Our Bond Grows Stronger

Life with Atticus; Life with Samwise and Emily

Looking south to Pinkham Notch from Pine Mountain.

Summer has arrived here in the North Country. This weekend was hot and humid, and tomorrow will be as well. The trees are dressed in every possibility of green imaginable. From above, the valleys are rolling carpets of electric colors. Only peak autumn foliage shines more flamboyantly.

In the forest, it is evident when we look up. The sky is screened by a tapestry of verdant oak, maple, beech, and birch leaves. There’s a rhapsody to it, a joyful simplicity that sends me back to the languid summer days of childhood.

The three of us tend to melt when temperatures rise above 80, so we take our longer walks in the morning, often along the Ellis or Saco rivers.