The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

My "most wonderful time of the year" is Autumn,  mid-September through mid-October when the leaves are in various stages of color, the lakes have a lazy morning fog hanging about til the sun peaks through, revealing all manner of water fowl, fish, fishermen, and fearless, hungry ducks. The mountains are ablaze with color and one has only to walk outside to feel the snap of a crisp Fall day,  ripe apples falling from our four apple trees and my house fragrant with home made apple sauce and apple pie. Geese and loons are contemplating their winter journey south but still hanging about for a last fattening up from the bounties of Summer. My husband and I usually take day trips staying close to home for spectacular local color.  This year was different. Recovered from respective Spring surgeries, we were ready to hit the road.

First stop was Frenchman's Bay between two of the three Acadias. We spent a week hiking, biking and exploring the territory in what is regionally known as Down East.  Warm weather, mostly sunny days and spectacular natural surroundings made this trip memorable.

The 163rd Fryeburg Fair, "Maine's Blue Ribbon Classic", came to town late September.  This is the largest agricultural fair in New England home to blue ribboned farm animals, a large midway with fair food and endless rides, woodsmen's day, sled dragging, harness racing.  People watching is the best part.

 

Schoodic Point, Acadia National Park, Maine  September

 

Acadia National Park, Mt. Desert Island    September

 

 

 

 Morning fog on Back Lake, Pittsburg N.H. October

 

 

 Cole Scott Sunset shoot 

Schoodic Point  September

 

 

 

"A Fast Pace" by Cole Scott

Harness Racing at the 2013 Fryeburg Fair in Maine

October

 

Fryeburg Fair midway at dusk 2013
 by Dick Pollock

 

The Grand Theater in Ellsworth, Maine

September 2013

 



Next stop was Coos (pronounced coh-oz) County, New Hampshire, an unspoiled country of rolling hills, spectacular lakes, rivers, forest, hunting, fishing, snowmobiling in winter and now home to the brand new Ride the Wilds ATV park, over 1000 miles of trails in New Hampshire and Southern Quebec. We took an entire day to ATV a very small portion in a Polaris Razor known as a two-up.  What a rush that was!  It was like being on a very scary ride or rollercoaster for over 40 miles.  Not for the faint of heart.  We got stuck twice and they had to winch us out of mud and logging trail ruts in two different places.  It was a gorgeous warm sunny day so no problem.  I do not have photographs of this trip, having dropped and broken my new camera while in Acadia.

 

Here is a link to a newly produced TV feature on this not-to-be-missed part of my state.  

Just Another Day in the Hood

Yup.  This is for real; taken just up the road from our town by a New Hampshire man.  

Here's his description: 

 "I shot this photograph today (8/29) at the Irving gas station just north of Twin Mountain. The live bear was sitting at the table and appeared to be eating lunch!"

This is all over Facebook (back here).  I've seen some pretty funny comments.  I happen to like this one best:  

      "He coulda had a V8".

It's mine.  :)

Winter Up North

Winter in Eaton Village

New England Autumn #1

Taken by Cole Scott on a pond 15 minutes from our home.  

First Monday in October

What would you rather see posted today?

A photograph of the Supreme Court ready to meet for the new term...

...0r a beautiful Autumn scene from Meredith Harbor, Lake Winnipesauikee, NH?  

Not even a toss up, right?

HAPPY FIRST MONDAY IN OCTOBER, EVERYONE!

Best Time of the Year

About an hour from home is the largest lake in New Hampshire, Winnipesaukee.  This little corner of the lake is the "poor side" as opposed to the "rich side" distinguished by Meredith, Wolfeboro, Governor's Island.  Alton Bay is quaint and non-commercial and very much in the classic New England style.

By the way, ex-Gov. Romney's home is in Wolfeboro.  

What I Did on my Summer Vacation

Actually, this was just last Sunday. One of the many "ponds" within a 30 minute drive from my house.

A Girl and Her Dog

Five miles or so from our home flows the Swift River, a winding, rocky, snow fed rush of cold water coming down from the mountains.  Unsuitable for canoe or kayak, due to huge boulders and low levels, it has picturesque scenic vistas, rocky outcroppings on which to sun, and deep swimming holes if you know where to look.  

Our dog Dewey and I on the steep banks looking down at my husband, standing on a river rock, taking the shot. Note the second photo, taken from the river upwards, shooting level.  Those trees are reaching out over the river then arching to the open sky.

Revenge of the Moose

Found on the internet.

Moose hunting season is over but only for hunters!  The moose still have til the end of November to hit their quotas.

More New England Crap

  

The "I Love It Here" photo contest put on by the state's tourism department & website, VisitNH.gov
spawned an endlessly annoying submission of entries to Facebook this year.  I thought I would barf if I saw one more stupid tourist with a sign.

Finally...somebody with a sense of humor!  

Thanks, Yogi.

The Kind of Crap We Do in New England

The Stanley Cup made a quick touchdown in our little corner of NH yesterday.  It was enroute to a private party in Maine and the pilot is a good friend of one of the restaurateurs here so he gave he chosen assembly a thrill, landed the copter for 5 whole minutes.  People just wanted to touch it.  I kid you not.

My husband viewed the video and said

"cool video...but have to admit that I am amazed at the resources wasted on a dumb hunk of metal.  Worshiping useless stuff is part of human behavior I will never understand."

I have to laugh because I immediately thought of Baal and idol worship, Old Testament warnings and everyone going to "H E double hockey sticks", which makes me laugh even more!


By the way, it looks like a big ole' milk can!

East Coast Travelin'

September has been a surprising month of travel for us. I say "surprising" because we didn't plan it this way...it just happened, making it all the more fun.

We visited The Balsams in Dixville Notch, N.H., famous as the "first in the nation" location for each presidential election.  We attended a wedding in the mountains nearby.  The resort, one of the oldest in the country, opened its doors in 1866 as a small roadside stop for travelers.

photograph from thebalsams.com

Five days later, we left for New York.  It was go, go, go the only thing you can do in the city.  I covered that trip in this post.

After New York, we were home four days then off to the Coast of Maine near Boothbay Harbor to an island called Southport.  We stayed in an old time resort, the Newagen Seaside Inn on the tip of the island.  

Their gardens, sweeping lawns and 240 degree views of the water were joyous.  Fall garden decor is big in New England.

No beach but a typical, rocky Maine shore.  The ocean is too darn cold for swimming. 

So we relaxed.

By the way, these are my photos with my new camera bought for me by my husband for my upcoming trip to New Orleans in October. (I think he's tired of my asking him to upload his photos to the web so I can use them  :o)

Live Free or Die NH...I'm so Proud

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Too Soon for Peak Foliage

After what felt like an endless summer, the warmest temps on record, according to Science Daily, New England is very much into Fall.  In fact, northern New Hampshire is peaking now which, seems much too early.  

Our first trip to New Hampshire was Fall 1986.  We took a ten day trip from Virginia, leaving on 9/25 and returning 10/4.  I remember because it took me several years in a row to book this driving trip through the places we wanted to see and stay.  It must have been a record year for foliage as we were bedazzled by every place we visited.  So bedazzled and happy and relaxed, we conceived our first child while in the New Hampshire portion of the trip.  No wonder I remember it so well! 

I have so many photos and they are all about the leaves.  Locals call Fall visitors "leaf peepers".  They represent the best and worst of the tourists; the best because they spend alot of money, the worst because they always drive SLOOOOWWWW.

Here's a sample of early local color to which we look forward all year.

Autumn on the Saco River

by Cole Scott

Trip to Maine Part 2

The first night of our recent trip, we drove to the beautiful city of Portsmouth, N.H. staying at a restored 19th century hotel, Wentworth by the Sea.  As with all great hotels, it has substantial history.   In 1905, the Hotel Wentworth as it was then called, housed the delegations from Russia and Japan to conclude an end to the Russo-Japanese War known as the Treaty of Portsmouth.   Before and after that, it was a summer retreat for the well-to-do.

  

Advertisement Scribner's Magazine 1915

The hotel closed in 1982, fell into disrepair, was rescued from demolition in 1997, renovated and reopened in 2003. It is so lovely, even in Winter, you have a sense of what it must have been like in days gone by. It's also one of the grand old wooden ladies, i.e. wood structures, from the Gilded Age. There are three in New Hampshire, the Wentworth in New Castle, the Mt. Washington Hotel at Bretton Woods and the Mountain View Grand in Whitefield.

 1906 post card of the Hotel Wentworth

We had a lovely room with a view of the lagoon.  The hotel sits on a spit of land, up on a hill, with a view of the ocean to one side and an inlet lagoon on the other.   There is a marina on the bay side, still tying up boats after more than a hundred years.  The golf course too is vintage, opened in 1897 and enlarged by Donald Ross in 1921.                                                                                 

                                                                           Wentworth by the Sea 2010

After the Wentworth, we made our way up the Maine coast into Camden.  One of the first sites we stopped for was a beautiful point out on the water, overlooking Penobscot Bay.

 

On a point between Camden and Rockland overlooking Penobscot Bay