New Hampshire – Page 55 – New England's Narrow Road

Dimond Hill Farm

On the outskirts of Concord, NH is a big yellow farm that sits on top of a hill – Dimond Hill, named after the original owner, Ezekiel Dimond. He sold the land to Joseph Abbott in 1827, but the farm retains the original owners name. The farm has been in the Abbott family for 6 generations and you can read about it here.

I lived near there last year and it’s where I bought a lot of my fresh veggies and even bought a frozen peach pie. They sell what most farms sell – local homemade goodies & in-season vegetables, and also buckets of ice cream, but what I loved most was the view! So one day I brought my camera along and took this photo.

I tend to think that these northerners take for granted this beauty since most of them have always lived here, but it might not be true.

Hiking Pitcher Mountain

A short hike up Pitcher Mountain gives plenty of awesome views.

My son and I have a tradition of going to Pitcher Mountain to pick blueberries each August. The mountain is in Stoddard, New Hampshire and the hike to the top is quick, but the views from the 2163 foot summit are gorgeous!

This is the first time I’ve seen these new wind towers. Sorry my photo isn’t that good, but we counted 8 of them on the hillside in Lempster. I’ve heard that they are loud, disrupt the flight patterns of birds, and other negative info. Wind Towers are also being put up near another favorite spot of min – Gregg Lake in Antrim. I’ll have to become informed, but after reading about it, I don’t see how it will save me any money and I wouldn’t like these things popping up all over this beautiful state to ruin the views!

The top of the mountain is full of blueberry bushes. If we split up and pick, then combine our efforts, we can gather a nice crop of berries to eat, cook with and freeze. All that is required is a donation at the bottom of the hill in the parking area.

According to this site, New Hampshire has 17 active standing fire towers and others that are not used. If you want to know how to visit them click here.

Fire tower at the top of Pitcher Mountain in New Hampshire. — Pitcher Mountain Fire Tower

Every year I say I’ll go back again and get more berries and then the time goes by and blueberry season has ended. But the mountain is still there, and we can always go for a hike and get some new photos.

Blue Hydrangeas in Bloom

I just visited Flandrum Hill’s blog and she has some gorgeous photos of the flowers blooming in her yard in Nova Scotia and she inspired me to post these flower photos from my own yard to my blog.

I don’t do anything special to make this Hydrangea blue, it grows that way. In fact the blooms lower to the ground on this plant seem to be the ones with a purple tint. The acidity of the soil can make a difference in the color, but some types just tend to be one color or another and can’t be changed.

We’ve had such drama this year with all the baby birds in our yard. This poor Robin has had her nest invaded by red squirrels, eggs dumped by a wind storm and so on…She did finally have success as we watched her sit in a nest with a bunch of young ones. They are gone now, so I assume all went well. This one (the dad, I think) was in just the right spot to be part of my Hydrangea photo.

I use my Hydrangea photos for making postcards, stamps and other products and selling them at my on-line store, BlueHyd. I never tire of taking floral shots. I love preserving the beauty of a quickly fading bloom.

Growing Tomatoes With Too Much Rain

I’m adjusting to living in a rental house. I’ve even planted a few vegetables in a little patch of lawn out back. But, everything is waterlogged and my tomato plants are looking nice and green, but the buds are falling off.

I read that this is probably due to the excess moisture we’ve had so far this summer. Not to mention the lower than normal temps…like highs of only 68°.

The cukes are growing well and I even have a tiny cucumber on one of the vines now. I use tomato cages to surround my squash and cukes so the dog (my landlady’s dog) doesn’t run through the garden when the veggies are small and trample them!