A Bit Of The Old Days..

On my way to work a few days ago I came across this scene. A bit of nostalgia harkening back to a simpler time when man and beast had a more intimate connection to the land..

You don't see this much anymore..

But it's nice to see that it still exists...

A Few Hours Well Spent.. Lake St.George

We decided to take advantage of the nice weather Sunday last and head inland, away from the persistently cold wind off the ocean. Although great in July and August, it makes it very uncomfortable to be in an open 17' boat cruising the salt water this time of year.  
(As I write this the air temperature outside is 38 degrees.) 

And realizing that our plan of island hopping was blowing away we said good bye to Penobscot Bay..hello to Lake St. George..

Arriving at the boat launch, just west of the state park, we found it to be over flowing with vehicles and boat trailers.  Of course they were the smart ones. The ones who got to the lake early to take advantage of the much more productive, but colder, fishing time of early morning rather than the warmer,  but later start time that we chose. Accepting the fishing handicap that we imposed on ourselves, we were just happy just to be on the water and enjoying the re-charging effect of the bright, early May sunshine.

It wasn't long however before I did manage to get a streamer overboard under the watchful eye of Big Ray. 

Or was he keeping that eye on his kibble pouch?

Even our loaner puppy was wondering what the heck was going on..

This is Gil and he is with us for a little while until he goes back to Brooksville and his regular puppy raisers, Kathleen and Steve.  He's a very good boy, especially when he's sleeping, and loaded with puppy exhuberance, to the sometimes annoyance of Ray.

Gil has adopted Ray as his big brother (Ray isn't convinced that it works for him) but they make quite the contrasting looking pair, side by each..

After trolling around and about for some time, we decided the boys needed a break from the boat riding so they could stretch their legs and get some sniffs in.

We put ashore on an island and let the boys do their thing. Gil watching Ray go for a swim, decided to give it a try for himself but needed a little enticement...

But even with that he was a bit reluctant to push off and take that initial puppy paddle stroke. Sizing up the situation he used his problem solving skills and tried using the fallen tree as his solution to his dilemma..

However it wasn't long before he found himself back on shore shaking his coat after taking a bit of a plunge off the tree and having discovered that swimming wasn't all that hard to do after all...

Back on board, we took our time returning to the boat launch, enjoying the warm May sun..especially Gil

Gil is, as I've said, a guide dog in training and we have been fortunate to puppy sit him for a short time. In a little over a month he will be returning to Guiding Eyes For The Blind for his In For Training test and hopefully a new chapter in his life as a full fledged guide. 

Good Luck Gil

Shakedown Cruise...Lake Megunticook

It was time. 

After a long winter and a cold, windy, rainy Spring, we were ready to begin the 2013 boating season with our shakedown cruise. 

We picked one of our favorite spots, Lake Megunticook and we chose Sunday last.

The day was bright, blue with a cool wind that was strong enough to produce small whitecaps on the lake. The town had not put the ramp floats in yet and we were the only ones at the Rt. 52 landing. But soon enough the boat launch and parking lot will be fully utilized, to become somewhat of an obstacle course for those of us whose trailering skills are constantly being challenged.

After a winter's worth of storage, my main concern (as always) was the motor. Once the boat was out of the garage and with  freshly charge batteries installed, I very briefly fired her up. But it is always a big relief to hear the purring of the 4 stroke when it's actually in the water instead of sitting in the driveway.

Once out on the lake we discovered that we weren't alone after all. One other boat with a couple of fishermen trolling for rainbows which I had been told were being caught on the surface. Unfortunately I did not bring along my fly rod but did have a spinning rod stored in the boat which was not long in becoming un-stored.

It was great to be back on the water..sun on my face and fish on the scope.

(But alas none brought to net.)

And let me not forget my wonderful companions..

My wife Pat, Zed and Ray.

It wasn't long however before the boys were longingly looking toward the nearest shoreline for perhaps an overdue rest stop.

While they were doing their thing I came across this..

Clearly someone has been very busy this spring.

With the sun dropping and the wind seeming a little more chilly we headed back to the launch, fully satisfied with our shakedown cruise and eagerly anticipating many more to come.

Ready To Go!

I took a short ride to the public boat landing here in Belfast to check out it's status and much to my pleasure I found the landing clear and the floats in place, Ready To Go.

Unfortunately my boat was not. She was in my garage and still serving as a large tote filled  with much of last falls, pre-winter yard clean up. Things like lawn chairs..bird baths..a hammock..a puppy pool and lots more.

So..after my boat launch discovery, and with the accompanying motivation, I tackled the jumble of stuff that was filling my boat tote and now..here she sits..

Ready To Go. Ready for the start of the 2013 season. and I am so Ready too!

Nice work if you can get it...

             One of our awesome wardens snuggling a couple of cubs 

 that are part of a bear monitoring project being done by the state.               

               Here's the whole crew with Mama Bear..great job to you all...

Here's Mud In Your Eye...

Tis the season..mud that is...

The driveway is a mess. The baddest in many years..

Mud and ruts and standing water..

To and 

fro..

But there are signs...

very good signs...

Has the back of winter been broken? 

I'm not ready to go out on a limb to say that as I'm sure there will be more to come.

But..I can see the light and it won't be long before my 

fly rods..

come down off their hooks and on to the brooks..

Lunch Cruise On The Passy

It was a mid July in the summer of 2012 and it was decided to take advantage of such a beautiful day. 

Our destination was The Head Of Tide / City Point in Belfast. With an incoming tide working in our favor we packed up a lunch and trailered the Lund down to the public boat ramp. All aboard...and we were heading up river.

Passing under two bridges

we found ourselves in the wide expanse of the Passagassawakeag River.  But looks can be deceiving.  At high tide she is an impressive sight with what seems to be plenty of water.

But once the tide starts to fall she is quickly relegated  to her true nature, a shallow mud flat with a narrow and twisting channel.

And even with a GPS one must pay strict attention to your navigating.

Not far up river we came to the narrowest portion where long ago stood an old wooden bridge with only a few pilings remaining.

This is where the old timers had to come in order to get to East Belfast, before the modern convenience of The Veteran's Memorial Bridge which opened up in 1921.

The B&ML Railroad trestle at City Point was the end of our upstream motoring. Past this part of the river in a motorboat? I guess not...

With the tide starting to drop and it, combined with the slow current of the river toward the sea, we cut the motor and unpacked our lunch, lazily drifting down stream.  It is such a joy just to drift, without the sound of an outboard. Past the tranquility that surrounded us,

with just the sights and sounds of nature for us to enjoy. Birds singing and others looking for a meal, a harbor seal poking its head up to check us out or even a small waterfall to serenade us.

We were quietly moving down stream to the ocean which was steadily drawing us, like a powerful unseen, but not unfelt, magnet.

All too soon we were back at the boat landing. But we'll go back again this coming summer to enjoy more quiet times on The Passy..