The day Nemo stopped by

I know, this post is a little late but I wanted to make sure I got it out here for prosperity sake. Friday February 8th all the weather reporters were on fire reporting how these two storms were going to merge and dump us with up to 16", then 20 and then by Friday night they were calling for 30+. I was like - whatever, they've been so wrong before.

Well - there's egg on MY face. By the time it was all said and done, my area got hit with the highest of the Maine totals - a whopping 35". With blizzard conditions causing whiteouts and snow drifts aplenty, it was a miracle that we never lost power. We just hung low and made the best of it.

To our chagrin, it came a week too early for us to enjoy all that fluff for school vacation week.

Here comes my favorite town truck ever!

Yep, she killed it. Just a little too much snow for a snowblower

Monkey takes a break from shoveling

Now, you don't see that headed down the road every day! There's some heavy-duty snow removal

Rollins didn't seem to mind at all

Yep, there's a driveway in there somehere

Swimming in a sea of snow

Oh thank goodness we didn't have to shovel that!

What's in your back yard?

Vacation day today - it's cold and windy out and not really the prettiest to go and adventure in. But, we did take a quick walk out back with the dog to break up the day. We found lots of tracks, big sticks and then had a little fun with the sleds. 

Hurry up! What's taking you so long?!

Kitteh tracks

Remnant Monkey tracks from after the last storm

Rollins likes big stickies

Squirrel tracks

The deer trail - within 100 yards of my back door

More Kitteh - they better watch out for Rollins!

Bike tracks

 

A new snow sport - Bike-Snowbank jumping!

A chilly Sunday update

I know, I started out strong with a bunch of blogs them BAM! Nothing. Let me defend myself. First of all, it's been bitterly cold and I didn't feel like adventuring and getting all chilly n' stuff like that. Secondly, the kid has been taking up the majority of my time with his sports - like that's anything new, but it happens this time of year. I'm looking forward to the onset of spring and daylight hours that span past the time that I get home from work. Based on my phone countdown, there are 52 more days until the first day of spring. :)

Back to today. On this fine 27 degree day with a wind chill making it actually 10 degrees, the sun is bright and the sky a brilliant blue. I talked the boy into taking a walk with me and reluctantly, he agreed. So, off we went; the boy on his bike, Rollins with his new choke collar and myself bundled up with my earbuds queuing up some favorite tunes. Rollins and I walked briskly - it was definitely not leisurely pace type of day. He's learning how to walk nicely on a leash instead of trying to drag me down the road and he's doing a really good job of it. His nose to the air, he walked proudly beside me and kept a wary eye on that boy who was ripping up and down the road on his bike. Gosh - made me cold just watching him. I digress.

The deer have been everywhere around my house lately - ridiculously so. They have ripped up the sides of the road for almost entire length of the 1.7 mile trip we took. Their hoof marks are clearly defined in the sandy roadside and let me tell you - there is a Brutus walking amongst them - I'll take my camera along next time to get some pics. They are digging through the snow looking for acorns and finding quite the treasure trove of them based on the shells left behind. This winter has been mild and with such an abundance of food I can guarantee there will be some good hunting around here next fall!

So the kicker of this whole trip was that Rollins was walking on the snowbank sniffing along and he spooked a wild rabbit that took off so quickly, the Monkey and I both stopped and watched it go - then looked at each other for confirmation that we had really seen what we THOUGHT we had seen. I honestly have never seen a rabbit around here ever, although I've seen their tracks. I also haven't seen a rabbit in the woods since I went hunting up north about 12 years ago. Was a neat thing to share with the boy (he had never seen one before) - the dog, not so much. In that split second I realized that Rollins is NOT leash-less material yet. He wanted that white fuzzy fast moving thing pretty bad. :)

So there you have it, the most exciting thing we've done in like two weeks. I promise, it will get better soon enough. For the interim, I'm going to grab a blanket, curl up with my buddy in the Big Frumpy Chair and daydream of warmer weather, longer days and the adventures that are waiting for us.

Mommies walkies are exhausting!

My 3 Sons, or sometimes that's what it feels like

My son has many friends, and I love them all. There is nothing better than having a truck full of boys and heading off to some adventure somewhere - this time, it was a trip to the beach after a hard fought All Star baseball win. Here are just a few photos from that fun warm day in the sun (taken with my phone so not crystal clear).

The more kids you bring, the less YOU have to carry! 

We ♥ Ferry Beach!

What I wouldn't give for the feeling of sand on my toes right now!

Inching their way into the chilly Atlantic

Merepoint Bay & the Thunderbirds - Brunswick area, Maine

After our trip to Wolfe's Neck we skipped over cross country towards the Brunswick area just so we could spend a little more time road trippin'. Driving in that direction I noticed what looked like fighter planes in formation and got a little panicked, until I realized that it was the weekend that the Thunderbirds were in town! Imagine our luck!

Red marker bouy in Merepoint bay

The Thunderbirds roar overhead in tight formation

Another type of 'thunderbird' - Sanderlings - fly overhead too

Oh look, Monkey found a new wig

Boys will be boys......

Brings a whole new meaning to water skiing. :)

Wolf's Neck State Park, Freeport Maine

Another post from last summer - I know, teases of warmer days but I just didn't have the time to post it back then!

Wolf's Neck State Park is a quiet little spot on the outskirts of Freeport, far beyond the hustle and bustle of the downtown shopping area and L.L. Beans. The park sits on 200 acres on a peninsula and has plenty of trail system to keep you walking all day long. The trails run along the rugged coastline and then wind through the woods to bring you back where you started (trail map can be found here).

It was a little steamy on this particular day, but the salty offshore breeze helped to make it an enjoyable afternoon. We walked the Casco Bay trail to the Harraseeket trail, skipped along the Hemlock Ridge trail to meet back up with the Harraseeket Trail then followed the Old Woods Trail back to the parking area. We figured we really only walked a mile or so but keep a map handy, we easily got turned around a few times!

From the Casco Bay Trail lookout spot #6, with Googin's Island to the left

The Osprey from Googin's Island with a fish (really hard to see) for her fledglings (who hadn't left the nest yet). The island serves as an Osprey Sanctuary

Fishermen in the bay

Such a boy, he found a crab to terrorize for a few moments

The peninsula goes as far as you can see down, with Cousin's Island to the left in the distance (with the tower)

Indian Peace Pipes along the Casco Bay trailside

It's a Grammie G sighting!

From the beach spot located off the Casco Bay Trail stairwell at #8

HA! Someone is wearing down! A big rock alongside the Harraseeket Trailside

Princess Pines litter the trailside along the Hemlock Ridge Trail

The prettiest purple mushrooms I've ever seen! I promise, I'll look them up to find the species.

Snakeberry vines alongside the Old Woods Trail