- Granite Lakes Natural Resources Conservation Area (dnr.wa.gov)
Abutting the Glacier Peak wilderness area, this 603 acre conservation area contains montane forests, subalpine parklands, and mountain lakes. Forests include 160 year old stands of Pacific silver fir, mountain hemlock and associated plant communities. At higher elevations, subalpine parkland communities support scattered trees and low shrubs such as heathers and Cascade blueberry.
- Star Tales - Cygnus (ianridpath.com)
A popular name for Cygnus is the Northern Cross, and indeed its shape is far larger and more distinctive than the famous Southern Cross. In its cruciform shape the Greeks visualized the long neck, outstretched wings, and stubby tail of a swan flying along the Milky Way, in which it is embedded. Aratus’s description of it as being hazy or misty in parts is no doubt a reference to the Milky Way running through it. The mythographers tell us that the swan is Zeus in disguise, on his way to one of his innumerable love affairs, but his exact quarry is a subject of some disagreement.