Go Forth

Okay, so now I can say I've tried bok choy juice, with zucchini, celery, green pepper and an apple. I liked the oatmeal and honeydew better. End of detox for now.
Hiking day today. Bring on the peanut butter, chips and energy drinks. It is a hiking choice of Tripyramids, South and Middle Carter, Carrigain or Cabot.

Flag Day

The day after a rain, it is windy from the northeast. The flags are not quite horizontal. We bought new flags for the season and turned in the old US flag. The welcoming committee at Bangor cuts up the old flags and presents each returning soldier with one star. I like that our old flag, hanging for a couple of years, day in and day out, in sunshine and in storms, will be divvied up and given to those coming home.

In the Food Lab

Day 8 of Organic Fruits and Vegetables

Most Liked Food: Potatoes

Least Liked Food: Kale

Food Not Yet Tried: Bok Choy

Results So Far:

Joints with less ache, loss of 4 pounds, new juicer enroute

The Peony Juice, made with apple, celery, soaked goji berries, maca, romaine, and a small cooked beet was supposed to look like a deep red peony. Instead it looks like a glass of blood for a vampire, and not at all like a fresh peony. The adventures of laboratory experimentation.

Pedo-Power

The tractor is not working. So yesterday Jim mowed the lawn with the push power mower.  He wore a pedometer and walked 21,499 steps for 10.85 miles.
This is Jim thinking about mowing the lawn again. See Jim sit.

Air Tour

On an airplane tour, we did the engine run-up in front of Loretta, the Lake House.

Then we climbed and found our landmarks; Pleasant Mountain in the distant foreground, the mountain used for backpacking practice. The Ledges Trail is 1.6 miles one way, with a climb to 2000 feet.

We buzz Jimmie's and Twila's place, but nobody comes out on the deck this time.

Over Panther Pond, next to the tower, a boat cuts through the floating pine pollen.

The Narrows is the outlet leading to the bottom part of Little Sebago Lake.

We complete our tour and take the boat to visit Tommy at Camp Beauty.

Tag Along

Yesterday was the 12th annual Seaplane Fly In and Safety Seminar at Naples, Maine. The grass runway was too wet to use without ruining it. I was more interested in the little teardrop tagalong parked at the end of the runway, just the right size for all the luggage I'd like to carry in the airplane.

Jive Talkin'

Even when you wake up and think you have nothing to say, there is always something to say, always another page to write, always a joke to remember.

Jim: "Always remember never to say 'always' and 'never'."

Julie: "If not now, when?"

Mortar

We are looking to rebuild our stone wall by the boat house. We knew Lee, a stoneworker who named his son, Mason, but he recently moved to Florida. So we are reduced to the yellow pages, word-of-mouth, and scouting neighbors' walls repaired in the last couple of years.

This neighbor keeps a red Lexus convertible in the garage, the kind for summer driving only, sporting run-flat tires that cost $800 apiece. This neighbor's wall is very nice. I just want to see if there is mortar between the stones. But we can't get close enough because it is too shallow there. Limiting Belief: Rich people live in shallow waters.

So we put the boat away and went for a sunset scenic flight, expanding our horizons.

Sunshine After Rain

June = Bloom

There is one iris amid the day lilies.

The day lilies bloom in a background of stone.

Trillium live with the raspberries.

Rhododendrons, pink before fully opening, usually blossom white during thunderstorms. (Likely untrue, but romantic)

The shy lady slippers open almost without notice.

 And what're these pretty flowers?

Hiking clothes

Bailing

After five days of rain the water rose at least a foot and now stands ready to overcome the stones.

The dock walkway is floating underwater.

Jim added to the lake, then he minced across the waters to bail the boats.

Motor- and

 paddle-

No hiking for a week or so to let the rivers recede.

Saco River

In Lieu of a Compass

GPSmap 62s

Garmin Oregon 450

 Here is a comparison in the GPS hiking world.

Both Garmins.

One is push button entry. One is touch screen.

One is more expensive. One is less so.

One is not as good at dual hiking/auto use. One is better at dual use.

One weighs 9.2 oz. One weighs 6.8 oz.

A Rainbow

 A beautiful rainbow is in the making.

Some would look at these peeled carrots and say, "You missed a spot," or ask, "Are you going to leave them that way?"

I'm hoping this will not be more trouble than it's worth. Already 2 hours have passed, and the vegetables and apples remain to be prepared. Good thing there is still another day. Where do these ideas generate?

In New England, They Say Rawr

It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day...
- Bobbie Gentry

Except the weather forecast in Maine is for flooding of the Penobscot and Saco Rivers and four more days of cold raw rain.The plan was to concentrate this week on eating fresh fruits and vegetables

instead of warm sweet baked goods,

but this rainy spell dampens the best of plans. Which will win in the contest of 

Cold-and-Raw or Warm-and-Sweet?

 Detox vs Comfort?

 A Book vs A Truck?
Billie Joe or the Bridge?

Lafayette to Lincoln

Up to the Greenleaf Hut,

and farther up to Franconia Ridge, looking north towards Garfield,

sitting on top of Mt. Lafayette, 5360 feet,

I look south at the ridge that takes the feet to Mt. Lincoln, 5289 feet.

This is where I've been,

and this is what I have to cross at the bottom of the trail,

all the waterfalls from the rain of early this week.

 8.9 miles, 3900 feet gain, 6 hr 44 min

No falls, no wet feet.

One tick bite.

Rabbit Rabbit

This is all the stuff we had to remove from the truck

in order to fill the truck with other stuff that goes to the dump.

But the dump is closed today, so I'm going hiking above treeline to outrun the blackflies and mosquitoes.