HIKING TRAILS
This is a different Maine for us. No restaurant meals. Limited social activities and more time at home. But if we want a change of scene, then there are local trails to explore. The Boothbay Region Land Trust maintains preserves in Boothbay, Southport, Edgecomb, and the surrounding area. A variety of trails are open to the public, some good for hiking, others suitable for easy walking.
Several years ago, we hiked the wooded one-mile trail at Porter Preserve on Barter’s Island. It has some gradual elevation and several great vistas of the Sheepscot River and one overlook with a welcoming bench.
This week we went to the nearby Hendrick Head Trail. This is a short trail, just a half mile one way that then loops back to the main road. It’s wooded and quiet and the path was dotted with tiny pinecones and one giant toadstool.
The trail entrance is located just down from a little beach and from the beach, there’s a view of the Hendricks Head Light. This lighthouse was established in 1829, with the present structures dating from 1875. It’s a squarish lighthouse with a keeper’s house that has a bright red roof.
HODGE PODGE OF READING
I mailed a box of books to Maine and between them and e-books from the library, I have a motley assortment. Here are just two of them.
Tough Love by Susan Rice
Susan Rice is one of the contenders to be Joe Biden’s vice-presidential candidate which makes her memoir timely. A Black woman who grew up in a contentious household (her parents ultimately divorced), she served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President Obama and then as his national security advisor. She was slated to become his secretary of state but was pilloried in the press and on social media for comments she made after the Benghazi incident. Smart, extremely knowledgeable about a range of international issues, Rice is straightforward and occasionally blunt.
The book is long and covers some of the same crises that Samantha Power dealt with in her book, The Education of an Idealist. I confess to doing a fair bit of skimming and, at points, being more interested in the personal details of how she juggled having young children with her very demanding schedule. Nonetheless, I recommend it. I think you will come away impressed with her accomplishments and her talents. (~JWFarrington)
Kiss and Kin by Angela Lambert (1997)
I bought this novel in paperback some years ago (the paper is yellowed) and never had read it, so added it to my Maine stash. It’s a story of love and loyalty in two upper class British families. Harriet is a recent widow in London to celebrate her grandson Hugo’s birthday. He’s the child of her son, Roderick, and daughter-in-law, Jennifer. They are going through a rough patch with talk of divorce.
The other grandparents, Oliver and Clarissa, are slated to attend, but Oliver arrives alone and is immediately transfixed by Harriet. As Oliver and Harriet embark on a passionate affair, they agonize over what they perceive as their duty to their adult children. Harriet particularly is concerned about the impact of their relationship, once proclaimed, on their mutual grandchildren. I enjoyed this novel, but found it dated, an opinion shared in other online reviews. (~JWFarrington)
Note: Toadstool and header photo on Hendrick Head Trail ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).
