Would you mind a reflecting sign

White Mountains, New Hampshire

The autumn colors here in the New Hampshire White Mountains are coming on strong. The vivid reds, yellows, pinks and oranges are strongly psychedelic when the sunshine hits the leaves.

The pictures were looking washed out compared with what was really there. Google has a free image editing program called Picassa. A few clicks on “color temperature… fill light… shadows… highlights” made dramatic differences in the images. Mrs. Phred registers her shock and dismay that I’m touching up the digital pictures, but I explain I’m making them look more real, not better than real. She asks if I can touch her up a bit. I tell her she looks fine.

We plan to stay here a little longer then follow the colors south to the palm trees. There’s a municipal tennis court in the village nearby. The town theatre shows a movie every day at 7:30 PM. We hiked six miles though the White National forest today, mostly either uphill or downhill. There are big rocks in the paths here. At one time, I could have jogged the whole thing in an hour. There is a section of the Appalachian Train entering Vermont that we want to try today.

“Would you mind a reflecting sign
Just let it shine
within your mind
and show you, the colors
that are real”

Live Free or Die!

White Mountains, New Hampshire – October 4, 2006

We cross the State line into New Hampshire. The first sign over the border says, in HUGE letters, "Live Free or Die!". The second sign says "Vehicle occupants under 18 years must wear seatbelts". w€e both burst into laughter and wordlessly unfasten our seatbelts...we could learn to like this place.

The tree colors are brilliant and getting better. They usually peak in mid-October. I have a leaf guide and have identified an American Beech and a Sugar Maple. Rain and overcast are expected until Thursday. You need sunlight to capture the brilliant colors properly.

We are in the area called the White Mountains. There are some interesting things not to see here. We walk 1000 yards at one stop to see the “old man of the mountain”. That is a famous rock outcropping that looks remarkably like an old man’s face. Unfortunately the 48 foot tall feature fell off two years ago. You probably read about it. There are some very confused Japanese tourists wandering about looking for the face.

The sun peeks out enough to yield some colorful leaf shots. We have lived our entire lives in Florida so these autumn colors are very remarkable for us. We drive on some unpaved US Forest service back roads and find a lovely campground called Russell Pond high in the mountains.

I long for wildness….
Woods where the
woodthrush forever sings,
where the hours are
early morning ones,
and there is
dew on the grass,
and the day
is forever unproven…

-Thoreau