Living in Place, Nature

Walktober: Back to the Narrows

80 Comments

“Walkers have walked to gain a sense of place, to improve well-being, to harness attention, to cultivate awareness, to gain new experiences, to explore new territories, to march for freedom, and to express care and devotion for others.”  –Bonnie Smith Whitehouse

Robin, at Breezes at Dawn, is hosting Walktober, where you take a  walk or a bike ride or a paddle and then share your journey. I borrowed the beginning quotation from Robin because I thought it beautifully expressed the many roles that one simple activity—walking—can provide. Symbolic, practical, protest, curiosity, devotion, exercise— all from walking. No fancy equipment necessary. Just a pair of sneakers and willing feet.

As I have mentioned in a previous post, not long ago walking was painful because of my weight and my arthritic knees. After having lost thirty pounds, walking is no longer as painful, which means I can go short distances and actually enjoy it. (Looking forward to losing more weight and going for longer winter hikes.)

One of my favorite walks is to the Narrows Ponds, about one-quarter of a mile from my house. There is lots of water in Winthrop, but surely the Narrows are among the prettiest.

Yesterday, was one of those October days that makes a person glad to be alive. All the humidity was gone, the air was crisp, and the sky was a piercing blue.

Leaving our driveway, Clif and I turned left, down the long hill to the Narrows. See? I am not exaggerating one bit when I refer to our home “in the woods.”

On the way we saw a yellow fern glowing in the sun,

a chipmunk on a rock,

and walls made long ago when the trees were chopped down and fields stretched all the way to the Narrows. Hard to imagine our road looking like this and comforting to think about how forests can make a comeback.

At the bottom of the hill, we saw a glimmer of deep blue—sky and water—through the bright lace of leaves.

Then a sign reminding us how important this water is to Winthrop.

A short ways later,  the Lower Narrows glittered to our right,

and the Upper Narrows to our left.

There’s not much color this year with the changing leaves. Perhaps it’s because of the drought. Or maybe it’s the many storms we’ve recently had, bringing relief to the drought but blowing the bright leaves off the trees. No matter. It’s a place of beauty, with or without colorful foliage.

After gazing at the water and taking pictures, we headed back up the hill, where we saw mushrooms by the side of the road,

as well as our neighbor’s chickens pecking and looking for tidbits.

Finally, our own snug home tucked in the trees.

Once inside, I made cup of cranberry-orange tea, given to me by a friend, and wrote this post, a record of a short but oh so lovely walk in October 2020,

 

 

 

 

 

80 thoughts on “Walktober: Back to the Narrows”

  1. Good morning, Laurie, Beautiful photos showcasing the colours of Fall. I especially like the beginning quotation. Like you say “no fancy equipment necessary…”. I also like the way you described “…one of those October days…”. I am also glad to be alive and have access to trails. Thank you for taking me along on your walk and sharing this beautiful post.😊Erica

  4. I really enjoyed walking along with you Laurie. That picture through the leaves to the sky and the water is glorious!
    And I love the quote at the beginning – it made me think about all the different kinds of walking I have done that has brought me peace in troubled times and joy in happy times: along the beach with my Grandad as a child, ambush trails with my boys (I couldn’t call them walks or they wouldn’t come!), trekking in Nepal aged 40, creating and walking labyrinths, the ‘500 mile’ challenge with my Granddaughter….. hmmm must make another labyrinth soon. Thought provoking – thank you. 🙂

  7. I liked ‘back to the narrows’ too. The picture of the tree with the colourful leaves against the water is a classic shot. Interesting to see the boulders along the road.

    1. Yes, those boulders are part of an old stone wall. Maine is chock full of them, and many of them are now in the woods as the fields have been left to grow wild.

  8. That was a nice walk. I could almost feel the cool breeze and hear the leaves rustling in the trees. Great to have such a nice place to walk so close to your home. Congratulations on your weight loss and hopefully you can reach your new goal. Take care and thanks for sharing.

    1. We actually have quite wide variety of trees. In addition to maples, oaks, and pines, there are also beech, poplar, cedar, and birch. Might be others, too.

  10. Looks like you had yourself one lovely fall walk in the woods plus got to admire the beautiful water. 🙂 We have a reservoir about a mile from here, and it is so dry no one can kayak or fish right now. It scares the heck out of me every time we drive over it. We have rain in the forecast this week, and I have my fingers crossed.

  11. A lovely outing, Laurie. There is nice color in the trees across the Narrows… I love how the red maples blaze this time of year.
    I’ve got to get my Walktober post written… only 6 days left! 😉

  13. I”m so glad to be able to go along with you on your Walktober! What a beautiful place you live in. My favorite photo was the one of the water through the leaves, but I did also grin at the chipmunk and the chickens. I’m a sucker for chickens. Those October days when the sun shines and the air glows with color, those sure are special and we need to keep those memories for the darker winter days to come. Not to say we can’t get out there and walk a Walkember in November or December…there are bound to be at least a couple pretty days then too. Right? Right??

  15. A wonderful walk, and your house looks so welcoming. I finished your first book a few nights ago, Maya & the Book of Everything. A great read! Maya is such an appealing character. And the story keeps you moving. You do a super job with dialogue, I think. Excellent!!

  16. Nice post. Reminded me of the quote from Anne of Green Gables: “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” Since it’s 87F here and very hazy, not so much. We need a cold front!

  20. What a nice walk. And how fortunate to have the pond so close. All that beauty in walking distance, with beauty along the way…I had a nice hike with friends on Saturday, but did not take pictures!!! Silly me. It could have been my next post. I’m glad your knee is better now so you can enjoy the walks.

    1. That’s the fun of blogging, isn’t it? Seeing places that are so different from where you live. I am all ago when blogging friends post pictures of brightly-colored parrots in the trees. Wonderful!

  22. What a lovely place you live in, and can go for such walks amongst the trees and near the water. The water seen through the trees is picturesque, and far removed from our landscape, which makes it even more interesting. Congratulations on great achievement with your weight loss Laurie, and the reward is being able to so much more without aching joints! Enjoy your walk and rides in autumn.

      1. Hi Laurie, I loved this post and will be including it as a link in my Monday monthly wrap up post. Please let me know if you prefer it is removed. Thanks 😊

  26. Such beautiful scenery — and a sweatshirt/jacket to go with it. Somehow the sky, water, and trees always look better in clear, crisp air. We have so much humidity here that we rarely get to see days like yours; they can be pretty, but there’s always a bit of haze. We long for ‘northers’ just so we can enjoy for a day or two what you show here — thanks so much for sharing it with us!

  27. Hi, Laurie – I love #Walktober. Thank you for the reminder. And thank you for sharing your gorgeous photos of a beautiful walk. I especially liked your line “one of those October days that makes a person glad to be alive.” 😀

  28. It looks like a perfect autumn day, Laurie. I’ve been walking a lot more this month, but not quite as lovely as your travels. That said, this is a favorite month and it’s wonderful to be outdoors. 🙂

  30. Loved joining you for this beautiful walk!🙂 Enjoyed the lovely photos and look forward to your walking/hiking season through beautiful Maine and so wonderful you’re able to enjoy the walks without pain.🙂

  31. Good morning, Laurie. Thank you so much for joining in with such a beautiful walk. The air felt cool and crisp to me, but maybe I’m just imagining it. 🙂

  32. What a lovely walk! Thank you for taking us with you. And how great that you can now do it – good luck with getting lighter and stronger and able to go further. As you know I love walking and as you say it has so many benefits!

  38. Such a lovely post, Laurie, and great pictures. I’m very glad you are back to walking without much pain. I have done some walking this year, pain and all, and the price I paid seemed well worth it!
    We walked with the young ‘uns yesterday, which was allegedly our last mild-weather day before it turns cold here. What a glorious walk it was!

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