Happy Solstice to the folks out there that recognize and celebrate it. Loads of day light outside right now. It is hard to remember the last time I went to bed or woke up without the sun shining. This is certainly the time of year to soak it up. Becky, Charlie, Riga and I along with a few botanist friends made a little exploratory excursion to the Mount Prindel area in the White Mountains last weekend. What a glorious place to spend the day. The hike started off in the trees along an ATV trail. We were mauled by mosquitoes right off the bat. After walking a mile up the hill side the tundra opened up to us. Absolutely beautiful! Leaving the trees behind we were able to cut cross country and gain elevation along a gently sloping ridge. This is the time of year to get out and look at the plant life. Never plan on a brisk walk when everyone in your group is a plant nerd. Every twenty feet another plant...... "Woolly Lousewort, that's a Pedicularis isn't it?"... (twenty feet) "I've got Moss Campion over here!".... (thirty-two feet) "Hey, check out this Ranunculaceae." It was great. We were all doing it and learning new plants from each other. And of course Charlie and Riga had their normal running wild and free play time.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Tundra dogs
Happy Solstice to the folks out there that recognize and celebrate it. Loads of day light outside right now. It is hard to remember the last time I went to bed or woke up without the sun shining. This is certainly the time of year to soak it up. Becky, Charlie, Riga and I along with a few botanist friends made a little exploratory excursion to the Mount Prindel area in the White Mountains last weekend. What a glorious place to spend the day. The hike started off in the trees along an ATV trail. We were mauled by mosquitoes right off the bat. After walking a mile up the hill side the tundra opened up to us. Absolutely beautiful! Leaving the trees behind we were able to cut cross country and gain elevation along a gently sloping ridge. This is the time of year to get out and look at the plant life. Never plan on a brisk walk when everyone in your group is a plant nerd. Every twenty feet another plant...... "Woolly Lousewort, that's a Pedicularis isn't it?"... (twenty feet) "I've got Moss Campion over here!".... (thirty-two feet) "Hey, check out this Ranunculaceae." It was great. We were all doing it and learning new plants from each other. And of course Charlie and Riga had their normal running wild and free play time.
