Tuesday: Not sure if it was drizzling, misting or just so incredibly humid Tuesday morning that it just felt like it was precipitating but man, was it heavy out there! I finished up as soaked as if it it HAD been raining 😂💦 Legs were heavy too, but to offset the heaviness all around, I had three red eft sightings (and rescues - can't just leave them on the pavement!) and one deer sighting, plus the first small handful of trailside blueberries this season. Trail snacks 😋😉 - yum! (6.1 miles)
Went into the office for the day, and it was still drizzling when I got home, so no other outdoor adventures. Hopefully it is going to clear up later this week so we can get Sam out walking and on her bike, but I know the rain is much needed so we will appreciate these rainy days while they are here!
Wednesday: No morning run, busy day at work, but still wanted to get outside to clear my head and get Sam some outside time, so the two of us took an afternoon walk across the street before dinner. Warm and sunny, and still a lot of standing water around. Not sure how much rain we received over the past few days, but it was A LOT! Did a nice loop and picked a few wild strawberries and handfuls of blueberries along the way 😍 (2.0 miles walked)
Thursday: Another Thursday off - I could get used to this! 😂😉 Although I could do without waking up in the middle of the night to the cat puking on the comforter, and then 30 minutes later having to move her off again so she wouldn't do the same right by our heads 😱
Headed out early for a run. I guess this humidity is here to stay. Whew, heavy! Drizzly, damp, dewy, drippy morning. Ran out on the powerlines. Saw one deer (twice), two fawns in another spot, two cedar waxwing, the towhee pair, two goldfinch, enjoyed one handful of blueberries and the first (but only one!) raspberry of the season. At this time of year the trail is lined with daisies, milkweed, birds eye trefoil, clover, cow vetch, crown vetch and spreading dogbane, and the air smells sweet. Found several rose pogonias blooming in the wet patch at the bottom of the rocky hill between Mt. A. and Highland Green Road, and the cotton sedge there is beginning to bloom as well. At least there is a whole lot of loveliness to offset the high humidity at least! 😃
Pushed on the segment between Highland Green and Rt. 24, and nabbed my PR on the stretch, but it's going to take a lot to take off another 30+ seconds for the crown! 😁 Also unwittingly got a CR on another stretch, but I wasn't even trying, so I'm guessing it wasn't that stout 😉 Finished soaking wet, but happy to have gotten out! (7.0 miles)
Spreading dogbane
Rose Pogonia amidst the sheep laurel
Did the grocery shopping and Target run plus some laundry and other household chores before lunch, and then Sam and I headed up to Fairwinds Farm in Bowdoinham to strawberry pick in the early afternoon. By then, the fog had burned off and temps had risen, so maybe a little hot, but it was a fun summer activity! And yum, can't wait to eat them! 😋💗🍓
We had a little wood frog join us in our row! 💚🐸
😍😍
We headed across the street before dinner for a short walk and bike. I'm no match for Sam on the bike, especially while walking, but it was good to get out and get her on her bike for a bit! (1.6 miles walked)
Friday: Damn that cat! No seriously, I love her, but Gigi was up puking in the night two times again Thursday night. Sigh. Talk about interrupted sleep. We brushed her Friday morning as I'm pretty sure the puking was mostly hairball, so hopefully that helps. I could really do without being jolted awake twice in the night by the sound of a puking cat on the bed 😖 So, with the lack of sleep, I didn't get up and out early as I had intended. But that's OK. It was nice to sleep in a bit and not rush out. Finally headed out around 8:00 am. Realized about a minute in that it was raining, well either that or I was just in a cloud! Drizzle and then pouring and then drizzle and pouring again. Although honestly, coming home soaked due to rain is much better for the psyche than coming home soaked due to 99% humidity! Ran the cart paths and Heath. Bog bridges around the Heath very slick! Lots of mushrooms coming up with all the recent moisture, and the rose pogonia and wild cala lily look lovely out in the far side of the Heath. Two groundhogs and one red eft seen, plus a handful of blueberries picked, as I never pass up the chance for fresh berries on a trail run! (7.0 miles)
Love the color contrast
Misty Heath
Swamp candle
😍😍
After cleaning the house, doing laundry and various other assorted household tasks, we headed out to Harpswell in the late afternoon for an evening with the Dostie clan, who were nice enough to invite us out for a boat ride and outside BBQ. So wonderful for the girls to get together, and we are so lucky to have found such great friends!
We took a boat ride out beyond the point to Ram Island, where there was quite a large cormorant rookery. I was surprised by all the nests, and it was neat to see all the little baby bird heads popping up from them!
Then we went under the bridge to the other side of the island chain, where we found a rocky island covered with resting harbor seals. So cool!!!
Then it was back to the dock for dinner and dock jumping before we finished up the evening with fireworks over the water. Such a lovely way to kick off the weekend!! 💗💗
Saturday: We didn't get home until late, so I didn't quite pop right up out of bed on Saturday morning, but did manage to get out the door a little after 7:00 on a rather overcast, very humid, cooler morning. Ran the powerlines and looped out along the Riverside trail, before continuing on out to the dump and hitting the Gone Fishing singletrack for a few miles before heading home. Blueberries and raspberries are out - yum! - and had a Common Yellowthroat sighting. Otherwise, very quiet out there. (10.0 miles)
After Ryan got in his run and we all ate lunch, we headed down to Harpswell for a 4th of July hike. We were surprised to find the Cliff Trail parking lot so full! Apparently, a number of others had the same idea as we did! But maybe it wasn't too surprising, given the constraints on gatherings and the fact that it had turned into a truly beautiful afternoon. We set out to hike the loop in the opposite direction as we typically would, and while we passed a lot of groups along the way, everyone was respectful and numerous people were also wearing masks.
The ground was fairly saturated from all the recent rains and it was still humid, but temps were cool enough that it felt quite comfortable, and of course, the views from up along the cliff were beautiful. All in all, a lovely afternoon hike, and another one checked off on our list of Harpswell Heritage Trust trails for this Covid season! (2.6 miles hiked)
Pinesap
Partridge Berry flowering everywhere
Sunday: Woke up to rain/mist/holy humidity, yet again. Feeling kind of in a funk, I took my time heading out for my run and decided to just do a road run. Did a route around town that included a few roads I don't typically run. Finished up soaked, but felt decent. Lots of pretty summertime flowers blooming roadside - cow vetch, crown vetch, birds eye trefoil, still a few lupine along the Connector path, daisies, black eyed susans. Such pretty color. (10.0 miles)
Had a rather quiet rest of the day, with Sam and I getting out in the late afternoon across the street for a walk and berry picking while Ryan ran. Raspberries and blueberries, oh my! Felt like we were walking in a cloud though. Misty. Still, good to get out with the kiddo. (2.0 miles walked)
Fireweed
And out in the garden, the lilies are blooming and the plants we got at Moose Crossing are thriving. Well, the woodchuck did eat the lupin, but oh well!
Pretty foxglove
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