The Girl Scout Camp

I APOLOGIZE if you are seeing 2 signs here…something is wonky…please pretend you only see one!

On with the post: I borrowed part of the wooden map at the local camp to make my recent blog header. Camp Chenoa is a Girl Scout camp on Gregg Lake in the town of Antrim, New Hampshire. Each summer cars come and go each week dropping off and picking up the kids who have spent time there doing all the fun things campers do. I suppose some of them worked hard to make this wooden map of the grounds.

camp chenoa map
Camp Chenoa Map

When the camp is closed down for the off-season, it’s a place where local people walk or take their dogs for walks. At one time a family with a lot of boys lived in the ranger’s home which is on the property. It was great for my son and he made some good friends. Unfortunately they moved away.

camp chenoa dining hall
Camp Chenoa’s Dining Hall

Its a beautiful area and the camp road makes a loop so it’s possible to walk all the way around if you have the time and energy. There are trails, a fire pit, a climbing wall and little cabins scattered all over. The large dining area is also used for weddings and I suppose other events. It certainly has a great view of Gregg Lake.

tent city at the girl scout camp
Tent City

Tent City can only be seen in the nice weather. These tents come down for the winter months leaving only the wooden decks underneath. I honestly give the girls a lot of credit sleeping in these. I bet they hear a lot of wildlife during the night. But being right on the water, I also bet it’s beautiful.

The little cabin at the beginning of this post is also part of the camp property, but it’s located across the street and way out in the woods.

New England Fall Foliage 2010

I’ve been thinking that this Fall season the colors just aren’t what they’ve been the past couple of years. There are areas of brightly colored trees and before all the rain and wind, I did see some bright red trees along the roads and a few big maples in gorgeous yellow and orange.

fall season photography
Fall 2010


Yesterday, Friday, October 8th, was a warm, sunny day around here and I took a walk to the lake for some seasonal photos. It was very windy but with the air being so warm, it felt good. I got some shots at my favorite spots, but still wasn’t very impressed with the colors.


I know that by this time last year everything was much brighter . I’ve read that a hot, dry summer can adversely affect Autumn’s foliage and I think that was the culprit this year. We certainly had a very hot and mostly dry summer.
But I’ll share my photos with you, because we take what we get and no matter what, I live in one of the most beautiful places on earth, no matter what the season.

fall foliage
Turtles and Trees
fall foliage
Along the lake 2010

As I write this part of the post it is 2024 and I no longer live in New Hampshire. My old posts, with foliage photos, need some help. I leave them up because of the pictures. I like seeing them too.

Orange Mushrooms Growing, A Few Days Later

mushrooms
A few days later

I posted a picture of these mushrooms in my previous post and they were just little, orange buttons. Now, a few days later they have “mushroomed” into flat heads as you can see in this photo.

I don’t know why, all of a sudden, I am so interested in mushrooms, but I find myself on the lookout for them at this time of year especially when I am walking in the woods.

Maybe it’s because I am surrounded by places where they are easily found, but I just never paid much attention.

Wild mushrooms growing in a clump on a dead log. Darker orange-brown centers with lighter outer area.
The Open Mushrooms

I have no idea what type of mushroom this is. If I had to guess from the pictures and description in my book maybe they are the Jack O’Lantern. But they are not bright orange.

Or, they could be Omphalotus illudens which are also poisonous. Found in June – November they grow on dead logs.

I currently live surrounded by woods so searching for interesting nature is fun. My landlady’s house is on 13 acres, but I usually stay close by or travel up the road to the Girl Scout Camp. There is no shortage of wilderness to explore.

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New Hampshire Little Orange Mushrooms in the Woods

mushrooms
A Cluster of Orange Mushrooms

The New Hampshire woods are always full of interesting items to see. In Fall we get to find some new types of mushrooms.

I don’t know what kind of mushroom these are, but I came across them as I was hiking the woods around my place. See my next post where they are more open and flat and I take a guess at their name.

Unless you pay close attention when walking in the woods, you will miss these little bunches of fungi. I take my camera (no iPhone at the time – hence the lack of photos to share) and don’t touch them because most likely they are poisonous. If I can remember where they are growing I might try to return in a day or two and see how they have changed.


One thing I’ve learned from reading about (and viewing) mushrooms is that they will change their look quite quickly – some of them. They may only last a few days or they can last into winter and beyond. Some are delicate and easily broken or mashed and others are as hard as a rock.


As I photograph the mushrooms I see in my area, I look them up in my books for identifying. That is not easy I have found. In order to really be sure of a mushroom name, close observation of all parts is needed. Read this article with excellent photos, at NH Garden Solutions to see what types of mushrooms you may find in the Fall season.


My Audubon “Field Guide to New England” only lists a few mushroom types and warns that at least 10 of the mushroom species in New England are deadly poisonous to eat so making a mistake in choosing can cost you your life. I will only be photographing and not picking to eat.

*Blog update: It is 16 years later as I update these old blog posts and I am always struck by how easy it is nowadays to share photos online. In 2010 I carried my camera with me (if I remembered) and took only a few photos at a time. Growing up and using film cartridges that had to be mailed away, only to return 12 or 24 photos is ingrained in me, I guess. Back then we had to be discerning about what pictures we decided to take. Space for preservation was very limited. Even though I had progressed to a digital camera, I never took loads of photos of the same thing! Now that I have an iPhone, I tend to be the same way, unless it is something I really want to be sure I capture correctly.

These old posts are not very well written, or SEO compatible, but I’ll be keeping the ones that I can save as a memory of what I used to do.

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