7/19/14 Little Long Pond

Another beautiful day- sunny and 70's and about 3 deer flies the whole hike - I only had to get one of them off of Kelley.

Obligatory shot of the pond after coming down the Friends Path

On the meadow section the grass had grown quite high

There were still lots of wet and muddy sections from the recent rains- one spot on the Jordan Stream Trail required a small bushwhack up a hill around a pool of water.

A couple of damselflies and a butterfly- the damsels are usually skittish but the second seemed to be in a staring contest

We stopped at the cobblestone bridge for our apple snack and this was the trail there.

On the east side of the pond we encountered several people and dogs  and walked with some of them most of the way so I didn't get back to pictures 'till near the end of the pond

Pretty good outing. Kelley had lots of water and there were also  people and dogs. She seemed quite happy with all of that.  2  1/2 hours

7/18/14 Marsh Island

Beautiful day- sunny and 70's. Deer flies not as bad as yesterday and some stretches had few or none; again they were more interested in Kelley than me. Plan was to revisit the fields of milkweed to see if monarchs had arrived- the flowers were more open but still no monarchs. Our route is shown above,

Near the start is a pond ( not shown on map) that we visit at both ends of the hike

Some of what we saw

Bug love

Near the end we found some delicious black raspberries

Pretty good hike in spite of the deer flies. We met no one but Kelley seemed not much bothered by the flies and there was water to get into.  2  1/4 hours

7/17/14 Newport-Dover-Foxcroft Rail-Trail

Partly cloudy, 70's, and the rain has stopped. Nice day except for the deer flies. There were sections where there were lots of them and other sections with none or few. They also seemed more interested in Kelley than me, though they mostly buzzed around her rather than landing and biting. We had been in Newport a few days ago and did some of the trail from that end: today we started from the Dover-Foxcroft  end ( the whole trail is 26.5 miles)

Near the start is a bridge that takes you across the Piscataquis River

I think Kelley is trying to figure if she can somehow get down there

We chose this trail hoping it would be fairly dry after all the rain and it was, though there was plenty of water for Kelley beside the trail

There were lots of flowers and creatures

A nice spot for Kelley along the trail

Lots of butterflies today

and more weeds and flowers

Not a very good one, but this years first bee

Good water

and a white moth

Turned out to be a pretty good hike in spite of the deer flies- Kelley was happy to be out of the house and the flies did not seem to bother her as much as it bothered me seeing them around her. 3 hours

7/15/14 and 7/16/14 Stuck at Home

Two days of rain and flash flood warnings- supposed to start clearing tomorrow. We have pretty much been inside except for brief walks around the neighborhood. Kelley sometimes stays out for awhile if the rain is light and I slip out to take a few pictures in the yard.

The seeds said 'marigold'

most looked more traditional

Zinnia not yet open

and one that opened

Morning Glory

and Borage

Tomorrow the challenge will be finding a place to hike that isn't too soggy. Kelley is not worried about that.

7/14/14 Kenduskeag Stream

Hot and very humid. neither of us was very enthusiastic so we just went over to the Kenduskeag ( the trail starts only a couple of miles from home and follows the stream downtown) and walked along it for an hour.

The water was fairly low

But Kelley was able to find pools deep enough to make her happy

Some other things we saw

I have a hard time resisting Queen Anne's Lace

I don't remember noticing burdock in bloom in the past

Japanese Beetles are usually a problem in my garden- this year, so far, I have had none.

And more Queen Anne's Lace

A pleasant hour- we met some nice people and one dog and there were no bugs.