View from the top

I've fallen behind in my postings, but I suppose that's a typical occurrence these days. My life has been filled with comings and goings and lists that seem to go on for days. I've been trying to wrap up spring projects since we're already well into summer, but new things keep making their way onto my lists and the old ones just won't go away.

BIg projects on hand:
Finishing my web design courses (finished!)
Finding/finalizing a wedding location (almost there...)
Redesigning/painting promotional material for Sagegrass Gallery (should be finished today)
Design my online portfolio so I can....(haven't even started)
Find a job in Denver.

That's the long and short of it.

For now, here's a couple photos of a hike up Parkman Mountain. Beautiful, but extremely windy, view from the top after a strenuous and satisfying hike.

Good Morning Snowflakes!

This morning I woke up to snowflakes outside my window. It was a bit startling at first, but it made me think a number of things.

First: "Oh no! It's actually winter now!"

Then I moved on to "Well at least mother nature waited until November. Thanks a bunch!"

Next I decided it was time to break out the winter hat, which I of course look ridiculous in.

And finally, I thought, "I'd better get the rest of my fall pictures on line so I can move on to snow pictures"

So here we are...fall pictures.

Last week Joe and I were able to go for a walk around Jordon Pond. It was a gorgeous day and I luckily had the morning off, so we took full advantage.














It's been nice to finally get to spend some time together now that the summer season has settled down. The gallery is just about closed and I'm really appreciating the time to relax and get some much needed things done. I'm not sure that I'm ready for all that winter brings, but I'm certainly glad for the time it's given back to me. Hopefully I won't let the early darkness slow me down and turn me into the sloth that I can sometimes become.

I'm Melting

I'm feeling rather apathetic. Maybe it's because it's a beautiful day outside and I'm stuck inside working - dealing with a printer that seems to always have a paper jam that I must investigate every time I need to print something - and then when the paper jam is fixed, it claims to be out of paper even though I already re-filled it.
Sigh.

Maybe I'm just thinking about going camping this weekend, or the vacation I get to take in just under 2 weeks--which by the way, could go by really quickly and I promise I wouldn't whine about the summer speeding by. Just get me to vacation!!

No matter the reason, I'm feeling mopey. I feel like I'm melting into a little puddle right here in my chair.

Of course I'm not actually doing that, and I promise I'll stop whining about it because let's face it, there isn't really any legitimate reason for my puddle-like attitude.

So I'll suck it up.

Just for you.

And maybe a little bit for Joe because I'm sure the last thing he wants is to come home after his own long day of looking longingly out the window at the pretty sunshine, and have a mopey girlfriend. So here goes.

I think this first picture is a rather appropriate way to begin boosting my mood.



Yes, those are tennis shoes hanging from the back of my car. They are there because they smell. TERRIBLY.

Joe and I took my parents on a nice leisurely hike last week. About half way to our destination hiking path, my mom and I noticed a rather ghastly smell. We weren't sure what it could be since the boys couldn't smell it from the front seats. Then Joe informed us that he had placed his old, smelly, disgusting "hiking" shoes in the trunk in an effort to keep from stinking up the car on the way to the hike. Well he FAILED! Miserably! The smell had permeated the back seat and was choking out the air.

Needless to say, the shoes rode outside the car on the way back home after the hike.

And unfortunately, despite pleading from both myself and my mom, Joe would not throw out the shoes and has returned them to their stink hole in the basement.

The next are a few more typical photos from our hike, followed by a ridiculous man on a motorcycle at the Quietside Flamingo Festival which my mother obviously insisted upon attending.









And to finish things off, a couple more adorable pictures of my parents....





...Some pretty little boats that match pretty bigger boats...



...a photo from the top of Dorr Mountain...



...and the most poisonous snake the world. Which is actually probably just a gardener snake that tried to fool us into thinking he had a tiny rattle on the tip of his tail. And of course he decided to try to bite me even though Joe was the one who almost crushed him beneath his shoes, not me. Go figure...

Hunting for Hunter's

When I went back to Michigan for Christmas, I was stuck in the airport with a family from Maine. We talked for a while, discussing our favorite places on the island. The mother told me about a favorite beach in the park called Hunters Beach. She said it was covered in perfectly smooth stones, and was almost never crowded with tourists. About a week or two ago, Joe and I decided to try to find it.

The stretch of the park loop road we were heading for was of course, closed for the winter. Thankfully, the park road crosses under the main road. So we parked near a bridge and climbed down onto the snow covered park road. It was a bit of a hike to the beach, but it was a surprisingly warm and sunny day, so it wasn't all that unpleasant. We even came across these bikers. I can't say they had a good idea, biking down the snow covered road, but judging by the looks on their faces, I can't imagine they knew what they were getting themselves into either!



When we got closer to the beach, we were surprised to see snow start falling. The sun was shining, it was actually warm, and snow was still falling! If you look hard, you can see it against the backdrop of the dark trees.



The beach itself was beautiful. It was exactly as the woman had described it. The entire shore was layers and layers of perfectly smooth stones. Walking across the beach, you can hear the echo of the stones extending a number of feet below you. It's a bit unnerving thinking that you're standing precariously on layers and layers of stones. When you walk closer to the water, you can hear the stones shuffling and scraping towards the shore and back out to the ocean as the waves roll in and out. I could have sat there all day if the sun hadn't started to trade places with some dark looking clouds.

Change in the Winds

As if you couldn't tell, I gave my blog a bit of a make-over. I needed some space; some fresh air. We'll see if I stick with it, but for now, I'm feeling good about it.

As of right now, I'm going to choose to not mention the horrific football game that is currently being played by my alma mater and simply continue on with better things that are happening in my life.

Well, actually, I'm not so sure I have anything overly interesting to discuss. It's starting to get a little cool here, feeling more and more like fall. I'm getting excited to visit an apple orchard and maybe try my hand at a caramel apple pie. I've also started investigating pumpkin patches and am excited for baked pumpkin seeds. But then I remember that snow shall soon follow, and I get a bit upset. Hopefully fall will extend itself over a longer string of months this year. Everything is still very green, and I'm rather excited to see the landscape change through shades of orange and red. Hopefully the brown phase will hold off a bit for my sake.

I'll leave you with some images from a recent hike. The Precipice Trail is supposed to be hardest here at Acadia, and I must admit, it was a bit taxing. Nothing unmanageable, but the many ladders and high steps don't make it an easy trek to the top. Despite my slight fear of heights, I made it to the top in one piece.