5/30/15 Saxl Park

Sunny and upper 60's but a bit windy. Decided we could use  an easy day so we went to Saxl Park in the city.

There is a small pond near the start of the trails

There are some dirt trails and bits of wood but it is mostly a huge meadow that they mow paths through.

There were flowering trees and bushes and I was able to find some protected enough from the wind to photograph .

It doesn't have to be clean water

The park is next to Cascade Park where there is a man made waterfall.

From there we wandered back to the car and one more dip in the pond.

5/29/15 Sheepscot Headwaters

Sunny and mid- sixties. We hadn't been here in awhile but it's not a difficult hike and Kelley seemed to be more interested in hiking today. We started from the parking area for the Whitten Hill trailhead.

I like the section of the Northern Headwaters Loop along here with it's old stone fence.

At home we had descent rain last night but there had been none here. No water for first 30 minutes and the first small stream had little water. nevertheless Kelley managed to fit in.

A section of the Hemlock Hollow Trail.

Most of the trails here are fairly dense woods so little grows on the forest flower besides ferns and mosses but near the end I found a flowering tree.

A pleasant outing. Kelley seemed to enjoy herself and found numerous opportunities to get into water. We had the trails to ourselves and there were surprisingly few mosquitoes and no blackflies.  2  hours

5/28/15 Essex Woods

Another warm one. Kelley was not anxious to get going and I still have lots of garden work so we just went to nearby Essex Woods for a short walk. I wanted her to get some exercise anyway. There were dogs in the dog park but Kelley was not interested in that either.

She had not lost her interest in water

I took a fair number of pictures but managed to ruin most of them. This butterfly was tiny - less than an inch across.

We met two men - one of whom we knew and chatted a bit - while Kelley got back in the water a couple more times- and that was pleasant. Kelley never did get excited about this outing but we did move around a bit.

5/27/15 City Forest

Sixty five and cloudy with rain forecast. Still trying to get caught up with the garden so we went to nearby City Forest.

First stop the beaver pond

New growth

 and mostly finished

Next water stop

Bunchberry

The side trail crosses a small stream

Water plant with critter

Don't know this one.

Lady's slipper

Another flowering bush

Wet dog on a scent

By the time we finished the sun was out and it never did rain. A pleasant outing with lots of spring flowers. Kelley was happy that there is still lots of water and that we met several people. 1  1/2 hours 

5/25/15 Newman Hill

Another warm day but overcast with a forecast of rain - and for the next week. I wanted to try to get caught up on garden work so we went to nearby Newman Hill to save the driving time- about 7 miles from home.

At the start there is a pond on private land - Kelley doesn't read.

A bit of a breeze so the closeups were a challenge, waiting for lulls in the wind and finding subjects a bit protected from the wind. Kelley was mostly patient but as the hike continued she did whine a few times when I stopped. All of that didn't stop me from going a bit overboard with the pictures - it was a long winter.

There was lots of water for Kelley

Left over from last year

More water

Young cones

There were several flowering trees and bushes.

I photographed this the last time we were here but liked it even more with the extra vegetation.

Three bugs

Pine Pond

 After Pine Pond we went along the old rail bed

 until we came to the part covered by water- another chance to swim

We then turned and headed back

This Tent Caterpillar seems to be just starting. I don't think I have ever seen one alone

A pretty good hike. I was pleased with the number of things I found to photograph, Kelley seemed happy and was in the water at numerous spots ( I spared you some of those pictures) . We met a man in the parking lot who was leaving but otherwise had the place to ourselves. 1  1/2 hours 

5/24/15 Half Mile Pond

Beautiful day - twenty degrees warmer than yesterday, mostly sunny, and less wind. Decided to try this hike we learned about yesterday. I could find no maps of the trails.

It was easy to spot the trail down to the pond.

I believe that is Bald Bluff across the pond and it figures later in our story.

There looked to be a trail to the right along the pond and there were even a couple of old blazes. We were told  this trail was longer than our source wanted to walk but it soon petered out. We bushwhacked around a bit looking for a trail but could not find it ( lots of scrub and difficult for Kelley) and were soon blocked by a stream. I did find an old tree.

Back at the start of the trail there was an old woods road

It went down again but before long it too ended.

Back to the car. Decided to do nearby Bald Bluff - trailhead a few miles up the road from where we hiked yesterday.

 About 5 miles down the road we came to this

I thought maybe our trailhead was not too much further so we walked up the road a bit- no problem walking across the bridge - but at the top of a hill I could not see it ahead and gave up near this flowering tree.

Not a total loss, as there was a pond next to where we parked

so Kelley got some water

A frustrating outing but we got outside on a nice day and got a bit of exercise.