Yes, we have no bananas

We eat a lot of bananas in our menagerie.  And when I say "we", I do mean all of us (two humans, three dogs at present).  The dogs get their slice of banana, which they love, at breakfast time.  Well, all except Cindy who's no longer allowed extra calories, including bananas, by order of the vet!

So, there was some consternation when it became apparent that we were banana-less this morning (we forgot to pick some up on our way back from Little Monadnock yesterday).  Consequently, I started singing the old song, which I had always assumed was a quintessentially British song.  But then I looked up the origin of Yes, We Have No Bananas and found, to my surprise, that it's wholly American, albeit with British associations along the way.

We had planned to hike Little Monadnock last year but the trails were too damaged from the ice storm.  So, with Kara and the "muppets", we set off yesterday for the relatively easy hike.  The photo, taken during a short, light hailstorm, shows Kim and the dogs atop Little Monadnock, with Mt. Monadnock in the background.  Unfortunately, Monadnock doesn't allow dogs (although plenty people ignore the rule), so we generally pick one of the other hills in the area.  There are lots!  Besides, at this point in our training schedule, Monadnock itself would be a bit too strenuous.  We last climbed it in 2004 and it's surprisingly tough, especially if you go up the Spellman trail as we did.  Besides, do you see what's on the top of Monadnock?  Snow! 

This (photo above) is not quite the summit, however.  The summit, such as it is, is about a furlong to the west, along the Metacomet-Monadnock trail.  It has no good views, although at this time of year we could see through the leafless trees quite far to the west, or could have done if the weather wasn't so bad.  We stopped for lunch there.  We continued on the four-mile loop, eventually coming down a couple of "roads" back to Rhododendron State Park where we had begun.  We may visit this again in July with Ella when the blossom is out.  On the way back, we passed a rather large beaver pond (see photo).

Next, we stopped at the crossing of a rail trail, which I hadn't really been expecting, quite close to the park.  The trail runs the route of the old Cheshire R/R.  For more information, see my new railroad blog.

And, finally, our second goal of the day: sampling the wares of Lickity Splitz in Winchendon, MA.  I was quite pleased with my maple walnut.  The portion, a "small", was huge.  The maple syrup flavor was excellent.  At first, I thought there was a paucity of walnuts, but they appeared lower down.  Compared with Kimball's, I'd say that it was almost as good.  That's very high praise!