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.

Irrigation-Check

In my pursuit to rearrange my sleep schedule, this morning went a little better than yesterday.  I was out of bed by 4:30 AM and wasn't quite as tired when I awoke as I was yesterday.  My midday nap happened later than I hoped, but I had no problem falling asleep.  The hot and humid weather only made it a little harder to stay asleep.  So far I am pleased with how the sleep routine change is going.  Other things I am happy about today:

• My back has been giving me some problems since weeding so much on Monday.  I set a time limit for how long to pull them today.  There are so many that I know I will never be able to keep up with them.  Last year I painted some rocks, as did Keziah, and I was given one from a friend.  I set them out onto the triangle.

Someday I hope to have many rocks, painted or not,
to adorn this area along with flowers.

• Behind the butterfly weed a yellow primrose has bloomed.

Yellow Evening Primrose.

• The yellow foxgloves are also blooming.  It turns out that some plants that I thought were foxgloves, aren't.  It is really easy to tell the difference now that some is blooming.

Yellow Foxglove.

• The other concentration of my efforts in the garden was to recreate some of the irrigation system that I have been working on.  I am pleased to say that I have successfully put together a series of regular hoses with the soaker hoses.  I still have to move around the main hose between areas, but it is much more -set it and forget- than before.  One of my purchase goals after I have a job will be to pick up some timers so the garden gets watered without me having to remember.
• It looks like there will be more strawberries in the next few days!

There are some showing signs on other plants too.

☮

Currently reading: The Burgess Book of Nature Lore, by Thornton W. Burgess.

    I finally finished this book today!  Full of information and aimed for children I thought I would have found more time to read it and get through it faster.  

Thanks for reading and stay safe.

And Then the Rain Came

 Somehow, I slept in today.  Just after nine this morning I woke up hearing Gideon talking excitedly with his dad.  I was not awake enough to remember what caused the excitement, probably just morning.  When I finally got outside I worked first for a short time on the triangle part of the driveway.  I only weeded out a small area there today before I started to weed out the area where the strawberries are.  When I came in for lunch I started looking at some of the Google Map and Google Earth views of the house.  I was hoping to find some clues as to what the property looked like over the years.  There used to be a way to search the history, but that is only using the Google Earth Pro version, so I had no luck there.  All I found was a very unkempt property with the images from 2019.  Eventually, perhaps the images from Google will start to look a little better.  Getting outside and working on the yard is a happy thing for me today.  Why?  Well, all the little happy parts that include:

•   The feeling of accomplishment I am getting as things start to look neater and grow.  There are things that I planted-like the tulips in the front; and things that are just growing-like the bluets in the back; and things planted years ago-like the daffodils, roses, and fruit trees that will hopefully benefit with less competition for resources.

Varigated tupip.

Pink tulip.

Someday there will be a tulip.

• When I came in for lunch I learned that Keziah and Gideon were planning out a playground for the property near where the pool used to be.  The pool has been gone since before we moved here, but the deck for it is still there.  They have some fun ideas and I look forward to seeing them work on this over the summer.
• After lunch I put the SD card back into the wildlife camera.  I doubt I will get out to check it again for a few days.  I did notice that even more bluets seem to be popping up.  One set in particular though looked more blue than others nearby.  I wonder what causes that?  A nutrient, DNA, or maybe just the lighting?

So many bluets!

These looked bluer in person.

This patch was maybe one foot away from the patch above.
The blue is far less striking.

• Oddly enough, I feel like the blue on the bluejays is more vibrant this year too.  I also saw sparrows, robins, mockingbirds, and a goldfinch.
• While digging up weeds near the strawberries I found more rocks.  I vaguely remember coming across them briefly last year.  This year I decided to investigate closer.  

The rocks were under a layer of dirt and grass.
They seem to have been placed there...
I pulled them out.

Other things I found along with the rocks
include a hinge and perhaps a gate latch?
There is also some glass, brick pieces, and
maybe a piece of porcelain.

Digging the weeds up turned into a minor archaeology dig.  I like rocks and these will probably end up on top of the dirt when I am able to get back to this area.  And then it started to rain.

Dark cloud rolling in.

• There were also strawberry blossoms on two of the plants and some of the peas are starting to sprout.

Strawberry blossom.

☮

Currently reading: The Backyard Homestead, by Carleen Madigan.

Wash your hands.