My calf muscles will need another vacation

Monday Stephen took me on a quick tour of the mountains in northern Georgia, a pleasant two-hour drive from Atlanta up winding roads and steep valleys. It was the only place we could have stood to spend time outside or exert ourselves, as temperatures there seem to be about 10°F cooler than in the city.

First stop was Brasstown Bald, the highest point in the state. I took my binoculars, but ironically most of the avian denizens of these mountains are the same species found at normal elevations in Ontario. The flora, on the other hand, were mostly different: rhododendron, mountain laurel, tulip-tree.

Next we drove east to Tallulah Gorge State Park. This trip's theme seems to be climbing up and down, with the trail into the gorge being the climax. We descended 1,099 steps or 350 feet into the bottom of the gorge to see Hurricane Pool at the bottom, then of course had to climb all the way back, drenching ourselves in sweat, but not before twice crossing a vertiginous suspension foot bridge. I survived, and without inviting any dreams of falling into last night's sleep, as far as I remember.

Back at the parking lot I heard the squeaky-toy call of a brown-headed nuthatch, and managed to catch a couple of glimpses through the binoculars. That was my first life bird of the trip.

This morning we started earlier than usual in order to visit Stone Mountain before heat and crowds became overwhelming. This mountain an hour east of Atlanta bears the largest bas-relief in the world, a monument to three Confederate leaders, but we were more interested in the formation itself, a pluton of crystallized magma that formed underground 300 million years ago. We rode the cable-car to the top—my vertigo is having a real party this week—and it was worth the trip. The stands of small pines there shelter more unusual plant life, including St. John's wort and prickly-pear cactus.

Then a family of Carolina chickadees flew overhead. Unfortunately I had forgotten to take my binoculars, but managed to view one at close range, and its call is distinct from the black-capped chickadees of the north. So that was my second life bird of the trip. Moments later several vultures circled past. I'm fairly certain two of them were black vultures, the gesture and shape of their wings being different from an accompanying turkey vulture. I only had a brief glimpse, but with an earlier sighting in my records, that isn't as important.

After lunch at Flying Biscuit in Atlanta we headed to High Museum of Art to see an Annie Leibovitz show. It presents a moving combination of personal and assigned photos throughout her career. I was stunned by dramatic images from the war in Sarajevo, and a candid account of her partner Susan Sontag's battle with cancer. Highly recommended, the show is on until September 9 in Atlanta.