Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Hows the Weather ?

Its what you talk about with your neighbors or your less intimate co-workers. Well , this year , I think we all actually have had a real reason to talk about it with anyone who will listen. What freakin` crazy weather! ...we barely had a summer and then when summer hit , we have florida-like thunderstorms every night that I get out of work. In Wethersfield Conn. there was even a tornado.. a freaken TORNADO!!!! , in CT !!!

Early spring , when it was more like late winter or fall weather ,it rained every freakin weakend , and now it rains every evening just when I get out of work . Did I mention that already ?
I only wrote this to chronicle this years wacky weather for future contemplation when Global Warming turns the midwest into a desert.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Maine

We went to Hallowell Maine , stayed at the MAPLE HILL FARM BED & BREAKFAST INN ...A great place to stay , great Innkeeper Scott went out of his way to make our stay enjoyable.

Sat , we kinda got rained out , we stayed at a cheap motel in Lewiston Maine on friday night , and on sat made our way towards Augusta. In between the drizzle , we hit Pine tree Aboretum and did a nice walk appx 1.25 mile thru beautiful trails with marked foliage exhibits, including rock gardens , lilacs , rhodendrum , numberous stree species , due to the rain we had to avoid stepping on the hundreds and hundreds of snails underfoot.

We did another 2 miles at Kennebec river trail , walking along a rail trail next to the river.

We then check in to our bed and breakfast , waved to the chickens and cows as we rolled up the driveway -
On the property is a mile or so walk thru the woods and fields to Jimmys Pond , which I intended to kayak this weekend. We made it about 3/4 of the way , GPS in hand tracking every move , until it got too mucky and mosquito infested , so we had to turn around. We then drove to Jimmys Pond and confirmed that this will make for a great kayak trip thru remote and quiet pond areas. We added a few more bug bites during this visit as well.

Hallowell happened to have a parade and block party of sorts , as well as fireworks which we enjoyed after a thai-sushi dinner at Cafe Bangcock...Good food , horrible service.

Sunday - Togus Pond - Incredible day of Kayaking - we did about 4 hours here , also tracked via gps and saved - We saw a few BALD EAGLES flying overhead, incredibly beautiful birds , We spied them with our binoculars to confirm identity. I also saw what I believe to have been a mink , sunning himself on an exposed rock ....startled by my sudden appearance , scooted and dove into the water. That was my first water mammal sighting.

Later , we hit Lake St George Park and did some sunning , swimming and reading.

Sunday night , went to a irish bar/restaurant , downtown hallowell for a few drinks and a pretty good meal. Lori actually had a beer sampler and of course , Shepherds Pie.
Monday , early morning after another great breakfast , we checked out and ...we kayaked jimmys pond , about an hour and half ...went all the way thru to little jimmys and thru a stream to a portage area to get to hutchinson pond. We werent feeling Portage today as I had us lined up to go to the beach. Another day of no fish catching for me but we did see a fellow fisherman catch what looked to me like a pickerel ...I told them that the knowledge that they confirmed that there were fish in these waters didn`t necessarily please me.
I took us down some scenic roads along the river towards the shoreline. We went to Popham beach in Bath , Me ...Low tide had exposed 1/4 mile of beach on all sides. Maine beaches are wierd...there was water on multiple sides of us...we climbed the rock jetty mountains for a beautiful view... walking along the water , really really cold water (yes I went in ...It was invigorating though it left you breathless) we saw birds dive bombing into the water for fish...It was very cool to watch...I still haven`t figured out what type of birds they were but they were much cooler than sea gulls.
A nice drive home ...perfect driving weather and here I am , typing my journal.