Baxter Park

Wild. Fresh Air. Blueberries. Black Flies. Cold Water. Warm Sun. Restorative.....

All this, and more, was Baxter Park.


Katahdin, as viewed from Chimney Pond


The ridge we came up.


Heading on towards Davis Pond


Davis Pond


Wassataquoik Stream


The Family


South Branch Tent Site


In the canoe, headed for some cliff diving.

Is synthetic imposition ethical?

I took this picture on a bike ride I took yesterday. This house and land is undeniably the most handsome on Orr's island. A beautifully manicured lawn runs to the doorstep of a beautiful house, which looks down on a beautiful blue pond.
Unfortunatly, the pond was made by placing a concrete dam at the outlet of what probably used to be a small creek. Beyond being highly unsightly, the dam probably deprived a downstream eco-system of vital water.

This brings up an interesting point of ethical concern. To what extent should man impose his ideas of beauty on nature?

To some extent, the modern age has ushered in a state of irreversible change, from trails to interstate highways, from beaver dams to the hoover dam.

What about mowing your lawn? Or even landscaping?

Clearly there must be some line of delineation. Where that line must lie is the choice of the individual.

What do you think?

Lands End

My bike took me out to the end of route 24 yesterday. The scenic ride wends it's way through the communities on Orr's and Bailey Islands before the pavement runs into sea and sky at "Lands End".

I left our house at 4:40 P.M., just as the trees and sky began to glow with the golden light cast off by the setting sun.

I passed quickly through the lingering shadows, feeling impolite to dance through their councils, but it was the road's fault, it hurried me along, daring me to find it's last corner....

The grasses nodded cordially at my passing, they said they had been waiting for me... but I didn't believe them, I haven't seen them move in years.

I paused at Lands End to take some pictures. An elderly lady in her car smiled at me, tentatively, wondering if I would smile back, and when I did, the moment was just as beautiful as the scenery surrounding me.