New Hampshire – Page 4 – New England's Narrow Road

Saying Good-Bye to New England

I grew up in New England. I moved back for eleven years, and recently I moved away again. I started this blog to share my adventures in the northeastern US, but alas, I didn’t have many fun adventures.

I moved 5 times, and dealt with a lot of unexpected difficulties during my time in the north. I only stayed as long as I did to see my son graduate from high school.

The truth was that I was too poor to do much of anything while I lived in New Hampshire. I could hike – which is free – but I had no friends living near me. My daughter and I used to hike, but then she got sick. (She is better now.) She also works a regular, full-time job, like many people, and was busy on her days off. I don’t like to hike alone.

Picking blueberries along Gregg Lake was also one of my yearly traditions. I moved too soon to enjoy that this year.

I work from home, so my hours are flexible, but there was little reason to take time off. I would have loved to vacation on a lake each summer and have the kids join me. We did that once in the 11 years and it was wonderful.

I love New England, but it has become a place for the wealthy to live. Or at least the ones who are wealthier than me. I certainly enjoyed my summer gardening and the fresh, clean air that is always available. But I did not appreciate the unpredictable winters and heating oil bills. Taking care of a house all by myself had become quite a chore as well.

When things are not working, they must change. So I made the change. I no longer live in my beloved northeast, so writing a blog about the area makes little sense. Now it’s time to get back to living life instead of watching everyone else live it.

My focus will now be on my Florida blog: Seashells by Millhill. Pop on over there if you care to read more of my posts.

Icy Snow Covering Everything Today

Fontana watches for birds

Snow on the bird feeders

Snow covering the icy ground this morning. Just another day during a New England winter.

Winter can be beautiful, and I love seeing the snow. Life in the north can be tough, and especially so for an older woman without a man to help out. I’m capable of shoveling the deck and entryways. I lug wood and build a fire in the wood stove. And I run the snowblower and shovel out the mailbox. I even feed the birds and sometimes make my own suet for them. That means shoveling a path through the backyard to get to the feeders.

But the things that are most difficult for me are the problems that arise that I can’t fix, like when there is too much snow on the roof, or the driveway is all ice and we can’t get the car out. It’s hard for me to buy sand because it’s too heavy for me to move. Or when snowstorms cover the mailbox with heavy cement-like snow that I simply can’t lift with the shovel.

As my son has gotten older he can help more. He’s not happy about it, and he is away at school all day of course, but I do have that.

Here’s the thing; I am only getting older and I have no one to turn to for help. I hire the help when I can’t handle things, but I don’t have much money for that either.

Living in New England can be beautiful, but for me, the work and worry overshadows the beauty most of the time.

A Spooky Walk in the Forest

As Halloween approaches, I thought I’d share a spooky story from my walk in the forest. (Not really too spooky, just fun.)

moss covered tree roots — A Big Green Hand

I love to walk in the woods with my camera because there is always something interesting to photograph. I went looking for mushrooms this fall and ended up taking pictures of some creepy, crawling tree roots! Trees that have partially fallen over leave many of their roots exposed to create a tangle of wooden arms. The roots appear to be crawling like a big hand, in the photo above.

Is this the hand of a witch, with the fingers dug down in the rocky soil trying to pull herself along the forest floor? Does this thing move when I am not there to see? Just who is it trying to get, and where is it headed?

tangled tree roots in forest — This tree reminded me of a land octopus

Everywhere there were exposed roots. The many tentacles of this land octopus reach out and try to trip the passerby. What happens if I fall? Will it grab me and pull me into it’s black den made of criss-crossed roots?

black cat in woods — The Witches Black Cat

Then, I came across the most frightening site. A black cat sitting near a dark tangle of tree roots seemed to be watching something inside the black recesses of the roots. I decided to get out of there before she alerted her master to my presence.

black cat in woods on rock — Reinforcements!

Just when I thought I was home free, another black cat appeared. The first one had brought reinforcements! She sat like a (dark) princess up on top of a rock and watched me navigate the fallen tree bridge. Luckily I didn’t slip and made it safely across where I found my trail.

I left the spooky forest behind and have only these photos to tell of that disturbing walk in the woods.

Happy Halloween to all!

Visit From a New Hampshire Tree Frog

In Florida the bright green tree frogs are everywhere. Until recently I didn’t know that here in New England we also have northern tree frogs.

The gray tree frog has skin that looks like the bark of a tree in fact. A few weeks ago, this little guy sat on the edge of my outside chair for most of the day. The cats ignored him, and he rested on the chair undisturbed. I’m glad I got his (or her) photo.

The colored splotches are so interesting. It would be difficult to spot this frog if he were clinging to lichen covered tree!

This frog photo is my own, but I’ve donated it to Pixabay for anyone to use, so help yourself.