My Summer in Maine 2017, Part One
I love my summers in Maine.
Every year around this time, I try to spend a wonderful week, or two - give or take - at my beautiful refuge in Seal Harbor, Maine. This year, the weather has been fantastic, and it has been so much fun spending time with my daughter, Alexis, my grandchildren, Jude and Truman, and all my dear friends who visit.
This is the first of several blogs I will share featuring some of the highlights of my stay. My first week included a visit to the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden, a delicious lunch at the Islesford Dock Restaurant, hikes at Acadia National Park and spectacular views of Seal Harbor and the surrounding areas. Enjoy these photos.
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- Here I am leaving for my trip to Skylands. I am very fortunate to be able to fly privately. The trip is under a couple of hours to Bar Harbor, Maine.
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- My dogs came along for the ride. Here is Creme Brûlée in the cockpit just before lift off.
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- It was a gorgeous clear morning, and look at these views – so majestic.
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- This is an aerial view of Seal Harbor, Islesford, and Sutton Island.
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- On one day, we enjoyed a lovely lunch at the Islesford Dock Restaurant on Little Cranberry Island in Islesford, Maine.
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- Here I am with my friends, Memrie Lewis and Jean Lipkin at Islesford Dock.
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- And here I am in the restaurant, with a view of the docked boats behind me.
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- This is a sunset view of Mt. Desert Island from Islesford – so breathtaking.
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- We also visited the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden. Memrie and I stopped for this quick photo.
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- The garden was designed by the legendary landscape architect, Beatrix Farrand, for John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and his wife Abby Aldrich Rockefeller in the 1920s. It is open for private tours once a week from late July to mid September. Check their web site to make an appointment to visit. https://www.rockgardenmaine.com
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- The garden is enclosed by this high pink stucco wall. The wall is capped with orange tiles that were imported from China.
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- The Garden was designed as a classic English garden bed, with a rectangular shape, and surrounded by pink granite pebble paths.
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- For the Rockefeller Garden, peak bloom time is generally mid to late August – everything looks so beautiful.
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- The gardens are perfectly manicured with immaculately kept flower beds filled with dahlias, lisianthus, sunflowers, verbena, salvia, gladioli and so much more.
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- Here is some gorgeous pink phlox.
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- This is a reproduction of the Moon Gate created by Beatrix Farrand in 1926.
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- The Garden contains many Asian structures and statuary. These are called the Garden Spirits.
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- The Rockefeller Garden is a wonderful place to visit. If you’re even in this part of Maine, I encourage you to stop by.
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- I love hiking whenever I am in Maine. Here I am with my dear Chow Chow, GK, during one of our walks around Jordan Pond.
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- A visit to Jordan Pond must include this view of the North and South Bubbles. The North Bubble has an elevation of 872-feet. The South Bubble follows closely at 766-feet.
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- Here are Kevin and GK posing for a quick snapshot.
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- Jordan Pond serves as a wildlife habitat and provides water for nearby communities as well as Jordan Pond House. At its deepest point, it is 150-feet. The water is spectacularly clear.
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- This work is done by beavers. When a beaver cuts down a tree it wants to eat the inner, growing cambium layer of the tree bark.
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- Once the bark is all eaten, they reuse the stick to build their lodges and dams.
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- Here are mergansers. The elegant gray-bodied females have rich, cinnamon heads with a short crest. In summer, they can often be seen leading their ducklings through freshwater rivers, lakes and streams.
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- Beautiful ferns – I love this all natural environment.
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- Here is another photo of me and GK on the walking bridge.
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- And another gorgeous photo of the Pond with the Bubbles in the distance.
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