Part 4, Mountain Laurel Heaven

We were descending the trail down Mount Everett toward our parked car, the dogs and I. The day had been warm, sunny and breezy. At about the halfway point, the narrow, rocky trail became a gravel service road, making the walk easier. The rocky cliffs along the route provided magnificent scenery:

A mountain stream began flowing downhill along the edge of the trail and all four of my dogs were quick to help themselves to multiple drinks of clean, cool spring water:

We continued downhill, sometimes steeply and sometimes comfortably, through the emerald forest:

When we reached the car, I first had to spend some time with a large family of picnickers who fell in love with my dogs and wanted to hold the two Papillons. But then I began driving down the access road alongside beautiful Guilder Pond. When I saw a turn off, I took it and parked. There were even more Mountain Laurels here than on the steep mountainside, but most were still only in the bud stage:

The dogs and I threaded our way through the Mountain Laurels, Cedars and Hemlocks toward lovely Guilder Pond:

As Daphne and Clover, the two Papillon pups walked through the forest, passing beneath blossoming Mountain Laurels, the scene was surely magical:

And at last we arrived at the shore of Guilder Pond, with Mountain Laurels lighting up the forest like glorious little beacons:

Seamus wasted no time rushing toward the water:

Daphne and Clover found a safe spot to get a sip of water but were careful to keep their feet dry:

If there is a heaven, surely it must look like this. Or maybe we'll discover some day that this earth was heaven, and be judged for how we despoiled it or treated it with love: