Hiking and not-so-buried treasure. . .

 

We have, whether by design or accident, once again stumbled into a world in which there are tons of places to hike. Jasper gets a morning hike, of course. . . at least an hour off leash, but we also have taken to visiting new places, and finding a hike along the way. The view to the left is from the top of French Mountain, which is close to where we vacationed 30-some years ago. The view is the north end of Great Pond. Mainers are very understated, so a huge glacial lake is called a pond. The Messalonskee stream is the size of the Boise River. Creeks are barely mentioned. However, the image of the taciturn Mainer has not been our experience. They are a garrulous lot. The fellow who came to take measurements for our deck left us with more information about his kids and spouse than I have about my own! 

Anyway, we sat on this rock, drank wine and ate some sort of wonderful baked good on Mother's Day. Jasper is always happy to go along. 

The ferns in the yard are also coming along, and the lilacs and bleeding hearts are at full throat. It's hard not to love spring.

Oh. And the day I last described as too hot for May in Maine was indeed so. We broke the record for heat on that day by 5F. (!) Fortunately, yesterday was rainy and cool, and today was just beautiful. We're expecting more rain tomorrow. I love it so much. John baked cookies yesterday, though that activity is usually reserved for snow days. To be fair, he also dug an incredible trench for a driveway drain. Between that, and the gutter buys finally making their way to us (after 6 months of waiting), we should be able to avoid the ice rink in the driveway next winter.

To the left is Jasper on another local trail. It's called the Rotary Trail (romantic, no?), and it runs along the Kennebec River for several miles. It looks like it's an old railroad trail, though I don't know for sure. It has several entree's down to the river. None of our trails have been crowded to date. In fact, it's not unusual for me to not see another person. And I love the fact that the signs say "Dogs must be under control", rather than "Dogs must be leashed".

 

A couple more photos:

The ferns are moving along!

Lilacs in bloom. A little later than in Idaho.

 John and I sat under our covered deck and watched the rain and a hummingbird feed on these bleeding hearts. She like both kinds (this traditional one, and the lacey leafed variety), but tried everything in the garden, including the seed in the birdfeeder. Not to her liking. Where is the hummingbird feeder?

 

I'll finish up this post with a couple of videos. The one above is from a favorite hike with Jasper. It's the Messalonski trail, which is accessible from the back of our house, but I like to start at the trail head which is about a five minute drive from our house. Be sure to turn on the sound.

 

 

 

This last one is, amazingly, from John. He was paddling along fishing in his float tube in McGrath Lake, and he caught these loons diving with his phone. Loons are a big reason to live here. They are the most curious and beautiful of creatures. Sacred, I'd say.