fall – Page 2 – 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.

Wrapping it Up in Fall

Spring began with hope. I had high hopes of getting a lot accomplished while the good weather was around. Then I realized that other people, who would have to help me get those things accomplished, were not as interested. The first disappointment was buying the new refrigerator.

My son came to visit for three weeks and he helped me do a lot. I had been planning to put my house up for sale by summer, but I quickly realized that it wouldn’t be ready to show. I had to wait over a month for the guys to come take down a big beech tree that broke in a high wind. The wood from that is drying before we stack it.

After 30 years of marriage and 4 kids, I am constantly getting rid of the stuff we accumulated over all those years. When my ex left, he took what he wanted and left the rest of the mess with me to deal with. Last fall I had a big yard sale and donated what was leftover to the Kiwanis sale, which happened to be at almost the same time. It felt good to lighten the junk load, but yard sales are a lot of work. You don’t have a yard sale to make money, you have one to give away the stuff you have. Prices must be set super cheap so people know they are getting a deal on everything they go away with.

I’m not planning to have another yard sale, but I am always taking items to the swap shop at the transfer station (fancy name for the dump). I have made headway. The beautiful 3-piece cherry entertainment center I put up for sale (cheap too) on Craig’s list never got one interested buyer, so we chopped it up and threw it away! What a shame, but I couldn’t keep it in the garage any longer. For 4 years it’s been taking up space that I need for the snowblower and other things.

I did do a bathroom renovation in Spring. The new white beadboard and blue paint was a huge improvement. It looks really nice, even though I didn’t have the money to spend on a new vanity and flooring. I compromised by painting a little bookcase from my kitchen, that now works as storage in the bathroom. That was a big accomplishment.

The rest of the summer I spent working on the yard and trying to get a home improvement loan. Once that finally came through, my contractor was busy doing other jobs and couldn’t get to my home improvement needs until recently. Now September is approaching fast and finally I am getting my siding put on the back of the house (see my siding story from 3 years ago). Next, the roof will be shingled (when the builder has time, but he promises it will be before winter).

I have more that needs to be fixed inside, but that can be done in cold weather so I have a feeling I’ll have to wait longer for that. Everything takes so long to finish. I have no choice but to stay here another winter. I should be ready to sell by next summer if I keep working at the fixes and decluttering until then. My house won’t be perfect, but hopefully a potential buyer will see it as a good start. New siding, new roof, and new windows… what more could a buyer want?

All too soon the leaves will change to their bright autumn colors, and then they will fall off the trees. I will rake leaves for months and then fall will end. We are all dreading winter as we have not fully recovered from the last one. It’s still a ways off, and for now I’ll be wrapping it up by cleaning out the summer vegetable gardens and chopping and stacking firewood.

How has your summer been?

Fall Photography 2014

Now that Fall is about over and the beautiful foliage has mostly blown away, I have time to get my Fall photography, 2014 ready to share.
These photos were taken by me and some of them were taken as I was driving. So they are not perfect, but they capture some of the nice color we were blessed with this Autumn season.
Some photos were taken along Route 202, and some were taken as I walked around a local lake. Then I drove out through Antrim and Hancock for some more rural photos.

pictures of fall 2014 — Gracie’s Grain on Rt. 202

fall road — Along Rt. 202 heading to Peterborough, NH

fall foliage by a lake — Lakeside Foliage

fall foliage, trees in a field — Seasonal Field

fall season photography — Foliage Along the Water

Fall is Gone Too Fast

Fall leaves and pumpkin — Leaves and Pumpkin

Fall is here, in fact it is almost gone in my neck of the woods. Many trees are now bare, but some still hold onto yellow and orange leaves. The oak in front of my house is mostly green still, so it may be a while before I finish raking leaves.

I haven’t even bought a pumpkin yet. The photo I included here is from last year or maybe the year before. Money is tight, and to splurge on fall decorations like a pumpkin doesn’t seem anything but wasteful to me. I don’t have little kids who would want to carve it, and since we don’t even get Trick-or-Treaters, what is the point? Nature’s decorating is good enough for me.

I always tell myself that I will take long drives and find good spots for photos, but then I don’t. I did get back up to the lake for a few pictures, and that was nice, but the foliage color wasn’t even as good as I had hoped. But I always get outdoors this time of year as much as possible. I grabbed a blanket and had a nap in the sun out at the side yard the other day. I’m grabbing my natural vitamin D while I can.