Mother's Day 2011

Spring has been inconsistent so far this year and when I saw the sun out this morning, I decided to indulge myself and go for a hike. Fortunately Mt Pisgah is quite close, even if it isn't quite tall. For the first hike of the season it was fine. The views from part way up the fire tower are incredible, considering I was only about 800 feet up. I wish I had taken my compass so I would have known which direction I was looking. On a clear day Washington is visible; I probably saw a lot of the western mountains in Maine, maybe Sugarloaf. And lakes, too! A few darker clouds blew through. On the way back down I stopped a couple times just to look at the blue sky through the birch branches, listen to an occasional bird, and feel the breeze, particularly as it flowed between my fingers. I know Maine is the pine tree state, but I'm surprised at how many birches I see, and the degree of grizzledness of the bark varies so much from one tree to another. Now I am wondering why and what causes that. It is so good to discover nature that is new to me.