About Carrie Cahill Mulligan

Park ranger turned fiber artist, out to change the world, one felt hat at a time.

17 Days of Green – Frozen Fenway

Posted on 9 March 2012 by Carrie Cahill Mulligan

Andy & I started watching Dartmouth Women’s Hockey shortly after moving to the Upper Valley in 2004. We’re season ticket holders, and rarely miss a game at Thompson Arena.

The Big Red of Cornell v. the Big Green of Dartmouth, Thompson Arena, January 5, 2008.

Although their names are not on the back of their jerseys (because “Dartmouth” on the front is the name that matters most), we know every player by sight.

Game-worn jerseys of Dartmouth's Cherie Piper, Katie Weatherston & Gillian Apps.

We know their strengths, we know their regular positions, and we notice when players get paired up into new line combinations.

We are what you’d call Big Green “Super Fans.”

At our happy place, Thompson Arena, February 2012.

Nothing says love like homemade strawberry-rhubarb pie!

So when we learned that the Dartmouth Women’s Hockey team would be skating at Frozen Fenway, I knew I had to go.

My ticket to Dartmouth's Frozen Fenway hockey game, January 10, 2012.

Streetside view of Fenway's Big Green Monster.

Scoreboard at the start of the Frozen Fenway Dartmouth v. Providence game.

Dartmouth Hockey Super Fans at Frozen Fenway: Dee, me, Pip & Betty.

Super Fans are super happy about Dartmouth's win at Frozen Fenway! (Photo by Tris Wykes)

It was an exciting, back and forth game, with Dartmouth’s Camille Dumais netting the game-winning goal in the final minute.

Sometimes, it’s Heaven that freezes over.

17 Days of Green – Moss & Lichen

Posted on 8 March 2012 by Carrie Cahill Mulligan

In Denali National Park & Preserve, it’s easy to fixate on the big stuff.

At a staggering 20,320″, Mt. McKinley is high on the list of things Park visitors hope to see.

The south-side view of Mt. McKinley from Byer's Lake, Denali State Park, Alaska.

Due to the Mountain’s height, however, it’s obscured by clouds nearly 70% of the summer.

So glimpsing the Park’s “charismatic megafauna” – moose, caribou, Dall sheep, wolves & grizzly bears – is next on the wish-list of most Denali Park visitors.

Grizzly bear near Toklat Ranger Station. (Photo by Kent Miller)

However, Denali is a National Park, not a zoo. The wildlife is wild, revealing itself in brief, unpredictable and often far-away glimpses.

Caribou near the Park road between Toklat and Polychrome Pass. (Photo by Kent Miller)

As a Park Ranger, I preferred to focus on the small, everyday stuff all around us. In a subarctic environment, that meant a lot of moss and lichen.

A deep bed of sphagnum moss along the Byer's Lake trail in Denali State Park, 2003.

I’m a firm believer that it’s important to slow down and notice the little things in life.
Little things can change your perspective, and surprise you with unexpected beauty.