Following Atticus: Forty-Eight High Peaks, One Little Dog, and an Extraordinary Friendship by Tom Ryan is published by William Morrow. It tells the story of my adventures with Atticus M. Finch, a little dog of some distinction. You can also find our column in the NorthCountry News.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Good Morning Agiocochook

For the past few days we’ve been dog/cat/house sitting in North Conway. From the street, the house, which is just a quarter of a mile off the main mayhem of the shopping strip, looks like an ordinary ranch in a quiet neighborhood. However, step to the back and every room has a view out towards the Presidential Range and the Wildcats and Carters, not to mention Cathedral Ledge and Mt. Kearsage. The view from the open deck is magnificent!

Looking out from the deck your eyes drop down to a vast cornfield with a snake of river bend trees wending their way through the middle of it. Then come the hills, then the mountains; and in main focus is the great Agiocochook herself – Mt. Washington. All of it sits under a sky so beautiful it couldn’t be painted to look any better.

On our first morning here, I woke up to see Agiocochook with a pink blush, as if I wasn’t supposed to see her that early in the day, with a scarf of clouds winding through the foothills. A half an hour later the sun came up and turned the cornfields to gold with its Midas touch! Oh, to be a painter at such a time as this.

I’ve included four photos from the morning.



2 comments:

LM said...

Man.....you are soooo lucky.....do you really know it? I'd die to settle there right now.........your gods are good too you....huh??

Thomas F. Ryan said...

Well, if you call couch-surfing with very little money to my name being 'soooo lucky' I guess you can say I'm blessed.

As far as settling goes, after living in Newburyport, I could definitely do North Conway. However, if I have a preference down the road, I'd rather live just outside of N.C. and be able to reach the downtown with only a quick drive in the car.

Living in Lincoln for 11 months taught me a great deal about what was acceptable and not acceptable in the next place I choose to call home. Some may see the outlets and the commercialism of North Conway a pain, but I consider them a convenience I didn't have anywhere near Lincoln. It's great not to have to drive 25 miles to a halfway decent grocery store any longer.

LM, I'm still thinking if all works out with my goals, I wouldn't mind setting up my home in Jackson. You know how beautif there...and how convenient it is to all these 'conveniences'.