When?

Mom? Mom? Where are you? When are you coming home?

Have you ever tried to comfort a distraught dog? Bailey lives with my parents, and he unfortunately has a bad case of separation anxiety. I spent a bit of time alone with Bailey last weekend, hoping to provide a "mom" substitute.

The first alone stint was fine - maybe because Bailey's mom (OK, my mom too!) wasn't in the house when we walked in. He settled down pretty quickly. And then, there was Saturday evening. He spent his time sitting up, staring at the window, listening. He'd bounce downstairs whenever he heard a car, then he'd return to his sitting spot. I finally called Mom and asked her to talk to Bailey. She sang a song, he listened, and then he was happy to sleep until she walked in the door a little later.

Yes, Bailey is a bit crazy. And yes, he is a very well-loved dog. I think he lives with the right people.

A late fall afternoon

Airport quiet

I've always traveled on the very busy travel weekend surrounding Thanksgiving. Years ago I changed my travel habits to head out early Wednesday morning and head home again early Sunday morning. The early morning flights seems to be a pocket of sanity on what is usually a bit of a crazy travel day.

This weekend? I was a bit surprised when I arrived at the airport (in Manchester, NH) Wednesday morning to snag a parking spot in the garage directly across from the terminal walkway. I was even more surprised when I walked back into the garage this morning after my return flight to see many empty parking spaces. And the flights in both directions were barely half full. I wonder if it was just the early morning flights or if travel is truly off this year.

Afternoon silhouette

Clouds and sunbeams

I felt the ocean calling me, and I answered that call by spending a good chunk of the afternoon at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge.

A solid gray sky when I left home almost convinced me that it wouldn't be a good picture day, but oh! it was beautiful. Patches of blue peeked out behind (mostly) gray clouds, clouds reflected in quiet water on the inland side of the refuge, sunbeams escaped the clouds drawing pictures in the sky. That contrasted with a wild ocean, rolling waves crashing on a steeper than usual beach.

More photos can be seen in the gallery Clouds and sunbeams... Parker River.

A photo a month

I've found that I like having a changing photo on my wall, a photo a month. I've added a new choice to my calendars at RedBubble. An overview of my 2010 calendars can be seen in the gallery 2010, a photo a month...

A beauty of a (November) day

Sunshine and temperatures in the mid-50s drew me out to wander on my bicycle this afternoon. A warm riding day was an unexpected treat this late in November.

My S90 accompanied me, happy (as always) to snap photos of reflections in rippled yet shining water.

In the woods

Looking back to my weekend escape in Acadia...

Something pulled me off of Park Loop Road to head towards the Wild Gardens of Acadia. That's a normal stop for me when I'm wandering in flower seasons, but in November? The trees were bare, there were only a few very much out-of-season wild roses decorating the rocky shore, not the right season for a garden visit.

The detour was a beauty, with visions of bare trees, a carpet of fallen leaves, reflections in water.

Seasons apart

I was just wandering through the photos from my trips to Acadia this year, one in June, one in November. I have a number of photos taken in (close to) the same spot, gazing at the water and the mountains behind Sand Beach. What an amazing difference!

What do you think?

Greens, taken June 7, 2009

Reds and grays, taken November 7, 2009

Visions of fungus

Leaves floating, reflections

Late fall images of Acadia

I'm sure you've already figured out that Acadia National Park is a favorite wandering spot for me.

Last weekend's trip was the latest in the year that I've visited. The park was quiet, deciduous trees (for the most part) bareness highlighted by the green needles of the evergreens. As always, the rocks, the ocean, birds, beauty focused my eyes.

For more photos, jump into the gallery Calm, quiet, Acadia.

Word of the day

Do words ever jump out at you, words you think you should understand but don't?

My work life includes people from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, from the United States and from England. Even though we speak the same language, there are many times when we think we are speaking a very different version of English. Today's word wasn't a cross-ocean difference though, it was a word that only one person knew and used. The rest of us? We needed a dictionary.

fat⋅u⋅ous  [fach-oo-uhs] –adjective 1. foolish or inane, esp. in an unconscious, complacent manner; silly. 2. unreal; illusory. Definition courtesy of dictionary.com

Rover's writings

Remember before we left for Acadia when I said that maybe I should create my own blog?

I always help Denise write when we travel, but sometimes I like to say things in between too. And I'd like my friends to be able to find my writing. I like writing in Denise's blog though...

Oh look! Denise helped me to create my own writing corner inside of her big blog. Now when I write, I can tag my posts Rover's writings, and you can always see just my writing by clicking on that link. Denise added my Rover's writings link in the sidebar of our blog so you can always find my words. Isn't that fun?

Let's see, there was another reason I thought I should write today. Denise is still sorting through the photos from our very quick wander in Acadia. She'll create the photo gallery soon. In the meantime, here's a shot of me on the painted rocks that we found as we walked along the coast yesterday.

--- Rover

Accidental photos

I started walking this morning wearing a light windbreaker. The temperature edged higher and I tied the jacket around my waist. That worked, mostly. I realized that it was getting looser, so I reached down to retie it. (I know, I know, it would have been smarter to have thrown it into the daypack was adorning my back. But then I wouldn't have this story to tell, would I?)

I was walking with my camera around my neck, left hand threaded through the strap attached to my monopod also providing a bit of support to my camera. I thought nothing about continuing to hold the camera with my left hand at the same time using both hands to reach for my jacket sleeves. All of a sudden I heard a noise from the camera. What!??! Ah, I must have hit the shutter; the camera responded and shot a photo. Mind you, this was as I continued to walk. I was not looking through the camera or controlling it in any way other than having it attached to me in two places, wrist and neck.

Once I saw the first accidental photo, I attempted a deliberate accidental shot. I have the say that I prefer the first (real) accident over the second. I wonder if I will ever be able to create something like this on purpose.

Walking, driving, looking...

What a beautiful day!

The temperature quickly moved from the high 40s to the low 60s, even along the windy coastline. An interested cloud-painted sky changed over my few hours of walking time to pure blue. I spent several hours walking along the path that hugs Park Loop Road, heading south from Thunder Hole. Walking, stopping to wander over the rocks, walking some more.

A morning in the park, an afternoon drive... It was so beautiful that I decided to follow Route 1 and 3 south to Belfast before heading inland to Augusta to pick up the highway for the rest of the drive home.

The Penobscot Narrows Bridge almost tempted me to stay for a bit. I'd love to get some pictures of that fabulous structure in early morning or late day light; today's passage was too early in the day. While I would have enjoyed staying for several more hours, I suspect getting home late(r) tonight wouldn't have made me happy when tomorrow morning's "wake up for work" alarm rings. Ah, maybe, that's a visit for sometime next year.

This weekend was definitely the quick break that I wanted and needed. Calming...

Warmer...

What a nice surprise! It's already warmer outside than it was all day yesterday.

We started yesterday in the 30s, ended it there too. And I watched the thermometer in Denise's car drop as we rolled up Cadillac Mountain - from 41 when we pulled out of Bar Harbor, to 33 at the top. By the time we had rolled off of the mountain it was in the high 30s at sea level too.

This morning? I just checked the Bar Harbor temperature on the National Weather Service web site, and it's already up to 48 degrees. Warmer...

Yesterday we bounced up several trails. Today? I told Denise we need to bounce on the rocks by the ocean, from Sand Beach to Thunder Hole and beyond.

Oh! It's time to wander.

--- Rover

An Acadia day

Beauty surrounds me. Blue above, rolling water, bare branches, occasional bright leaves, evergreens.

Quiet. The sounds of my footsteps, the skittering of red squirrels running, scrambling up trees, birds calling.

---

It was a day to wander. To stop at Sand Beach, to walk behind the beach, seeing the mountains reflected in quiet water. To hike up Gorham Mountain. To stop at Jordan Pond.

I walked, I took photos, I walked some more.

The sun was scheduled to sink over the horizon at 4:15, early. At 3, I headed to the top of Cadillac Mountain, so see the magic of the late afternoon sunlight on the summit, and then to watch the sun paint the sky.

It was a good day.

brrr...

Oh! Denise said that she feels like she's a bit slow getting moving this morning. It's still early though...

We've already popped down to breakfast, so we're fueled up for the day. I think that Denise is just hoping the temperature edges up quickly since it's only 34 degrees (Fahrenheit) right now. Brrr! I bounce enough to stay warm, and Denise has lots and lots of layers to wear.

The sun is shining, the sky is blue, and I think we'll be heading out very soon. I'm sure we won't be waiting for the weather wizard to tell the temperature to rise since it's only supposed to get as high as 44 today.

--- Rover

Heading to the northeast

Ah, the jumping off point for what I suspect will be a too quick weekend...

I started driving under blue skies, bright sunshine, a strong wind making its presence known as I headed to the north and east. Broadleaf trees wore deep rust-colored clothing, occasionally highlighted by a flash of yellow and decorated by surrounding evergreens. As the sun dropped behind me, some of the rust flashed red, and I could see the deep pink sky highlighted in my rear-view mirror.

Driving into the dark...

Just after I passed Augusta I started to see snow along the side of the road. I was sure that I was seeing things at first since the headlights didn't reach that far to the side. I wasn't seeing things; the snow was left from yesterday's early white precipitation.

There was some snow here in Bar Harbor. It's gone now, at least here at sea level. When I checked into my home away from home for the next two nights I asked if there were any road closures in the park. They are normally open until December 1st, but the weather wizard sometimes changes the date. Park Loop Road is open. The road up Cadillac Mountain was closed yesterday; given that it is dry right now and that the temperatures are supposed to be in the 40s tomorrow, it sounds like there is a good chance that it will reopen.

From the park service web site: "On cold, rainy days, Cadillac Mountain Road may close temporarily if the road surface is icy."

Tomorrow...

Psst!

Hey! It's Rover writing. It's been too long since I borrowed Denise's blog. I wonder... maybe I should create my own blog. For now I'll just keep popping into Denise's blog when I feel the need to write.

Denise really needs a break, and I've been planting a suggestion in her head that she really should take a quick wander to Acadia. That will reset her spirits nicely, don't you think?

She really wanted to take a long weekend in October to wander there, but the two weekends she was thinking about ended up being very very wet. I certainly understand her lack of desire to drive all that way only to end up sitting inside looking at the rain. Neither one of us is too fond of wandering in wet weather, so we stayed home.

It looks like this coming weekend will be cool but dry. Fingers crossed... because I heard Denise on the phone last night making arrangements for a place to stay. It's going to be just a regular weekend, no extra days. Oh! I think spending a day along the rocky coast in Acadia is just what we need. Happy...

This is a photo of me on top of Gorham Mountain, on our wander in Acadia back in June. I wonder if we'll bounce up that trail again on this trip.

Poor bird!

Oh, the bird seemed to be fine, but CRASH... ouch!

The normal quiet of the office surrounded me this afternoon when all of a sudden I heard a loud noise. It took me a minute to move. As I walked toward the window, a flock of robins took flight.

The window was decorated with a few fluffy feathers, whites, light browns, a bit of gray too. Someone, some bird, had misjudged and flown right into the glass. Luckily, he (or she) survived the crash, flying into a nearby tree to recover.

Late fall yellows

November?

How did the calendar turn to November? Dark comes earlier now due to the switch back to standard time, leaves are piled up on the ground, stark images of empty branches fill the sky.

And yet...

Today was a beautiful fall day, with crisp temperatures and a cloud-decorated sky. As always, it was a good day to walk with a camera in my hand.