Most days, my husband Denis and I go our separate ways, I to some woods or waterway, he to his rocker to read. But this past Sunday was such a gorgeous blue-sky day, we decided to take a drive together to enjoy the autumn foliage in its last blaze of glory. So off we set, driving north along the Northway (I-87) toward our destination, Lake George. As the miles went by, our disappointment grew as we noticed that the roadside trees sure looked faded, well past their prime of beauty. But then we arrived at Lake George. Wow! The colors here were spectacular!
We ambled through the lakeside Battlefield Park, where back in the mid-18th Century the English and French were battling over control of Lake George, then called Lac du Saint Sacrement by the French, who had originally settled the area. After the English won the French-Indian War, they re-named the lake in honor of the English king, George III. As we wandered the lovely green hills beneath glowing Sugar Maples, it was hard to imagine the roar of cannons and the screams of the wounded that long ago had echoed from the surrounding mountains.
The remnants of an old English fort, plus a number of monuments and statues, reminded us that blood had once been spilled on these now-quiet rolling hills.
I always prefer to look for native plants than to study war monuments, so I was delighted to find a few plants of Herb Robert still putting forth their pretty pink blooms.
As we headed back to where our car was parked near the edge of a marsh, we slowed our steps to gaze at the forested mountain that rose on the other side, adorned with spectacular colors.
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