I Need to Climb a Mountain

Gore Mountain, from the ledge near our house
It's pouring buckets and has all day, though both Saturday and Sunday were beautiful. I've been itching to climb Vanderwhacker Mountain, but after the torrents of today, all the streams and creeks will be running over their banks down the mountain slopes of the Adirondacks tomorrow. Not the best time, but during the past two wet months, when is? Mind you, I don't mind rain, but right now we are in the midst of a cloudburst.

Yesterday I hiked with a family on the Moss and Swamp Trail. I was so glad that there were a multitude of things to see. Wild strawberries were everywhere, as were butterflies, dragonflies, frogs, and toads. We saw many deer tracks, of varying sizes, and had fun imagining what the deer were doing when they walked by. And the wildflowers--the woods and meadows are full of them. The children had never been on a nature walk before and I was stunned by how observant they were, their sharp eyes seeing things that I have missed. The big excitement was that they each found a feather, one from a bluejay, the other from a ruffed grouse.