New Hampshire – Page 57 – New England's Narrow Road

Strawberry Season in New England

Enjoying strawberry season in New Hampshire.

Strawberry season is here already. I was at Tenney Farm the other day and the owner was just setting out baskets of gorgeous looking berries…right on the counter so we couldn’t miss them!
So I had to buy some. This quart size container cost me $5.00.

I am growing my own plants, but something – a chipmunk or red squirrel I suspect- has already eaten all the green berries. I did get ONE red one for myself, so next year I will be covering them with netting of some kind. I read that the first year the berries should be taken off anyway to let the plant mature for a better harvest next year.

This one is growing on my porch but will be going into the ground by Fall when I expand my garden.

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Canadian Geese and Goslings at the Lake

Luckily I took my camera to the bus stop this morning because two families of Canadian Geese had just decided to cross from one side of the lake to the other.

Early morning geese swimming in Gregg Lake — Early morning geese

Once the bus left, I managed to get a few shots. My camera isn’t too good (or maybe it’s just me!) at getting the zoom shots, but you can see how cute the babies are..and big! They were tiny just a few days ago.

Family of geese swim under the bridge — Swimming in a line

One family, mom, dad and four babies, decided to swim under the bridge to get to the other side.

Family of eight geese cross the road — Family of 8 crosses the road

And the other, larger family, decided to walk across the road. This is a rural area which makes it a safe place for geese to raise their babies. I love seeing them although some people think geese are a nuisance.

Two groups of geese in the shallow water near Gregg lake in New Hampshire — Both Families Having Breakfast

Do you know why geese fly in a V formation? Check out the answer here.
My question is this; When they swim in a line, who leads? The dad or the mom? Or do they take turns?

New England Farm Stands

Farmers are hard working people and summer is their time to shine.

Summer means ice cream in New England…fresh farm grown vegetables too…but the ice cream is what I remember about summer as a kid. Kimball’s was the big place to go. It was a bit of a drive, but worth it.

Sometimes we’d skip supper altogether and just go get a big fudge sundae or banana split. That was cool.
We’d drive into the big gravel parking lot and get into one of the lines at the many windows and watch the people walk away with towering cones and bowls of delicious gooey treats. I must have changed my mind a dozen times while waiting to get up to the window.

The farm stand in my little town has a small ice cream stand, but a huge variety of ice cream flavors and cooling drinks. The Panda Cooler is one of my favorites. My son tends to get the same thing all the time…cookie dough in a cup. I’ve tried to broaden his horizons, but he won’t budge.

Last year we lived near Beech Hill Farm in Hopkinton and besides buying sundaes you can make yourself, there is a little barnyard area with farm animals.

The goats are fun to watch if the weather isn’t too hot and they are all sleepy, and the little cows with their big eyes are so pretty. In the Fall, Beech Hill Farm has corn mazes to walk through.

So we eat ice cream all summer and hopefully burn off all that accumulated fat next winter shoveling snow and lugging wood in for the stove. I like to get started on the fat burning by going kayaking too.

Another favorite local farm of mine is Tenney Farm in Antrim. Whenever it’s time to buy pumpkins and gourds, that is where I head. They also have bags of fresh picked apples in fall for those people who don’t want to pick their own.

Ruggles Mine in New Hampshire

Ruggles Mine is a tourist attraction in Grafton, New Hampshire. It’s a winding drive on back roads in the middle of nowhere to get to the top of Isinglass Mountain where the mine entrance is located. On a clear day, it’s a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains.

After a fairly steep walk down into the mine, the area opens up and you’ll see the many caves and rocks to explore.

It’s no surprise that you will find tons of mica! And it is a fun place for kids to hammer rocks (bring safety goggles) and search for treasure. There is an interesting history lesson about the man who discovered the mine as well.

The View atop Isinglass Mountain & My Boys — The View & My Boys

Sam Ruggles discovered mica on his land in 1803 and mined it in secret and even transported it out to the seacoast under the cover of darkness in the middle of the night. Mica was worth a lot of money back then because it was used for all the things we use glass for today. Sam didn’t want others to lay claim to any of the land he was interested in mining since he wasn’t sure how large the mica deposit was.

If you live in the area, Ruggles Mine is a fun trip for the family. Chipping away at the rocks on the ground is allowed, but not the walls. There is Mica everywhere and so are many other rocks and minerals. In fact, minerals worth money are occasionally found.

**And here is a little secret…when I accompanied my son’s 4th grade class on a field trip last year, the mine employees had set various pretty stones around the area, mostly on the sides of the walls, for the kids to find. So keep your eyes open!