I can see for miles and miles

This afternoon, on a glorious early fall day, I took a quick hike up the mountain behind the church. The ridge rises on the east side of the valley in which the town resides. It's not super high, 2411 feet at the summit, but even from town, it's a steep hike up side streets that lead to an old slate quarry and an open field that used to be a farm. The view is satisfying for a simple 15-minute walk up. The field probably is at 1200 feet.

There is lots and lots of slate in these parts. Old houses have slate roofs (including the shed here) but as the slate falls apart, people replace the roofs with standing seam.

This quarry is fairly recent — within the past two years (which is the last time I walked up this way). Its existence explains all the dump trucks that would come down the side street past the rectory.

This is from the southern end of the field that is known as Cheney's farm. The name is an old town name; the ashes of one of the descendents are in the church's columbarium.

Looking west one sees this. The bump obscures Camels Hump; one has to get a lot higher in order to be able to see it.

A little further on, going north across the field, one looks toward the Worcester Range where Hunger Mountain is.

And here is a close-up of the Worcester Range. (Click on it for a larger image.)

In each photo, one can see the beginnings of fall... the leaves are beginning to change, taking on the oranges, yellows and browns (sometimes red if we are lucky).