The Old Man Gone Five Years Now

On May 3, 2003, I awoke happily looking forward to my 53rd birthday. My mood changed to disbelief then sadness when I turned to my local news to discover that the Old Man of the Mountain no longer gazed over New Hampshire. Sometime during the early morning hours he fell leaving a huge void on the side of the mountain as well as a huge sense of loss in the hearts of my fellow Granite Staters and me.

The Old Man beckoned people from all over the world to visit him from the time he was first spotted by workers constructing the carriage road from Woodstock to Franconia in 1805. He rested majestically on the western side of Cannon Mountain in Franconia Notch, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Improvements in the roads and the building of railroads into the White Mountains brought tourists to the area. By the 1840's the word of the Old Man had spread. He brought thousands of tourists into the state.

His granite profile symbolized New Hampshire -- the Granite State. The Old Man's story began about two hundred million years ago when an ice sheet fractured the granite with its heaving, freezing and thawing actions. Huge blocks of the granite broke away falling off the sheer precipice approximately 1200 feet above Profile Lake. According to experts this process finally revealed the Old Man's face about 2,000 to 10,000 years ago. His face was 25 feet wide and 40 feet long. Five granite ledges combine to form his face, which accounted for the fact that his profile was visible only from particular vantage points along the highway and at Profile Lake.

During the 1880s the Appalachian Mountain Club reported that his forehead was slipping. According to experts of the day, repairing the forehead to prevent it from slipping further was impossible. Measurements and photographs taken in 1906 by Reverend Guy Roberts, who climbed the face, provided the first record of the Old Man. Roberts returned in 1915 with a Quincy, MA quarryman EH Geddes to find that the stone had moved 1 1/4 inches. Geddes made the trek again in September of 1916 carrying a fifty pound pack containing tools and supplies needed to secure the ledge. He accomplished his task in 8 days. In 1927 and 1937 other supports were installed. Periodic inspections and repairs were a regular part of the Old Man's upkeep.

Sadly, despite the best efforts of man down through the years to preserve the Old Man, nature's fury that created him ultimately destroyed him. Fundraisers to construct a memorial began almost immediately. Five huge stone monoliths, each with a different part of the profile, will be arranged so that a replica of the Old Man man will appear once the visitor reaches a certain point in the path along the way, reproducing his sudden appearance to countless people driving through Franconia Notch.

I know that losing the Old Man to nature doesn't begin to compare to the human loss and suffering of so many people in this country due to hurricanes and tornadoes. My thoughts and prayers are with them.

Still, there is an ache that is especially keen on my birthday - the day we lost the Old Man of the Mountain.

My source for the history of the repair work:
Back Porch Tales by Karl M Frost & Evelyn M Ellingson, 1974, in the USA.

Photos of repair work on the Old Man, climbers, memorabilia, and EH Geddes

Image of the Old Man is licensed to me by Damselsoft and may not be reproduced.

Please, No More Snow! LOL

I can say that all I want, but it looks like the snow is determined to break its own record set in the 1800's. We only have a few inches more to go to reach that goal. The latest weather forcast predicts more snow, ice and rain. Thankfully, a lot of what we had so far has finally melted. I can't wait to see the ground again.

This was taken early last week. That little spot of black near the street is my mailbox.

Here is a closer view of the mailbox and the street. The banks were getting high.

This is the path leading from the house to the driveway. The snow on the path itself was a good six inches of an ice pack dusted with snow. The sides just kept growing taller and taller.

I have to admit that as weary as I am of all this snow, it sure is pretty glistening in the sun!

Snowy December in New Hampshire

Last year ski season didn't get started until late January, early February. I remember a few balmy January days with temperatures near 60 degrees. This year, the ski season got started before winter arrived on the calendar. Tonight I am awaitng our sixth snow storm. It will probably only bring a couple of inches to my part of the state before it turns to sleet and freezing rain. But that snow amount will be added to what has already fallen in the last two weeks.

As of today, New Hampshire has moved up to the 3rd snowiest December in the state's history since records were first kept in the late 1800's! Although there are only a few days left in the month, it is possible we will break or tie the number one record holder. There are two additional snow events in the weather forcast before New Years Day. This is the heavy wet snow. Many people have to shovel their roofs. On the plus side, New Hampshire is a tourist state with lots of skiing, snowboarding and snowmobiling. All this snow is good for the state and it sure is pretty. I leave you with some photos I took recently. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

The driveway is down there somewhere!

Sunrise kisses the treetop of one tree in the back yard.

The day after the storm, the sunrise peaks through the trees across the street.

Happy New Year!!! :-)

A Late Summer Report from My Yard

September 17, 2007 - A fall nip in the air greeted New Hampshire this morning. It was a chilly 35 degrees. Northern parts of the state fell below 32 degrees. Sunshine quickly warmed the air. By 9:00 AM, it was warmer outside than it was inside the house. According to the weather forecast, each day should be a little warmer than the previous day. By Friday, the overnight low should be 50 degrees with a high for the day around 80 degrees. Can't wait for Friday!

I like autumn, but I find it harder to adjust to the cold weather as I get older. The acorns have been dropping from the big oak out front for a couple of weeks. Although the tree doesn't overhang the roof, acorns pelt it sounding more like a winter storm of golf-ball sized hail. Personally, I think squirrels sit up in that tree and hurl the acorns at the house.

Some of the trees are showing dashes of fall color. The Great North Woods, the part of the state near Canada, is about 25% towards peak. During the next three weeks or so, the colors will gradually spread southward. Various shades of green sported by the tree-laden hill across the street will give way to the splendor of autumnal golds, oranges and reds.

It has been an interesting season with the hummingbirds. Despite their cute appearance, hummingbirds are fiercely territorial. One of our regular hummingbirds in particular decided he owned both feeders. He perched in either the oak or the maple watching and waiting for trespassers to invade his territory. We named him the Bully. As one of the "intruders" sipped nectar, he dive-bombed it. The intruder would fly away with the Bully in hot pursuit. Many times, they came within inches of grazing my head or my husband's head. Luckily, the Bully wasn't always around.

Lately I've only seen one hummingbird of the four regulars of the summer. Bully seems to have moved on. I just made a batch of nectar and I'm waiting for it to cool. This may well be the last one of the season. Did you know that hummingbirds migrate across the Gulf of Mexico on their journey to Central and South America? A few weeks ago, PBS ran a series of programs about birds. It was fascinating. I also learned that keeping the hummingbird feeders filled will not cause the hummingbirds to delay their migration. Anyway, the hummingbirds need to stoke up before they head south, so I will keep the feeders filled until I don’t see them anymore.

If you want to make some nectar for the hummingbirds boil 4 cups of water, add 1 cup of granulated sugar and stir well. When it cools, fill the feeder about ¾ of the way. Do not add food coloring. According to experts its not good for the birds. I can attest to the fact that you don’t need it.

Today has turned into a great day for birds. While our dog, Oscar, and I were standing near a feeder, birds whizzed by us, scooped up the seeds and flew away. All the regulars are around including chickadees, white-breasted nuthatches, titmice, blue jays, mourning doves, cardinals, goldfinches and downy woodpeckers. White-breasted nuthatches stay the winter. I seldom see red-breasted nuthatches. I was surprised when two of them landed at the feeder. As I turned to go back to the house, I spotted an eastern phoebe on the telephone wire. I've heard them, but have not seen them in weeks.

All in all, it's been a great day, despite the chilly start!

It looks as though my grandson is holding the feeder up while the hummer takes a drink. Actually, he is about six feet away from the feeder! I didn't realize it would be an optical illusion when I took the photo!

The Short Lunar Eclipse

On Tuesday, August 28, 2007 at 4:40 AMI grabbed my binoculars, camera, and telescope accessories case and headed out the door. The full moon illuminated the way to my chair, table and telescope that had been set up in the front yard the night before. Bad idea. The telescope had fallen prey to the night dew. Nice if one likes that foggy look to everything. No problem, my binoculars and camera were fine.

I live in the New Hampshire. I knew that the moon would set before reaching totality, but I thought I would see a bit more than half the moon eclipsed before it sank out of view. I forgot to figure in the geography of my western horizon - a tall pine-tree-studded hillside. My viewing can be summed up with this little list:

Totality occurred at 5:52 AM,
The moon set below a clear NH horizon at 6:09 AM
The moon set below my tree-lined hilltop horizon at 5:25 AM

The eclipse was beautiful, although brief.

Fortunately, there will be another total lunar eclipse on February 20, 2008. I have already checked. My western horizon will not be a problem. As long as the Nor'easters stay away, I just might see the entire eclipse and end up with a full set of eclipse photos.

Here's to clear skies and low horizons!