We got a new car. It is a red 1972 Buick Centurion. It is old, and it has a top that can be put down. When we bought it, it was loud because it had a hole in its exhaust and it needed fixing. We took it to a mechanic and it needed exhaust manifolds. Because it was an old car, no one made manifolds for it any more. My Dad had to find some old ones to put on the car. Two or three weeks later, our car was back and a lot less noisy! The car was shining. Last week, we took the car to my karate tournament in Franconia, New Hampshire. My Aunt Michelle came up to see me in it. She let me play on her phone on the way. We had a good time. At the tournament I won two 1st places and one 3rd place. After the tournament, we went to McDonald's. The line was so big, and we ate at a picnic table outside. The line was also too big to get an ice-cream-cone after lunch. When we left, I fell into a deep sleep. I slept for hours!. Then I woke up... After leaving McDonald's, we went for a drive on the Kancamagus Highway. It is one of the most scenic highways in New England. We saw the coolest thing. Well, my Dad and Aunt did. I slept through it. A picture of what they saw is above. THE MOUNTAINS! For the rest of the ride I was in a big deep sleep and didn't get up until we were home. My Dad and Aunt loved their ride in the convertible. The rest of us slept through the entire ride. It is much windier in the back of the car and my hair got messy. Next time, I want to sit in front!
Ashleigh
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I've talked in the past about the beauty of where I live; but today it really hit me. Here in NH, the leaves are already fully changed and it's gorgeous. Just driving down my street alone is like driving through a postcard! I had made a timelapse of my road earlier today, but sadly it won't allow me to post it here. Thankfully, I took a couple of photos as well so I'll post those below. I honestly am so glad that I live in an area that makes me want to be alive when I look outside... no matter the season. Literally every season here is beautiful; particularly fall. The leaves are everywhere and the shades are indescribable. If you've never been to NH... I definitely think you should take a weekend trip to see it some time. I promise you, it is worth it no matter the time. I know this has been a short post.. but honestly; I think the photos themselves should make my point for me. "Within nature lies the cure for humanity." Me and the girls went hiking yesterday. The fall is one of my favorite times of year, due to all of the beautiful colors and the cool breezes. I took a number of pictures to capture the beauty. We hiked about three miles along the Jaffrey branch of rails to trails. We cut off into the Children's Woods, and circled back onto Rails to Trails a little further up. Here are some of the photos I took yesterday. Enjoy! I hope you enjoyed that little bit of Fall color! If you have a nice Autumn scene, send in a pic and I will try to post it. I will naturally, give you credit for the photo.
You probably think that this post is going to be about hiking, how much I enjoy it, and what went on on my hike of the mountain Saturday. However, that's not what I'd like to talk about. While that would be a great blog topic, today I'm going to be discussing the appreciation of the beauty around us- something that I'm sure most of you regular readers know is talked about frequently on this blog.
For those who weren't aware; Mt. Monadnock is the world's 2nd most climbed mountain, behind Mt. Fuji. It has about 150,000 hikers per year... which is crazy, honestly. I've hiked the mountain 5 times now and it's been crowded every time. A recurring theme with each trip up, however, has been the array of languages I've heard each time! It's crazy how many foreigners climb the mountain. It got me thinking... do these people really travel to here...just to hike? I guess when you live right at the base of the world's second most climbed mountain, you don't really think about it. It's just average for you, something that you see every day. Now don't get me wrong, I try to always appreciate the beauty of what's around me. But it really stunned me how many people there were who certainly weren't from the area. Another thing that my friend and I noticed (not on the mountain, a different time) was that the leaf peepers have started to come out! While waiting in the town center of Temple for his mom to finish work; we saw a few NY tourists taking photos of the scenery around them. This caught us both a bit off-guard... and made us stop and realize that we live in a place that people are willing to travel to see just for the beauty. I think that says something, honestly. I think sometimes when we're so used to the beauty around us; we don't fully appreciate it. We take it for granted because we see it every day, and it's not right. So, readers- I have a challenge for you. I want you to find natural beauty that you may not always appreciate from where you live, and I want you to send them in to my dad's email ([email protected]). I want to see the beauty you find. - Maddie Hello Mountain Rant readers, For a special treat, we have our first Guest Blog post today. Today's Post is written by Michelle Armistead, who lives in Marlboro New Jersey. For those of you who don't know, Marlboro is in Monmouth county, near the first shore towns. Without further ado, let's hear from Michelle! Hello Mountain Rants Readers, I loved the idea of Wayne’s blog post “There is Beauty All Around Us”, and I knew immediately that I wanted to have my own pictures of beauty from the Garden State: New Jersey posted to the blog. New Jersey is often the butt of many jokes, but to me, it is a wonderful, beautiful place to live. We have mountains (ok—no pics of them this time, but I will add to this over time if Wayne’s willing), lakes, streams, farmland and perhaps my favorite, the beaches. No, not just the beach life seen in that awful show Jersey Shore. My pictures of the beach are from Sea Bright. This is a small public beach that I have been going to for almost 30 years! I love early morning there: a few bird prints left in the sand, a lone stretch of footprints from an early walker, and the flag on the life guard stand blowing in the breeze. The shoreline brings me peace and a sense of renewal. When I come home from the beach, whether it was a perfect day, or somewhat overcast, I feel like a new person! (This is how I believe my brother feels with his NH mountains.) The views of a long stretch of beach/foliage jutting into the ocean are of Sandy Hook Gateway National Park. They were taken from a stretch of road known as Scenic Drive, a road in the hills of Highlands with many beautiful views. This road leads to Mt. Mitchel, a place Wayne often visited and has brought his daughters to when visiting NJ. There is a monument here in honor of the people from the area who were killed on 9/11. A piece of steel from the twin towers is clasped in its talons. The Twin Lights rise above the ocean overlooking Sandy Hook and are still working today. Here are a couple of pictures from there. The great horned owl is a recurring visitor to our yard this summer. He sometimes comes so close to our window that we can see his bright yellow/green eyes and the feathers covering his feet! I often bring my dog to Holmdel Park, and took this picture of the trees reflecting in the pond as we walked. This is one of my favorite parks in the area. There are gardens in the park, too, that have many pretty flowers. Being I live along the shore, water is a recurring theme. Not all of our views are of the ocean, however. We have bays and rivers as well. I find the Atlantic Highlands marina is beautiful during the summer. We also enjoy boat rides along the Hudson River and sunsets over the Navesink River. Finally, I find beauty around my home too. The flowers and trees in my yard. Rainbows after a rain, and my Christmas tree! Last but not least, not all of the life has to be wild to be beautiful! Here is a picture of my dog Willie! Well, I hope you enjoy my ideas of some of the beauty found in New Jersey. Michelle Thanks, Michelle, Great post!
I hope you have liked today's guest post. If anyone else would like to do a guest post to show some of the beauty in your area, send me some pictures and a little bit of commentary. Beauty becomes more powerful when it is shared! My email address is [email protected] Earlier in the week, my dad made a post about being happy with where you live, and how there is beauty all around us if we choose to accept it. I find this amusing, particularly since my recent English assignment has been about naturalists and their appreciation for nature; but that's besides the point. He shared his photos of the area- and now, I will share mine. I take a lot of photos around the area; and my dad has posted many of my sunset photos in the past. Today, I'm not going to write so much as show you the photos I took the other day at Cathedral of the Pines- I'll let the photos speak for themselves.
Last night Maddie and I stopped by Cathedral of The Pines. There were some nice cloud formations out and we wanted to see if we could get any good pictures. While there, we decided to walk around, and I took some random pics of other beautiful things. Like I said, the other day, you don't have to go far to see beauty. It is all around you. So far, I have heard from one of you looking to do a guest post about the beauty in your area. To make life easy, you do not have to write your post in any particular format. Just send me ten to 15 pictures with a little description such as where the picture was taken what town and state you live in etc. If you want some personal information added, please send a short paragraph telling us about you, and you can even add a picture of yourself. I will then put it in the editor and post it giving you full credit. One rule, however. Don't send pictures from somewhere where you do not live. In other words, don't send me pictures of Mexico, if you do not live in Mexico (If you live in Mexico, that is fine). Instead, send me pictures from where you do live. Trust me, there is beauty everywhere... it just doesn't always take the same form. So gather them up and send them in! Your posts will be in addition to ours, not just taking the place of ours. So if you like our writing, rest assured you will still be seeing that as well! Now, without further ado. Here are some pictures from my walk around Cathedral of the Pines last night. Cathedral of the Pines is about three minutes from my house by car. When the clouds are overhead, it can make it seem dark. That is Mount Monadnock in the background. There are beautiful flower gardens at the Cathedral too. Here is a picture of Maddie sitting on a bench, and then snaps of some of the flowers we saw there. A couple more of the flowers we saw, and then a snap of a chipmunk that didn't seem to mind we were there. The last pic is a shot from the parking lot at Cathedral of the Pines. If you look out towards the road, you can see the mountain that we live on in the distance. You can get a better view of our mountain from Rt. 119, but I am always driving, so I can never get a good pic. I will pull along the side of the road one day and take a picture though. It never hurts to show off our nameless mountain. If you ever wondered why we call this blog Mountain Rants, now you know! One final thing before I go. I want to give a final shout out to my childhood friend Chuck Rogers who died yesterday. He was 50 years old, only three months older than me, in fact. Rest In Peace, Chuck. You'll be missed.
Take some time and smell the roses. See what's around you. Soak it in... and make it a part of you. Nowadays, everyone seems to be somewhere where they are not. I live in a beautiful part of New Hampshire. People come here year round for vacation. During the summer, there are the lakes and hiking trails. Mount Monadnock is one of the most climbed mountains in the world. During the winter, there is ice fishing, snow mobiling, skiing and warm nights around a fire... well, maybe not too much at my house since I am kind of lazy about building the fire, but I digress. The locals walk around here saying that they want to move to Florida or almost anywhere else but here. I just don't understand it. The beauty around this part of New Hampshire is amazing! Every day when I go out, I smile while I drive. No traffic, beautiful views, wildlife, and friendly people. Who could ask for more! People, I have said it before and I'll say it again. If you are not happy with where you are living, then move. Just make sure you know why you are moving. If you are running away from personal problems. They will continue to find you, unless you deal with the problem Moving to a beautiful mountain setting did not stop my wife from drinking herself to death. We didn't move because we thought it would... but it wouldn't have mattered anyway. You need to face your problems, not run away from them The pictures in this post are what I see when I look around my area. They are not in any special order. They are just pictures that make me happy to be living where I live What makes you happy? Think about it, and really know the answer to that question before you go moving. I did, and I believe I made the best move of my life. Possessions do not make me happy. Beauty and memories do. All of these pictures were taken within a few minutes of my house. There is beauty all around you, Not just in New Hampshire, but where you are too!. If any of you would like to do a guest post and show pictures of the beauty in your area, leave me a comment. I would love to share your scenic pictures of your area. It would be awesome if we could get pictures from a number of different states. The beauty is around you folks. All you need to do is take the time to become aware of it.
Good night, Wayne "Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting." That's a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson. If you don't know who that is, then you really need to read more! As a refresher for those of you who might not remember him, Ralph was an American poet who led the transcendentalist movement. Most of his important stuff was first given as lectures and then written down as essays. "Nature" and the "American Scholar" were two of his best-known essays. To get back to his quote, I have three separate thoughts on it. First, I agree with him that you should never lose an opportunity to see beauty. Not because it is God's handwriting, but because we should all experience as much beauty in our lives as we can! Confucius believed that there was beauty in all things, but that not all could see it. Personally, I see no beauty in war or violent death, so I'd have to disagree with him there. I certainly saw no beauty in the way my wife died either, but I may be looking deeper into his words than he meant. What I think we can all agree on is that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Furthermore, beauty does not have to be seen to be present. If you have ever just sat and listened to Bolero or some other piece of classical music, then you know what I mean. Beauty is subjective to the individual. While I am certain that there are some standards of beauty that most people would agree on when it comes to people, I honestly believe that there are so many variations to what people find beautiful that I can honestly say that everyone is beautiful in someone's eyes. The trick is to find the person that finds YOU beautiful! They may find you beautiful for the way you look, but more importantly, I hope they find you beautiful for the way you are. Aside from beautiful people, I think there are many beautiful places in the world. The Rockies during the summer are very high on my list right now. The mountains in my own back yard are also beautiful. Here is the view from Pac Monadnock in New Hampshire. As for people, I think all people can be beautiful in their own way. Here are a few of my favorite people: And, of course, there is the person I found most beautiful of all. My wife. Rest in peace Babe.
Today, I saw dandelions. There are two types. The first have yellow flowers and are very pretty. The second type has white hairy seeds that I like to blow off the stem. When they fly away, it looks like parachutes!
Ashleigh Above is a picture of my driveway. And to me, it is one of the most beautiful things in the world. Not the pavement itself (I am not THAT crazy), but the way it fades away into the woods. It reminds me of a line in one of my favorite poems by Robert Frost, about the road less traveled.
There is beauty to be found in going ones own way. Too many times, I have been lured towards someone else's sense of beauty, and been disappointed. Not that what I saw wasn't beautiful... just that it wasn't really for me. Cities that I have been told are exciting or quaint, just end up being another overpopulated shit hole. Meanwhile, cities that I have been told I would hate, oftentimes hold good memories for me. Maybe it was because I went in fearing the worst, and then found things less bad than I thought (All except for Detroit... That town I was told was a hellhole and I found everyone was right about that one! I have fond memories of Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, yet remember being disappointed in San Francisco, Philly and Las Vegas. Phoenix and Nashville were both full of charm, while I found Miami, Baltimore and New Orleans a bit worse for wear. I am sure others may find my opinions backward. As I said, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It is rare that I find cities beautiful. Instead, I like scenes that are closer to what my driveway looks like. Since I was young, I have always had a desire to run away to the woods and recharge. I used to love to go up to my Aunt and Uncles farm in Canada when I was a kid. In my teen years, I would often go hiking by myself or with my dog in Hartshorne Woods. The trail was about 3 and a half mile and ran in a loop. You could walk from Navesink all the way to Twin Lights if the mood struck you. Oftentimes, I would go right before sundown. If you walked up the right loop of the trail you could branch off and walk up a steep incline. Once you made it to the top, there was a big rock (or group of rocks, it's been a long time) that would let you look out over what I always called the Buttermilk Valley. Oddly enough, I don't know if that is what it was really called or not. It must have been, because I likely would not have come up with such a sappy name for it on my own! Even so, I would often hike up there alone with a small cooler or a cigar or pipe, and sit at the base of the large rock and watch the sun go down over the valley. It wasn't a perfect view, but it was a nice view and it was very peaceful. I'd sit there and watch until dusk started to fall and the shadows were getting long. Many times, I would go down the hill again practically in the dark. I didn't mind. I enjoyed catching a buzz up there alone in the quiet. Sometimes I would hear people above me on the rock. Sometimes they would smell my cigar or pipe and stop down to chat. That was okay too. I'd share a beer with them and talk awhile. But the best times were when no one bothered me, and I got to sit there and enjoy the view with my own thoughts. I find my home at the top of "my" mountain has the same feel for me. I do not have a view overlooking the mountains or a valley. In fact, I am surrounded by trees, But I still love to look out the window of my office, or go stand on my front porch and look out over my yard and into my woods. I like to feel the sun on my face (or a brisk wind) as I stand and listen to the wind blow through the pines. The peacefulness I get from that just can't be found in the city. Do I ever miss the city? Yes, sometimes. I still like to go to museums or go to concerts etc. and for that, cities are useful. People watching is also usually more fun in the city too... since you get a hell of a lot more variety. But even so, I would not trade my little slice of heaven for an apartment anywhere near the city. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and for me, I have found that beauty in the hills of New Hampshire. |
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