[Journal entry for September 16, 2011]. Stovers Point is a sand spit that extends from the mainland of Harpswell Neck out into the Merriconeag Sound, enclosing a salt marsh and lagoon. I walk along Route 123 in Harpswell Maine, admirong the many fields of fall wildflowers and then turn onto Stovers Point Road. It heads steeply downhill to a boat ramp on the Sound. The tide is low, so I walk south along the beach over what appears to be sand cut by small channels from a small stream that is entering the sea at that point. Alas, the beach proves rather muddier than I expected, and my shoes and pant legs become muddy and wet. I make wy way to a firmer spot along the water's edge and wash off. The day is is warm, so I do not mind the dampness. I pass many boulders and some rock pavement with glacial scratches. They are remnants of the Ice Age, when glaciers covered this area. I jump across the little exit stream of the lagoon and then climb up onto the end of the sand spit. I imagine that the low lying section that I have just crossed is impassible at high tide. The sea must extend into the lagoon then. The curving arm of the sand spit is raised up a few feet above the surrounding land. It is only sparsely genetated with dune grass and wildflowers, including the ubiquitous goldenrod, now in bloom. A sucession of high tides have left parallel lines of seaweed on the sand and storms have carried up a few logs. I walk south along the spit, looking westward into the slat marsh for birds, but spotting only a few gulls. The marsh is mostly spartina grass, with a large shallow salt pond in its centers. A shallow stream - the one that I jumped over - flows out though the gap in the spit, winding amongst a few tiny grassy islands on its way to the sea. Looking the other way, out into the Sound, I can see Orrs Island, Bailey Island and the Cribstone Bridge in the distance. The spit connects to the mainland of Harpswell Neck. I walk the access road back inland, connecting to Stovers Point Road and then Route 123. About 1 hour.