Cranberry Glade

For those in sweltering heat or confined to the house these days, here are a few more photos from my recent 3-day visit to West Virginia. After a summer of temperatures in the high 80's F, this visit to the 750 acres preserve at an elevation of 3400 feet was a cool mini-vacation. We almost had the whole glade to ourselves. They have made a boardwalk so that it is accessible to one and all. (Click on photos for a breath of fresh air.)

Swamp Thing

The swamps/marshes near my house are sometimes dark and creepy. The humid air hangs around your shoulders like a panting hot beast. The ground beneath your feet is wet and mucky and sometimes it falls away into some black hole that will promise to suck you up forever. The noise filling the wet air is from a million hungry insects waiting to drink your blood. And then, like a fresh cool breeze, I round the corner and see these.