Maine is a state abundant with wondrous natural beauty, so much of which is blessedly undeveloped, remaining as thick forests and verdant waterways, often impenetrable and foreboding. Wildlife abounds, although the critters are quite adept at keeping themselves hidden in the grasses, trees, ponds, and rivers. We came to see moose and loons.
We have been out at dawn these mornings hoping to see moose grazing in the luscious marshes and ponds. Right now, as I am writing, John is outside Vanda, tripod and long lens set up and ready for a moose to cross this rich watery meadow-wetlands at Lazy Tom’s Bog. We’ve seen moose each morning, although today is so misty from the abrupt drop in temperature overnight that we cannot see much – yet. We’ll stay for a while, until the sun rises higher to clear out the mist. We’ve met folks who report moose sightings along the roads, although we have not witnessed this. We have two more nights in Maine, before heading back to Boston area for more family time, then into Canada for six nights before beginning our mosey back to home. There is still ample moose sighting time, yes?! And, if we do not see any more, we will have this marvelous memory:
Then there are the Loons — utterly stunning water birds with black and white markings and a teal-green band at their throat. Loon pairs are known as serial monogamists, spending 6-8 years together before finding a new mate, sharing the tasks of nest building, tending to the eggs, then raising the chicks. It is their haunting call that draws me in; anytime a loon calls I feel a sense of wonder, but when they call at night, while we slumber near the lake, a primordial response in my gut is evoked.
We went out one early morning with Nick, for a guided canoe paddle to find loons — last year I wrote about our incredibly rich experience when we went on a guided trip with him, successfully finding a recently hatched loon chick, riding on the back of its parent. This year, we visited one week earlier, allowing us to see the pair taking turns on the nest, before the eggs hatched. One week in nature can make a big difference!
In addition to the stunning wildlife and scenery, there is the hiking – hiking in Maine is for the strong-hearted, the steady-on-their-feet subset of people, the folks that are alright with route finding, as so many of the trail blazes have fallen by the wayside as the trees on which they were marked have themselves fallen over, and those who appreciate the deep attentiveness required to hike on Maine trails – the tree roots are abundant on the trail, as are rocks large and small – some trails are referred to as “boney” in the route descriptions, to alert the hiker to the potential hazards. Because it rains a lot in Maine, at least while we visited this year and last, those boney roots and rocks are covered in mosses rendering them to be very slippery. So, as a hiker ascends the trails, navigating an uphill, looking for the next blaze, it is (nearly) mandatory to also be looking down to plan each next step to avoid a fall. It is a good mindfulness practice, to be so focused on “the path”! John and I have an agreement in our mature years, that we will not fall while hiking…
We kayaked on our own one afternoon, renting at the campground, to paddle on a calm and serene Cupsuptic Lake. While we did not see moose on the remote shore, we did have an eyeful of a very active Kingfisher family.
We rode our bikes a lot on logging trails and ATV trails past more watery meadows and thick forests, hoping of course to see moose; alas, in spite of the spectacularly rich wetlands, we did not see any. Nonetheless, the riding was fun and good exercise on gravel roads lined with wildflowers.
Lastly, I wanted to share that we were in a primitive campground these past three nights. It is always good for us to be reminded of the utter luxury of being able to plug into electricity at night, for cooking or running the composter. Because we drove around during the daytimes, our batteries were able to be fully recharged, so running low on power was a non-issue, yet it is good to be aware of the amount of battery power we use. The campground had outhouses around the sites, which I largely avoided, with a showerhouse and flush toilets at the campground entrance, requiring a drive to use. Not a problem—we showered in the evenings after having been out all day before driving to our site, and we made a pit stop in the early morning hours as we headed out for the day. Go with the flow! HaHa, get it?!
I thought I was done writing this blogpost but I have to add one more paragraph and photo. To my delight and surprise, we are in a wonderful campground tonight and tomorrow night in Scarborough, Maine. The camp is situated on extensive tidal wetlands, with all sorts of shorebirds and many songbirds, as well as the delicious smells of the ocean. Our campsite is open to the wetlands, there are marvelous breezes wafting in, and I am freshly showered after a 20-mile bike ride to the ocean, during which there was a requisite stop for a double scoop ice cream cone along the ride…THIS is what retirement is like for us! We are blessed!
