I love Maine, and while it is easy to fall right into the cliche trap, it's just as easy to see why our idea of Maine is usually associated with lobster, seagulls (a woman in Vinalhaven came out of her house asking me whether I was taking pictures of gulls???), fishermen, and the winning combination of coniferous trees and rocks in the fog. Antiquing and perusing flea markets is equally fun, and I like the challenge of spotting a real old buoy among the thousands that are made 'old' for the tourist market. The old ones are pretty pricey, and I'm sure the fishermen shake their heads in disbelief, just as the woman could not fathom why I would take a picture of seagulls. I guess we revere icons, but I'm also drawn to the 'simple' every-day moment, because an accumulation of icons is just that, an accumulation of icons, lacking any context and life.