The golden days for Green Mountain were surely coming to an end, according to doomsayers.

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Higher up on the plateau, Arctic buntings, ptarmigan and golden eagles can be glimpsed, while the mountain scrub is adorned with rare plants such as globeflower and roseroot.

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Goats file through the scrub, an irregular column, with goatee beards, horns like the handles of mountain bikes and mad, golden, dreamy eyes, led by a ram with scimitar horns.

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Lynx, deer and wild boars populate its woodlands, and golden eagles can often be spotted wheeling amongst the mountain peaks.

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