patterns in petals

after the rain

Last night the rain that has been forecast for the last several days finally arrived. A steady rain fell starting in the late afternoon. It was raining last night when I went to bed, and it was raining this morning too. By mid-morning the rain moved out leaving gray skies for most of the day.

Early in the evening, blue reappeared.

tiny flower in pink

little rabbit

A little rabbit, attentive, looking at me looking at him...

purple

Balloon flowers delight the senses.

photos! Bath, Popham, and...

Photos from last weekend's overnight escape can be seen in the gallery mid-coast Maine > Bath, Popham, and....

soft colors

Saturday's art

I'm so glad I let me curiosity pull me into Markings Gallery yesterday. I discovered Nan Kilbourn-Tara's beautiful pottery; 4 pieces came home with me.

Popham and Harpswell

It was another good day today, from an early morning wander at Popham Beach to a drive down one of the very narrow peninsulas in Harpswell.

Popham Beach is a favorite place for a low tide wander. It's a combination of beach, sand bars, and a meandering river. At low tide you can walk to Fox Island after wading across the Morse River.

My last visit there was back in 2010, and the beach has changed since then. My curiosity led me to the Maine Department of Conservation page on Storm and Channel Dynamics at Popham Beach State Park. Very interesting...

After leaving Popham Beach, I headed up the Phippsburg Peninsula then turned to the west on Route 1. At Cook's Corner I headed out the peninsula leading to Harpswell.

The drive through the town of Harpswell was both beautiful and a bit frustrating. Like many back roads in Maine, the road was narrow, two lanes without shoulders. I did find a few places to stop although there were many places where I wasn't able to stop.

It was well worth the drive to see the bridge linking Orr's Island and Bailey Island. The two islands are connected by the granite Cribstone Bridge. It's a one-of-a-kind structure, made of granite slabs. From the Bailey Island bridge page in Wikipedia:

It was decided to build a cribstone bridge using granite slabs from local quarries on the border between Yarmouth, Maine and Pownal, Maine. Granite slabs were considered sufficiently heavy to withstand wind and wave, while the open cribbing allowed the tide to ebb and flow freely without increasing tidal current to any great degree. Some 10,000 tons of granite were used in the project. A concrete road (now part of Route 24) was built on top of the cribstones.

I'm fascinated by the fact that the granite slabs are not connected in any way; they apparently are simply stacked and held in place by gravity.

to Bath!

We were supposed to travel this weekend. Plans changed, and it seemed like it was going to turn into an an at home weekend. Denise was in a bit of a funky mood though; staying home didn't sound like a good idea so I helped her decide on a quick escape.

Where? We're in Bath, Maine. It's not too far from home, but it's far enough not to feel silly to stay overnight.

Our first stop was at the Thorn Head Preserve. Denise thought we'd do a bit of hiking in the woods, heading towards the water. I think we were there about an hour, no water in sight. It felt like there were too many trails without signs - so we were careful not to get confused. It's funny, when we got back to the car Denise overheard a conversation where another hiker said she felt like she kept going in circles. I'm glad it wasn't just Denise and me!

Next we drove up Washington Street in Bath, following the Kennebec River. At one point Denise parked in a lot high above an abandoned site. There were no trespassing signs on the fence along the road but there was actually an entrance that didn't have a sign on it. Denise just hopped over a chain and started walking towards an abandoned dock. She said she wanted some photos. (That didn't really surprise me. You're not surprised either, are you?)

Before we checked into our home for the night we headed to Mae's Cafe and Bakery. It's only open until 3 so Denise picked up something to hold for dinner. She thought the Thai Veggie Wrap sounded good, and I talked her into getting a blondie brownie that was loaded with chocolate chips and coconut.

Food gathered for later, we settled into the Hampton Inn and headed out walking through town. We walked partway across the highway bridge so we could get a good look at the railroad lift bridge next to it, gazing past the bridge to see some ships in the Bath Iron Works. Next we stopped at the Bath visitor center to pick up a map of the Phippsburg Peninsula. The nice woman staffing the desk gave Denise another place to wander tomorrow - she suggested heading to Harpswell, the next peninsula to the south. Oh! That looks really interesting. Tomorrow...

Our last stop on our walk around town was the Markings Gallery. Denise likes wandering through art galleries; this one actually had something she needed to buy. She likes pottery, especially mugs and small bowls. She is really picky about mugs - the handle needs to be comfortable. She found some wonderful mugs made by Nan Kilbourn-Tara. Even I liked the colors, and Denise said they are really comfortable to hold. That was fun!

It was time for food, time to sit for just a little while. And then... We headed to Fort Popham near the end of the Phippsburg Peninsula for a late day walk on the beach.

It was a good day.

--- Rover

Within two worlds

Wonderful...

This time-lapse video is the creation of Brad Goldpaint, Goldpaint Photography. I hope you enjoy watching as much as I did.

Within Two Worlds from Goldpaint Photography on Vimeo.

If you'd like to see more of Brad's time-lapse videos you can find them on his web site in the Portfolio drop-down.

Note: if you usually view my blog via email, you will need to go to the blog to see the video. It's best viewed large; click on the 4-cornered arrow at the bottom of the video (while it is playing) to break it out of the small space within my blog.

pink, curving

quarry & ocean

Calm, a view of the ocean behind the quarry, at Halibut Point.

a hidden gem

The weather forecast for today called for a pretty good chance of rain. That was yesterday; when I woke up this morning the sun was shining and the forecast had changed, calling for a hot, humid, sunny day.

I headed out on my bicycle early, before the heat arrived. That was a good start, but...

I felt restless today; I needed to find a new place to wander. I have no idea what made me look to Cape Ann, but I'm very glad that Halibut Point State Park in Rockport, Massachusetts caught my eye. The Babson Farm Quarry is at the center of the park, with easy access to a very rocky coastline. Beautiful, a wonderful place for an afternoon wander.

There are two parks side-by-side, the state park plus the Halibut Point Reservation, owned by the Trustees of Reservations. I plan to return to visit the reservation; I needed to escape the heat after a couple of hours in the state park.

More photos from today can be viewed in the gallery Halibut Point, quarry and ocean.

3 wanders in 4 parks

Oh! I'm so happy! Just two weeks ago I was wondering where we would be wandering after our August trip to Wyoming; last week Denise made plans for September and October too. I think we'll be going somewhere in December, but I think Denise will figure that out without me reminding her.

Our first trip is just over four weeks away now, destination Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks. We were there 10 years ago on our cross-country bike ride, traveling along the main road in both parks. This time we'll be walking in new places.

I knew that Denise was planning an October visit to Acadia, and I thought we would combine an Acadia visit with some other wanders in either Maine or somewhere in Atlantic Canada. She surprised me though. October is Acadia, and September is a visit to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. That sounds good, doesn't it?

--- Rover

fuschia

reaching

in a sea of yellow

sunlit (wild) rose

Plum Island afternoon

I haven't been to Plum Island since March 31st, the last day the beach at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge was open. It's a piping plover nesting area; the beach closes each year on April 1st and reopens when the birds are finished with it.

Even though I knew I wouldn't be able to walk on my favorite beach, I headed to Plum Island for a bit of a wander. I walked across the bridge and crossed the very narrow island for a glimpse of the ocean, absorbing the beauty around me.

More photos from today can be viewed in the gallery along the edge, coastal Massachusetts.

Wells Reserve photos

Photos from last Sunday's low tide walk at the Wells Reserve are finally available for viewing. You can find them in the gallery Wells Reserve - 2012 starting with this photo and ending here.

stamen in lavender

contemplation

spiky

perched

This morning I walked into a room (in my house) to find a little bird perched on the window screen. He stayed there for a minute, then flew away.

Yes, the window was open, and the shade was raised. We weren't very far apart; it was a wonderful sight.

Calm

The tide was high, the sea was calm. It was a good day to be by the sea.

More photos from today can be viewed in the gallery New Hampshire coast - 2012 starting with this photo and ending here.

Butterflies and flowers

I woke this morning to the sound of rain. It moved out quickly clearing to blue skies, a gift of good weather on a mid-week holiday.

My eyes wanted color; I headed to Fuller Gardens to wander through the roses. I enjoyed butterflies, roses, other assorted blossoms too.

More photos from this morning can be seen in the gallery Fuller Gardens - 2012 starting with this photo and ending here.

Low tide walk

I felt the pull of the ocean today, the need for a walk on a quiet beach at low tide. There are two beaches that I visit regularly to satisfy my quiet beach needs - the Wells Reserve, and the beach at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. The beach at Parker River is off limits until the piping plover breeding season is over, so today was a Wells Refuge day.

Low tide was at 3:19 PM, a late start for me for a Sunday afternoon wander. As I walked through the woods leading to the beach I heard the sound of wind in the trees, of bird song. The ocean provided music as I walked on the beach, crashing, yet quiet.

It was a good day for a beach walk. I'm happy.

Getting home in the early evening didn't leave me time (today) to sort through all of my photos. I'll post another blog entry when the photos are available for viewing.