10/29/16 Perch Pond

We have had several days of light rain and gray skies. Today we still have the gray skies but it's not raining . Low 40s  so not an inviting morning but we are afraid it will start raining again so off we went.

The small pond on the way to Perch

Kelley was happy for the water

Flowers are gone but I found a nice silvery fern

 and some interesting fungi

Perch Pond

Kelley did not go in far and did not stay in ??

Back at the small pond on our way out

A dreary day but we got in an hour and three quarters and Kelley did well - no lagging behind and enthusiastic, especially when we met two of the bikers who were blowing leaves off the trails

10/26/16 DeMeritt Forest and Stillwater River

Gray, 40 degrees and neither of us was excited about hiking but decided we needed to do at least a short one.

Start- looking more wintry than fall-like

but the rain put a little water in the stream

Whats left of the color

After we did a short loop we went across the road to the Stillwater River

Looking north

Real water for Kelley

looking for a way out -parts of the bank are steep for her

Looking south down the river

Going back there is a small cove I walk around

 and Kelley swims across

 The spot she usually gets out had lots of leaves and branches so she found a nicer spot.

Not bad for a 1 hour hike - I am thinking of trying shorter hikes every day rather than longer every other day. Kelley did well today. She doesn't really care if it's gray and dreary 

10/24/16 Partridge and Ducktail Ponds

After several days of rain - not enough to help the drought - we have 40's , windy, and a mix of sun and clouds. Felt like winter was on the way.

Sunny start with most leaves on the ground

The small streams were still dry but Kelley found a puddle

Tiny pine ( 8") with buds- had not seen this before

Partridge Pond - most of the color is gone

From the end

From the ledge where we had our apple break

One last dip before we head to Ducktail

A bigger puddle on the trail

 Ducktail Pond

A bit nippy, especially next to the ponds with the wind coming off the water, but still a good hike. Kelley did very well with no lagging behind and lots of energy. We had the place to ourselves. 1 3/4 hours

10/19/16 Little River Trail

Another beautiful day - low 70's, sunny, and a light breeze. Kelley was not overly enthusiastic so we did a little shorter hike than we usually do here.


Near the start of the trail

  First chance at the water

 Along the trail

Another place to get in

Leaves on the ground

Near where we turned around

 More leaves and pine needles

Last swim

After a slow start Kelley did well and was happy with the water being deeper than most places we have been lately. We have several days of rain predicted and hope they are correct this time - it is supposed to raining as I write but is not.   1  1/2 hours 

10/17/16 Eliot Mt. and Harbor Brook

Beautiful hiking day - 60's and sunny with only a slight breeze.

The summit of Eliot is wooded and offers no views but there is a bit of a view from a ledge near the top.

Last time we took the new trail- not on the map- but today we went to the top before taking the trail down to the brook

The brook was quite low

so Kelley had to look for pools

Leaves on the water were pretty

 and some pretty fungi - new to me

  More water

On the ride home.

Turned out to be a good day. Kelley was enthusiastic and did well. We met a couple of people with dogs ( we rarely see anyone on this hike) and that also pleased her.  1 3/4 hours