Pot buoys turn up everywhere.

They often wash up along Maine shores and end up adorning old fences, flower gardens, entrance ways, backyard sheds and garage walls. They are visual calling cards.

Buoys are universal memories of coastal Maine. They are fascinating, colorful and cheery reminders of this lovely place.

They do not travel well when attached to auto rooftop dog carriers, as the windshield of our old Volvo can attest.

But, depending upon their composition, they can bounce. Once airborne, however, their path can be unpredictable and somewhat mischievous. After all, they were meant for floating on water, not flying down Interstate 80!

Collections of the extensive sort pictured above can create a wonderful glimpse at the history of their associated industry.

Some are wooden and somewhat hand shaped, others have plastic parts, some use foam. But they all remind us of home and the delectable critter on the other end of the line.

There is a story here in this collection. I wonder about the owners of the buoys, where they came from and on what boat.

It's all there: A snapshot of tradition and life along the Maine coast.

So the next time you are sitting on a plane at Logan and you look out the window at the loading conveyor to see a pot buoy tumble onto the tarmac, you will know that some hardworking Maine fisherman just lost another one to the collectors.