Joys of Climbing the Mountain

June 30th - Wednesday - 39 degrees at 7:00 am

We should have known yesterday morning when we got up it was going to be a special day and indeed it was.

It started at breakfast, as Lou and I were sitting at the table chatting, we were looking at our wonderful view from our kitchen table and we saw a flock or turkey, that were just picking their way across the hillside, then we spied a red fox and he was wandering across the hill also; however, he did not seem to be interested in the turkeys and meandered his way across the hill.

After breakfast, Lou asked me if I wanted to take a little walk and I suggested going across the creek and up on the hill, but he thought he wanted to walk up the hill across from our home. The last time I walked to the top of that hill was when I was a teenager and still living at home and I walked it with my brother and I also remember when we came back we told Daddy we had a deer run right in front of us and Daddy's remark was you could tell if the deer belonged on that side of the hill, as two legs were shorter, as the hill was so steep.

Well, let me tell you we climbed and climbed some more straight up and when we finally reached the top, we could see most of Catlin Hollow from up there and almost to Middlebury Center. As we stood at the top and looked out we could see the two gas well that are being drilled in our area and off to the right we could see what we thought was water. I had not remembered any water, we we walked down the side of the mountain and came to a small pond where there was a deer drinking from the cool mountain pool.

We continued on out into a meadow and before our eyes were the most butterflies we have ever seen in one place (in the wild). The air was aglow with a very sweet aroma which we soon found to be milkweed in bloom, along with brown eyed Susan, sweet clover, daisies, crown vetch, trillium, paint brush and other unidentified wild flowers. It was a very memorable morning. By the time we returned home, we had walked over two hours.

Once home, we quickly fixed lunch and left for Lou's house to work out the problem with his lawn tractor and the bagger. I weeded the flower bed by the house and watered the flowers and helped Lou finish his job and by the time we arrived home it was 7:30, so another late dinner. Our goal was to be over dinner in time to watch NCIS. That didn't happen, but we did get to enjoy a movie on Hallmark.

Today, I had an early morning hair appointment and Lou went to Mansfield for a haircut along with a stop at his house to check on the water in his basement. Tonight is square dancing and I will get to see if what I learned on Friday night has stayed with me.

We are now off to the garden to get beet green for dinner this evening.