Category Archives: Hiking

Go Take A Hike!

 

As those of you who follow my blog know, I’m an avid hiker. I always get excited when I find out about a new trail (especially when it’s one nearby where I live that I never knew about).

 
Recently, I found out about two new trails (both were rather short, only about a mile each) not too far from my town. If that wasn’t awesome enough, on my way to find the trail head, I passed this little pond/lake/stream area and notices something I‘d never seen before. At first I wasn’t sure what I was looking at. The water was littered with greenery and little blobs of white. Pulling off to the side of the road and getting out of my car, I realized that I was looking at lily pads and wild Lotus blossoms! I’d only ever seen Lotus blossoms in pictures and in nature documentaries on TV. I’d never seen one up close in real life and I had no idea they even grew in the wild in Maine. Needless to say, I was super excited! They were beautiful!

 

Lotus Blossom 1

 

Lotus Blossom 2

 

Lotus Blossom 4

 

I got a little creative with this shot in post production…

 

Lotus Blossom 3 (Artistic)
Now, this wasn’t meant to be a pretty shot, I just wanted to give folks an idea of how many there were (and this is only a fraction).

 

Lotus Blossom Pond

 

 

Then, on the first trail, as I was hiking along, I came across this little guy (or gal). Again, I’d never seen anything like this and I’ve seen my share of insects.

 

Metallic Blue Dragonfly

 

 

I saw a green one on the second trail…

 

Metallic Green Dragonfly

 

 

But backtracking to the first trail, I came across an old abandoned truck, but I’ll tell you about that next week and share some shots I took seeing as this post is already pretty image packed.
So, folks, go take a hike! You just never know what you’re going to find when you get out in nature! [-_^]

 

 

 

Until next time…
[^_^]
~A.M.

Unexpected Encounters

 

And no, I’m not talking alien abduction, though that would certainly qualify as an unexpected encounter!

 

Anyway, on a recent hiking trip, while I was standing by my car getting my gear together (like a girl scout, I’m always prepared), I happened to see movement in my periphery.  When I looked up, what should I see walking along the road toward me?  This gal…

 

Curious Deer

 

Good thing I had my camera handy.

 

 

Until next time…

 

[^_^]

 

~A.M.

Bumble Bee

 

And no, I’m not talking Transformers here (though they’re awesome!).  I’m talking actual bumble bee.

 

I found this little guy flitting around from flower to flower on my most recent hike.  Hopefully he (or she) was able to find enough nectar and pollen.

 

Bumble Bee

 

 

 

Until next time…

 

[^_^]

 

~A.M.

Summer Iris

 

Recently I took a break from my writing (for a whole week which is longer than I should have) and my jewelry in order to get outside and get some fresh air, some sun, and some photographs.

 

I went back to my favorite hiking spot, Quoddy Head State Park, and found (out at Green Point) some of the first Irises of the summer.  I wasn’t expecting to see them yet this year, but, seeing as it was the Summer Solstice yesterday, I guess I shouldn‘t have been so surprised.

 

Summer Iris

 

Oh, and for those that don’t know (or forgot), yesterday wasn’t just the Summer Solstice, it was also Father’s Day!  Love you, dad!

 

 

Until next time…

 

[^_^]

 

~A.M.

Moose Tracks…

( *Note*  As some of you may know, there was a double post last week (by double post I mean two posts on one day), “Bird Seed For…Deer?” and this one.  It was my own goof that they were both posted on the same day.  That’ll teach me for not double checking the date when I schedule a post. 

Forehead?  Meet palm!

Anyway, to those of you who read this post last week, feel free to skip it and come back next week.  To those of you who didn’t catch it last week, well, here you go…!)

 

 

And I‘m not talking about the famous ice cream.  I’m talking real tracks from real moose.

 

Recently, I went hiking at Quoddy, looked down, and saw this…

 

Moose Track

 

I‘ve lived in Maine all my life and have seen only a handful of moose.  Sadly, I‘ve never been able to photograph one.  But I see tracks a lot while I‘m out hiking.  And these tracks were big.  They may not seem like it in the photograph, so to put things in perspective, I took a picture of the same track with my foot next to it.  Now, I have big feet.  I wear a women’s 12 (or a men’s 10).  This is one big moose!

 

 

Moose Track - Foot Size Comparison

 

I followed this thing down the entire trail but didn’t see it once.  The tracks were fresh and the scat was fresher.  I guess I just don’t have the best of luck when it comes to catching wildlife other than birds and squirrels on the hiking trails.  I haven’t even been able to catch a picture of a deer while hiking (just in my yard at home)!

 

 

Until next time…

 

[^_^]

 

~A.M.