4/29/11 Gorham and the Ocean Path

A beautiful sunny day with temps around 70. The reward for making it through another Maine winter. We decide that the loop from Sand Beach to Gorham and back on the Ocean Path would be not too muddy. We also did a small detour to the Bowl so Kelley could have a real swim. She was happy about that and all the other water she was able to get into. We met lots of friendly people ( everyone was taking advantage of the day) and a couple of dogs.

The Beehive from the Bowl Trail


Gorham Summit



Coming down the other side toward the ocean




Along the Ocean Path




When we got back to Sand Beach where we had parked we went down to the beach. Kelley like to run on it but does not like the waves. There is, however, a freshwater stream that runs into the ocean and she swam in that.

Some sea plants




One side of the cove that encloses the beach



A really nice day. 2-3/4 hours

4/27/11 Around Town

Still rainy so we spent an hour exploring downtown. Spring flowers are finally showing. Kelley enjoys areas she hasn't been to because there are lots of new things to sniff.



Some new shoots


I don't know what this is

4/25/11 Sarge's House

A beautiful day. Decided on combination easy day for Kelley and work in the garden for me. We walked around the neighborhood a bit in the morning and then I started work in the garden. Sarge ( one of Kelley's favorites -when we pass his house and he's not outside Kelley plants herself on their lawn and cries) and his owner were out for a walk and came up to see Kelley and then we arranged a play date for a little later. They play well together and there was even a marsh behind their property so Kelley also got into the water. Very contrasty light, grass not yet in, and rambuctious dogs made it hard to photograph them.





Sarge was actually still for a brief time


Destroying a toy purchased this morning


Taking a break

4/24/11 Bangor

A walk around Bangor ( still going easy for Kelley).A beautiful sunny day with lots of friendly people about for Kelley to meet along with a couple of dogs. She even got into the river for a real swim--she hasn't been in water deep enough to actually swim in for some time--which made her very happy. A nice 1 1/2 hour walk.

4/23/11 Belfast

Cold gray morning with rain in the forecast. We had an easy day for Kelley yesterday with just a short walk around the neighborhood and then she lay in the sun and watched me clean gutters and garden beds. We decide to go to the town of Belfast and explore today. We walked along the waterfront and through the town and Kelley met several people and one other dog.

4/21/11 Orono

Because we got more rain yesterday we decided to skip the mud and walk around Orono instead. A cool day with lots of clouds but some sun. We walked down to the river and walked along that until we discovered some trails of the Orono Land Trust we had not know about and decide to explore them. As expected there was a good deal of water and mud. There were also no maps and we just wandered, not being sure where we were, until we came back to the river and then figured out which way to walk--the wrong way would have taken us to Old Town rather than back to Orono. All of this resulted in a longer than planed hike which I hope wasn't too much for Kelly. 2 1/4 hours.

4/19/11 Northeast Penjajawoc Preserve and Veazie Railbed

Kelley has had a problem with pain in her legs and lots of bad weather has combined to limit us to walks in the neighborhood or downtown. Kelley is feeling better and we had mostly sunny skies so it was back to the woods ( nearby). We walked through the preserve to the old Veazie rail bed and walked that until there was too much water to cross and we turned back.

Kelley was happy to be in the woods and lost no time taking advantage of the wet conditions ( and again not posing for me)



These leaves managed to stay on the tree all winter



This looked like very old barbed wire


A nice if somewhat soggy 1 1/2 hour walk

4/8/11 Canon Brook

A sunny cloudless day. We chose Canon Brook because it's mostly flat. Started from Rte 3 trail head and took it to the A. Murray Young which we did only the part we planned on doing before returning the way we had come.


Pond near start of the trail


Canon Brook had only small patches of snow




The A. Murray Young is a very pretty trail that closely follows a stream


More lichen


The A. Murray Young still had had a surprising amount of snow


There comes a point on this trail that is very difficult for Kelley ( large rocks to climb) and we turned back as we neared the rocks


Lichen and some leaves peaking through the snow





Kelly crossing Canon Brook on the way back


Odd bark




Another pond near end/start of trail

4/7/11

A sunny but cold morning for a walk around downtown Bangor. Kelley enjoys these walks because there are LOTS of things to sniff and she gets to meet people. She was still a little gimpy after yesterdays hike so this was an easy day.


Along the riverfront


An old fire alarm box

4/6/11 Norumbega Mountain

A very nice day- low 40's and mostly sunny. The trail was mostly clear with some stretches of snow and of water. We hiked from the end of Hadlock Pond Rd. to a bit beyond the summit where the Goat Trail heads down the mountain and then retraced our route back.





Tried to get a picture of Kelley at the summit cairn but , as usual, she was not into posing.