9/13/14 Downtown

Overcast and 42 with a forecast of rain when we got up. Decided to go downtown and maybe get some urban pictures for a little change. I stalled but it was still in the lower 50's when we got downtown. I let Kelley pick the route and she headed right for the Kenduskeag Stream Trail which starts downtown. At the start the banks are very high and steep but she knows the spots a bit further on where she can get to the water and that's where we went. After a couple of trips down to the water ( I screwed up those pictures) we turned back . She still wanted to stay by the stream and I got one picture where the trail crosses the road by an insurance agency.

Stargazer Lily

Not much of a hike but we did meet several friendly people who gave Kelley some attention and that made her happy along with the water. 

9/12/14 Black Mt. Cliffs

Another beautiful hiking day- mostly sunny with temps in the  upper 50's to lower 60's. Also a bit breezy. I don't think this map contains all the trails and has always been a bit confusing to me.

Near the start

This trail starts just out of the parking lot as you head toward the beach. The first part is a nice woods walk

but soon becomes much more rigorous - steep with many sections of large rocks to get over.

Kelley had several work around's and one place she needed a hand. Once you reach the ridge it becomes an easy and pretty trail

with some views

The trail down the other side is a nice woods path without the rocks and less steep.

When we got to the beach we thought we had it to ourselves

 but when we walked to the end we met a lone woman camper sitting at a table reading. Because of the wind there were very small waves but Kelley does not like waves of any size and so didn't get very excited about the pond

We had a little lunch and then headed up the path to the parking area. A nice hike  2 hours

9/11/14 City Forest

Gray day in the 60's with rain forecast so we went to the forest to get in a hike before it started.

These are some of the things we saw- we had a pretty good breeze so I had to find things in sheltered spots .

Turned out to be a nice hike for Kelley as we met several friendly dogs, including two of Kelley's friends- Homer and Cadie. Many of the small pools of water have dried up but she had the beaver pond and then water along the old rail bed. We did get rain after our hike but I don't know if enough to make a difference for Kelley. 2 hours

9/10/14 Sheepscot Headwaters Trails

Another good hiking day. It was forecast to be clear but by the time we got to the trails it was mostly cloudy but 59 degrees when we started and 67 at the finish. This is a newer map with numbers referring to the trails instead of them being named. I will try to find one of the older maps for next time.

We started up the Whitten Hill Trail - #2

This was a short climb to the Northern Headwaters Trail - #1 which for the part we hiked runs along the top of the hill and is,  I think, one of the prettier trails. There are old stone fences running through the woods.

We turned of onto the Hemlock Hollow Trail - #11  - more pretty woods

from that we took the Hogback Connector to the  Bog Brook Trail - #3 - I knew we would find water where the trail turned north.

and that around to the Whitten  Hill Trail  where we stopped for a water break. There are usually several boggy places and streams on this hike but many were dry today.

In a field near the end of the hike I spotted this beautiful butterfly- had not seen any in several days. I only got one shot before it flew away so I couldn't get a picture unobstructed by grass.

This turned out to be a very nice hike with the mild temps- and the bugs seem to be gone for this year. . We met no one and Kelley was enthusiastic throughout.  2  1/2 hours 

9/9/14 Tanglewood

Beautiful sunny day- 57 degrees when we started and 65 at the finish- ideal. The bright sun and shady woods made exposures difficult in these very pretty woods. We followed the route shown on the map and only met one other person. Kelley was very enthusiastic- we hadn't been here in awhile and she likes different. There was also lots of water. She could not always get into the river but there are also several small streams to cross.

Pictures of the trails and the Ducktrap River

A very nice hike- 3  1/4 hours 

Garden for Kim

Kim asked for some garden pics. These are quick and dirty and the garden is turning brown as our season is almost over.


Along the drive are pots of peppers and eggplants, tomatoes, cukes, ankdkale in the ground. growing up the garage are winter and an Italian squash. Not shown are potted herbs by the front door and more squash on the top of the lawn.

In back a larger bed of kale with pole beans at the end of the bed and some tomatoes behind

Summer squash and more beans and tomatoes in the beds, peppers and Asian vegetables in pots on the deck. The raised structure at the end of the deck is various salad greens

As I said,  kind of ratty looking end of season. 

9/8/14 City Forest

A nice cool sunny day. I had lots of garden chores and didn't want to spend a lot of time driving so we went to nearby City Forest.

Heading down to the pond

After the pond Kelley showed no interest in going further. I decided she was wanting some rest and we went home. I got a lot of what I wanted to do done and she rested.