Eagle Lake, Shore Path and Bar Island

Tuesday, September 19

Wendy and Dan headed out for a bike to hike to hammock adventure.  They rode their bikes from the Jordan Pond House, to Deer Brook Trail, hiked up the trail to Sargent Mtn. Pond, set up their hammocks near the pond and spent some quiet time together.  Looks like fun!

photo by Wendy

We drove to Eagle Lake and rode our bikes around the loop.  Not the nicest day...

A picture's worth a thousand words

We stopped a couple of times to takes pictures but it took maybe an hour and that included me walking part of the way up a looooooong hill because my knees and thighs were killing me!

It's usually really pretty but not so much today, unless you're a fan of fog, which some people are...

I thought these super tiny pinecones were cute and the spider web was pretty awesome, which admittedly I would not have seen and enjoyed if not for the fog/mist/rain.

These yellow flowers were everywhere, so we asked one of the rangers what they were and the answer...ragweed!  Apparently there are several varieties...who knew?

And these lovelies are New England asters.

We watched these three ducks forage along the edge of the lake for quite awhile.  I thought they might be loons, which they weren't and it was pretty hard to tell what they looked like because of the low light, so they remain unidentified floating objects.

Three UFO's

We drove to the Jordan Pond House gift shop where Bill bought a nice, lightweight, hooded t-shirt and I bought a postcard for Lori.  We ate our lunch in the car in the parking lot...boring ;o(  

From there into town, where we parked near the road to Bar Island because it was super busy.  We walked along the Shore Path and discovered a new park area, called Grant Park.  On a nicer day, we would sit and enjoy a cup of coffee; maybe next year.

You can't tell but there is a very large cruise ship out there! 

Walking back to the car, we took the short "hike" over the Bar Island since it was low tide and you can only get there 1 1/2 hours either side of low tide.  You can learn a little more about Bar Island here, including which town has jurisdiction over the island, which might surprise you.

We came home and read for awhile (well, I might have taken a nap) and after dinner we went next door to play dominoes with Wendy and Dan...Wendy was the big winner!

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)

Bloom Where You Are Planted

Amaryllis, along our walk in Punta Gorda

Cactus plant in the neighbor's garden; taller than I am

Kind of obscene little blossom, huh?  Started as a house plant

Clemetis? some kind of Osteospermum?  what?

In the front garden

Bird of Paradise, in the front garden; these suffered some damage due to cold weather in December

Flowering bush in City of Palms Park, Ft. Myers; reached the first balcony

 

 

 

Hibiscus tree, along our walk in Punta Gorda, previously seen in "orange" post

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Things You Won't See in Maine (TYWSIM) Vol. 1 Article 1

This is the beginning of an ongoing post that will show you exactly what the title indicates, things that we see in FL that you won't see in Maine.  This will probably be mostly flora and fauna (plants and animals) but could cover just about anything that I find interesting or weird.

First up, in the flora department...

Yes, I know that you see poinsettias in Maine, but you won't see them planted in the ground like any other outdoor plant, at least not surviving for very long.  As we all know, they don't handle the cold very well, so these may be gone after the cold spell due over the next couple of nights.  We have seen them in planter boxes as well.

Here's another thing you won't see in Maine...

These very cool birds walk along the roads, eating bugs and other delectable items.  If I had my bird book (which is safe and secure in my condo, where I am not) I could find out quickly what they are called.  I will find out, but I'll have to fill you in on a later post.   I know, you are thinking to yourself, "I see birds eating along the roads all the time".  Crows don't count!

Well, that's all for the first article, stay tuned for more useless pictures and information from the sunny south.  PS.  you can click on any photo and enlarge it.

Thanks for stopping by...
;o)