Hiding Place

As Winter approaches, and is now here, we shut down the filter system for the fish pond. Cutting off the water to the waterfall.

And this Song Sparrow promptly found a nice little hidey-hole. It spent quite a bit of time pecking at the "seaweed" on the rocks of the now still waterfall.

Yummy

Our trip to New Hampshire and Maine would not be complete without a lobster roll (or several ...).

Our friend Marie recommended this place, the name of which escapes me at the moment (and no doubt for many other moments to come).

The food was yummy.

The view on the other hand ...

🦞  🦞  🦞  🦞  🦞

Winter Home

So the other day as I lay down in bed I spotted a dark spot in the corner, where the two walls meet the ceiling. "What is that?" I wondered. So I grabbed my glasses and saw this ...

If you bigafy the image you'll see if is a group of Lady Bugs. They've been there over a week now. I think this is their home for the winter.

We'll see what happens over the winter. Kinda cool if you ask me.

Polar Bird Club

Prior to the Fish Pond Waterfall being shut down for the winter, our resident Hermit Thrush decided to go for a dip.

Crazy. It's been in the 20's Fahrenheit most mornings. Yet this critter seemed to actually enjoy its splash about.

Crazy.

THIS

Used with permission from XKCD.com

For more geeky humor like this visit XKCD.com and enjoy!

Mt Washinton - Part I

Our plan after our stay at Franconia Notch and doing the Ridge hike, was to do a three day trek up and across the Presidentials. And on our way to the Appalachian Club's Highland Center Lodge, our start and end point, we passed Mt Washington. And we decided to drive on up. Yep, we got one of the those "This Car Climbed Mt Washington" bumper stickers. No it is not on my car.

It was a scary drive up and down.

And as with the Ridge hike the view from the top was obscured by clouds.

But we were able to watch the Cog Railway as it traveled up and down the mountain.

Mt Washington is one of the most severe weather locations on Earth, with an average daily temperature of 35° F. Yet here we see Patty, who is always cold, wandering about in shorts. Our attempts to flee the hot and humid August New Jersey weather a complete and utter failure.

The Cog Railway was completed in 1869 and has been running ever since. It would play an important part in our visit.

As would this structure, and the folks who work there. The Mount Washington Observatory. A weather station on the summit.

And incase you were wondering, as I type this it is 6° F, with sustained winds of 75 MPH and gusts up to 97 MPH, for a wind chill of -29° F. A bit chillier than when we visited. 

More to come ...

Swinging Bridge

After spending several days on Mount Desert Island, we headed on down the road towards home. But there were stops along the way.

Including the Androscoggin Swinging Bridge.

Built in 1892 by the John A. Roebling company, the bridge is now a park. All but the suspension cables have been replaced.

The view from mid-span.

The view of Patty mid-span.

🌉  🌉  🌉  🌉  🌉

John A Roebling is perhaps better known for another bridge, one often for sale, and named after the place where I was born. The Brooklyn Bridge. Designed by the senior Roebling, the completion was overseen by his son, Washington Roebling, who, like me, has a degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. 

And also lived for a time in Troy, NY and Burlington County NJ.