Fall is starting to fall on Ester Dome

Look at these beautiful colors!

Brilliant gold dominates.

We explored a new side trail. I never knew that Ester Dome had ridges quite this steep. The trails with which I am familiar do not open to views like this.

Beautiful!

Cricket!

Thistle!

I was surprised to see this sign indicating "water". First of all, there is no shortage of water on Ester Dome. Creeks come streaming down the hillside in every direction. Secondly, there is no need to drink local water on Ester Dome. It's really close to town, and not an overnight destination. It's a dayhike kind of place, and it's easy to carry enough water for a dayhike. Nobody packs a water filter or Steri-pen for a dayhike! And yet, here was this sign reading "water" on top of a creek. I was like, No kidding? Water in a creek?. Nevertheless, I walked around the clump of vegetation to where the arrow indicated.

And came upon this lovely sight. A spring coming out of the hillside, to a clear pool. Copper cups had been set there, a nod to copper's role since antiquity for its antibacterial properties (modern doorknobs and hand railings are often made of the copper alloy brass, capitalizing on this same property). The copper cups were shiny and unoxidized. The old appearance of this water shrine was apparently an affectation. Also! The water itself was likely not safe to drink. The ground water under Ester Dome, like in many gold-mining areas, is rich in naturally-present arsenic. In fact, if you click the photo to enlarge, you can see where another passerby had carved "ARSNIC" into the sign.

Nevertheless, the sight deeply moved me.

It reminded me of the plaque on the door of St. Matthews.

"to all who are weary and need rest" To all who are thirsty and need water...

It's been a day and I'm still intrigued by the situation and turning it over in my mind. A person with the heart of a poet, but not much practical thought, made the shrine. And then a person with an equally caring heart, but more practical mind, but without enough formal education to know how to spell "arsenic", came along and carved the warning. But the second person didn't disrupt the shrine, either.