate.

2015

"First Evening Here!"

"Blueberries in June"

"Popcorn Sky"

"Gorgeous Bug and Baby"

It's a Banded Net-Winged Beetle (Calopteron discrepens).

"Tiny Rocks on the Window Sill in Room 1"

"Ferns by the Porch Pylon"

"Luna Moth"

"Wild Strawberries in the Front Lawn!"

"Awesome Sunset"

"Animal Sightings"

"Garnets from Jockey Cap"

And here's some on Jockey Cap.

"Awesome Monster Spider...
on the other side of the glass"

2014

"Cicadas"

"View from the Waterfront"

2013

"Downstream from the Lawn"

"Downstream from the Dock"

"Dragonfly"

"Lois Dole Trimming the Blueberry Bushes"

Most likely, the next time this was done thoroughly was here.

"Sunset Behind the White Mountains"

"Garnets on Jockey Cap"

And here's some from Jockey Cap.

"Evening Vista"

2012

"Bear!"

"Hummingbird!"

"Snake!"

"Blueberries!"

Louise "Mom Woof" Woofenden displaying blueberries from the Mom & Pop Woofenden 40th Anniversary Blueberry Patch — 8 highbush blueberry bushes in the corner of the front lawn donated to the Assembly for that occasion in 1990 by their 8 children.

"Before They're Ripe"

"Lightning!"

During a huge thunderstorm one night, this large pine tree near the Bath House was struck by lightning! The lightning travelled down the trunk of the tree, leaving huge scars in the bark; then went horizontally through the ground, making a large furrow through the topsoil and pine needles. The electrical shock was felt by everyone who was awake in the nearby cabins; the jolt was felt as far away as the Main Building. The air was crackling, the electricity in it palpable, and the intensity and nearness of it made your skin prickle. WOW!

"Sparks Games at Sunset"

2010

"Great Spangled Fritillary"

"Cecropia Silk Moth!"

That amazing creature is a Cecropia silk moth.

"Animal Footprint on the Beach"

"Rocks in the Saco"

"The Winter Flood of 2010"

Every year when the ice on the Saco River breaks up, it is a thing of beauty. Some years, it as also a thing of danger and devastation. This particular year, the ice broke up, and then refroze several times. In the process, large, thick chunks of ice collided and pile on top of each other and caused all sorts of damage to the banks of the river and the nearby trees.

2009

"Flowers in May"

"I'm Likin' the Lichen"

"Gorgeous Fungus"

"Tree with Moss"

"Indian Pipes"

"Derek the Bumblebee"

"Trees - Sky - Clouds"

"Lawn Flowers on the Hill"

"Beautiful Yellow Flowers"

"Bee Balm on the Edge of the Front Lawn"

"B&G Sunset"

2008

"Grasshopper on the Porch Railing"

"Violets"

"Front Lawn at Twilight"

"The Goddard Cabin in Winter"

2003

"Mountain Vista"

1994

"Birches in Front of the Boston Cabin"

1990

"Early Morning Mountain View"

1961

"Snapping Turtle!"

NOTE: 1961 is our best estimate of when this photo was taken; it might be 1962. Not sure who's holding that monster-sized snapping turtle, but the rest of them left to right are: Aurelie Nichols, Garritt White, Lois Walton (now McCurdy), and Gard Perry.

[Photo Pages]