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Mother Nature is putting on her own fireworks show at Casa River.
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And while it’s not the true red, white and blue of the Fourth…
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Pink and purple are close enough for me.
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The Japanese irises are still in bloom and the peonies are starting to pop.
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They’re truly gorgeous blooms and smell divine with a rich heady fragrance.
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Happy holidays from my garden to yours!
❤️
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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.
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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.
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Next up?
The mobile boot.
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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.
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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.
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The funny part is, there’s really nothing there. Just the sign, an old farm… and well, yes.
Cow shit.
🤣
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Why is it every time I clean the windows?
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A drive by birding. It’s like they wait for the Windex…
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Yes. That is actually the McDonalds in Freeport, Maine.
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Another reason I love my state.
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Do not try to remove His Lordship’s catnip. There will be consequences… and most likely, blood.
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Rain. The husband’s car. And a woodchuck staying dry.
Enough said.
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Rain means rainbows.
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And we’ve certainly had our share lately.
❤️
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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.
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I was still in my pj’s at 7:00am so I watched the crew tear up our driveway from the windows.
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It’s quite a process, driveway replacement. And though I never paid much attention to it being done elsewhere…
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When it’s literally right on your kitchen doorstep? It’s a bit more interesting.
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First step? Heavy equipment to rip up the old tar.
Think Tonka trucks for adults.
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The backhoe made short work of our old cracked and rutted pavement.
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And while the machine operators were busy, there was a lot of down time for the laborers.
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Every section that was ripped up had to be loaded into trucks and hauled away.
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There was a crew of 5.
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And by 9:00 am they had most of it torn up.
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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.
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To be continued….
In minute and excruciating detail. You know the drill.
😉
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The Wiggly Bridge is correctly named. Though I might add wobbly, swaying and creaking to the title.
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Once you cross it, you’re on the protected side of a preserve.
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Quiet, peaceful and quintessentially Maine.
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So we walked.
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Into the woods.
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It was basically just a small loop trail that skirted the coast in sections.
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And before long we were back at the beginning.
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Wiggling and wobbling.
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A closer look at the motion.
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Even my husband enjoyed it enough to take pictures.
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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.
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The fact that it’s pointing in the opposite direction did not surprise me one bit.
🤣
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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.
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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.
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Onward…
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Not knowing what to expect around the next corner we almost missed the path as it goes right in front of someone’s house.
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Around the bend, a boardwalk.
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And past that a causeway.
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That leads to a nature preserve.
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It was a lovely section.
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And we really picked a perfect day to do it. Clear blue skies and temperatures in the low 70’s.
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At the end of the causeway was a locally famous bridge.
A famous, and as it turns out aptly named bridge.
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To be continued….
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I’m still not sure if there are five or six baby woodchucks but the little scampers are definitely on the move.
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It seems that every window you look out, there’s a chuck.
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The little guys are little. Here’s a grey squirrel for comparison.
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Some of them wander at will, some stay near momma.
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And try to steal her apple chunks.
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Momma is not always pleased.
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As evidenced by that look.
🤣
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The final section of my cliff walk saga ( but not the entire stroll) contains a monument.
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Which, considering it’s in Maine…. is perfectly fitting.
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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.
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Around the memorial?
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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.
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Oh look.. an informational plaque the husband had to read.
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Not that it wasn’t fascinating history…
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But I prefer to wander and explore. You never know what you’ll find.
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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.
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This saying would be perfect, as he truly is my rock as well.
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One more clump of wild beach roses.
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A final look back…
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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.
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We’ve had a lot of afternoon rain showers lately and with them comes rainbows.
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Too cloudy for a complete one, but with rainbows… half is just as sweet.
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Required photos of Lord Dudley Mountcatten.
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Seen here taking a bath with his blue whale.
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Round two of flowers for the new stone garden bed out back. Fingers crossed the woodchucks don’t like them.
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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.
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Foreground – fox.
Background – duck.
They seem to be friends now.
🙂
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Not all the sections of the cliff walk are on a cliff, some wind around overgrown trees and shrubs in front of empty houses.
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Most of the houses take their privacy seriously with thick stone walls.
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One even wanted to be a castle.
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And talk about discouraging visitors. Can you see it?
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Look closely.
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It’s a cannon.
If that doesn’t scare away the Jehovah Witnesses nothing will.
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Nearing the beach from which we originally entered, we caught glimpses of the ocean again.
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And a few more stone walls.
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This time with iron fencing.
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Ah….
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Views like this always lower my blood pressure.
To be continued….
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River's world..... 