We crossed eight 4,000 foot peaks in two days of grueling hiking. Oh, the joy! Oh, the pain! It really was the experience of a lifetime, and I'll post more photos and thoughts throughout the week. Unfortunately I can only guess from which mountain each picture is taken. I believe the shot above is from Carter Dome. We started up Mt. Moriah and finished with Wildcat Mountain (and her "kittens"). It was 80 degrees when we started, though we soon found ourselves trudging through two feet of snow. I do believe I have embarked on a new obsession.

Lobster boats in Cutler Harbor. This is an authentic fishing town. But for how long? There used to be literally dozens of sardine companies in Washington County (mostly in Lubec); but the last one closed its doors this year. Sad.

This tree has so much personality. Its message: live a long and varied life.

The jagged coast of Maine. Easy on the eyes, tough on the feet.

Looks like a watermelon, ey? No. Seaweed covered rock. Hairy guy in a sea of baldies.

The two at the bottom, they're using Rogaine--and it's starting to work.

The ocean's so inviting makes you want to go for a swim--too bad the water temperature is 48 degrees. Look but don't touch!

Field-tested my gear today at the Bold Coast, stopping off for lunch at Fairy Head where I enjoyed freeze dried beef stroganoff and instant coffee. My little stove worked like a pro, but I chose not to set up a complete camp (tent, mattress, etc.). However, I did carry everything I'll be bringing on our inaugural hike this Friday, so I got a feel for what the hiking is like when you have 30 lbs. on your back. The 10 mile loop is already fairly arduous, so the extra weight certainly added a dimension. Nevertheless, I'd have to say I felt like I was in heaven; it could not have been a more perfect day--oh, right, it was perfect; there's really no such thing as more perfect.

Ernie and I will be doing 21 miles of the Appalachian Trail in New Hampshire (that's 1/100th of the total for those of you keeping score), so I feel like I'm in good stead after today, the only fly in the ointment being that we'll be ascending 4,000 feet of elevation. Yeah, that must be why people cut their toothbrushes in half--every extra ounce probably feels like a pound.

Well, I am some excited, as the local saying goes. Fun, fun, fun.

Pictures, in descending order: Bold Coast, Sunrise Trail, Backyard. There's no place like home!

This is the view from the dock of our camp on Bog Lake. It sure would be cool relief for a fella from NYC to come up here during the dog days of summer and dip his toes in the water. I'm talking to you Shaun, my best bud from back in the day in New Brighton. Grab the wife and round up the kids and come to Maine. After a refreshing swim in the crystal clear lake you might even think it's worth the long drive.

American Tao -- no. 18

Faith is forgetting

what you know.

Age is the wisdom

to revel in being lost.

Forgiveness is the backbone

of the family.

Chaos is the aftermath

of the broken meteorite.

Returned home moments ago from a jaunt on the Bold Coast--the perfect end to a wonderful weekend. Now I'll replenish with some Cara comfort food: grilled cheese and tomato soup. I tried out my new trekking poles (which my hiking partner-to-be Ernie recommended) and I have to say they make a world of difference as they relieve quite a bit of the wear and tear on hips, knees and feet. I guess I'm a new man, or about to be a new man, now that I can walk for endless trouble-free miles (perhaps I exaggerate just a tad).

This is not an Easter egg. As I was working out back today I noticed a bird (which I could not identify, though I don't think it would stump your typical backyard ornithologist) rooting around in the blackberry bushes. When Cara came out to stroll the property with me she heard the same bird, then saw this gift of life. Doesn't seem to be receiving much by way of incubation, but hopefully mommy just left her post momentarily due to our disturbance.

I'll keep you posted.

Blueberry barren above the walking trail. Not much to report, sort of into a blog fade. I'll blame it on being away for a couple of days--stuck in Augusta for a conference. I don't know, but sometimes I feel like no matter where I go it's nothing but exit ramps, parking lots and chain restaurants out of a science fiction movie. For instance, Cara and I ate at a Texas Roadhouse that served food that tasted like a slab of salt. The wait staff has this forced gaiety that's supposed to make the place seem festive (they all line up and dance to an upbeat country song) but it's so blatantly canned. Hey, I know I'm a curmudgeon; but it's my blog and I'll be a sourpuss if I want to...

This is my favorite prayer from a book I cherish called The Logia of Yeshua:

Look, I'm always with you, until the end of

time. Lift up a stone, you'll find me there; split

wood, I'm there.

You know that Lucinda Williams song Car Wheels on a Gravel Road? Probably not, but anyway, I was enjoying my own take-off on that called Hard Rain on a Metal Roof as I was stacking my $ wood (the maple) in the shed when all of a sudden there was this perfect sun. I ran out for a quick photo, the weather changing so fast I was afraid I might miss it. And, honestly, I just about did. But life is just humming along, everything just so. Perhaps not everything, of course, but close enough. Happy weekend.

Cherry blossom on one of the fruit trees we planted last summer. This one is doing well, but many of its brothers and sisters have been gnawed at by the deer. Hopefully the old adage "if it doesn't kill you it makes you stronger" is true for the fruit people. I sort of doubt it's true for the people people. That is not a typo!

When we planted the trees Jessie said she didn't really see the point since it would be so long before they bear edible fruit. Our argument was that it is still something to look forward to, even if it's in our retirement. And Cara pointed out that even if it took longer than that, it's nice to envision the next family to occupy this house enjoying apples and cherries from the trees we planted.

Be all that as it may, according to the nursery these trees will "produce" in five years. I'll have hit the half-century mark at that point, but since I already eat an apple a day, I have no doubt that I'll be happy, healthy and wise.

We decided to buy a woodstove for the sunroom, which will be the new base of operations come sugaring season; so, there was no real need to put the free stove in the shed and it does take up some space. But after wearing a bug baffler all weekend, I got the bright idea to use the stove on the deck as a smudge pot. Works beautifully, and now I can enjoy the outdoors without being stuck in the nylon cage.

I just can't seem to get a picture that depicts what I'm doing, which is lining the path with a zig-zag wall of firewood. I guess it would help if I climbed a tree, but I don't have the energy. Stacking wood can be tedious or meditative, depending on your perspective. I'm trying to be creative in order to sustain my interest, though, in the end, stacked neatly or left in a clump, it's all going up the chimney.