Pam – Page 129 – New England's Narrow Road

The Fall Window Box

We’ve had such a very warm September in New Hampshire, that I was wondering if Fall would ever arrive, but it did and with it came loads of rain and some wind. Not what we like to see as the leaves change color, but there is some good color left. It’s been nasty and rainy on the days I’ve had a chance to walk – so I haven’t and therefore have no new photos yet.
Today there is no school, and after my Friday trip to the dump and swap shop, I will walk to the lake and get some photos, providing the sun stays out for me.
As I drove my son home from cross-country practice yesterday afternoon the sun was just coming out and it hit the trees along the lake in just the right way to make them glow with their Autumn leaves. Maybe I’ll wait till later and try to get some photos at that later time of day.
In the mean time, the petunias in the window boxes have been replaced with pumpkins and straw thanks to my landlady.
Another beauty from last years season:

Autumn Lake 7 by pamdicar
View other Autumn foliage Postcards

Finding Fall Mushrooms

I bought a great mushroom book. It’s written by David L. Spahr and has awesome photos, descriptions and information concerning “Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms of New England and Eastern Canada”.

Even though his photos are great and his explanations of what to look for almost convince me I could find these for my dinner, he warns that many mushrooms have look-a-likes that can be poisonous and I think I have found some of those poisonous ones in my yard.

But all I want to do is identify the ones I see around here, so the book is very helpful. I only buy mushrooms from the grocery store and they have recently begun to offer some new varieties like the Shiitake, Crimini and Black Trumpet which I am planning to try.

mushroom on a tree — Some sort of mushroom

I don’t know what the one in the picture above is. It looks a bit like a deformed “Chicken of the Woods” but I don’t know.

white mushrooms — Little White Mushrooms

I think that the ones pictured here are Coprinus atramentarius. The author talks about the “Shaggy Mane” mushroom and has a photo of others that look similar and I think those are like mine. He says that within a day or 2 they will be “black, inky goop”, so I’ll have to go back out into the woods to see if that’s what happened.

Finish Knitting the Maine Cables Hat – Part 4

Here we are on the last steps of knitting the Maine Cables Hat. Your cables should be done and now we are decreasing and finishing the top.

by Pam 10/17/202610/19/2026

5 Free Textured Knit Scarf Patterns

Welcome the winter season with a new scarf, knit by you! These five free patterns have excellent directions and tutorials to get you started.

by Pam 10/14/2026

Knitting the Cables on the Maine Cables Hat – Part 3

Part three of the knitting pattern Maine Cables Hat is all about making the cables. I can suggest an excellent cable needle that will make the knitting easier.

by Pam 10/12/2026

Searching For Fall Color

I’ve been watching for the leaves to change and so far I am a bit disappointed. I do see some very vivid colors in places, but not much around here where I live. The past couple of years the trees were so bright and I’d walk down by the lake almost every day to get some new photos.

So far, there isn’t much to see at the lake and when I took a walk this past week I got a shot of one tree that seems to always have good color, but it was only partially turned.

sun through the trees — A walk in the woods

I’ve read that hot, dry summers are not good for producing great Fall color and that is exactly what we had for summer weather this year. So far, I think it might be true. I meant to take my camera and get some shots of one area where I saw some beautiful trees, but I forgot the other day and now the wind and rain has come, so I don’t know what’s left. I guess I’ll just wait and see how the color turns out.
But it is possible to get nice photos of green trees as well.

One Beautiful Day

This past week has been very rainy. With the remnants of tropical storm Nicole dumping over 5 inches of rain here yesterday and a few inches the day before, the gorgeous day we had Wednesday was just a good memory.

It was so beautiful that I took the cats for a walk. My landlady recently had someone come out and cut some trees for her to use as firewood so they made a path through the back of the yard in the woods. It’s a nice place to go for a quick walk and my two cats love to follow along.

They run and climb the trees chasing each other and then just flop down on the rocks watching me. I am not as graceful and they probably wonder why I am so slow, but I stopped to get some photos of some mushrooms I found. I had wanted some foliage photos, but it’s just not a great year for that. Or maybe it’s too early, but I don’t think so.

When we get to the end of the man-made trail, I cut into the trees where it’s easier to walk, except for all the branches that have fallen, and that’s where Fontana decided to rest on a mossy rock.

black cat on green moss — Beautiful Fontana

She looked so regal with her long dark fur on the bright green moss. I am a terrible animal photographer and I thought for sure she’d hop down before I got a decent shot of her, but I am very happy with this one. I even caught Richie in the background resting on his own rock.
It’s hard to believe that we adopted them 9 months ago. Instead of spending their days in little cages, they now have the whole big woods to roam. I think they are happy. And it was a beautiful day.