Gregg Lake – New England's Narrow Road

Photos From New England, My One Good Day

Recently (October 2018) I spent a week in my old hangout around Peterborough, New Hampshire. Foliage season was winding down, but there were lots of yellow and gold colors left on the trees, with some red around the lakes. My vacation was a good one, but the weather turned cold and rainy after this one good day. I spent it outdoors at my favorite lake.

Fall foliage roadside in New Hampshire — Red and orange leaves by the lake

The day I arrived in New Hampshire the weather was beautiful with temps in the seventies. Unfortunately I had been up since three in the morning dealing with airports so I was a bit tired to enjoy it.

My first full day of vacation brought another beautiful, sunny day and it was the last one in the forecast for the week! I had to take advantage of it. There were clouds, but it was beautiful weather for walking and photography. Some of my photos are dark because the sun did not come out when it should have!

Geese on the lake — Geese family on Gregg Lake

A sweet friend, who lives on a lake, had invited me to go kayaking that afternoon. I was determined not to waste the morning hours so I headed to Gregg Lake for a walk. Her lake was not far away, so I tried to plan it so I could walk and then kayak. Yikes, I was horribly out of shape, and I did pay for all that exercise the following day with some sore muscles, but it was well worth the hours spent breathing in gorgeous New England air!

bright red leaves — Some bright leaves remain

Revisiting The Bridge

Most of my old, favorite Fall photographs are from the Gregg Lake area because I lived close by at one time. I’m a bit of a nomad and have lived in many spots, but my time near the lake was special.

I walked this area in all types of weather including after snowstorms, to get my photos. Blueberry picking is good around the lake in summer and I traveled back here to do just that when I lived in Peterborough. But my favorite season was always autumn. The summer people and beach goers were gone and peace and quiet returned. Each day I watched the color change on the trees and could pick the best days to get my pictures.

bridge by the lake in fall — A favorite view of the little bridge

The picture above is one of my favorite views for photography. The lake is to the left and the water in this photo is more of a shallow pond. Kayaks can go under the road bridge, which is to my left and out of view here, and travel around this small area. The bridge in the distance connects this pond area with another shallow area of water. The road is a dirt one and is good for walking, except that it was hunting season so I did not venture into the woods, or down that road.

Quite a few years ago I made my photo of this bridge into a postcard to sell in my Zazzle store. You can see it below. That photo was taken many years ago. If I had made my journey to New England a week earlier I may have seen these bright colors. Beginning of October is when the color was usually best around the lake and I visited in mid-October. A bit late, but it couldn’t be helped.

The wooden bridge in Fall (above)- This is an old photo taken in 2008 maybe?

Gregg Lake foliage and water — Another favorite spot to photograph

I have taken many photos from the spot shown in the photo above. If you catch it right, the foliage, lake and wooden fence make a beautiful image.

The old wooden fence adds interest to the scene where the road stretches around the lake to show the beach area and a few houses beyond. A red tree grows from a small island near the shore with some yellows left on the trees roadside. This area of water is where the geese hang out and when I used this road daily, it was not unusual to have to stop my car to let the babies follow mom across the road here.

I made another postcard of this view which was taken earlier in the season. Leaves were just beginning to change, so probably early to mid-September. (See image below)

lake photography — End of summer lake photo

The hours I spent walking this road were some of the most peaceful in my tumultuous life. This area will always be special to me and any time I travel back “home”, I will make a point to take in the views around Gregg Lake. I suppose next time the view will include wind turbines. I’ll be writing about that.

Empty road around Gregg Lake — Road at the lake

Love New Hampshire For All These Reasons

After waiting a year, I am finally back home visiting all my favorite places in New Hampshire. I’ve run into old acquaintances and taken photos at my old favorite spots.

Tenney Farms produce — My Visit to Tenney Farm

I love New Hampshire for many reasons, and one is the farm stands. This late in the season (mid-October) Tenney Farms in Antrim is open fewer hours. The products are Autumn related, like pumpkins, Hubbard squash, and apple cider. Of course they have bags of apples from local orchards and I had to get some Macs.

apple, macintosh, fruit — New England Mac – delicious

The apples were quite big and extremely yummy. Macs have always been my favorite apple to pick in Fall. They are crisp and juicy when they are fresh. Usually they are not this big! If I lived here I would make a pie, but this time it will be applesauce for my daughter. I don’t have a kitchen in my rental, so have to use hers and she wants applesauce.

The wonderful cool air and pretty foliage is another thing to love about New Hampshire. Every drive is a scenic one, even if they are working on roads to get ready for winter.

Winding back roads with little traffic is also something I’ve missed. And the gorgeous homes people build up here are simply stunning in their size and landscaping.

The foliage is a bit gone by but still enjoyable. I couldn’t book my rental for the previous week, so I came a week later than I’d expected. As I walked around Gregg Lake in Antrim, I got some leaf photos and learned that the wind turbines would be coming soon! I’m wondering how the locals feel about that. (I’ll be writing more about this topic.)

And as I surveyed my surroundings at the rental I discovered a Magnolia tree and Pinky Winky hydrangea! I had one in my yard when I lived here and it was a favorite. The flowers begin white but by late fall the flowers are dark pink.

Health and well-being is on the minds of New Hampshire residents and it shows in the markets, restaurants, and health food stores. Local eateries (The Bantam Grill) use meat and produce from local farms. Organic food is easy to find, although it is not cheap.

Everyone is on the move, from joggers and hikers to neighborhood walkers. The air is cool and when the sun shines, people want to get outdoors. They know that winter is coming. But even in winter, skiing and snowboarding are popular sports. My daughter and her boyfriend just bought 4-wheelers to take advantage of the many woodland and mountain trails in the area.

The small town feel of the area is the last thing I will mention. Quaint and peaceful is the norm here. What could be better? I will be sorry to leave, but will return!

fall foliage lake bridge — Fall at the lake

A Trip to The Lake to Photograph Fall

fall foliage photography — Orange Leaves at Gregg Lake

I was finally able to take a ride around the area where I live in the Monadnock region of New Hampshire, and take some fall pictures. One of my favorite places to photograph is near a lake in Antrim. It’s usually quiet, and the scenery is very pretty at any time of year, but fall can be a great time to get photos.

We’d had some nasty rainy weather just about the time I noticed that the autumn color was really nice. I hate when that happens. The foliage brightens and then leaves us all to quickly as it is, and we don’t need the weather to knock the leaves off even earlier. But what can you do?

Fortunately I had driven along Rt. 202 to the computer repair shop in Antrim and my son was riding with me. I brought the camera and asked him to take pictures of anything that looked good along the way. And he got some pretty good images.

Then I went back up to Antrim to specifically visit Gregg Lake. But by the time there was good enough weather, the leaves were looking a bit gone by. And sure enough, when I got to the lake, it wasn’t too wonderful color wise. But I did take a bunch of photos anyway, like the one of the orange leaves headlining this post. I made it into a poster and will add it to other items in my Fall Colors online store.

I had a nice and peaceful visit to my old stomping grounds, and even ran into an old friend who was walking her dogs. Fall is still looking pretty good as I write this, but shortly the season will be ending, and we know what comes next!

The Freeze is Coming

frozen lake ice skating — The Freeze is Coming

I hear that the freeze is coming and it is bringing us some winter white. So far we have gotten off easy up here in New Hampshire. Today (December 6th) it is a balmy 42 and rainy as I type this. But tonight the freezing cold that has caused havoc all over the country is arriving along with a few inches of snow. It will be our first snowfall, other that the little dustings we’ve had here and there, which melted right away.
I’m bringing in the firewood and getting ready to run the wood stove quite a bit in the coming days.

The picture I am showing here is my son skating on Gregg Lake a number of years ago. After being transplanted from Florida, he could take the snow as a youngster, and even enjoyed it, but now that he is an older teen, he stays in his room with the heat on and tells me daily that he wants to go back and live in Florida!

We are only getting a few inches of snow (so they say) and I know my son will gladly get up early and help with the shoveling. Uh huh. Let the games begin.