WILDWOOD WAYS 



tered and warm in the midday sun that 

 it is only' by watching the sky that you 

 know it is winter, though the ice is white 

 and strong on the little ponds. 



I think you can get the best view of 

 all of Great Blue Hill from the summit 

 of the lesser hill beyond the spurs and 

 ponds and south of Hancock, just over- 

 hanging Houghton's Pond. There you 

 see the forest-clad slope sweep grandly up 

 to form this broad upland valley, wrinkle 

 a bit with the folds where lie the three 

 little ponds, then rise again most majes- 

 tically all along the steep side of the hill. 

 At this time of year it is one broad, ma- 

 jestic mass of the warm gray of bare tree 

 trunks in which rock ridges stand indis- 

 tinct in purer color, while here and there 

 clustering twig masses purple it. You 

 can see the black shadows in the face of 

 the cliff where stands the little glen in 



102 



