.
I’m still not sure if there are five or six baby woodchucks but the little scampers are definitely on the move.
.
.
It seems that every window you look out, there’s a chuck.
.
.
The little guys are little. Here’s a grey squirrel for comparison.
.
.
Some of them wander at will, some stay near momma.
.
.
And try to steal her apple chunks.
.
.
Momma is not always pleased.
.
.
As evidenced by that look.
🤣
.
.
The final section of my cliff walk saga ( but not the entire stroll) contains a monument.
.
.
Which, considering it’s in Maine…. is perfectly fitting.
.
.
I’ve known two lobsterman who lost their lives to the ocean. One was fishing alone and had his leg caught in a skein line. It dragged him overboard and he was drowned at 20 years old. The other went out one morning to haul traps and never came back. The sea claims its own.
.
.
Around the memorial?
.
.
A park we never knew existed, which ironically was the actual entrance to the cliff walk we’d inadvertently found. Never let it be said we don’t do things backwards.
.
.
Oh look.. an informational plaque the husband had to read.
.
.
Not that it wasn’t fascinating history…
.
.
But I prefer to wander and explore. You never know what you’ll find.
.
.
This time it was a heartfelt memorial bench. I love these and have often thought if my husband passes before me I’m going to donate one somewhere.
.
.
This saying would be perfect, as he truly is my rock as well.
.
.
One more clump of wild beach roses.
.
.
A final look back…
.
.
And we returned to the beach where we started.
A fabulous walk through a truly scenic area. If you’re ever in York Maine don’t miss it.
.
.
We’ve had a lot of afternoon rain showers lately and with them comes rainbows.
.
.
Too cloudy for a complete one, but with rainbows… half is just as sweet.
.
.
Required photos of Lord Dudley Mountcatten.
.
.
Seen here taking a bath with his blue whale.
.
.
Round two of flowers for the new stone garden bed out back. Fingers crossed the woodchucks don’t like them.
.
.
Family size my ever expanding *ss. These packages get smaller all the time. And if you haven’t tried the toffee flavor? Run to the store before I buy them all out from under you.
.
.
Foreground – fox.
Background – duck.
They seem to be friends now.
🙂
.
.
Not all the sections of the cliff walk are on a cliff, some wind around overgrown trees and shrubs in front of empty houses.
.
.
Most of the houses take their privacy seriously with thick stone walls.
.
.
One even wanted to be a castle.
.
.
And talk about discouraging visitors. Can you see it?
.
.
Look closely.
.
.
It’s a cannon.
If that doesn’t scare away the Jehovah Witnesses nothing will.
.
.
Nearing the beach from which we originally entered, we caught glimpses of the ocean again.
.
.
And a few more stone walls.
.
.
This time with iron fencing.
.
.
Ah….
.
.
Views like this always lower my blood pressure.
To be continued….
.
.
Junior chuck is still here and momma still tolerates his presence even though she has a new batch of children.
.
.
This is surprising and has never happened before.
.
.
She usually kicks the kids to the curb as soon as they can fend for themselves.
.
.
But Junior persists. Though like every adult child who lives in the basement, I’m sure he gets on her nerves now and then.
.
.
.
Walking through the tree tunnel….
.
.
Brings you to a little beach entrance…
.
.
And a beautiful home at the end of the trail.
.
.
The path simply stopped. It dead ended and other than strolling across someone’s lawn, our only option was to turn around.
.
.
With a last look at a perfectly placed hammock…
.
.
We headed back the way we came and as always… noticed different things.
.
.
The husband was mesmerized by this gravity defying stone and had to investigate.
.
.
No adhesive, no bolts.
.
.
Just the perfect combination of natural depressions and angles.
.
.
Back on the path…
.
.
I took time to love me some rocks.
.
.
The striations, the colors.
.
The wind blown ruined hairdo…
.
.
It was all good.
.
.
I do love my rocks.
.
.
Quirky windswept trees have so much character.
.
.
But watching where we were stepping became important in places. I don’t think this trail has been repaired for decades.
.
.
If you ever visit Maine you have to do one of the cliff walks. It’s a truly fabulous way to experience our coast up close and personal.
.
.
Rugged, rocky and glorious.
.
.
You won’t find many straight sandy beaches here and that’s just fine with me.
.
.
Windswept and craggy is more my style. Look at that house! Pure perfection.
.
.
If you don’t mind a little wind.
.
.
The cliff walk is well named as you’re basically walking along the edge of a cliff.
.
.
Some sections are wider than others but the views are all the same.
Beautiful.
.
.
Was I in rock heaven?
.
.
You betcha!
.
.
I know it’s hard to tell but this is a photo of a bald eagle fishing the ocean.
.
.
Such majestic creatures.
.
.
Around this next bend was a beach.
.
.
And nice we ducked through the trees…
.
.
To be continued…
.
.
After the pretty but oh so short Fisherman’s Walk path, we knew there had to be more to see so we continued onto the beach.
.
.
Reaching the curve….
.
.
We found another path.
.
.
Knowing it wasn’t a continuation of our first walk but eager to explore new ground… we kept going.
.
.
Past some fragrant wild beach roses.
.
.
And up some large stone steps.
.
.
Through some root bound trees.
.
.
Where we caught glimpses of the ocean. Some of the walking was treacherous, but I’d figured out that we were on another of my bucket list trails – the York Cliff Walk – so we sucked it up and hiked.
.
.
Nice.
Tell us when we’re already committed.
.
.
To be continued…
.
.
It’s Japanese Iris season at Casa River and I couldn’t be happier.
.
.
While I’ve never been a fan of the fleshy full size irises that always hump their monstrous rhizome roots out of the ground… I adore their smaller less arrogant cousins.
.
.
Daintier, more delicate and frankly less look at me darling, aren’t I gawgous!… they’re a lovely pop of perennial purple.
.
.
Number two rhododendron is now in full bloom though not nearly as full as it’s neighbor. Why this should be is a question that stumps gardeners everywhere. Same soil, same sun exposure yet one is always bigger and better. Personally I think Mother Nature just likes to keep us guessing.
And if you’re wondering what the woodchucks have been chewing this week ?
.
.
The toothy little buggers are eating marigolds!.
Marigolds!
The plant so disgusting no one will eat them. I don’t even like the silly things but have been putting them in my pots on the barn porch simply for the woodchuck gag factor. I thought they’d be safe.
I was wrong.
Very wrong.
.
.
Still working my way down the There are so many wonderful places to see in Maine I fear I won’t live long enough bucket list… we headed south to York.
.
.
Fisherman’s Walk is beautiful… but let me tell you it’s not easy to find. Punching the address in GPS brought us to someone’s private driveway. Backing up, we turned around multiple times, then turned around some more…. searching in vain for signage. How bad was it? The husband was so frustrated he stopped and asked a stranger.
Trust me, that’s bad!
The local man pointed us down a hill but said we couldn’t park there. Of course not, that would have been too easy. Turning around again, we found parking, but it was permitted for residents only. By this time my husband had lost all enthusiasm for the experience, but I do not admit defeat easily. Circling around again scored us a free spot… and vindication for me. Though we still had to hike back up a hill and down another hill to find what we’d come to see.
.
.
A scenic coastal walking path.
.
.
Make that a poop free scenic coastal walking path. My very favorite kind.
.
.
Lobster boats were plentiful.
And look…
.
.
Now that we were actually on the path?
A sign for the path.
Never let it be said the state of Maine doesn’t have a sense of humor.
.
.
I didn’t know what to expect, so the chances of being disappointed were slim.
.
.
But it was a gloriously cool sunny day, so off we went.
.
.
Past private piers…
.
.
And hilltop homes.
And then? Nothing.
It ended.
We had driven an hour and a half for a 3 minute walk and I was getting some serious stink eye from my spouse.
Refusing to believe it, I kept walking. Past a high fence. Across a road. By a marina. Across another road. Past some tennis courts. Through a parking lot. Until I found…
.
.
A beach.
To be continued…..
.
River's world..... 