It's Another Monday Already

Holy cow! who stole last week? Poof, it's gone and it's Monday again and I didn't step foot out on a trail. I had full intentions on getting out into the woods on Saturday, but that isn't what took place.

Bruce and I were going to hit a trail some where in the north Maine woods Saturday for fresh air and leaf-peeping. Yes, it's that glorious time of year when the trees turn color. The changes in the length of daylight and changes in temperature cause the chlorophyll in the leaves to stop making food, the chlorophyll breaks down and the green color disappears, leaving behind red, orange and yellow colors that make fall so beautiful.

I often suffer from insomnia, either I can't get to sleep, or I wake up way too early. Friday night both happened. I finally fell asleep about 1am only to wake back up at 4am. Back to the family room couch I went. I attempted to work on my book projects but three hours of quasi-sleep did not provide my brain with what it needed to function properly. So I turned on Netflix, curled up with a soft blanket and watched TV. An hour later, I heard the garage door to the family room slowly creak open. I wasn't too surprised, often our son, Stephen comes in late or early - depending on how you look at it - from work. But I couldn't figure out why he was coming home at that time when I knew he had to work at 6:00am. Puzzled, I continued to watch the door until a large figure stood in the dark foyer and it wasn't Stephen.

For a brief moment my brain asked me if I should be alarmed, But I was too tired to panic. As my eyes focused through the glow of the TV screen, I saw that it was our other son, Patch and his fiancé Brittany. Hmmm, they were supposed to be in the North Maine Woods camping. Turned out, their Friday didn't go so well either. The short version, they drove all night looking for a campsite but there were no open ones. In the NMW it is a first come-first-served system. They decided to detour to our house.

They went to bed. Soon after that, Bruce decided to get up. Since I was exhausted and the kids surprised us with a visit we decided not to go for a hike. Instead, we did some chores and went apple picking. Yum. North Chester Orchard run by Jane and Allen LeBrun, never disappoints.

Macintosh apples at North Chester Orchard, Chester Maine

In the afternoon we harvested more produce from the garden, the guys brought in the dock, and we relaxed by the lake. And I took a nap also. That evening we sat by the fire and the kids cooked "camp food" for dinner.

Patch cooking beans and hotdogs, doesn't get any more "Maine" than that.

I so wanted to go for a hike Saturday and the kids wanted to spend one last weekend camping. Neither one happened as planned. Instead we had an impromptu weekend at the lake with family that couldn't have been more perfect.

Before I end, I do want to share my friend's hiking adventure. She had invited me to go with her but I declined because I thought I was going some place with hubby. So, if insomnia doesn't attack, maybe this is where you will find me next weekend.

Barren Mountain - Photos courtesy of Stacey Morneault

Happy Hiking,

Emily