So it has been over a year since I've posted here. So very much has happened. Christine moved back to Los Angeles, I became part of an amazing writer's group in Casco, I moved back to Lewiston and left the beautiful Bridgton behind, I almost lost my sweet Jezzy due to a vet over-medicating her for a flea problem, later I did lose my bird, Joey, my loving Cockatiel that I had for about 17 years, and his tiny body still lies frozen in my freezer until the ground thaws and I can find a place to bury his tiny body. I still miss him and love him. My truck died on me one day and I was without it for close to a month, and then it cost an arm and a leg to pay for the repairs and unfortunately it's still not right. It used to run smooth and quiet, and now its neither.  I will get it fixed correctly soon I hope. So a lot has been happening in my life in the past year. I have not been taking photos like i should be, i have not been writing like i should be, I've been fighting a bit of depression I'm sure. Having a hard time getting up and making myself do anything other than sit in front of the computer which i know is not good for me. I've been changing my eating habits and trying to eat even healthier than i was and its paying off as I've lost close to 7 lbs in the last few months. Course the fact that i now live on the third floor and have to go up and down stairs sometimes multiple times a day helps too ... gives me some exercise.

So a while back i was going to start writing here again, but forgot my login information and just as i was retrieving it is when my bird passed away ... so it was forgotten again for a while.  And now i need to do this again .. so bear with me .. i will try to find a recent photo that i can post with this ... but it's been a while. Now we are at the end of winter and its not very pretty out there right now. Maybe soon ... when the grass is green again and the flowers are blooming and there is a warm breeze in the air. But for now ... there is this:


I took this in January and it was in the late afternoon, in Gray ... and there was this red barn with the bare tree branches in the background and the sun setting. It's been a bare winter and I'm glad its coming to an end.

I very seldom dream, or if i do, don't remember them, but this morning i dreamed!!  It was in color ... fantastic color, and just an amazing place that was still in the last stages of development. Something like a mall, a HUGE mall that was more like Disneyland i think. I was there with some people, not sure who they were now, but people i know, including Christine (actually she is the only one i really remember other than Jillian one of the trainers on 'The Biggest Loser' reality show)  .... so we were in this area of office type rooms, and it appeared that one of those offices was to be mine, but not quite finished yet.  Everything inside the rooms was kind of a muted light tan color, like the color of sand, kind of boring really.  So we left the offices and WOW !!!! Splashes of exotic color everywhere from the walls to the floors.  The floor tiles were so artistic that i hated to walk on them.  They were in an abstract pattern, kind of like colored squigglys ... but gorgeous!  .... so we walked out and saw a balcony .... and a staircase, so we proceeded down the staircase which was lined with small intricate carvings that just invited you to run your hands over and feel the texture and sculpture.... they just lined the whole side of the wall of the staircase and it seemed every where were these amazing carvings .... i just loved them.  Down stairs was the open area of a new restaurant ... one wall being almost entirely open with just a short retaining wall to delineate where the restaurant began.  There was people in there working, restaurant workers ... and the tables were all there but covered up with linens .... as they were not open for business .... we approached and someone, a woman, who i took to be the hostess asked if she could help us and i said "Yes, we'll have a table for two please" and she got a look of dismay on her face and started to say the restaurant was not open for business yet, and i said yes, i know, just joking.  .... So we continued on ... to this area that had like bumping cars ... only the cars were like small wooden sheds .. about the width of a small park bench so you get the idea ... and one person would man each one .. Christine ran to one of the smaller sized ones and said she was riding that one as she had ridden one before... you gave a name for it but for the life of me i can't remember it now.  It was painted with a white background and had all sorts of colorful flowers and other garden/forest things painted on it .. not looking real, but really pretty.  So i went and climbed in one also..... and the ride started ... it started out slowly and instead of it being one large round hall where people bumped into one another ... this was a ride where you followed a trail of sorts .. it was like a road.. so off we went and it was fun, bumpy at times and it twisted and twirled ... going downwards and came to another level ... and here is where my 'pod' began to have trouble ... for some reason it seemed to be lagging and when the ride operators (one of the Jillian from the tv show) said i needed to get it back up to the top so they could fix it .... so i rode it back up and she met me up there, on the way i noticed some money and notes lying on the seat .... at first i was going to pocket the dollars, but then realized it was tips left by the previous riders .. so gathered up the notes and money and when i got to the top, gave it to Jillian. She then was messing with some coins and put them in a small pouch and tossed it to me .... to put in the pod and i asked her what that was for and she said it was change in case someone didn't want to leave a whole dollar.  (seems silly but that was the dream) So then i got out while the mechanic was looking at it and there were a few people in an office  ..... and there was this small (i don't know what to call it ... a scene) sitting on a table ... it was a layout of a small town in winter ... and above it was a series of rings that the whole diameter of the bottom ring ... sitting above the town was about a foot and a half across and the material the ring was made of was blue and about two inches in diameter ... and about six inches above the bottom ring was another identical one, only it was a few inches smaller in diameter and there were more and they looked like a christmas tree all together .... well Jillian went over and turned it on ... and snow and fog came out of the rings and gently floated down onto the tiny town below..... it was the most amazing thing i've ever seen, really beautiful and now i wish i could make one.  .... then they were telling me that the pod was fixed and i could continue on the ride, only everyone had gone and i'd be doing the ride alone, by myself which takes out most of the fun.  And i then said that you would be wondering where i was and probably worrying as i never showed up at the end of the ride and the cell phones weren't working so i couldn't call you, and figured you'd be having so much fun you wouldn't hear it ring anyway ... so then i said that i'd just walk around to the end of the ride and meet up with you and Jillian said i couldn't ... that the only way to get to the end of it was to take the ride .. no other way to get to the end, and i was worried about you being on the other end, and not being able to contact you, and thinking you might wander off thinking that i had wandered off and that i would not be able to find you and at that point, i woke up!  What a dream....

Ahhhh ... this is amazing .. not only the clothing ... but the scenery ... and its TEXAS!  Maybe moving there will really be a hoot!  And i'll have to go meet this woman who created all this amazing clothes ... nice and comfy plus its romantic looking .. kind of hippie looking and lets face it .. i'm an aging hippie .. love the comfort ... it gives me all kinds of ideas ... go here for the whole website: http://www.magnoliapearl.com/Romantic%20Homes/romantichomes.html# but here are some images from it ... just don't drool too much ... 







... and that's just a couple ... really love this stuff.  I'm all for comfort. 

So i've been noticing that a  lot of photographers are doing the photo a day thing and have been itching to give it a go myself and see what i can come up with ... so ... i'm going to start from the first of this year, but since we're 18 days into it already and i haven't been taking images every day ... i'll put in some that i've taken since the 1st ... some of my favorites and then from today on... do the one a day image.  Sounds like fun. I may even surprise myself at what i come up with some days ... so here goes ... here are some images i've taken since the first of the year:



This was taken down on Freeport Wharf on Jan 7th ... a fisherman's net with a dusting of snow ...



January 11th, sunrise on Long Lake in Bridgton ...



Tuesday Jan 11th at Ricky's Diner in Bridgton - 'Having breakfast with Marilyn' .... I'm adding in a couple of other images from the 11th (how will i ever be able to use just ONE?)



Jan 11th ... Ice fishing with the 'boys' on the lake ... took this image on the way back from Bethel. Then i took a side trip that could have ended up badly ... but luck was with me and it was OK in the long run ... here's the image:



Icy road in the woods ... I need to explain this one ... last fall I looked for and found a nice small water fall and beautiful gorge and grotto off Five Kezar Road in Waterford ... it was about two miles on a paved road before a lake appeared on the right and then right after that, it turned into a one lane dirt road ... then i drove about another mile or so on the dirt road i believe ... well ... i knew i wouldn't be able to get all the way into the woods up to the grotto .. but was curious about the road, and secretly hoped i would have been able to get to the grotto ... believing it would be really beautiful at this time of year.  Well i was boogying down the road at about 35 or 40 mph ... looking for the lake to appear on my right when i turned a corner and HOLY MOTHER OF GOD!!!!  All of a sudden i was out of paved road and on this dirt road which as you can see had snow on it... only the tracks where someone had driven, had melted and re frozen!!!  There is a little bit of sand on it here and there ... but i hit that ice road at about 35 mph ... and with quick thinking realized that if i put my brakes on .. either i'd so sliding sideways or start doing 360's and end up hitting a tree... neither of which was good. So i took my foot off the gas and just held onto the steering wheel and slowly put my foot on the brake and ever so slowly finally came to a stop.... quite a ways into the woods ... but now .. how to get out ... i had to keep going straight till i found a driveway (i knew there were a couple of houses there so wasn't worried about that) ... finally i found one ... but the house was not being lived in so the driveway was not plowed ... well ... i thought i'll pull in anyway and back up onto the road so i can drive out ... ok, good thought .. too bad it didn't work.  It was all ice too and a slight downward slope so when backing up ... i was going on a slight incline .. just enough to make it tough on ice ... and i have studded snow tires on my truck but they don't do much on ice.  So when my rear tires ( i have rear wheel drive) reached the icy road ... they started to just spin out ... not good.  OK, plan 2.  I got out of the truck and started gathering small branches to put under my rear tires for some traction ... (if you look in the photo you can see some branches in the road ... those are the ones i put there) ... well plan 2 didn't work either ... so i was thinking ... i'm stuck .. don't remember the name of the road, so if i even called for help (if my cell phone had service out there) that i wouldn't know where to tell them to go to find me .. good going crockett!  ... so plan 3 ... the driveway i was on was a half moon type ... it went around and came back up to the road .. so my last shot was to go through the circular driveway and get back on the road headed back out .... so i tried that .. i mean how worse could it get .. i was already stuck ... so things could only get better ... and they did after a few anxious moments when i thought i was going to get stuck in the driveway again ... but by putting it in low gear, and driving VERY slow ... i got through it and out onto the road ... and THAT is when i stopped to get a breath and take this photo of the way out ... nice trip.  Sometimes i have too much excitement in my life.  But it keeps my heart beating.  :)    BTW .. that beautiful grotto i was heading to is the same one i walked out on a rock shelf and almost got stuck .. was stuck for a few trying to figure out how i was going to get back to land without ending up in the water.... yeah ... here is a photo of the grotto in the fall ....



Took this photo of the grotto on Sept 10th, and the ledge on the lower right in this photo is the one i walked out onto and then could not get back...it was only about 20 inches wide .. and the wall on the right angles out and up ... i could walk straight in .. but when it came to turning around and coming back .. it didn't work and backing up was not an option either ... i can't remember how i finally got off it, but i did.  Love these moments.  Life is good!





January 12th ... snowstorm "White on White" ... at the house across the street



January 15th ... ducks landing on Highland Stream in Bridgton showing the hoar frost on all the bushes and trees before the sun melts it.



January 17th ... early morning at the stream showing the 'smoke' rising off the water and coating everything in a covering of frost.



Jan 20th ... early morning at Highland Stream ... storm clouds moving in ...





January 20th - OK, so i did not take this photo, but i did upload it off the web. These guys are just fantastic!! This is a working pc and i want it!! I am going to do something to mine and hope it will be half as good at this one. Just amazing ... and here is the link to their website: http://steampunkworkshop.com/ ... make sure you go check it out!!!  Gives me tons of ideas and now i'll be collecting goodies to work with. 



Monday January 24th - Temp was -18 degrees in the morning so i took a photo of frost on the window with the sun coming up in the background.

Now here is where things will start on a new direction ... not my usual landscape images ... but my surroundings ...



I love this saying ... it is written above the doorway that is at the bottom of my stairs so every time i go down the stairs ... it looks me straight in the eye ... thank you Kim for writing it there ... she was the former tenant ... this is a saying to live by.   :)



and here is the naked bulb on the tin ceiling in my hallway ... i really like this apt ... for so many reasons ...  so these last two were the images for today ... Jan 25th. 

Lumby is a fictional town in the North West part of the US. But since it is fictional .. it can be anywhere. It is a series of five books, ( I own all of them) written by Gail Fraser. She and her husband collaborate on the books, she doing the writing and he doing the artwork. The two of them live with their animals on Lazy Goose Farm in rural upstate NY... close enough to Maine.  The books are really wonderful and I love them. It's about the small town of Lumby and the people who live there and the local newspaper called the 'Lumby Lines' .... here in Bridgton we have the Bridgton News. In the Lumby Lines one of the things that is highlighted in the books is the police blog ... and how silly some of the things in it are.  Well ... welcome to my Lumby .... here is the police blotter in this weeks newspaper;

These items appeared on the Bridgton Police Department blotter (this is a partial listing.)
Tuesday, November 2: 6:40 p.m. A 46 year-old man from Bridgton was charged by a Maine State Police trooper with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant.
Wednesday, November 3: 8:34 a.m. A caller reported finding a 35-mile per hour speed sign on her front lawn on Warren St.
1:17 p.m. A caller reported a moose that had been killed and left at the top of Monk Road. The matter was referred to the Maine Warden Service.
Thursday, November 4: 5:04 p.m. An open window was reported at a house on Maple Street.
Friday, November 5: 6:07 p.m. A caller reported a male subject in the roadway and walking from side to side on Harrison Road near the church. The caller said he almost hit him with his car. The responding police officer had negative contact with the pedestrian.
Saturday, November 6: 6:15 a.m. A caller reported hitting a German Shepherd dog on Portland Road (Route 302) near Lampron's and that the dog ran off the roadway. The dog returned to its home nearby, and its owners took it to a veterinarian for medical treatment.
Sunday, November 7: A 24-year old man from Waterford was charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant, following a traffic stop on South High Street near Woods Pond Beach.
6:55 a.m. A caller reported a deceased deer near the Highland Lake Beach parking lot. The responding police officer could not locate the deer.
Tickets: During this reporting period, Bridgton Police issued six summonses and 38 warnings.

I HAVE FOUND MY LUMBY!!!  After reading those books I blogged that if there is a Lumby, I wanted to live there. Now I do.  This is my home now. I really, really love it. A town where men are still gentlemen and will hold the door open for a lady, where thank you is heard a lot, where people are willing to help you out, where smiles for strangers and friends alike are abundant.  I have only lived in this town for a little over a week, but it is my home.  It would really kill me to have to ever move away from here. This is what I have been searching for. Home. Where the big news is a speed sign being found on someone's lawn in the morning, or an open window in a house... 

If you are interested here is the link to Gail Fraser's website and you can order the books from there, or through Amazon. I will not part with mine. And now I'm going to read them over again. I hope she has a new one soon. Think I'll send her an email and ask her about it.  Anyway ... here is the link: http://www.lumbybooks.com/

Here is an image of the first book ... "The Lumby Lines" ....


... and some artwork by Art Poulin, her husband.







I love the books, and I love Lumby, and I love Bridgton, Maine's version of Lumby, or as close to it as you can get. I went for a ride today and was shown the way up to a farm where apples are grown and sold. The farm stand door was open so i went in and the heavy scent of apples made me hungry. Apples of many varieties... you could buy a bag, or buy them by the pound, at $ 0.80 per lb.  I bought three apples that weighed in at a total of 2 and 1/4 pounds ... or $1.80 .... there was no one around so I left my money on the counter .... and went on my way. This is normal for rural Maine ... the honor system. I have found it all over the State and whenever I do it makes me feel good. I'll go back to that farm stand and hope to use it in a future article.  On the way back found a beautiful old church, a Congregational Church built in 1829. I didn't have my camera ... but I WILL go back. I have a lot of exploring to do around my new home. I am joining the hospital guild and going to volunteer one day a week in the hospital cafe with my friend Pete, he will cook, I will make the coffee and take orders and payment. I'm looking forward to it. I've already met some really wonderful people up here. And to make it even better, I'm living in a very old farmhouse ... or a part of it actually ... and loving it too. Since I have been up here I find I sleep better every night, can sleep through just about anything ... I have not heard anything at all ... the other night we had a bad storm go through ... Christine said it sounded like a tornado was going to come through the house ... and I didn't hear a thing, slept right through it!!!  Now that says something... I'm at peace.  I went to leave this morning and the front door was unlocked ... had been for two days ... as neither of us had gone anywhere ... and we were safe.  I think a lot of people don't even lock their doors around here. That is fine with me.  I love that. And I love our police blotter in the newspaper. There really is a Lumby!

I've moved!  I am now living in Bridgton, Maine, not far from the NH border and so close in fact that when I needed a WIFI USB adapter for my computer ... the nearest Staples was in North Conway, NH.... some 19 miles from home. So i drove over there and it is a great drive ... nothing between here and there but mostly forests and lakes and Fryeburg, ME .... which is just a small town that hosts a large County Fair every October. The presidentials as they are called ... a mountain range in NH all with President's names is very visible, especially now with some of them snow capped, specially Mt Washington where the weather station is. It usually has the worst weather in the whole North American continent.  So i knew that if i drove through the town there was a scenic view point where i could get a good photo ... ( i was up there a couple years ago) so I bought my USB adapter then drove North out of town to the viewpoint and got this image. If you look close you can see the weather tower on top of Mt Washington.



I took this photo three days ago. It won't be long before we have snow on the ground down here. It really is beautiful.  

So then back to my story about Jezzy, my cat and her 'obsession' with closed doors. She really hates seeing a closed door .... i've always lived by myself and there was no need to close doors, and the bathroom door at the old apt would close by itself, but not latch and she would just come in when she wanted ... but even though she would try to keep it open, it would close on its own. So to my new apt, and now Christine is staying here also, well it is a very old farmhouse.... tomorrow i'll go outside and get photos of it and post them here, but for now, i just have a few images in succession that i would like to share.  My bedroom door just has a latch on it, no door knob or closure ... the side with the latch has had the wood chipped away until there is no longer anything for the latch to 'latch' onto. I really don't mind at all as its all a part of the old farmhouse charm.  Well ... it seems Jezzy does not want my door closed for any reason. A few nights ago Christine fell asleep watching tv in the living room, and i went to bed and wanted to watch some tv in my room, but the noise was bothering me so i closed the door. Miss Jezzy came in, it was simple for her to just act like any other cat and just slip into the room by pushing the door open just enough for her to get in ... but no .... not my Jezzy!  She pushed it part way open, about half way ... was that enough ????  She's just a small cat ... NO, not enough ... she walked up to the door, stood up and put her front feet on it and BAM!!!  pushed it so hard it hit the wall ... (i'm going to have to put something back there so it won't damage either the door or the wall) .... so i got up and closed the door again ... a few minutes later .. she opened it and went out then opened it wide AGAIN!! Seems my cat was having nothing to do with a closed door, no matter how easy it is to get in and out.  

So the next night, it was cold in here (which is harder on Christine since she just got back from CA ... ) and the heat was turned up, i have a kerosene heater right outside my bedroom door and so a lot of heat blows in ... so i closed the door, i like it cool when i sleep.  Yeah ... like that was going to work ... Jezzy opened it TWICE .... i finally gave up and went back to sleep ... the loud BAM!!!  during the night was enough to wake even my downstairs neighbor and i didn't want that to happen. So do you believe me???? I tell so many stories about Jezzy and her antics that some people might think i exaggerate a bit ... but i don't and here is the proof.  

I went in to take some photos of my door latches and lo and behold, here comes Miss Jezzy and does her thing, while i am sitting there with my camera in my hand... so look and laugh ... she is such a character!!!!  I have said many times that she is a child wearing a fur coat and that is exactly what she is like... just loaded with personality!  

   

The door from inside the bedroom showing my latch ....



The door half open .. note Jezzy looking at it in a very disdainful way .... hmmmmmmm need to fix that she seems to be thinking ...



" Ok ... this is how it is supposed to be... pay attention mom!"  BAM!!!!



"There .. that was easy ... "



Look at the ears ... as if she is saying "Now ... you got a problem? LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN!!!!

A picture is worth a thousand words and these really tell the story.  My cat is a child for sure.  She sure is good company ... she always keeps me laughing ... and i love her to pieces!! 

First off I drive myself nuts when I clear the cache and then try to get on here and remember that I've forgotten my log in ID once again!!! When am I going to stop doing that. But its just a small pebble in my path. Reflections, there are many kinds, your reflection in a mirror, the reflection in a lake and the reflections of a life .... that's what I'm talking about here. Too many people passing away lately, and a brother who is not well, has a fatal lung problem, I don't know how long he'll be around, and even though we aren't all that close, he's still my brother.  My friends Nancy and Barry just lost a family member to cancer two days ago. Barry's sister and he's not taking it very well. His mom passed away when he was young and his sister, who was 8 years older than he, raised him so he has thought of her as his 'mom' too. Now its like he's losing his mom all over again. It's so hard to lose someone you love, but I have to keep reminding myself, it was a whole hell of a lot harder for them than for me as I am still living.

I went for a walk through the woods today, down Whitman Springs Rd, a nice dirt road. People walk there a  lot and recently there was a big bust there, it seems it was a homosexual meeting place where men would proposition others. Now I've been walking there for a long time and have never seen any of that going on, just like today ... one couple was walking a dog, another couple was walking their horse (honestly ... a beautiful appaloosa with a gorgeous 'blanket' of spots on its hind end) but no gay men.  :)  Anyway, Eric was walking with me and he mentioned that the life expectancy is now 83 .... and all i could say is "That's not long enough!" "I want to live longer!" Can i start all over again?  How i wish i could. I would do things so differently ... but maybe not as i definitely like where i am now and wouldn't have wanted this to be any different ... i love my life, I'm happy, even though living alone, (sometimes that's better .. no one to argue with) ((don't mean you Christine, you're my daughter and i will share my home with you anytime)) I have my hiking buddy Eric, who goes with me on my walks and mountain hikes, and have a great time. I have Nancy who is one of the funniest people I know and i love going for long drives with her ... we laugh our butts off .... I have a great aunt and uncle here in town who are like parents to me and grandparents to Christine, i have a job i love although it doesn't pay much, i just don't care. I have enough to survive on, i don't need a lot. I don't wear jewelry and never understood those who did, all i could think of was "i could buy a nice car for what that ring or necklace cost" ... my jewels are the sunrises and sunsets in the sky, the rainbows i see, the flowers i smell, the crisp air, the sound of dried leaves under my feet while walking in the woods, to watch the seeds of a milkweed fly in the wind, to photograph raindrops on leaves or flowers, to hear the crash of waves on the rocks on the coastline, to smell the salt air, to hear the bells ringing in the buoys out on the ocean, and to feel the salt spray in my face when a wave breaks over the hull on a sailboat, or to navigate around a rocky coastline on a foggy night, going slow, very slow, and listening to the sounds of life going on, on shore, a dog barking, the sound of the fog horn from a lighthouse nearby, the total quiet of a light snowstorm, when you go out in the new whiteness and there are no foot prints in the snow, no one has gone before you, no one else is out there, and just the total quiet of it all, the sound of a birds wings flying through the woods, or the sound of a breeze rustling the sheaves of corn in the cornfield and you think it's God whispering to you. Those are my 'gems' my 'jewels' the things that keep me happy, and loving life. And the list can go on and on. So today I am thankful for all i have, for my health, my beautiful daughter, my good friends, my warm and fuzzy cat Jezzy, and for the slice of cheesecake i just had. (Although i certainly didn't need that) We all have to die someday, and i feel like i am in the 'Autumn' of my life right now, and it's beautiful, with beautiful colors all around, and I'm enjoying it and i will keep enjoying it for as long as God wills it. There's just not enough time.



If the choice comes up of will i do dishes or do i want to go for a walk or ride out in the country ... well the dishes can wait, they will be there when i get back, but i may experience something amazing or beautiful while i am out ... priorities ... and i should be packing right now, but there's not too much left (i keep telling myself) and still two weeks, and what the hell .... it's Saturday right?  And tomorrow's Sunday ... so i'll spoil myself a bit. I told Eric that it's supposed to be sunny tomorrow so i wanted to go walking around the lake early in the morning, like at sunrise to get some really good shots, and he said he'd like to come along, so i need to check the weather and see exactly when sunrise is ... should get some good shots of it coming up over Lake Auburn ... and it'll be cold out, the crisp air will make my face feel good, how i love the cold air on me. And unlike most people, I'm really eager for that first snowfall .. there was supposed to have been snow showers in the mountains last night above the 1500 foot level ... soon ... soon.  And often as the winter wears on i, like everyone else get really, really tired of the snow and cold, until one day when i HAVE to go out in it, for a road trip or something and i find myself alone out on a country road and the beauty of it all fills me so completely that I actually thank God for giving me such beauty and at times it brings tears to my eyes. Like some music does. (Yes, it could just be my hormones going nuts from being post menopausal but i like to think I'm just a softy ) Or perhaps its the sensuality of it all .... life is an ongoing sensual feast if you just look at it that way.  Colors, sounds, tastes, feelings, sights, smells, all of it.  Touch is a wonderful thing, ah but i could go on and on and on.  So many things inside of me i'd like to share, so much beauty, and so many people who don't see it. When i was in my early 20's i worked at an Arabian horse ranch in Arizona ... and my boss, 'Doc' LaCroix, told me one day "You never just walk through a barn, you look, look into every stall and see what is going on." I did just that and a few times found a horse down with colic or had gotten itself into a corner and could not get up or had shit into it's water tap and had no fresh water to drink .... so i learned that lesson well ... and now you don't just 'walk' through life, you take your time and really look.  Look all around you, look at everything you see and find beauty in it.  Or try to, but don't just walk through life, you'll be missing the best parts if you do.



And so now i leave a sunset for you ... a beautiful one ... please enjoy it.

It all started when I was looking for a destination for my next Road Trip. I settled on the area from Waterford to Central Lovell as I've never done that before. I like to choose areas that have good hiking trails or a mountain to climb, or scenic falls and gorges. I found both on this one. I saw that there was a gorge up there below Waterford, Kezar Falls Gorge, and the DeLorme Gazeteer (which has never failed me before) showed it being along a road called Lovell Rd in Waterford. So here the trip began, only there was not a road named Lovell Rd in Waterford, so I stopped at a country store right next to where the road was supposed to be and asked ... they had never heard of either Lovell Rd, or Kezar Falls Gorge.  So Eric, my friend and hiking buddy, and I sat and looked at the map book and where the road should be. We went up the road a few yards and asked a man at a repair shop and he didn't know either, so we figured we were on our own to find this place.  This is how it works sometimes here in Maine when you're looking for a specific place.

I drove up just a bit further and there was a road, but it was called Five Kezars Rd, so we both thought that just might be the one. Time would tell as the road runs along a lake and then turns into a dirt road. We drove 2 miles on the paved road and sure enough, there was a beautiful lake on the side of it, and then we ran out of pavement .. so we had to be on the right road. I drove down the one lane dirt road (and hoped we didn't meet up with anyone coming the opposite direction) and watched as the lake ended and there we were .. still on the road, no signs, no nothing. I continued a bit further then saw a small rocky road leading down off of the main dirt road. I stopped and Eric didn't think it was the spot, but I told him i was going to park and walk down and see for myself.  

As soon as I parked and got out of the truck I could hear that wonderful sound I was looking for, the sound of water falling over rocks so I happily told Eric that this must be the place. At that point I got back in the truck and drove it further down the rocky path, it seemed there was ample place to park down there and as long as you drive very slowly you won't hurt your vehicle. This is Maine.  So I grabbed my camera and followed Eric down to the ledge.

 
I had found a couple of photos online showing the falls in the gorge and the grotto and so knew what I was looking for and as soon as I reached the ledge ... I knew I had found it!



Looking down from the edge this is what you see, the grotto below ... probably 30 or more feet below. And I also knew that the falls are really hard to see as they are in a gorge next to this grotto ...



You can barely see it here between those two trees, so I needed to get closer and get a better photo.





This is a really beautiful spot and well worth looking for and now I have accurate directions that I can give others to find it.



So then I (naturally) wanted to get closer and decided to scramble down the embankment to the grotto below ... it was steep, but not impossible and the rewards at the bottom were worth it.





Beautiful!!  Now notice the ledge in the lower right hand corner of the photo above... and the way the rock ledge curves up and out from it .... well I was wondering if I walked out onto that legde, which is about 18 to 24 inches wide and slopes downward into the water, I was wondering if I could get far enough to the right to be able to see the falls from there ... so after pondering it for a bit, and looking at it, I decided it was not impossible and worth checking out .... and I wearing my clunky hiking boots, not the best for this kind of attempt, but I decided it was worth the try. So I did. Very slowly, and carefully, picking my way over the rocks onto that slim ledge, then very carefully edging over as much as I could to the right ... well no matter how close I got, I still couldn't see the falls from there, but the view of the grotto was fantastic!



So after I took this shot ... I wanted to get back to firm and level ground ... only how to do that?  I had kind of backed myself into a corner so to speak .... I had not spent enough time thinking this out before I walked out there, but suddenly the prospect of getting back was at hand. It was pretty scary as my boots weren't the best to 'grip' the rock and get a good hold ... then I made the biggest mistake by turning towards the rock!  Sheer rock two inches from my face ... I groped all around, above and to the sides but could not get even a fingernail hold anywhere .... I should never have turned that way, but I think i was going to just turn around and walk back ... but it just wasn't that easy .... I was panicking a bit, but not enough to just go nuts, my heart started beating harder and my knees were feeling shaky ... It wasn't like i was up on a ledge and could fall to my death, i just didn't want to fall into the water of the grotto, not knowing how deep it was and me not being the best swimmer and then my camera is not waterproof, so there was a lot at stake. Eric told me after that he wished he had brought his camera with him so he could have gotten a photo of me out on that ledge ....  :)  and he said that if I had frozen to that spot, he would have gotten me out of there, and I trust him. But at that moment, I never even thought of asking for his help.  I will be more careful next time. We have already decided to return to this spot in a few more weeks when the fall foliage is at peak, it should be really amazing there then .. with multi colored leaves floating on the water in the grotto ... I told Eric that if i bring a life jacket and a waterproof camera I'll go out on that ledge again, and then i was thinking ... if i went into the water, i could swim over to that side and around the corner to the base of the falls .. that would be an amazing photo.  Photographers do some crazy things to get their photos.  I do find that I push myself at times to do that. But I really enjoyed this spot ... it was beautiful and worth visiting.  I don't even remember how I got back off that ledge, but I did.  Then I sat on a rock and vegged for a few minutes.  :)  



So then we walked back up to the top and did more exploring up there.  I looked across the expanse and noticed this slippage in the rocks, I've never seen a fault so clearly defined like that before, and it reaches all the way down ... all I could think was that I was thankful I was not in the vicinity when this happened ...it must have been a very violent earthquake to force those rocks in the way it did ... Nature always amazes me.

So we left the gorge and I got an accurate mileage reading so I can give accurate directions to others, and we headed towards Center Lovell and hoped we would not have to be searching as hard for the road up to the mountain.  And along the way I found plenty of places that will find a spot in my road trip like Pop's Diner in Waterford, or AJ's Everything store along the way, somewhere around Stoneham I think. Like Eric called it ... the 'rags to bones shop' ... sounds good to me.  As we were getting near to the road we had to turn on, either ... OK... so I own TWO of the DeLorme Gazeteer's and just discovered they are different ... one is newer than the other ... the one I have here in the house marks Five Kezars Rd correctly and the one I keep in the truck is older and calls it Lovell Rd. So I guess I need to go buy a new one for my truck and get rid of the one I have.  Anyway ... as we were driving down Route 5 near Center Lovell there was a huge sign for Sabattus Mountain ... and we had no problems at all finding our way to the parking lot. So we ate a snack and then started up the mountain.  It is a gain of 600 feet in elevation which is equivalent of walking up 60 flights of stairs ..... OK ... here we go. So I told Eric that my legs were still a bit shaky so he kept the pace very slow and we would stop for a minute or so on the trail to rest and then go on.  On some of these stops I saw the gentler side of nature and took some photos of it.  And btw, Eric is registered as a guide to lead hikers on mountain hikes, so I always feel very safe when I am with him.  He is very knowledgeable and patient. I believe he is affiliated with the AMC group, and does a lot of hikes in NH.  



The colors this fall are going to be better than I've seen in years. 

   

Nature doesn't waste ... old rotting tree stumps provide life giving food for other organisms and plant life, like the moss and other small plants that are finding sustenance from the decaying wood. 

  This is a section of the trail showing how easy it was to follow ... the higher up we got the more tree roots we had to walk over ... and it was fairly steep, but relatively easy. It says 45 minutes in, but it took us about twice that due to our slow pace, but it was better than going so fast that my lungs were burning which i do to myself when I am out hiking alone. I have a problem with walking fast and don't pace myself very well.  The woods were very thick on the hike up the mountain, and beautiful, it was quiet in there, and cool, but no breezes.



Here we are approaching the top of the summit and found a lot of new growth here, of white pine, spruce and fir trees. I'm thinking there must have been a big storm that blew through here a few years back that felled a lot of the older trees and left it open for the 'younger' generation to grow. No one planted these trees, nature has a wonderful way of taking care of itself if left to itself without our interference ... when will humankind learn that?



Our first view from near the summit showed us that most of the blue skies we had when we started up the mountain had vanished and storms had moved in. You can see the rain in the background, moving in from New Hampshire ..



The summit offers 180 degree views of the landscape, looking towards Fryeburg and beyond to the White Mountains ....



and another ....



When we were in the parking lot we met up with a hiker just coming down from the mountain with his dog, a large yellow lab who wanted our snacks, and he told us there were benches up on the top ... I have seen benches on some mountain tops and they are no more than some split logs made into a bench, so I was very surprised to find this on the summit.  Very intricate work on this iron bench. And how did they get it up there?  The paths are too narrow for an atv to have carried it up, this morning I thought perhaps it was brought up in pieces and the welder finished it up there, and they bolted it onto the rock, or like Eric thought, perhaps they dropped it there from a helicopter which would have been the easy way. Iron is a very heavy metal and I can't imagine anyone carrying it up the mountain, but it was a memorial to a woman....



"In Memory of Melody S. Ritchea, 9/25/1954  1/22/2005 Loving Wife, Mother and Mimi"  ... there was another bench also in Memorial of someone and a little into the woods was yet another memorial ... about a guy named Stephen, who when he was 19 or 20 was out fishing with his older brother, and their boat capsized into 50 degree water. Stephen noticed his brother was losing his battle and grabbed him and swam 1/4 mile towards shore, till he saw a kayaker coming towards him. He helped lift his brother out of the water into the kayak and knew there was not enough room for him, yet he demanded the kayaker take his brother. The kayaker headed for shore with Stephen holding onto the kayak until he too lost consciousness from hypothermia and the kayaker saw him slip into the water and could not save him. The memorial was one of the most touching I have ever seen anywhere.  At the end of it were these words " Greater love hath no man than this - that he should lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13 " They had been 1/2 mile off shore and when the boat capsized it was approaching darkness. It ends that Sabattus Mountain was one of Stephen's favorite places.  You just never know what you will find on the top of a mountain.



And I took this image of Eric while I was sitting on the bench taking a break and eating a snack. This is Eric, this is what he loves doing. So that was the trip on September 9th, 2010.  After last year and this year with all the problems with my feet, I was not sure if I would be able to hike up a mountain again, but miracles do happen and I was able to climb yet another mountain, and pray it is not my last.

So I have a wish ... a want ... i couldn't sleep last night for thinking of it.  I saw it the other day while I was at Wal Mart ... the cost is $75  before the needed accessories are bought .. that will raise the cost of course ... a helmet is essential ... and a wicker basket is another ... a tire pump would be nice and saddlebags to keep it and other essentials in while i am out riding my bike on some bike trails out in the woods .... yes, a bike!  But not just any bike .... THIS bike ------->  

It's a Cranbrook Cruiser/Comfort Bike ...  :D  and i really, really, really want it!  It is mint green with cream color accents ... a comfy seat and fenders, real fenders .. one speed, with wide tires.  I don't want any of those skinny tires ... never again for those.  But i could ride this around town until i get my stamina up ... it will help me lose weight while keeping the concussion off my feet ... i will be able to exercise again ...  :)   I LOVE bikes!!  Isn't this a doozy??????   

                                                           
Pretty cool basket .. and the pup in it but i'm not about to get a dog ... not likely ... but here are a few other things that would work great ....

  Now tell me that this isn't cool .... even though not very practical ... but FUN!!!  They have them for rent out in Naples on the dock by the Songo River Queen .... expensive but FUN!!  

So i am maybe going to spend this weeks check on a bike and get on the road.  I really want to exercise but walking like i used to is really out of the question but if i can lose some weight ... walking might be much less painful ... i'm hoping.  I don't know where i would store it ... would have to discuss it with the owner ... he made Brandon (on the third floor who rides a bike to work each day) remove his bike from the front porch and it wasn't an eyesore .... owner's an idiot at times.  I'll tell him i need it for my health which is no lie.  Anyway ... then i could 'hit the road' on my wheels!! 

                                                        

Last night we had a terrific thunderstorm... and rain pouring down in torrents, but afterwards it brought cooler and clear air.  This morning was so beautiful that I felt a walk in the woods was in order.  At first i was just going to go for a drive around Lake Auburn, as i was just starting to feel better after my long hike on Monday in the heat and humidity.  But when i neared Whitman Rd in Auburn that runs behind Lake Auburn, i turned onto the road and drove to the end and parked.  There was already about five other cars parked there, people enjoying walking the dirt road that parallels the lake.  It was quiet ... and smelled so good.  I started to walk past the gate onto the dirt road and it just felt so good to be there.  


The first person i saw was a jogger .. a woman about my age or older, then another woman (the one above) with an old dog for a companion ... a golden retriever, and after walking a ways down the road i turned and took this image.  The road was dust free as were all the plants ... thanks to last nights rain.  Here is another view of the road ... i don't know how far i walked .. the entire road is about six miles long ... Eric and i plan to walk the whole thing one day, park a car at either end so we don't have to walk 12 miles.  Anyway ... it was so perfect, so quiet, and peaceful ... not even a bird singing at first ... i could only hear the sound of my footsteps on the dirt road, and the buzzing of cicadas in the trees ...



The tree covered lane was so peaceful and beautiful ... i love it. It was cool ... there were no bugs, and i walked ... i remembered that yesterday Eric told me that i was walking too fast on Monday ... he always paces our walks .. he is very good at it .... but Monday i kept getting ahead of him and he's too polite to tell me to slow down.  So i kept reminding myself of that this morning .... telling myself to slow down my pace, i don't need to go that fast ... relax and enjoy.  I'll walk and i'll deal with the foot pain later.  As another of my friends says "Any day that i'm upright and sucking air is a good day!" ...Go David! 

And sometimes when we look at things we don't look close enough ... i took some photos and it wasn't till i was back in my truck and sitting there and reviewing my photos that i noticed something special ... all the drops of rain or dew on the flowers and leaves ... these are tiny flowers and i couldn't see it with my own eyes (time for new glasses) .... but when i enlarged them ....  magic!



And i wasn't even taking close up's ... i should have been then it would have been even better, but i'm happy with this.  



and this .... hint: if you click on the image it will open in another window with the full size image and you can see it much better ... the details ... here is the original of the above image ...



You can't even see the droplets in this image .. not till it is enlarged and magnified.  So then i continued walking and found what i thought was a small path that might lead to the lake ... so of course i took it ... and this is what i found...



and this ...



I wanted to sit there all day .... the water was gently lapping against the rocks and it was just the perfect place to be ... in the next photo you can see Taber's across the lake.  :)



After a while i decided to walk back up to the road but just as i did i heard a noise ... it sounded like a small tree had fallen in the woods .... i wasn't sure what it was ... most people would have hightailed it back up to the dirt road ... but not me ... i went further into the woods ... i saw another path and took it ... till it narrowed to nothing ... the only animals i'm afraid of in the woods are two legged ones. So after a while i decided to make my way back and when i did i found a canoe chained to a tree ... with a number on it ... not a registration number but like an ID number ... (it makes sense to me) like it was the property of land management or something ... but you are not supposed to put a foot or even a hand into Lake Auburn waters ... no bodily contact allowed ... but it was rocks down there ... the only way to launch that canoe you would have to get into the water to do it ... hmmmm ...

So i made my way back up to the road to find two men walking my way ... one was very happy ... both were mentally challanged ... and having a great time out in the woods ... a short ways behind was the case worker with a young woman with her ... she yelled to the two young men to wait up for them ... i mentioned that they were having a good time and she said "yes, too good of a time" ... and was smiling about it. 

So i kept walking and after a while figured i should turn around and go back ... my feet were bothering me but i was too happy to be there to care.  And there were some wild flowers blooming ... some tiny daisy looking flowers ... and i didn't see them up close ... till i enlarged the image ..

  and  

Just loaded with water droplets ... here is the whole photo ...



and some tiny buttercup looking flowers ... and a busy bee ... there were five flowers in the group and that bee visited all of them before it left ...

 

and more ...



Reflection in a puddle ... that is the tree reflection you see in the road .. reflected ... and i was reflecting, and i was happy, and at peace. That always happens when i am out walking in the woods where it is quiet and i am away from people and all the noise of the city.  I may not have gardens of flowers to tend, but i have the woods.  And it brings me peace, specially days like today.  

And i almost forgot .. on the way home i stopped off at Farmer Whiting's farm stand ... and bought two beautiful, vine ripened tomatoes ... for my lunch .... 

 

I only ate one ... (look at it .. it's the peak of ripeness ... absolutely perfect! and OMG it was sooooooooooo GOOD!) the other will be for dinner with fresh corn on the cob i bought at Blackie's Farm Stand on after i left Whiting's ... Whiting's didn't have any corn yet.  So i bought some corn, an avocado, a pint of native blackberries, a zucchini, and two small sweet potatoes .... i might roast the veggies ... except for the corn ... Eric told me a new way to cook it .. he just graduated from culinary school ... anyway ... you take the corn, do not shuck it ... leave all the leaves on .. i did take off the top one or two ... and you don't remove the silk or anything ... just one or two leaves of the husk ... then you wrap the whole thing in a paper towel ... place it in the microwave for two minutes, turn it over and nuke for another two minutes and it's done!!  I tried it yesterday ... it doesn't heat up the kitchen .. and its so easy to shuck after its cooked ... but you could even serve it in the husk .. for appearances and it would keep it hot till you are ready to eat.  It was amazing ... it was cooked perfectly!!!  And will be the only way i fix corn from now on.  Thank you Eric.  :-D