dining out...walking...home again

It's been a nice first week of January, no complaints. We have managed to make it this far into the depths of winter without any snow to speak of, which I like, and even better, temperatures have been mild in comparison to other years. 
I've been sticking pretty close to home these past two weeks so it was quite exciting when our daughter, Alex, called to invite us to lunch at Long Grain, a favorite local restaurant. Six for lunch and everything was superb, only wish that I had remembered to get a picture of my ramen bowl before it disappeared! Such a nice afternoon it was!

This time of year always finds me making to-do lists and visiting the library more than usual for inspiring reading material. I've been getting some new ideas about how to make exercising a bit more fun and varied in this book and like one of the suggestions for winter walking. The idea involves an occasional visit to the local shopping mall for indoor walking on the coldest of days. The only problem, in my case, is that the closest mall is over an hour and a half away, ah well.

I bundled up this afternoon and headed out to our neighborhood for a walk. Instead of mall shoppers I ran into quite a different sort of throng, you can begin to see them on the crest of the hill in the above picture.

Wild Turkeys!

 I don't think that they were as happy to see me as I was to see them!

In moments they had all disappeared into the woods and I was left alone in a silent field.

I love these little adventures but it's always good to return home afterwards.

Home again!

checking in...

 

It seems that only yesterday I was looking at this summery view from my kitchen window, but in reality, it's been weeks since this picture was taken. 
Autumn is here now and although we've been enjoying warm, summer-like weather for the most part, the signs of the changing season are unmistakable and beautiful as always.
For any of you who check in on my blog from time to time, please forgive my recent absence here.  I've been thinking a lot about what it is I have to offer on the
blogosphere and needed to take a little time out to look around, learn, and enjoy the blogs of others for a bit. 

I've been doing a lot of walking recently, well, as much as time will allow, and have become quite familiar with a forty-five minute walk up and around the loop in Camden . 
Starting out early is best, the ocean air is cool and fresh and sharing the road with other early walkers and runners makes for a happy feeling. 
The other day when I arrived for my walk I found the harbor to be quite 'socked in' by fog...like 'pea soup', as they say, though not of the old London smog variety.  I'm glad I had my camera with me.

Walking the Beach

When I was a kid I learned that a day at the beach was one of the most enjoyable ways to spend a day. Back then it was all about playing in the waves, building sandcastles and investigating the tide pools and seaweed-covered rocks. When the tide was low my sisters and I would spend hours lifting up slippery seaweed to see what might be living under there. We would be thrilled if we discovered a crab and would fearlessly collect it into a plastic bucket in which we had created what we thought was a crab's 'perfect world'. Sand, seaweed and seawater, hmmm...at the end of the day we would return our captives back to the rocks and head back to our grandmother's house, a bit sunburned and tired, but happy.

These days I wouldn't think of terrorizing the poor crabs, I know that the best place for them is undisturbed under that seaweed. But I love knowing that they are there... and I feel so grateful that I had the chance to roam and meet nature first hand when I was a child. I'm still fascinated with the natural world, it is truly an inspiration and comfort to me.

This past week I drove south to spend a week with family. How lucky I am that they are still living close to the beautiful beaches of southern Maine. We had a great time walking the beach.

Today's Walk

I always appreciate the chance to walk in this special place.  I'll bet that all of the people that I meet on this road...the walkers with their dogs, the joggers, the nature lovers, the adventure seekers...would agree that we are pretty lucky to be here. The wonderful combination of unpaved road, ocean views, birdsong, fresh ocean air and overall peacefulness, always does a world of good for my state of mind.