Penobscot Bay.
January 1st, and temperatures in the 40s (F). Say what? Not only New Year’s Day, but also a Sunday. I expected to meet maybe a dozen fellow hikers on the Beech Hill trail today when Jack and I showed up in mid-afternoon. Instead, we arrived to find nineteen vehicles in the parking lot. My pickup made twenty.
Moon.
All ages, parties large and small. A muddy track. Two dogs on leashes. No birds—well, except for the raft of coots I could see through binoculars down at Chickawaukie Lake.
At the summit, somebody was flying a kite. Children were running around. Other folks were standing on the porch of Beech Nut in the afternoon sun, chatting. Smiles all around, and a quarter moon in the blue, blue sky.
The first day of 2012 seemed pretty auspicious, to me.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 2:30 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. American coot
Elsewhere
2. American crow
3. House sparrow
4. Herring gull
5. Rock pigeon
Tags: American coot, American crow, herring gull, house sparrow, rock pigeon
