Melissadilla's photostream  

En route up the Moosilauke Carriage Road, the mountains unfurl like waves: Presidentials, Franconia Ridge, and what I think might be Weetamoo. The shoulder of Moosilauke slopes up and out of the frame like a tsunami.

Just as I pressed the shutter on this scene of Moosilauke's summit, a raven zoomed by.

Score.

Something about the crispness of the blue and white and the curve of the shadows simply captivated me.

My first season in New Hampshire, a co-worker started to teach me the birds as we worked together for the Forest Service. Up near Greenleaf Hut, he pointed out these birds with funny-looking beaks: crossbills. What I didn't realize at the time was the rarity of that sight; crossbills are far north species that only occasionally irrupt further south when the conifers have a good crop of cones. Although it appears as though something's gone terribly wrong with their beaks, the twist is actually an adaptation which enables crossbills to easily extract the seeds from cones...and it's pretty nifty to watch.

This year, they're back, and this sighting high up on Moosilauke is only the second time I've ever seen crossbills. Of course I did a happy bird dance. :)

My preoccupation with fungi persists, even in winter.