Botanizing in the rain

Barre, Sasha and Elena spent about 10 days traveling in Maine and New Hampshire, after a week of travel in MA, CT, and NY on their search for pondweeds (Sasha), and algae and aquatic mosses (Elena). Most of the days they worked in rain, with occasional breaks in the clouds and maybe a little sunshine. It did not stop them from collecting specimens, which will be sent to them at the Institute of Science where they work in Borok, Russia. They collected over 400 specimens.

Barre enjoyed being their chauffeur and guide, giving them local history information as well as botany talk about the plants they hoped to collect. Some locations were overflowing from the rain, and plants could not be collected. They visited at least 40 different locations in New England and New York.

Sasha and Elena were with us for the 4th of July, so they were able to see fireworks, and join a family cookout at our cousin's home at Lake Ossipee. We enjoyed their visit very much. The days passed very quickly.

Visit to Mt. Washington, NH

Sasha and Elena at the top of Mt. Washington, with a view of 70 miles of scenery. This is the first day of sunshine in a week, and a wonderful finish to their three weeks with us. We enjoyed a leisurely visit on the summit and a stop at the alpine gardens on the way up. Barre drove us up the Auto Road. Mt. Washington is 6288 feet, the tallest mountain in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains.

The picture of Sasha, Elena and Marion was taken at the entrance to the Auto Road to the top of Mt. Washington. The weather was wonderful, one of the best summer days we've had. There was no wind at the top of the mountain, so we were quite comfortable walking around, going to the two small museums and the store for a look at postcards and sourvenirs.

Pardon the photo layout. I have a lot to learn!