One of the most distinguishing features of the landscape and topography around here is the multitude of “knobs”. These are hills of hard rock that were created when the softer surrounding area was eroded away. They are usually long, narrow hills that rise from one hundred to three hundred feet above the surrounding terrain. They are great for light hiking, and I have developed quite a fondness for walking up and down them. In fact, now whenever I see one, I long to get to the top.
So I have been longing for the past year to climb a particularly handsome knob that stands behind the building of one of my clients. This week, while I was there, waiting for a meeting to begin, I finally asked “Who owns that hill behind the building?”
“Who owns the hill?”
“Yes. I have a hankering to climb that hill.”
“It’s a park.”
“Park?”
“Yes. A city park. There’s a civil war fort at the top. The path starts right over there by the building next door.”
I couldn’t believe it. Why had I not opened my mouth before? After the meeting, I walked next door, and sure enough, there was a historical marker and a few concrete steps that led up to a wide path. Turns out this path is the very Civil War road that was used to supply the fort at the summit.
When I reached the top I found not just one, but two Civil War forts, one of which is in surprisingly good condition for being 150 years old. You can also walk beside the very stone fence that Morgan’s raiders used during a skirmish upon this fort. Very cool.
When I returned to my office I mentioned my lunchtime reconnaissance to a co-worker who said “Yeah, it’s a nice place. If you like that, you should see the one just past our building. It has a nice spring at the top”. My jaw dropped. Nobody tells me anything!
Nothing quite like young children on Christmas morning. The eldest granddaughter (GC1) got up and immediately wanted to know if Santa had eaten the cookies and milk that had been left out for him. Once that fact had been established, then her attention turned to the stockings on the bookcase which had become (magically) filled with treats. Then, clearly, it was time to wake up her parents and get down to the serious work of opening all the presents. Soon there was a pile of boxes and wrapping paper as tall as her stacked up in the living room. Meanwhile, her little sister was having trouble with the concept that some of the presents were for her, while others were destined for other people. But eventually she had enough toys to distract her.
GC1 got this cool moon lamp that casts a dim, some might say moon-like, glow in a dark room and goes through the phases from full to new. I was jealous, but CVH said we were not getting one for the master bedroom. GC1 also received a fashion book; a couple of her creations are shown below.
