posed

A sea gull enjoys the sun, standing still in a cool November breeze.

at low tide

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.

behind Sand Beach

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.

photos! fall mum show

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.

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chrysanthemums

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.

photos! Acadia

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.

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morning ramble

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

a bit of a wander

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

rolly rocks

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

looping Witch Hole

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

Schoodic magic

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

to Acadia

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...

faded

While faded leaves continue to hold onto branches, occasional bright color shows a splash of red.