It was a great weekend to be my dog (or my kids for that matter). Saturday afternoon we went frog catching, dog walking and duck feeding at Evergreen Cemetery.
Dogs are allowed off leash at the far end of the pond and beyond, and Charlee had a blast splashing through various water holes, while the kids did their best to snag a few frogs. The day was made all the more sweet by lack of RAIN, a blue sky and most especially because I had the weekend off!

Sunday we met good friends at Hinckley Park in South Portland for a walk with their dog Mystic who I helped to place through New England Border Collie Rescue. Mystic was originally a stray and may or not be a purebred, but he sure acts like a Border! For those of you still skeptical that Border's come in this color, check out the Border Collie Museum.

.

Hinckley is a dedicated off leash area, and I have to say that all the dogs we encountered (and there were many!) were all well behaved and good citizens.

The area is divided into two ponds and an open field under the high tension wires. We stayed for nearly 3 hours and had a lovely picnic. My oldest son, the budding naturalist, discovered a HUGE snapping turtle in a shallow area, that we observed for quite some time. He easily persuaded me to visit again the next day. Our turtle friend was still there, and we got to see it's enormous head and neck, which was easily longer than my arm from the elbow down. Wow!

We all truly appreciated our time outdoors this weekend, and this former city gal still can't believe how fortunate we are (especially the dog) to live in Maine!

Why we love Hinkley:
Great place for dogs to swim and cool off and there are plenty of places for your dog to gain access to the water. Trails are well in away from the road.
For kids-Mine love to walk and fish there. They enjoyed watching some of the retrievers diving off the edge for their balls. It is filled with wildlife, birds and berries and at least one giant snapping turtle!
What we don't like like:
Nothing!

Rating (out of a posible 4)
Four paws off the ground for Hinckley

Joy Elliot Photo