fall – Page 4 – New England's Narrow Road

Fall… and Christmas… Already?

Why are we always pushing things. Can’t we just enjoy what is in the here and now? I am just beginning to enjoy summer and it’s almost August. I worked for 5 hours in my yard yesterday to get some clean up done and some flowers planted. I suppose most people have done this in Spring and now they are off vacationing or doing fun things during their summer Saturdays, but I am behind.

Then I got a notice that I had sold 100 beach Christmas photo cards! Wow- some people do plan ahead. In the online shopping and selling world, it is really too late to begin making Fall items to sell. The items will take some time to get “out there” for people to find, but I opened a new Zazzle “Fall Colors” wedding store anyway. Most of my fall wedding stuff is hidden in my main store so I thought I’d get it all together, along with new things, to make it easier to find.

I love the Fall season and cherish every moment of it. Now that I have moved I won’t get to see the color around the lake, but look forward to seeing what this new area has for color. It’s an opportunity for new photos. But, today I will enjoy the summer day, and not think ahead.

Apple Picking at Norway Hill Orchards

Norway hill apple orchard — The Apple Stand at Norway Hill Orchards

I can’t believe I waited so long to pick apples this year. I would have to kick myself if I let the season pass without picking some fresh, juicy apples. A few days ago the weather was just gorgeous and my son and I drove to Hancock, New Hampshire to pick some Courtland apples at Norway Hill Orchard. It’s just off Rt. 202 and you can get there by going up Forest Rd., or Norway Hill road.

(UPDATE, 2018: This orchard is closed. So sad.)

View in the apple orchard — The homestead – Are they lucky or what?

Actually the variety available was mind-boggling and since I usually pick Macintosh (they were about gone by then), I chose the Courtlands, which turned out to be very delicious.
It was easy to see that the season was about gone, with all the rotted “drops” under the trees, but we filled our peck size bag, paid the $9.

apple orchard and view of mt. monadnock — View of Mount Monadnock from the Orchard

Traveling around these New Hampshire roads in Fall is such a treat. When I first moved here from Florida I felt like I was driving through a beautiful painting each time I took a trip. Going to the grocery store was almost enjoyable.

On the way home I snapped this photo going down the hill from the orchard. As we headed to the house, I began making notes of all the recipes I would be trying soon with my fresh picked apples.

If you are making a day of it here in New Hampshire, you could travel down through Hancock and head out Rt. 123 to Stoddard and climb Pitcher Mountain. It’s not a long climb and the views are spectacular.

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.

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.

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.

Searching For Fall Color

I’ve been watching for the leaves to change and so far I am a bit disappointed. I do see some very vivid colors in places, but not much around here where I live. The past couple of years the trees were so bright and I’d walk down by the lake almost every day to get some new photos.

So far, there isn’t much to see at the lake and when I took a walk this past week I got a shot of one tree that seems to always have good color, but it was only partially turned.

sun through the trees — A walk in the woods

I’ve read that hot, dry summers are not good for producing great Fall color and that is exactly what we had for summer weather this year. So far, I think it might be true. I meant to take my camera and get some shots of one area where I saw some beautiful trees, but I forgot the other day and now the wind and rain has come, so I don’t know what’s left. I guess I’ll just wait and see how the color turns out.
But it is possible to get nice photos of green trees as well.