Has Spring Really Arrived?

With the sun appearing and the temperature up, the wife and I decided to get out of the house and go for a Sunday afternoon drive.

We went west over Waite's Hill, with a nice view of the Owlkill Valley, then up to Cambridge and northeast on 313. Passing Murray Hollow Road, I made a snap decision to drive up into the Hollow, even though we had brought the Ford and not the Jeep. The road was quite passable though not too smooth.

Murray Hollow Road

As we got up into the Hollow, we saw a clever Giant Tortoise next to a small pond. It looked quite realistic!

Giant Tortoise

The road winds up next to a small brook today called "Murray Hollow Brook", but once called the South Branch of the Battenkill by White Settlers, and Tightikillijagtikook by the Algonquins, the meaning of which has long since been lost.

Tightikillijagtikook

After traveling well over the border into Arlington, Vermont the road became too rough for the car, so we turned around and went back down. We then followed 313 north along the Battenkill (Dionondehowa¹ in Algonquin), through Anaquassacook², across the border and then crossed over the Battenkill and went up the southeast side, seeing these gnarled old trees alongside the stream:

Gnarly Trees along the Battenkill

Reaching Arlington, we headed south on old Rt. 7, passing the new and nearly completed home of Second Chance Animal Shelter. We turned off by the old apple farm in Shaftsbury and got this nice view of Bennington, Vermont on the way home across country to White Creek:

View of Bennington

The trip was pleasant and it was nice to get out after a very long and cold winter! There was still snow on the higher parts of the mountains! I really hope winter is now over.

¹ "She opens the door for them"

^{2 "}They Trade"