Hiking

My sister and I are attempting to get into a good hiking/walking schedule as a way to work through grief and work off the fifteen or so pounds we've put on since her hips made it impossible to walk since 2010!!!  I'm driving her crazy on the hikes, though, because if I hear a bird, I have to stop and try to identify it.  It's not easy once you do see movement, to then find it with binoculars!!  Our first hike we were fortunate to have three Golden-crowned Kinglets pretty much fall at our feet, maybe ten yards away.  We had been hearing them, and suddenly three just spiraled out of a tall pine and landed on the ground so close.  Yesterday we got the babyMomma to hike with us up Mount Watatic.  We chose not to summit, just a two mile plus scramble up to the NH/MA state line and then a loop through old hemlock and beech trees back to the cart path down to the car.  While navigating mud, we were entertained by bird song but couldn't see any.  Finally we were able to spot some movement and saw our first warblers of the season, Yellow-rumped Warblers and Black-and-white Warblers.  We also spotted moose prints in the mud.

The only camera we had with us was my sister's not very smart phone.  The picture doesn't do the size of the print or depth of the print justice.  I need to find my old camera and stick it in my backpack.  The hikes are just glorious, at the moment not too strenuous, but we're moving and it is so quiet apart from birds.  It amazes me to see old stonewalls through the woods and realize there used to be high pastures through here.  We're trying to get three good walks in a week and build up to do Mount Washington or Katahdin in August.  We'll see.  I'm grateful my sister has two new hips and that we only saw hoof prints and not a real live moose!