Stimulation - Knowledge - Interaction - Fun |
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Dear Members and Friends,
Our successful Food for Thought season concluded last month, but there is still a lot going on!
Please visit the ASC Members' Art Show at the Northeast Harbor Library during the month of May, and join us for our virtual Cocktail Presentation and Art Show Preview on Friday, May 7th.
Next up is a presentation on Naturalizing Your Landscape with Val Libby on May 14th - just in time for spring gardening. And, a special opportunity for members only on June 26th! Read on for all the details...
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SAVE THE DATE
Wednesday, September 8th
Acadia Senior College 20th Anniversary Celebration
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We were unable to celebrate our 20th last year, but plans are underway for a gala event at Camp Beech Cliff. More details to follow - don't miss it!
Janice Kenyon, ASC Administrator
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The annual ASC Members' Art Show is happening during the month of May at the Northeast Harbor Library. This year's theme is "Go Lightly". Over twenty five talented artists have interpreted the theme in a variety of media including watercolor, oil paintings, mixed media, wood carvings, photographs and fiber art.
Above - painting by Kathleen Hall
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The art show is open for in person viewing in the Mellon room of the Northeast Harbor Library during library hours except during times when the Mellon Room is booked for private use. Please check the library website for hours and for the availability of the exhibit. |
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Above - Seal Cove Sunset, photograph by Thayer Fanazick |
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Friday, May 7th, 4:00 - 5:30 p.m.
In lieu of our customary Opening Reception, we will have a Zoom COCKTAIL HOUR with Bar Keep Casey Harmon.
Casey will teach us how to make Havana Restaurant's signature Mojito and an Old Fashioned. Casey will also advise us how to make each of these into a nonalcoholic mocktail. A list of necessary ingredients and equipment will be provided in advance to everyone who registers.
The presentation will be followed by a Sneak Peek at the Art Show, which you will later be free to enjoy in person as the Library allows.
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So gather together a small group of your vaccinated ASC friends and tune in to enjoy some cocktail mixing and sipping! Make some appetizers and take a step toward enjoying life together once again. |
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Val Libby
Friday, May 14th, 12:00 noon
Free virtual presentation via Zoom
Time to get out in the garden! Join Val Libby as she discusses how to enhance your property to support pollinators and birds, whether to only use native plants, where naturalistic plantings might thrive, and other topics.
Val Libby is a retired Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture & Horticulture, an ASC instructor, and the author of a forthcoming book called The Northwest Gardens of Lord & Schryver.
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Saturday, June 26th, 9:30 a.m.
A special opportunity for ASC members to join Seth Benz, Schoodic Institute’s Bird Ecology Program Director, aboard the 40′ Tricia Clark, Maine’s original puffin boat. The 2.5-hour tour down Frenchman Bay will circumnavigate Petit Manan Island to view the lighthouse, seabirds, and the Atlantic Puffins.
The boat leaves from the Winter Harbor Marina. Group size is limited to 18 and the cost is $85 per person. All participants must wear a facial mask during the tour, even if you are vaccinated.
Please call 207-288-9500 to register.
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The deadline to submit course proposals for the Fall 2021 term is May 7th.
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Many Thanks to our Spring Instructors!
You are at the heart of Acadia Senior College and once again took on the challenge of not only teaching, but in most cases teaching remotely. We couldn't have done it without you:
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Paul Anderson (and team)
Ned Beach
Earl Brechlin
Ann Caswell
Hugh Clark
Bob Gallon
Michael Good
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Jen Harry
Sheila Kirby
Shira Singer
Jay Sherwin
Steven Valleau
Mary Vekasi
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Speaking of instructors...
ASC Economics instructor David Dawson was recently published in the American Journal of Physiology, Cell Physiology. His article is called Searching for laws of economics: causality, conservation, and ideology. David lists ASC in his biography!
David C. Dawson
Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon; and Acadia Senior College, Bar Harbor, Maine
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Our spring appeal letters will be mailed shortly. We appreciate all your support!
You can also donate online at any time, or you may wish to consider a recurring monthly donation. Quick, easy, and secure. |
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Spring Ornithology Class Photos
Three of our Spring classes have been meeting outside and in person (following CDC guidelines). Ann Caswell's Nature Writing class meets by Zoom and then heads out to a field location in Acadia National Park to observe and write about nature. Shira Singer's Designing the Surface class is meeting at ArtWaves to explore fabric dying. And Michael Good's Ornithology class meets at various locations on and off the island to learn about bird habitats, behavior and migration. Below are a few photos from the Ornithology class.
Top two photos by Linda Dunn, bottom two photos by Donna Reis,
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As always, send me your photos for the newsletter - particularly class images. |
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Reminder - Resources for Those With Hearing Loss
Maine Relay is a free statewide service that connects voice telephone users with people who are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech disability. The service allows consumers to use specialized equipment (such as captioned telephone, TTY, VCO or HCO) or IP relay to communicate with standard voice telephone users through specially trained relay operators.
During monthly community presentations via Zoom, Debra Bare-Rogers, TRS Advocate at Disability Rights Maine (DRM) will talk about the various Maine Relay Services available for individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech difficulty.
The next monthly presentation titled “What is Maine Relay?” will be on Thursday, May 13, 2021 at 1PM. Please contact Debra for information or to join the presentation - DRogers@DRME.org.
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The Geology Corner - The Intrusions
By Ruth and Duane Braun
Note: this is the 4th in a series of articles on the Geology of Mount Desert Island. Thank you Ruth and Duane!
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450 million years ago the Gander Terrane docked with the North American continent to form most of Maine. The energy and therefore volcanic activity was along the northwest margin of Gander.
420 million years ago the Avalon Terrane collided with Gander, producing a series of intrusions that formed a line of volcanoes from Vinalhaven to Eastport. The following is the sequence of intrusions on MDI. The sequence differs somewhat in each of the other volcanoes.
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First Intrusion – Basalt/Gabbro Dikes and Sills
Basalt/gabbro dikes were injected up through the Ellsworth Schist and spread as horizontal sills along the contact of the Ellsworth Schist and Bar Harbor Formation. Some dikes rose up through the Bar Harbor Formation to form sills higher up in Bar Harbor. Bar Island and the Porcupines are capped by one of these higher sills.
Second Intrusion – Southwest Harbor Granite
As the terranes continued to press together old crust was melted and a large magma chamber fed a volcano. Granitic magmas are very thick – gases cannot escape easily so eruptions are very violent.
These violent eruptions explode out of the volcano and shoot upward as clouds of gases, ash, molten rock and pieces of surrounding rocks called pyroclastic flows. The Southwest Harbor Granite magma chamber released a number of these flows that hardened into rock – forming the 10,000 feet thick Cranberry Island Volcanic Series. These can be seen at the Seawall Picnic area.
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Above - Pyroclastic flow with angular fragments within the Cranberry Island Vocanic series
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Third and Fourth Intrusions - Cadillac Mountain Granite and Basalt
The next and largest intrusion was the Cadillac Mountain Granite - seen on Cadillac Mountain and at Otter Cove. The initial intrusion of granite was followed by a basalt intrusion into the base of the granite magma. This caused over pressurization of the magma chamber that fractured the surrounding rock (Southwest Harbor Granite, Bar Harbor Formation, and gabbro/basalt dikes), and pieces ranging in size from small fragments to huge blocks sank into the magma chamber’s edges. The smaller fragments melted but larger ones became incorporated into the magma as it cooled. This area surrounding the magma chamber is called the shatter zone. It can be seen at Otter Point and at the eastern end Sand Beach.
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Above - the shatter zone with rusty red Bar Harbor Formation fragments and gray gabbro fragments surrounded by Cadillac Mountain granite |
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Fifth Intrusion - Basalt/Gabbro Dikes
Intrusions of basalt/gabbro formed dikes as the granite magmas began to crystallize. Once magmas are about 50% crystallized they are rigid enough to “fracture” and allow other magmas to cut across them. These can be seen as you drive up the Cadillac Mountain Road.
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Sixth Intrusion – Somesville Granite
The Somesville Granite probably never made it to the surface but pushed up areas on the floor of the large caldera formed from the violent eruptions of the Cadillac Mountain Granite. This is the granite that was quarried at Hall’s Quarry.
All this activity took place over a period of about 2 million years (420-418 million years ago).
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