Octoberish
Friday, 25 October 2019
Leaves are autumn-ing. Or green.
Seasonal ornament of the skeleton-ghost variety.
Musings
Fog/not fog
Thursday, 10 October 2019
Played tag with the fog, as we did yesterday.
Fog_n_flag.
Bright, but valley-fog persists.
Sky clears, but impediments in the roadway.
Clear view of Vermont’s capitol. You’ve heard of tiny houses. This may qualify as a tiny capitol.
Spent hours with good friends who live far away from our home-base(s), in this house behind three brilliant maples. We had a lovely time together, short yet powerful. 💖 💚 💓 🍀
Flag day
Wednesday, 9 October 2019
Fog mostly obscures bridges over the St. Lawrence River as we leave the “national” capital. You may think it’s Ottawa, but in this province it’s Québec City.
We escaped the dense fog, but continued to see it in valleys for some time.
Finally: clear and colorful.
Pair of facing wood figures by the tracks in Lac-Mégantic. Lac-Mégantic is where a 74-car train derailed and exploded in July 2013 killing over 45 people and destroying more than 30 downtown buildings. We saw many new buildings and more empty spaces. Land along the tracks remains unbuilt, and is now a park with signs detailing the history, nice plantings, and public art.
Metal art by the tracks in Lac-Mégantic.
We approached Mont Mégantic from the SE. That’s the rim of what looks like a crater, but officials indicate is a monadnock. Reasonable signage in the visitor center. Like much of the signs in the province they are in French only. I take this as great sarcasm (or something) on the part of French Canadians, who made the rest of Canada post bilingual signs and official displays.
View from the “rim” to the east. Those bumps on the horizon are northern outposts of the Appalachians.
Mont Mégantic from the SW. Love the quick transition between the lower deciduous forest and the upper pines.
We crossed an international border. Some slight confusion about why people from Georgia are in this part of the world, but that’s to be expected.
We have been seeing moose signs since soon after we crossed into Canada. Or: moose signage. No moose. Thankfully! [They are huge beasties!]
And, unusually, we’re overnighting in a resort that echos a Mrs. Maisel complex without the entertainment facilities, other than…
…fishing and a dock and boats. You’re on your own to enjoy the fresh air. And the moon!
Fjord‼️
Monday, 7 October 2019
We woke to rain that looked like it’d linger for most of the day. We conferred over coffee and decided that today was not the day for walking the streets. Instead we called “an inaudible” and drove along the river to the northeast.
We got some long views.
Clearly, the tide was out at the mouth of the Gouffre.
Some agriculture…all the horses I saw may have been draft horses….
We turned around where our next move would have been taking a ferry. You are looking at the mouth of the Saguenay River. This is a gen-you-wine fjord. We’ll have to come back to explore the fjord inland. Note the navigation light far left.
Tide’s still out. Gulls resting on temporary island.
Definitely some clearing. Definitely still clouds.
There’s Q-town on the skyline around the curve of the St. Lawrence River. I think it’s a river here. What I was taught to call the St. Lawrence Seaway I now think of as a firth. But no one calls it that. Doesn’t really matter, however.
We circled around below the centre-ville to continue along the river, that is the St. Lawrence and not the St. Charles to the west. I’d call this lower town…[pause for internet research]…so do the locals.
Nice enough close to the day; we’ll head to centre-ville tomorrow!
Climate ∆
Thursday, 3 October 2019
I am proud of my tolerance 😀 for today’s murkiness (never any sunshine). I am glad to hear that the high of 98°F that Atlanta and many other places in the Deep South endured today will be tempered within a week or so.
Decorations
Wednesday, 2 October 2019
Overcast this morning yielded to a bright sunny afternoon, perfect for spending time on the porch and a visit to the beach (no swim, though!).
Gulls or ducks? I’m betting gulls. They are…productive. And there was small flock floating out a ways, white heads made brilliant by the…sun!
Apples are ripening here. Here, after all, is an orchard.
Magic 61°
Tuesday, 1 October 2019
I allege “magic” because it was 61°F for at least six hours today, from when I got up until after noon. At least it was 61° on the front porch for that long. Overcast and consistent. And that’s a long time for it to be the same temp out in these parts.
Later, the sun came out for a bit, and it broke 63°, but the sun-time was brief, and when I was making dinner, I noticed it had dropped to 59°. I’m sure it’s dropped more by now, but I’m lazily not checking. Sometimes scientific data are incomplete for such reasons, and often because…does it really matter? Stand back: the long-time steady temp is the news here.
Knight’s tale
Monday, 30 September 2019
Rain rain rain rain. During an almost-cessation, I suited up in rain gear and rubber boots and set out. Light drippiness, no wind. That’s okay, I thought.
I reached my half-way point, and uh-oh, the precip kicked in, creating rushing brown rivulets. My gear was good and I slogged on.
No traffic, I thought, that’s one good thing, as I marched back. Was the rain slacking off, I wondered. Half-way back, my knight in shining Nissan appeared. Yup, the rain was slacking. He passed me and turned around, and returned to collect me. I bargained for a few more minutes of trudging since the rainfall had diminished. He waited on top of the hill, and I bounced into the cab, dripping.
And, back at the cottage, he even pulled my boots off. That’s true knightliness.
😉 🚶♀️ 🌧 ♞ 💜 🍀
Naventure Day
Tuesday, 24 September 2019
Ah, fog in the orchard…
As we drove (we left early), it became fog just about everywhere that was low.
However, when we left the trailhead and moseyed through the woods, no fog.
Chapel Falls. This is just the top from above. Video captures it best…[pan; water-roar].
Previous years we might have called this loop Biting-Insects Trail. Today it was Fun Guy Trail. I am sparing you the other sixty-seven types of Fun Guys we photographed.
Legendary Grand Portal. Yes, the rock has caved in. Still stupendous. Sometime I may see it from the water.
However, I will not do it as a paddle boarder. Kayaker, perhaps. From a commercial tour boat, perhaps.
The Botanist had several plants he singled out in the shoreline habitat. Basswood was one. Extremely large and distinctive leaves.
Also note: 30K steps, 11.6 miles of oft rooty and muddy trail (with gorgeous views).
I’m withholding comment on the doings in DC; we seem to be starting a new chapter, as the saying goes.
Good omens
Saturday, 21 September 2019
This is the porch and there was sun: tada! Sunporch! ☀️ Late in the day there was a bit of precipitation and the laws of physics held, and off to the east we saw a rainbow! 🌈