Wind Songs

It's still early spring here in Maine. E.A.R.L.Y. See?
Yup, that's all we've got so far.



On Sunday, we went for a hike after church. We packed PB & J sammies and carrot sticks, and two water bottles. The basics. Well, maybe not THE basics (according to any hiking guide I've ever read), but OUR basics for that day.




We've hiked Beech Mountain fairly often; it's a loop hike and only 1.1 miles long. The views along the way are always . . .well, let me say they never cease to bring a huge smile to my face. There's just something about see that blue, blue water emerge in the distance, between the tall pines. And it was a gloriously sunny day.








Everywhere I looked I saw sunshine. See?







As we climbed to the top, we also spotted nearly a dozen contrails all blazing across the sky at the same time. We concluded it must an air traffic lane for planes coming across the pond from Europe. Pretty cool. . .






We made it to the top and didn't meet a soul along the way. It was a serenely quiet day in this part of the park --- one of the benefits of the "Quiet Side" of Mt. Desert Island, especially so early in the season.













One of the nicest things about the Beech Mountain hike is that the spectacular views continue as we descend back down the back of the mountain. Here we go.










Oh! Oh! It's our pond...Long Pond...where we'll kayak again soon. From up here, we can see the velvety currents as the wind whooshes by.








No need to talk. We can hear our footsteps on the dusty trail. A solitary seagull.

But my favorite sound...the quiet, nearly silent breezes through the birch and pine sanctuary.
Cools my face. Refreshes me. Communion.

Why We Live Here . . .

A friend recently posted on Facebook about how wonderful it was to go walk on the beach. Unfortunately, it took her an hour to drive there.

We are blessed. Within 3 or 4 minutes, here's what we can see. . .







and this . . .

















and this . . .







And how about these views?








And when we hike, even in the early spring, if we're really lucky we can catch this . .



Aren't they lovely?











And look at how well the hiking trails are maintained. . .












We love to hike these trails . . .














The trails are so inviting . . .














That's why we live here. We love it. And then there's the kayaking, but that'll be for another time. Maybe you can come for a visit?

Visiting with a Dear Old Friend

It's no secret. I love to read.

As a child, I read to escape. Hungrily turning the pages of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books, I'd imagine myself on the prairie high-stepping in deep drifts of blowing snow or struggling to guide the plow before my over-sized oxen team.

I recently saw the movie, Definitely, Maybe. One of the characters collected editions of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, and sure enough, in one scene she held up the same edition of Jane Eyre that I remember reading during eighth grade biology class. I hid it inside my biology binder until the teacher approached from across the room; I perfected the "slide-and-cover" maneuver and was never found out.

Some time ago, wanting to reacquaint myself with Jane, I purchased a newer, affordable paperback edition; I'm not sure I still have the older edition. Apparently, Barnes & Noble and Border's think that they have to "sell" the classics on the cheap so that people will read them. About a week ago, I cracked open the new book for my bedtime reading. I inhaled deeply and dove right in.

What a delightful read! Bronte's language is exquisite and I can appreciate it all over again even so many years later. I find myself trying to balance a voracious reading speed with the need to luxuriate in Bronte's beautiful writing. Jane came along with me on a business trip this past week; I read during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. No need to hide this book. What a delicious treat!

Crocuses, Daffodils, and Tulips, Oh, my!

One of the great advantages of traveling to the Pacific Northwest in mid-March is that we can enjoy TWO springs! When we left Maine to go visit Beth and Jon several weeks ago, we still had 4-foot piles of snow in our yard---not a snowdrop in sight. However, when we arrived in Vancouver, B.C., we were greeted by bright spring flowers and blooming trees all over the city.

Spending ten days with Beth and Jon was absolutely spectacular! We stayed at a B & B just across the street. We ate in (I asked Beth for a couple of cooking lessons - what a fabulous cook she is!), ate out (had some great sushi and several other wonderful meals), went dogsledding, attended church and heard Beth sing (we're so proud!), knit, knit, knit, geeked, geeked, geeked, went geo-caching, laughed, walked, walked, walked (I LOVE the city for that!), went to the Omni-Max theater for a double-feature, played "The Settlers of Catan" twice (and LOVED it!), watched Canucks hockey on HDTV, took hundreds of photographs all over the city, went to the opera, visited a couple of yarn shops, and best of all....just sat and visited together. It was simply a splendid time --- it had been way, way too long since we'd visited. We learned so much about living in the city and all it has to offer. Thanks so much, Beth and Jon, for sharing so much special time with us!

We left B.C. on a Monday and took a bus to Seattle where we picked up a rental car for the second half of our journey. We drove to Tacoma, and on our way to the Olympic Peninsula, decided to get a handheld GPS so that we could join the rest of our family in the world of Geocaching. And so we did! It's official -- we're geocachers.

For those of you who aren't familiar with geocaching, it's basically a geeky version of hide and seek --- all around the world! You download geographic coordinates (and clues, if you wish) and try to find the hidden cache -- you log your finds and of course, the element of competition is always an option. There are nearly three-quarters of a million of caches hidden all over the world. It's a great way to add a bit of fun to your travel--check it out.

Well, still no buds of anything here, although I did spot a few crocuses last week in Ellsworth. It can't be long now. Come on, Spring! We need you!

More pictures from our trip coming soon...I promise.