Jackie and Jillie relaxing at the cottage

Amazing how chronically crankily volatile nature can be at times. Just weeks ago we were sweltering in a heat wave. We knew, of course, it was summer's way of bidding us adieu for another year. Hard on its heels, so to speak, came cold, wet, windy weather. To be expected, of course. And of course we had made our decision to go back to the Waterville Valley in September as we most often do, before the onset of winter, for the opportunity of hiking along old familiar forest trails in the White Mountain National Forest, the jewel in the crown of the state of New Hampshire.

After our long drive brought us to the Franconia Notch it was the first time in many years that there was no fog, no overwhelming mist rising, to enable us to see the tops of the mountains as we drove through to our further destination. The irony is that for the entire trip we had driven under dark-streaked clouds and a few rain events on our way. It was not only unusual to see the summit range clearly on an otherwise rainy, cloudy day, but that mostly our introduction to the Notch on arrival was one of a  hidden landscape.

For the  week we were in New Hampshire rain was relentless each day, with the exception of mid-week's Wednesday. Then, though most of the day the sky remained cloud-dense and dark, as the afternoon wore on to early evening, the sun did reveal itself. Leaving us with one day out of the week when we were able to plan for an entire day's outing, when we drove on to Sabbaday Falls and from there to Rocky Gorge and the Lovquest Trail to give our little dogs the opportunity for a longer hike than we were able to manage with them the other days of the week when more modest hikes were called for in brief periods of light rain or between rain events.

It was different on our return trip. We left the cottage we rented for the week under almost-clearing skies on a very cold and windy morning. We had said goodby to our hosts whom we've known for decades. For a change it wasn't raining. Jackie and Jillie settled down quietly, seasoned travellers that they are. We saw a doe in a clearing, and now and again wild turkeys singly, in pairs and in groups as we passed.

On our daily drives to various hiking spots we had seen turkey vultures circling the sky over the highways not far from the forest verges and the mountains beyond. But on this occasion we were surprised to see a large group of turkey vultures wheeling about on the wind, over a forest canopy. We'd never seen such a large gathering of these birds before, but now know that as birds liking companionship among their peers, such a gathering is called a 'kettle'. They're scavenger-feeders, carrion-eaters.

What was peculiar was that when we reached the Franconia Notch this time driving in the opposite direction to our arrival, we drove directly into heavy rain. Thick mist and fog enveloped the summits and rose into the rain-saturated sky. Odd, because most often when we're leaving New Hampshire and passing through the Notch, it tends to be clear. This time Eagle's Cliff could only be glimpsed through the rain and fog and mist, while Mount Lafayette was completely shrouded.

We arrived back home at 4:30 p.m. Taking into account our stop at the Vermont rest stop where we always take grateful advantage of their amenities, including being able to exercise our puppies in a bit of a walk along their grassy verge. It 's also where we use their rest room, and their picnic grounds where we take our leisurely time eating brunch; actually the breakfast we hadn't eaten before leaving the cottage. Our little dogs enjoyed a hard-boiled egg between them, and offered to help us eat our tangerines and bananas and crunchy peanut-butter-on-whole-wheat-buns breakfast.

Once home again, we decided to unpack the truck the following day, and instead take ourselves and the puppies out to the ravine for a restful hike through the forest to exercise our travel-weary limbs and relieve the stress of the drive back home. A cold day with a high of 10C, 40mph wind, moderated by a warming sun that had been absent all week long.