There are numerous reasons I love my state… the natural beauty, the lobsters, the rocky coast, the ferocious change of seasons, the plethora of craft beer… but this time of year?
Lupine is at the top of my list.
Fields upon fields of gorgeous purple blooms on spikes.
.
.
What’s not to love?
If the damn woodchucks didn’t love them as much as I do, our field could be full of glorious purple too.
.
.
Next up?
The mobile boot.
.
.
Maine is famous for L.L. Bean, and L.L. Bean is famous for it’s waterproof boot. So naturally the boot has to take to the road. It’s currently on a summer tour. Keep your eyes peeled…. it could be coming to your town soon.
.
.
My town seems to be having an issue with runaway chickens lately. They can’t all be curious about crossing the road.
And last but certainly not least?
An infamous Maine landmark. Seriously, tourists drive for miles to have their picture taken under this sign.
.
.
The funny part is, there’s really nothing there. Just the sign, an old farm… and well, yes.
Bright and early in the morning it started… and I’m sure the neighbors were thrilled. Good thing they’re far away because nothing about this project is going to be quiet.
.
.
I was still in my pj’s at 7:00am so I watched the crew tear up our driveway from the windows.
.
.
It’s quite a process, driveway replacement. And though I never paid much attention to it being done elsewhere…
.
.
When it’s literally right on your kitchen doorstep? It’s a bit more interesting.
.
.
First step? Heavy equipment to rip up the old tar.
Think Tonka trucks for adults.
.
.
The backhoe made short work of our old cracked and rutted pavement.
.
.
And while the machine operators were busy, there was a lot of down time for the laborers.
.
.
Every section that was ripped up had to be loaded into trucks and hauled away.
.
.
There was a crew of 5.
.
.
And by 9:00 am they had most of it torn up.
.
.
Of course the truck has to drive half an hour to the pit to dump it, and then half an hour back…. so again, lots of down time.
.
.
To be continued….
In minute and excruciating detail. You know the drill.
I know the easy joke would be my husband! but while his years are steadily advancing… he’s not nearly as old as this fascinating carved crystal oddity passed down from my father.
.
.
It’s a bit of a weirdo and though we’ve tried repeatedly over the years, we’ve never been able to positively identify it.
Heck, we even took it to Sotheby’s in NYC a decade ago and if their experts were stumped? It may just have to remain a mystery.
.
.
My paternal grandfather was a world traveler in the late 1800’s and brought this back from Egypt. It hung in my grandparent’s house, my parent’s house and now it hangs in mine. The family lore said it was ancient Egyptian but Sothebys said no, the skull was not used iconographically back then. They did think it could be early Coptic, and as they are the direct descendants… I suppose that’s close enough.
( Historical context. Copts believe themselves to be the descendants of Egypt’s ancient Pharaonic people. They were first converted to Christianity with the arrival of St Mark in Egypt in 62 CE. Egypt became part of the Byzantine Empire in 395 CE, and the Egyptian Church was separated from the Christian community in 451. )
.
.
The famous auction house said the metal work was added later and in its present form could have been used as a talisman for pirates.
How cool is that?
.
.
We never even bothered to ask what it was worth… which in hindsight was rather stupid. But no matter, it’s part of my father’s history and would never be for sale.
The Wiggly Bridge is correctly named. Though I might add wobbly, swaying and creaking to the title.
.
.
Once you cross it, you’re on the protected side of a preserve.
.
.
Quiet, peaceful and quintessentially Maine.
.
.
So we walked.
.
.
Into the woods.
.
.
It was basically just a small loop trail that skirted the coast in sections.
.
.
And before long we were back at the beginning.
.
.
Wiggling and wobbling.
.
.
A closer look at the motion.
.
.
Even my husband enjoyed it enough to take pictures.
.
.
So ended our day of confused hiking. We may not have started at the right spots for either walk but we thoroughly enjoyed them both.
I did have to laugh as we departed the bridge. Walking up the road to our car…with the wiggly wobbler behind us and to the left … we finally saw a sign directing us to it.
.
.
The fact that it’s pointing in the opposite direction did not surprise me one bit.
I woke up the other day to a strange man spray painting something in front of our house. And I’m glad I didn’t go running outside in my pajamas screaming like a crazy woman because it seems that roadside graffiti is part of our driveway repair package.
.
.
Labbe is the name of the company we contracted to do the work. And if that little tag wasn’t bad enough?
.
.
The next day Dig Safe showed up and added their colorful response.
I’m really tempted to go out and add something myself.
.
.
But I doubt this generation would even understand it.
If you remember… my husband and I started our coastal trek searching for Fisherman’s Walk which I thought was entirely too short. As we finished the York Cliff Walk and headed back to our car we realized the walk was too short because we’d literally started in the middle of it.
.
.
These trails are not well marked and it wouldn’t surprise me to find locals sitting on their porches laughing at the tourist’s confusion. Winters are long, we have to get our jollies somewhere.
.
.
Onward…
.
.
Not knowing what to expect around the next corner we almost missed the path as it goes right in front of someone’s house.
.
.
Around the bend, a boardwalk.
.
.
And past that a causeway.
.
.
That leads to a nature preserve.
.
.
It was a lovely section.
.
.
And we really picked a perfect day to do it. Clear blue skies and temperatures in the low 70’s.
.
.
At the end of the causeway was a locally famous bridge.
River's world..... 