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Emotion 365: The Mountains Capricious, the Castle Expansive

Snow caps the peaks of the mountains Capricious. Paths wind up. Switchbacks lead to chalets, firesides, and potent drink. Visitors sit on the balcony and overlook the frosty peaks.

“Which one will we climb tomorrow?” Miss Doe Friend asks.

Miss Emeline Traveler points at what appears to be the steepest slope, “That one.”

Asters bloom pink on the hillside. Crews maintain the trails and build bridges over the streams. They hike in and out carving the paths.

“I dare you to ascend,” one visitor says.

“I climbed that peak on a whim,” says another.

Marmots whistle. Wolves howl. Bear lumber. Deer prance. Chipmunks chatter. Squirrels leap. Trout splash and flop. Rivers run white from the glaciers. Fish fill the blue lakes and spawn in flowing rivers.

Photographers take pictures of it all rising at dawn, waiting at dusk, documenting each rise and set of sun and watching all night for hunters: fox, owl, and all.

In the Expansive stone castle high in the mountains Capricious there's a rotunda filled with books and reading nooks. The trail makers of Capricious live here, when they are not camping, and take breaks here.

Some stay in the adjoining mountain chalets. The Capricious brewers live in Expansive as well and make the potent, fizzy drink out of an energizing berry. The denizens of Expansive are a healthy people and strong.

They include eagle-folk renowned for their song. They watch over hikers and trail makers and help harvest the berries which grow only in the highest mountain joints.

What is this? Emotion 365: Every Day a New Land of Emotion

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