Mount Cardigan--Too Many Pictures

 One might expect to always need a sweater atop Mount Cardigan.  Today the weather was lovely with sunny skies and me, regretting the long sleeved shirt I was wearing.  According to wikipedia, the mountain is named after the fourth Earl of Cardigan, the sweater after the seventh Earl of Cardigan.  Therefore, as one may expect, the mountain came before the sweater.  As one may expect from my tone, it was a good day, with good exercise, fresh air, beautiful fall foliage, and great company.  Here are some happy parts of the day:

•   With the parking lot still in view, there was a small pond that reflected some of the day's colors.

• We didn't take the direct route to the top.  Each of us ended with a different mileage total, but we took a trail that was most likely less steep, and took us to three different peaks: South Peak, Mt. Cardigan, and Firescrew.

• The higher we went, the more colorful the views.  These pictures do not display the colors as well as the experience.

This is a view of Mount Cardigan from the trail. 
We still had a ways to go.

• Some of the forested areas were moss covered and green like the following picture.  It left a fairytale, mystical feeling.  Other areas are mostly deciduous or evergreen.  There was quite a bit of rock to scramble along, too.

The old and the new.

• We paused for lunch with a view of the town of Orange, NH.  Most likely the mountains in the distance are in Vermont, the rest are New Hampshire.  

• Eventually we made it to the top of Mount Cardigan and the fire tower.  Since trying to get to as many of the fire towers in NH is a goal of mine, I walked the few stairs up to look around.  

Almost there.

A plaque attached to the tower.

View.

The geological marker was found!
Many thanks to my companions for becoming 
contortionists to get this picture!

• The hike down was along the opposite side of the mountain.  We survived the rock scrambling and muddy areas with only minor injuries.  

The view of the tower from the other side.

We think the large black birds in the distance might be ravens.

It is also possible that I want to see ravens and they are vultures...

I was liken' the lichen on this rock.
I'm pretty sure the rock was quartz.

The signs on the trees are...humorous.

• Eventually we made it down, safely.  It was a long, nearly perfect, day in the mountains.

View from the car ride home.

☮

Currently reading: Mount Washington A Guide and Short History, by Peter E. Randall.

Thank you for being part of my happy things. Stay safe.

Plant Life

 It was Gideon's day to have friends over.  It was good to see him be able to have masked, outside interactions with other children.  We are all trying to work our way back into society and relearning how to be social.  I still seem to be okay with one on one things, but add other people -other than those in the household- and I start feeling overwhelmed.  Other than having these occasional small gatherings, I am not sure what else to do.  Other things I am happy for today:

• One of the children, a younger sibling of Gideon's friend, visited with me while I was repotting some of the geraniums.  They checked to see that the ruler I had was the same as one they had at home by counting the numbers to twelve.   They dug in the dirt to help plant things.  It was good.
• What I thought was a dead animal in the woods seems to instead be some kind of moss?  I found this one clump that was black and hairy looking.  Once Zed and I determined that it was most likely some kind of plant we started noticing similar bumps all over the place.  I'm glad we didn't find an animal.  My online searches eventually pulled up an older New Hampshire Garden Solutions blog which then led me to believing that this is a cushion moss.  I have very faint memories of this type of moss when I was a kid-but green, not black and seemingly decaying.

This one had some of the pale green
that makes it look more like moss.

• Some more of the cultivated flowers are starting to open.

• I saw bumblebees.

☮

Currently listening to: Too Like the Lightning, by Ada Palmer.

Stay safe.