autumn – New England's Narrow Road

The Quaint New England Town of Peterborough

Yesterday I visited the quaint New Hampshire town of Peterborough and took some photos early in the morning before the town woke up.

Thornton Wilder’s play “Our Town” was based on this town! He wrote the play while staying at the MacDowell Colony back in 1938.

Peterborough has two “main” streets. The one called Main St. and the one named Grove Street (Grover’s Corners). Behind both of those roads, which house their own shops and restaurants, is a place called Depot Square. It’s where you’ll find extra parking and more shops and businesses, like the Peterborough Diner and Toadstool Book Store. The Toadstool has a large mural along the outer wall which changes periodically. I included part of the current scene in my photos. The Waterhouse Restaurant is also there, and it backs up to the Nubanusit Brook which runs through town.

Up on Grove Street, Harlow’s Pub is always a busy place and they offer seating outside by the road. Next to Harlows is Noni’s and the shoe store and Joseph’s Coat. Sarah’s Hat Box store is new, and I’ve never been inside. It’s located beneath the new condo complex, where the old wood stove store used to be. Further up the road is a specialty chocolate shop, ice cream, and the oil and vinegar company. I’m just saying, there is a lot to see and do in a compact area.

On Main Street, find Steele’s stationery store, Roys Market, Maggies Health Food, and more. A wide variety of businesses, museums and restaurants make Peterborough a popular place to visit. Once you find a place to park, it’s just a short walk to see what the town has to offer. There is also a small movie theater that is quite nice.

Other famous places in Peterborough, but not downtown, include the MacDowell Art Colony (mentioned above), Pack Monadnock (Miller State Park), and the Peterborough Players (professional theater). The Sharon Arts Center and Mariposa Museum are also well known.

Saturday, October 17th (2015) is the Peak into Peterborough event. Read more about it at the link.

Good to know: In the state of New Hampshire any people in a crosswalk have the right of way, and cars / traffic must stop to let them cross the road. Be aware that many people take for granted that cars will stop and they tend to walk right out in front of you! They do this even when not on a crosswalk! Fall is a big tourist time for this area, so when driving through town be cautious of that.

Alice Blue shop — Little shop on School St.

Sharon Arts center — Sharon Arts is a unique shopping experience

River Waterhouse back — Back of Waterhouse Restaurant

New England — Nubanusit Brook, from Grove St. near the park

walkway to Grove St. — Walkway to Grove St.

gazebo by river — Gazebo by the Contoocook River

Mural on bookstore wall — Mural on Toadstool Bookstore wall

Toadstool bookshop — The Toadstool Book Store in Depot Square

quaint new england town peterborough — Downtown Peterborough – Main St.

This is a very beautiful place to live, but it is also expensive for a single person like myself. Winters are long, but mostly beautiful, except when the snow gets out of hand like the winter of 2005.

Foliage Season Winds Down In New Hampshire

fall foliage — Fall Foliage Near a Summer Home

At first it seemed like the leaves were never going to change. What happened to foliage season? I was at the bank a week ago and a friend made a comment to the teller about how stinky the colors were this year. I realized that it was already the middle of October, and she was right, where was all the glorious color? It should be just about going by at this point.

Then my sister told me that she had heard that the change was about two weeks behind schedule. Probably all the heat we had confused the trees. October has been quite warm and is still pretty nice.
Suddenly it seemed like the leaves changed all at once – at least in my area. It was looking good, but not extremely impressive if you ask me. Of course I am living in a new area now and not near Gregg Lake where I love to walk and get photos this time of year.
I wanted to get some pictures near my new home, but have honestly not done much walking. I walk on paved roads now, not dirt, and there is no lake nearby and I miss the lake. It’s just not quite as scenic, but still pretty in it’s own way. So my intro picture is an old one. It was taken in 2008 I believe, before the ice storm broke up those colorful trees you see behind that house.
A couple of things have kept me too busy to notice much else. I have a lot to fix on my new house before winter arrives so I am dealing with repairmen constantly. And my online job has been giving me headaches with all the changes being made and the updating to do. I love working from home, but there are many things I don’t have control over, and in the internet world it seems that changes and updates are constant.
I am always learning new things and I guess that is good exercise for my mind.

Sorry, but all these photos are of years gone by. If you live in New England I’d love to hear what you think of the season’s color this year.

New England Foliage ~ October 2009

I had a great day for taking photos on Monday and made my shots into postcards shown here.
The Heron and Birch tree pictures are from last Fall, but the others were taken this week.

I wouldn’t say that the color is at it’s peak yet in southwestern NH, but it is very close.

Unfortunately today will be rainy and a strong wind is moving in this afternoon, and as so often happens in Fall, just when the colors are becoming their brightest, the leaves are blown from the trees.