Amazing sights / sites

We heard about the old Tannery site and the proposed rezoning of that area to industrial at the Planning Board meeting. Sam had toured the site with the selectboard not long ago, but I had never been there. I was intrigued and wanted to see it for myself. On Easter, we took a walk out that direction. We couldn’t drive all the way to the building due to huge puddles, so we parked the car. It was a short walk to the site.

The building was huge and partially roofless, a ruin. And covered with graffiti. There was a healthy young tree growing through what used to be the entrance?

It was difficult to pick our way in because the floor was gone in places. But it was irresistible. The floor of the interior was not in bad shape. Some kind of tile, covered with graffiti. There were channels through it which must have led water through some industrial process.

Another huge room was more shaded because of remaining roofing.

In a sunny patch, some coltsfoot were blooming, the earliest flower I’ve seen around here. It blooms even before dandelions. The flowers precede the leaves.

I found it hard to believe there were such high caliber graffiti artists locally. Not to disparage local skills, but there is not that much surface around here to paint. Just this one spot, as far as I’ve seen. I sent the photos to my son, who used to know something about the graffiti scene. I told him the painting looked so expert and he confirmed there were graffiti artists who were basically itinerant, traveling around to likely spots. They took advantage of a great location here. I just took a few photos, there was a lot more.

After our short tour of the building, we struck out into the countryside in search of the confluence of streams. At first I hesitated because of ticks and general dislike of bushwhacking. There was no path. My curiosity was strong however, and we set out, using the GPS on the phone for navigation.

First step – find the closest stream. This was our first view of it. Very natural and unspoiled-looking. I wonder whether the tannery or other milling process used this water in the past, if at all. I found this quote on Facebook:

[Hancock] had two water power sites to operate mills—the Kilkenny and Egypt streams. There was one gristmill, four shingle mills and four lath mills. Other products included staves, lumber, boots, shoes, wagons and sleighs.

https://www.facebook.com/events/explore/hancock-maine/112940478720082/

Lots of beaver activity was soon apparent. Downstream a short way, there was a beaver dam crossing the whole stream. We were tempted to cross to the other side over this dam, but thought better of it. It could crumble, a foot could catch in sticks… who knows. We wanted to get across but maybe it was just a case of thinking the grass was greener on the other side!

Shrubs and trees showed signs of beaver cuts everywhere. One piece of trunk stood out because of its dumbbell shape and pencil-like ends. The bark had been chewed off and little toothmarks remained in the wood. It’s a mystery what the beaver was trying to do with this. We brought this piece home.

Using the GPS, we could see that the confluence was upstream, and not too far. We made our way up, trying to avoid the very marshy shore even though it appeared to be the most open place to walk. Finally, we could see where the second stream entered.

Unfortunately, I don’t remember the names of both streams from the Planning Board meeting. And I can’t identify them on any map that I have. One is Kilkenny Stream, not sure which one, and the other is something like Meadow Brook? I’ll find out. I’m curious about this whole area.

I took a panoramic photo. The resolution is not great. There’s a beaver lodge under the tree at the far right.

Looking further upstream, nothing but wilderness and water. A beaver paradise. It would be fun to bring a small kayak in here and explore.

Here’s a screenshot from the phone showing our location.

Such a refreshing hike on a warmish but very windy Easter Sunday. The area may be developed (redeveloped) some time in the future, who knows. For now, I got to witness some very unusual sights not far off Route 1 right here in my town.