One of the best things about growing up on this old place at Sleepy Hollow is the fact that it is situated in the midst of Camden Hills State Park. This has allowed it to be surrounded on four sides by dense forest, and one could theoretically walk through the woods to Mt Battie in Camden. I have never attempted this, though perhaps that is something to put on the bucket list. 

I have mentioned before how from time to time, exhausted hikers find their way down from Frohock Mountain, end up on the old tote road, and to my front lawn, a good mile or so from their car at Steven’s Corner. 

On a sunny Sunday morning, I decided it was time for a walk in the woods.

I had a couple purposes. There is a tree which has in past years produced a huge hen-of-the-woods, long ago discovered by my late father. I have not looked for it in the last couple years, so I figured it was time to see if I could locate it again. I also wanted to see if I could find the Lincolnville Gold Mine, another of many failed attempts to make money by past residents. I had been there many times in my youth, but the last time I saw it was decades ago, and seriously overgrown, even then.

The path to the top of Frohock is pretty straight forward, just another walk in the woods. It is when you go off the trail that things get interesting.

To call Frohock a “mountain” is pretty generous. It’s a hill. But even on such a modest ascent, there are differences in the flora as you head up. Initially the forest surrounding the trail are full of a deep underbrush, which always made my young mind think of the Forest Moon of Endor, from the Star Wars franchise, and an obsession to little Eddie O’Brien. Thick with ferns and saplings and towering trees. Great place for an Ewok or two to hide. As the trail progresses upwards, the underbrush clears out, leaving open spaces between the pines. 

The top of Frohock has no stunning view of the bay, like many of the Camden Hills, but is is a tranquil enough place to sit a minute. Rarely do folk hike the trail that runs from Bald Rock to Frohock, but on this morning, I ran into two people separately hiking. One gentleman commented that in 10 years of hiking that particular trail he had never ran into anyone on the path. For some of us, it is always wonderful to find a hiking spot where you can be pretty sure not to run into anyone. His arrival was my cue to head back down and find that mushroom.

Hen-of-the-wood, or maitake, is a mushroom that grows at the base of old oaks and maples, and is quite delicious. The one I was seeking attached itself to an old oak, growing out of a pile of rocks on the side of the hill. A wizard’s tree, my friend Liz Hand called it, though I don’t know if it was her or my dad who named it so. 

I am an extremely amateur mushroom hunter, and I know very few confidently. It does seem to be a pretty good year for mushrooms overall, and I saw a few that I am pretty sure are delicious, but I am not one to take a chance with mushroom foraging, and neither should you. 

I remember going mushroom picking with my dad maybe 10 years ago in the same environs, and being amazed at not only his ability to locate large patches of edible mushrooms, but also the billygoat-like way he traversed the woods off trail along the hillside. 

I don’t have his skills in either area, but I scrambled over the blowdowns and located the “wizard tree”. It was no more, uprooted from its perilous spot, the rocks no longer holding down its ancient roots. Old, and gnarled, and yet so strong — a hardwood amongst the pines — but at last its time had come.

No mushroom was nestled in its remains.

I headed further down, where the undergrowth was so thick, determined at least to find the remains of the gold mine. It sounds impressive, but it really isn’t, just a hole in the ground, surrounded by boulders of quartz. There is no indication that any gold was ever found. And on this day, I didn’t even find the pit. I was close, I know, but living forests change a lot over 30 years.

I did come away with from this little adventure with an observation. As a kid, wandering through the underbrush, almost all the saplings were white pine, dense and prickly. Today, many, if not the majority of the saplings I pushed through were hardwoods, maples mostly. Gentler to bare arms, but still an ominous sign of how things are changing in our environment. In my lifetime, the arboreal make up of the Camden Hills is shifting. In a generation, maybe it will be the lone pine in a forest of hardwood that will stand out. Not sure I like it.

Scales and Tails at the Library

This Monday, August 26, at 6 p.m., the Lincolnville Community Library will host the traveling natural history program Scales and Tails, with an exhibit of live reptiles and reptilian artifacts. Specifically designed for children and families, though all are welcome, the program works to dispel fears and misconceptions. There will be an ice cream social to follow to celebrate a summer of reading.

Heh, and again I think of my dad, a mild herpetophobe, who used to tell us that the scariest time when he was in the Service was not coming under fire in Korea, but that time in the Philippines when a giant constrictor dropped down from a tree in front of him. Last time he took the shortcut through the jungle to the bar.

Lincolnville Central School Budget

The official ballots have been counted, and the school budget has passed. Just in time for the first day of school, September 3rd. Thanks for everyone who came out to vote.

Looks like a lovely week ahead, the last of the summer for most of the school kids. The college kids have mostly returned, and the incoming Camden Hills freshman, including my middle boy,  have orientation this Thursday. Hopefully he will have as smooth a transition as I did, 35 years ago. 

Enjoy the sunny, mild days, but don’t forget a sweatshirt or light jacket for when the sun goes down. Wave to your neighbor, do good and be good. Reach out at ceobrien246@gmail.com

CALENDAR

Monday, August 26

Lincolnville Historical Society Museum open, 1-4 p.m., 33 Beach Road

Select Board, 6 p.m., Town Office

Tuesday, August 27

Library open 3-6 p.m. 208 Main Street

AA Meeting 12:15 p.m., Community Building, 18 Searsmont Road

Lakes and Ponds Committee, 7 p.m., Town Office

Wednesday, August 28

Lincolnville Historical Society Museum open, 1-4 p.m., 33 Beach Road

Library open 2-5 p.m. 

Planning Board 6 p.m., Town Office

MCSWC Board of Directors, 6:30 p.m., Town Office

Friday, August 30

Lincolnville Historical Society Museum open, 1-4 p.m., 33 Beach Road

AA Meeting 12:15 p.m., Community Building, 18 Searsmont Road

Library open 9-12, 208 Main Street

Saturday, August 31

Library open 9-12, 208 Main Street

Sunday, September 1

United Christian Church, 9:30 a.m. Worship, 18 Searsmont Road

Bayshore Baptist Church, 9:30 a.m. Sunday School, 11:00 worship, 2648 Atlantic Highway