Sawteeth

The hiking boots came back on and my backpack was loaded with lots of water, lunch, a juicy orange, m&ms and almonds. My heart was definitely in better condition than my lungs. This is the first view from Sawteeth over looking the back side of Gothic, Basin and Saddleback. Below is the other side of Sawteeth taken from the scenic trail. This image was taken at Marble Point where the fire broke out earlier this summer. You can see Giant and Noonmark way over to the left. The lower lake and Indian Head is just below. We got down with 10 minutes left before the 5pm bus left so we just jumped in the lake, hiking clothes and all. A cold finish to a hot day. Happiness.......

row row row your boat

Today was a lake day, off came the hiking boots, on came the bathing suit and the bug spray. Lydia rowed and I sat. It was awesome. Quiet, calm and melting into the lake reflections. A cold mountain lake swim ended a perfect Adirondack day.

Inner core

I want to tell you about rocks.

 I have some favorites; the beautiful softly colored green rocks that my sister Shirley hauled down a Colorado mountain in her backpack because she knew how much I would love them. (They were big and heavy) Then there are the stones, little rocks, that Kelly hand picked from a Massachusetts shoreline, each shape and color she knew only I could love. And the cairn rocks that I see along my hiking, that show me where to go, I especially love the tiny flat one that Nancy quietly left on my Adirondack dresser last year, and the white perfectly formed stone that Susie plucked out of the ocean and put in the palm of my hand a very long time ago.

But the dearest rock to me is the one on the top of Noonmark. When I put the flat of my hand on the warmth of its earthy core I am grounded in a way that nourishes me until the next time I climb my way to it.

Nancy Betts & Phyllis Mary

Why don't you go outside and play instead of sitting around the house all day. Don't forget your coat! Be home before dark!

Lordy do! Will you wipe your feet! Where HAVE you been? Go take a bath, dinner will be ready soon.

Old shoes, young hearts....

along the way

Tiny fragile pink things..

one step at a time

Today was a great day because I could sit and have lunch with this view. Everything hurts except my heart and that is filled with these mountains. I am happy.

by the side of the road

I put Tully in the car, loaded up with water, camera bag, tripod, harness that attaches to me and off we went on the Adirondack roads. Here is the first in a series of wildflowers....

past prime

She was gently placed on my porch by a friend after a hike. Her wings were past prime, but she was delicately beautiful. Her colors were fading against time.

Beautiful butterfly patterns

fallen fluffs

The clouds moved in today while at the lake but when I got back they had fallen in a heap on top of Giant Mountain. I love it when they fall down.

a reason to follow

Can you see the trail? 

It has a feel of soft pine needles and mossy sponge, then it turns all gnarly and filled with roots, and then you lose it altogether. You're lost inside a world of green and bark and stone, and there it is again, it returns. You follow because it will take you where you need to go, deep into the woods.

underfoot

While waiting for the TV repair man to arrive I was enjoying the front yard, chatting with neighbors and hikers and playing ball with Tully. Look who I found! I don't know who it is, a butterfly, a moth? I got down in the wet grass and introduced myself. He seemed less interested in me than I was in him. I mean really, can you see the bright orange hair? He has a beetle tucked under his front legs. Does anyone know his name?

Busy Beavers

Last year we discovered beavers setting up residency on one of the tributaries of the Ausable River, at a location I try to keep under wraps. After the damage of last year's hurricane I wondered how they had managed to survive, our river has literally changed course because of the power of that storm, (not because of the beavers).

I did not need to worry as they have found a new location and are of course very busy building their new home. I could not believe how close we got to this one who was very absorbed eating leaves from the branch of the tree he had just cut down. Can you believe it!

Ausable

I have arrived in the Adirondack Mountains, the place where I feel the powerful pull of the woods, where my legs ache and my heart pounds and where I want to be. The exhausting climbs and the freezing plunge of the river waters. The early morning coffee and the rocking chair on the porch, while watching the hikers stream by. The smells, oh heavens the smells, the sweet drift of something woodsy I can't quite identify. I love everything about this place; it lives deep in my soul.