Mountain laurel is probably my favorite WV native flower.

I adore the open flowers, and how they look like porcelain tea cups. The the buds are a marvel, with their sharp lines and darker colors.

So gorgeous.

Sunday was our annual hike up Seneca Rocks in memory of my cousin Ben. Ben died in 2012, and every year since then we’ve hiked up Seneca Rocks on his birthday. And since we’re doing it in memory of Ben, we have to go all the way to the top without stopping.

—

I was chatting with Tania the night before, and she asked if I was still mad at Ben. I said much less than I had been.

I changed my mind about 2/3rds of the way up.

I’m not as mad at him as I used to be (once I catch my breath, that is) but it’s still hard for me to accept. And it most likely always will be.

—

Although there was rain throughout the day, it held off for our hike, as well as while we were enjoying the view.

Location: Seneca Rocks
Distance: 3.6 miles
Elevation: 1546-2407 feet (919)
Temperature: 75 F

Hike up:
Distance: 1.2 miles
Elevation: 1578 – 2319 feet (740); 11.6% grade
Time: 32 minutes

Day is done, gone the sun,
From the hills, from the lake,
From the sky.
All is well, safely rest,
God is nigh.

Go to sleep, peaceful sleep,
May the soldier or sailor,
God keep.
On the land or the deep,
Safe in sleep.

Love, good night, Must thou go,
When the day, And the night
Need thee so?
All is well. Speedeth all
To their rest.

Fades the light; And afar
Goeth day, And the stars
Shineth bright,
Fare thee well; Day has gone,
Night is on.

Thanks and praise, For our days,
‘Neath the sun, Neath the stars,
‘Neath the sky,
As we go, This we know,
God is nigh.

Taps, by Gen. Daniel Butterfield

We’d hoped to spend some time hiking in the southern part of the state after I finished teaching in Charleston, but thunderstorms nixed that plan, so we came home, and had a day trip to Canaan.

This is one of the places we go frequently, because it’s relatively close to Morgantown, and there are SO MANY places to hike.

Location: Canaan Wilderness
Trail: Lindy Run, Plantation, Fire Trails
Distance: 4.0 miles
Elevation: 3459-3652 feet (397 feet gain)
Temperature: 82 F

Wet trail.

Wet crossing.

Dry trail.

Gorgeous creek.

Our original plans for the weekend were thrown into disarray, so we went to Canaan Valley on Saturday for a little hiking, and to see what spring wildflowers were out.

Answer: lots and lots.

I really want an app that gives me the forecast for the state and tells me where it will NOT be raining over the weekend. Is that really so much to ask?

The forecast looked least wet in the Berkeley Springs area, so we headed east to do some hiking at Cacapon.

Irises

Pink Lady Slipper

FUTURE SNACKS!!!!

Here’s a question for you: What is horror?

Specifically, horror in books.

What qualifies a story as horror? Is it a feeling it gives you? Is it the presence of monsters? Is it terrible things happening to characters?

I’ve always had an odd relationship with dark fantasy and horror. I’m fine with monsters and murder (though not with details about torture) but because of my hatred of horror movies, I’ve always avoided anything categorized as horror. I am easily started and HATE that feeling, so I’ve always associated horror with monsters jumping out from behind doors.

But I’m not necessarily sure what I’ve been avoiding is the thing that I hate so much.

I love Simon R. Green and Thieves’ World. Mike Carey’s Felix Castor and Paul Cornell’s Shadow Police series are full of demons and monsters. And I think the movies based on Sergei Lukyanenko’s Night Watch series were classified as horror.

On the other hand, one of the most distressing books I’ve read was Joyce Carol Oates “Blonde” which was the fictionalized story of Marilyn Monroe. And I’d rather stab myself in the thigh with a fork than ever read China Mieville’s Perdido Street Station ever again.

Are those horror? I found them both horrific and they both made me completely and utterly miserable.

I enjoyed “The Sandman” comics but really disliked “Preacher”.

So what is horror? Have I been missing things I might have liked because they fell under the umbrella or horror? Or have I mostly been avoiding things that would make me miserable?

Finally! Decent weather! That means less reading, but I’m OK with that.

I managed to read some new releases this months–including books that were published within the month!

So what did I really like?

Some very good historical mysteries, including the new Sebastian St Cyr mystery: Secrets in the Mist by Anna Lee Huber (Rating: 9/10) Who Slays the Wicked by C.S. Harris (Sebastian St. Cyr) (Rating: 8.5/10)

I am really enjoying Josh Lanyon’s writing, and I hope that this is actually a series:

The Haunted Heart: Winter by Josh Lanyon (Rating: 8/10).

And in the LGBT romance line, I want to mention a book that I really enjoyed, even if I don’t think it was that good of a book. How to Be a Normal Person by TJ Klune (Rating: 6.5/10). This book had one main character who was an ace, another who was probably along the autism spectrum, and some AMAZING supporting characters, including an elderly female biker (Vespa) gang. There was also a fair amount that annoyed me, including one of the characters being a hipster and smoking a LOT of pot. But it DID make me laugh out loud on multiple occasions. So I don’t know if I could read it again, but it was definitely worth reading once.

So what made the ranks of the read this month?

Mystery, LGBT

Hazard and Somerset
Reasonable Doubt (2018) Gregory Ashe (Rating: 7/10)
Criminal Past (2018) Gregory Ashe (Rating: 2/10)
Digging Up Bones
Bone to Pick (2017) TA Moore (Rating: 7/10)
Skin and Bone (2019) TA Moore (Rating: 8/10)

Mystery, Historical

Secrets in the Mist (2016) Anna Lee Huber (Rating: 9/10)
Who Slays the Wicked (2019) C.S. Harris (Sebastian St. Cyr) (Rating: 8.5/10)
The Potter’s Field (1989) Ellis Peters (Brother Cadfael) (Rating: 8.5/10)
An Artless Demise (2019) Anna Lee Huber (Lady Darby) (Rating: 8/10)

Mystery, Police

Death at Sea: Montalbano’s Early Cases (2014/2018) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli (Rating: 8.5/10)

Romance, Thriller

Scandal Never Sleeps (2015) Shayla Black and Lexi Blake (Rating: 5/10)

Romance, LGBT

The Haunted Heart: Winter (2013) Josh Lanyon (Rating: 8/10)
Wolfsong (2016) TJ Klune (Green Creek) (Rating: 7/10)
How to Be a Normal Person (2015) TJ Klune (Rating: 6.5/10)

Romance, Historical

Castaway Dreams (2012/2016) Darlene Marshall (Rating: 6/10)
A Modest Independence (2019) Mimi Matthews (Parish Orphans of Devon) (Rating: 8/10)

Fantasy, Supernatural

Inspector Hobbes and the Gold Diggers (2014) Wilkie Martin (Rating: 6.5/10)

Now: THE STATS!

All ebooks this month! I couldn’t find anything I wanted to listen to, so I’ve been listening to podcasts while I walk and do housework. And only one re-read this month!

eBook: 16
Re-read: 1

Oddly, almost no fantasy. Lots of mystery and lots of romance though.

Fantasy: 2
Mystery: 12
Romance: 10
Boinking: 8

Even more strangely, I read a fair number of male authors! However, when you take pseudonyms into consideration, I still read more female authors.

Male: 6
Female: 5
Initials: 3
Male Pseudonym: 2

As far as character breakdown, lots and lots of white characters. Not surprising considering the number of British historical I read, but still, very white. And very few female leads this month, which IS unusual, but then I have been reading a lot of LGBT romance.

Male: 11
Female: 2
Ensemble: 3
White: 16
Minority: 2
Minority 2ndary: 1
Straight: 11
LGBTQ: 5

So there you are, the books of April.

Did you read anything fabulous this month?

The boardwalk is lovely, but .8 miles and flat is not a hike, so we decided to go out a bit on the Cow Pasture Trail, in the hopes there would be wildflowers.

There are LOTS of wildflowers.

We hiked parts of the other end of the trail, but hadn’t walked any of the western part of the trail.

It was gorgeous.

There are so many trails I want to hike in the Cranberry Wilderness, but most of them are long and would require an overnight stay–which we can do, but haven’t been able to do. (Because rain, work, reasons.)

Location: Cranberry Wilderness
Trail: Cow Pasture Trail
Distance: 4.9 miles
Elevation: 3347-3462 feet (364 feet rise)
Temperature: 59 F

If you haven’t been (and really, why haven’t you?), Cranberry Glades is an amazing area. It’s an area of bogs with plants typically found much farther to the north (like Canada).

It’s a very brief walk, and usually handicapped accessible, however, a section of boardwalk currently needs repaired, due to beaver activity.

It was a gorgeous day, and there were quite a few people on the boardwalk (by quite a few, I mean there there were about six cars in the parking lot).

If you have the chance, head there now, while the flowers are in bloom.

Location: Cranberry Glades
Trail: Cranberry Glades Boardwalk
Distance: 0.8 miles
Elevation: 3620-3659 feet (46 feet rise)
Temperature: 55 F

Our last hike (Canaan & Blackwater Falls) were a dud as far as spring wildflowers went.

Our trip to Cranberry Glades was FULL of wildflowers. It was a gorgeous day.

Swamp cabbage Symplocarpus foetidus

Marsh Marigold Caltha palustris

Pitcher Plants Sarracenia

Trout lily!

Trillium!

Not finding a lot of flowers at Canaan, we went to Blackwater Falls, in hopes some drier trails might have more wildflowers.

They didn’t, but it was a gorgeous day for a hike, so it’s still a win.

Location: Blackwater Falls
Trails: Elakala and Shay Trace Trails
Distance: 1.2 miles
Elevation: 3082-3228 feet (212 feet rise)
Temperature: 68F

Trails: Dobbins House and Pace Point Trails
Distance: 2.9 miles
Elevation: 2993-3160 feet (274 feet gain)
Temperature: 72F

We went out to Pace Point, in the hopes we’d see lots of flowers. Not many flowers, but still a lovely hike. Then we spent a bit of time at the top of Pendleton run.

And since we were on Elakala Trail, we of course scrambled down.

It was such a lovely day!

One of the reason I wanted to go hiking was because I finally replaced my GPS.

I’ve had the Oregon 550t since 2013, and it remains a workhorse. However, it’s accuracy was getting problematic. If we’re hiking a loop, our starting and ending elevations should be approximately the same.

The last loop we hiked our starting elevation was 1592 and the ending elevation was 1637. And our peak elevation was 1774 feet going out, and 1850 feet coming back. Those elevations should have been the same, not 45-76 feet different.

So after a lot of back and forth and a month of thinking about it I got a Garmin Oregon 700.

There have been a lot of improvements in the past six years, and although I liked the Orgeon 550t, I LOVE the 700.

The point of all this is what I wanted to use the new GPS.

So our first use was one of my favorite trails.

Location: Canaan Valley SP
Trail: Blackwater River Trail
Distance: 0.8 miles
Elevation: 3202-3261 (78 feet gain)

GPS was perfect, and the hike was lovely; Win win!

That’s right, I like taxes! I like the benefits of living in a society that cares for all members, not forcing the indigent and needy to struggle and do terrible things if they don’t want to die on the streets.

So what are some of the benefits?

Public roads!

Made about the potholes? Of course you are! Justifiably! You know what those potholes are there! Because of people who try to avoid paying state and local taxes! (Yes, I AM judging you!)

But it’s more than that. We’ve traveled much of WV, and I can tell you precisely why the economy is so bad in so many areas: because no manufacturer in the right mind is going to build a plant where there are two lane roads with 9-11% grades and hairpin turns. They just aren’t. And it takes state and federal tax money to build those roads that might–just might–bring in businesses.

Without those roads? It’s just not going to happen.

Public schools!

Even if you don’t have kids, public education is necessary for a an informed citizenry. The number of complete idiots who refuse to vaccinate their kids because they don’t understand how herd immunity works is in many ways a failure of our education system.

We’ve failed not just to teach people about basic science, we’ve also failed to instill critical thinking skills, which is possibly more important than basic science. (Possibly.)

Public Sanitation!

Read much about London during any number of historical periods?

Here’s something I read earlier this month. The woman is interview a night-soil man.

“The worst is them cesspits what’s hooked up to them newfangled water-flushing contraptions.”

“Why?”

“’ Cause a cesspit, it ain’t designed t’ take all that water, that’s why. So them things is always overflowin’. If ye ask me, what they oughta do is let them nobs who wants them danged patented washdown pedestals connect ’em to the sewer system.”

London had long possessed an elaborate sewer system, but the sewers were intended only for stormwater and underground rivers. It was illegal to use them for the disposal of waste.

Hero said, “The sewers empty into the Thames.”

“Aye.”

“We get our water from the Thames.”

William Bell laughed, showing a mouthful of surprisingly even, healthy teeth. “Aye. So?”

Harris, C. S.. Who Slays the Wicked (Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery) (p. 341). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

You think dog poop on the sidewalks is annoying? Without public sanitation, human waste was just thrown out into the streets.

Public Safety!

Ever read anything about police services 200 years ago? If you were rich, you could hire people to solve your crimes, and if you were very rich, you’d have to do something really terrible to keep the authorities from looking the other way.

In general, a child who stole food to eat could be thrown into prison or transported. And sometimes the only alternative to thievery was prostitution. Or starving to death.

Fire services were even worse. The first fire services were private ones–you paid them in advance to make sure your house didn’t burn down in there was a fire. You didn’t pay a fire service? They’d protect your neighbors home while watching yours burn to the ground. Which sometimes meant a “protected” home burned as well.

Public Health!

Just 100 years ago, the “Spanish Flu” swept the world, killing more people than WWI, which was happening at the time.

Public health laws required people to wear masks in public, which helped slow the spread of the virulent and dealy illness.

Public health also protects our food supply, as well as regulating those who prepare our food. Everyone has heard the phrase “Typhoid Mary” but do you actually know she was a real person who caused serious illness and death? She was a carrier of Typhoid, but it did not make her ill.

(P)reviously the cook had served in 8 families. Seven of them had experienced cases of typhoid. Twenty-two people presented signs of infection and some died.

That year, about 3,000 New Yorkers had been infected by Salmonella typhi, and probably Mary was the main reason for the outbreak. Immunization against Salmonella typhi was not developed until 1911,

Public health also insures that our water supplies are safe–and if you think this isn’t still a problem, then you have not been paying attention.

Public Parks and Forests!

To end on a more positive note, our national and state parks and forests are a result of state and federal taxes. Thanks to Theodore Roosevelt, we have wild and historical places preserved for us and for future generations.

The Grand Canyon, the Giant Redwoods–without our park system, these things would be either destroyed, or available only to the wealthy. Forests and park contribute to our health and well-being, from the air they clean, the plants and animals they preserve, and the green spaces they provide for the physical and mental health of those who use them.

I’d also like to note that here in WV, our state forests are also public hunting grounds. Without our state forests, that land would be in private hands, unavailable either because it had been destroyed, or because it had been restricted by private land-owners.

These–and many other reasons–are why I am always glad to pay taxes. And why I am judging you every time you use ploys to avoid paying taxes while still wanting to government to fix your potholes and fight crime and all the other many services governments provide.