A warm December day pulled me to the coast again.
Today's destination was Halibut Point State Park. It is south of where I stood yesterday and it features rocks instead of sand. It is a rocky granite edge, a pool of water in what was a quarry, a different kind of beauty.
Steady rain fell this morning.
While it was still misting a bit when I headed to the coast at noon I decided to take a chance on a walk on the beach at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. I didn't want to waste today's unseasonable warmth! The mist stayed with me as I started walking under a predominantly gray sky. By the end of my wander the sky had changed to pure blue behind interesting white clouds. It was a good afternoon to walk by the ocean.
clouds and gray sky, on arrival
an hour later, blue sky!
The small amount of snow we had this week remains on the ground. That pushed me to walk on the beach today, knowing that the high tide would have cleared sand for walking close to the ocean.
The high water mark at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge didn't fully clean the beach; it left a few patches of white.
It's that time of year, the time when I wander through the photos that I've published during 2024 to find my favorites. It's always an interesting exercise, one that takes time and changes day-to-day until I have made my final choices.
From the beginning of the year, here are my selections.
daffodils
A walk in the woods shows many shades of grays and browns.
Luckily pine needles add color with a pop of green.
Ponds in Harold Parker State Forest are showing skim ice, the first step in forming a solid surface.
Reflections can still be seen in between the patches of ice.
It was a day with a constant changing sky, a day that felt like a good day to walk by the sea before the predicted rain arrives.
I had a wonderful low tide walk at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. I shared the beach with many birds and just a couple of other humans.
Winter (and December!) is here. Meteorological winter started on the 1st of the month; chill air tells me the season is here.
The ponds at Harold Parker State Forest are even starting to wear a skim coat of ice. The ice can be seen close to the shoreline, interrupting the reflection of the trees.
It was dry and sunny today, a good day for a walk on the beach.
I headed to the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge to listen to the waves, to watch the birds, and to walk.
On the last day of my short Acadia National Park visit earlier this month I wandered down to Sand Beach. The view from behind the beach grasses shows autumn color.
Monday's visit to the 2024 Fall Mum Show at the Botanic Garden of Smith College allowed me to absorb the beauty of flowers in a non-flower season. I thoroughly enjoyed being surrounded by chrysanthemums for a couple of hours.
Photos can be seen in the gallery chrysanthemums at Smith College :: 2024.
It's the mid-point of the 2024 Fall Mum Show at Smith College, and it was a beautiful day today. It was a good day for a drive and a flower visit.
The number of varieties of chrysanthemums always amazes me.
Wandering in Acadia National Park this week was wonderful. The air was chilly, the rain fell only at night, the sky changed each day.
The park was quiet for the most part. While there were other people in the park I had a lot of alone time to absorb the beauty around me. Photos can be seen in the gallery late autumn, Acadia.
I think we were really lucky today. It rained overnight, as predicted. It stopped raining early enough that we were able to walk without water falling from the sky.
There was mist hanging in the air, enough to change the look of the same scenery we walked by on Saturday. We again started walking at Sand Beach, following Ocean Path past Thunder Hole, eventually turning back to return to the car. I know we'll return again someday; for now it was a good last walk in the park.--- Rover
It was a good wandering day today. We stopped at The Tarn because Denise liked the reflections. Then we walked on Ocean Path for a while, enjoying the rocks and the ocean. Jordan Pond was next, then a quick walk at the top of Cadillac Mountain.
The temperature stuck at 45 degrees while we were at the level of the ocean but it dropped to 40 degrees at the top of the mountain. Brrr.... Luckily Denise had extra layers with her. Tomorrow we head home. The forecast calls for rain overnight but we are hoping it stops early enough in the morning so we can get a dry walk in before we spend hours driving home. It's been a good trip!--- Rover
trees reflecting in The Tarn
along Ocean Path
Jordan Pond
Do you think "rolly" is a word? I think it describes the rocks on Hunters Beach perfectly. While some have angles, they are rounded and I think they roll in the ocean waves.
I remembered visiting there a long time ago; I asked Denise if we could head there this morning to start our day. Of course she said yes! It was lucky she remembered where it lives on the island because when she put it in her GPS it tried to take us to Little Hunters Beach instead of Hunters Beach. I enoyed bouncing on the rocks, and my friend Blue enjoyed it too.--- Rover
Rover & Blue at Hunters Beach
Hunters Beach
The Carriage Roads called to us this afternoon. We headed to the end of Duck Brook Road to find the start of the Witch Hole Pond loop.
It was a good afternoon to walk that loop. It's 3.1 miles, not too long. Denise even got warm enough to shed her light jacket - even though the air temperature was stuck in the mid-40s. We're pretty far east in Maine so the change back to standard time makes a big difference. I just looked out the window, and it's looking a little dusky already. The sunset here today is at 4:19 PM, wow!--- Rover
The first thing Denise did when she woke up today was to look outside. There were clouds in the sky, and she hoped they would stick around since she likes playing with her camera under interesting clouds. The forecast was for clear skies though, and that's what we had. The air was a bit chilly but it was still so beautiful!
We headed to the Schoodic Peninsula this morning. That's a favorite place to wander, and we even tried a new hike. We bounced up an unmarked dirt road that led to the top of Schoodic Head. Even though there wasn't a "no tree" view from the top, it was a good walk, a good way to start the day. Our next stopping point was the tip of the peninsula. The rocks there are pretty slanty but still good for walking. We explored there for a bit before returning to the bigger part of Acadia on Mount Desert Island.--- Rover
Oh! It's the beginning of November and it's time for a quick trip to Acadia National Park.
Denise likes to wait until there are fewer people in the park. That kind of worked this time - while there were way fewer people than there would have been in the normal tourist season, it was pretty busy. Maybe because it was a beautiful day, and it's Saturday. It was a crisp day with a mix of clouds and sunshine. It rained a tiny bit on our drive but for the most part it was dry. It was early afternoon when we arrived in Bar Harbor. That meant we had time to walk in the park. Denise walked and I bounced along. It's such a beautiful place! We started at Sand Beach and then followed the path along the coast for an out and back walk.--- Rover
in case you don't remember me from previous trips...
from our wander in the park this afternoon...
While faded leaves continue to hold onto branches, occasional bright color shows a splash of red.
Odiorne Point State Park in Rye, New Hampshire was this morning's walking destination.
The grass along the water and the trees are wearing late autumn colors.
The sun warmed the air to feel like summer today.
An afternoon walk at Maudslay State Park allowed me to absorb the beauty of both autumn leaves and lingering dahlias.
I woke this morning to a chill in the air, the temperature at 2 degrees below freezing.
Leaves have reacted to crisp autumn air with a pop of bright color.
While today was gray and somewhat wet I gave in to my desire to walk in the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. In honor of National Wildlife Refuge Week the dike in the refuge is open; I walked both the dike and the beach.
It rained as I drove to the refuge and it rained as I drove home. And yet... my walk was dry! The colors of autumn decorate grasses and trees.
I shared the beach with birds as I enjoyed a low tide walk in the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge today.
Trees continue to show mixed colors as autumn brings us cooler weather.
The edge of Field Pond in Harold Parker State Forest is a good place to absorb the seasonal color change.
Yesterday was the first time I visited the Flying Horse Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit at Pingree School. The show is now on my list of things to do for next year!
It was a good wander through the school grounds looking for sculptures. My two favorites were both on the funky side, wire birds perched in a tree, and clear tubes filled with colored liquid that bubbled as the tube was flipped.
As I walked in the gardens of Prescott Park this morning I saw a single butterfly flitting about, feeding on late season flowers.
