Being an overcast morning, it was rather dark as we hiked up a mountain through a hemlock forest, but that was fine for we began our journey on a trail new to us and it was on the cool side and best of all, not buggy.

And then, we reached the ridge and found ourselves on another trail we had hiked only once before in early spring. Suddenly we could see the sky. It was what was at our feet, however, that mattered most to My Guy.

His beloved blueberries were ripening. And tasted like sunshine despite the clouds above.

For Lowbush Blueberries, they were quite plump and oh, so plentiful. But we hadn’t come prepared to pick. And so we decided we’d move on. That is, until My Guy looked at his watch and realized it was noon, and wondered if we might want to find a spot in that vicinity to eat our sandwiches.

It was then that we both knew our lunch bag would become his blueberry bag.

Did I mind, he asked. Not at all. It meant I could wander and wonder and take in all that surrounded us.

And so he found lunch rock, chosen supposedly for the view in front of us, which included the Saco River, but also for the treats by his feet–an appetizer for sure.

After we finished our sandwiches, he took the bag and let the picking begin. I took my camera and let the sightseeing begin.

Pixie Cups and British Soldiers and so many more lichens grew among the mosses by my feet and I could have spent hours taking inventory.

I also found a sample of aged Red Fox scat that thrilled my soul. Back at home, my neighbor and I have watched our resident foxes pass through our yards and woods frequently, but being able to identify others who had previously traveled the route we chose today made me happy. My Guy was rather nonchalant about it, but I really wanted to add this specimen to my collection. He, however, had beat me to the bag and didn’t think adding scat to blueberries was such a keen idea. Oh bother.

There were White Pine pinecones to admire as well. It takes these cones two years to mature, thus reminding me that this will be a mast year, which the Squirrels and other Rodents will appreciate as they develop caches in their pantries.

I also watched Turkey Vultures ride the thermals, their wings raised in that telltale V as they teetered about in the sky.

And then My Guy called me over for he had made a friend. A small grasshopper hung out on his leg for a few minutes while he continued to pick berries.

But it was the call of another bird, that drew me away again, back to the edge of the ledges.

When we’d first started today’s hike, I heard the chick-burr call note of the Scarlet Tanager, but never expected to spot it a couple of miles later.

And tada, there is was, posing and calling in front of me.

As much as I wanted to call My Guy over to see, I didn’t want the bird to fly, so I took a hundred photos. Well, maybe not quite that many, but you know what I mean.

That beak–what a chomper. And that scarlet body. Those jet-black wings and tail. It was as if he was dressed to impress. I was impressed.

And only wish he’d brought his bride out to say hello. But . . . perhaps she was somewhere on a nest. Or tending their young, though we didn’t hear any sounds that would indicate there were hungry mouths to feed.

Still, he was sooooo handsome.

When the bird finally disappeared from my sight, I showed My Guy what he had missed. He was also in awe.

He picked for a little bit longer and I continued to wander, but the rain we knew to expect and had seen in a distance finally found us, so we eventually headed back into the woods to finish our hike, but first I stopped to admire a St. John’s Wort bejeweled with raindrops.

When we got back to the truck, it had stopped raining. I suggested that we had two choices for a late dessert–the brownies we had packed or a stop at Sweetie Pies Ice Cream. He agreed that the latter sounded ideal.

At the end of the day, he had his blueberries.

I had my time with the Scarlet Tanager. (Plus the fox scat that he pooh-poohed.)

And we both had ice cream to celebrate our unexpected finds.

Pineapple Orange for him. Death by Chocolate for me.