Midstate trail 11-11-14 Hike-Ku

Veterans Day Hike
Silver Beeches; Eagle's scream
Interacting with Cows

9 Miles. the end.


We hiked a northern section,  Rt. 2 to Graffiti bridge and back again.  Along the way we crossed - legit; thank YOU Maple Heights farm for letting hikers hike through your property - a pasture with these big boys checking us out.  I know my cows.   Those Black Angus make fine eating. .. .

 And on Veterans Day, not a flag waver, but a big Thank you to the people who serve and have served in any number of ways. Including my dad.

Midstate trail 10-25-14

October 25th

Muddy Pond Shelter to rt 12 Bridge loop hike return (with z's)

Yellow triangle?
Trail well marked How DID we
Make That wrong turning?

Did I mention we walked right past the turn?  And bushwacked up a hill, which made a pretty straight up ascent.  I'm sure DZ thinks we're trying to kill him.  "Oh THAT trail marker!"

Midstate Trail 11-18-14

Oct 18

Hike to Muddy Pond
Into Autumns Peak Palette
Maybe We'll live here?



Graffiti bridge to Muddy Pond Shelter and back.  What a pleasant surprise this one was.  A shelter without broken glass and burned bits.  After a gentle up and down through glorious foliage, we had sun, warmth and sweet views.  6 miles in and out.  I could move in.

Hike Ku for Redemption Rock Oct 13 2014

Fourteen years ago
ledges, leaves, Redemption and beer
Are revisited

Almost 14 years ago we had our first hiking date.  We went back, a little older, greyer, heavier, but still in love with each other and still in love with the out doors.  

Good Times

With good friends. S and I have decided that if we invite people in on a regular basis for a meal then the house gets clean. So we did just that and had the Z's and J in for dinner. Hike before but only with the Z's - J- is deeply allergic - through the Indian Ridge/Bakers Meadow loop. The swans were there but no kids as far as I could see. Maybe not a good year for swan babies - I never saw any this spring, so I don't know if the eggs ever hatched before the turtles and various local predators got them. And it was so dry and dusty with water levels the lowest I've seen them ever. Ironic that last March I was writing about floods. . .

Clean house, good food, good friends. One of the many things I love about summer.

Sucking Summer Dry

Hike Ku for Appleton Farms and Grass Rides

Again bad directions
She doesn't know left from right
And we add on miles

Hike Ku for Old Town Hill and Marsh

The Marsh washed yellow
And a ruby through the trees
day's end in August

Of these last few precious days before I return to work. Today we puttered a bit in the a.m. and headed out for a hike in Hamilton/Ipswich on a Trustee's property - Appleton Farms - complete with CSA and cows. Some unplanned hiking brought us near the cows, but most of the planned hike was in the woods and pastures edge. You can probably tell from the haiku why that was so. . . And S- is making jokes about hamburger for dinner. This Bonus Hike Ku courtesy of S - sorry baby cows

A cow licks my hand
I feel used; I'll get revenge
with my next hamburger.

A break for fried clams and HANDCUT FRIES at the Ipswich Clambake - very delicious with no lines, unlike the Clam Box up the way and well worth the stop. S- and I shared a plate, I cannot imagine eating one of those suckers by yourself although I heard a number of them ordered while we were there. Salisbury Beach for a dip and some yoga on the beach and a brief read then off again to a sunset hike at Old Town Farm and Marsh. THAT was stunningly beautiful. The mosquitoes were a nuisance, but the color and light display through the lingering day was extraordinary. And home with another 7 or 8 miles on these legs.

shouldn't have swum in the bay

ended up home sick. up all night with a miserable migraine - the first in ages and spent most of the day in headache and medication fog. no hikes for me. just sofa and books.