hiking – New England's Narrow Road

Sharing Photos From My Trip to New Hampshire

It was a treat to visit my kids this Spring in New Hampshire. I was able to walk along some of the streets where I used to live and visit old landmarks. I had to make up for the two years since I’d traveled north.

In March when I arrived a bit of snow remained, but later in mid-April we had a snowstorm. One day the temp was near 80, but mostly is hovered around 50-60 degrees by late day.

The black flies were coming out by the time I left in May.

Spring Gardening

The weather was pretty nice, except for the day it snowed! So I bought some perennials for my daughter’s yard. I was able to find some old favorites which used to grow in my own New Hampshire yard.

The Lenton Rose (Hellebores) is an early bloomer and the plant we bought already had fading blooms. Forsythia were blooming everywhere with their tiny, bright yellow flowers, and daffodils were welcoming spring.

Forsythia in New England Spring — Daffodils

Columbine was always something I grew in my gardens and I had a huge monarda plant next to my house. The one I found at Tenney Farms was quite tiny, so I hope it lives to become a nice bush with bright pink blooms.

My daughter chose some Catnip to keep her little cat happy, and the cat rolled all around on top of this plant so much that I thought the stems would break!

Arrival, Snow and First Walk

This section should be first… but I am unable to move the section so…….

Out the window of the plane I got my first view of snow! It’s exciting when you live in Florida but love the north.

I did plenty of outside activities during my 7 week visit, including walking through woods and along roads, and hiking mountains.

New from the plane showing snow on the ground — From the plane

March New Hampshire with ground showing and some snow — From the plane

Day Trips to The Woodstock Inn and Brewery and Harrisville Designs

One day we took a trip to the Woodstock Inn and took a brewery tour and had lunch, with beer of course!

On another occasion my daughter and I visited Harrisville where the Harrisville Designs mill and shop are located. I’m a knitter, so I wanted to see where some of my favorite yarn is spun. Read more about Brooklyn Tweed and the HD mill here.

Woodstock Inn and Brewery New Hampshire — Woodstock Inn and Brewery

Canning Pig's Ear beer at Woodstock Brewery — Woodstock Inn and Brewery

The Great Outdoors – Sun, Water, Mountains, and Snow

I never tired of breathing the fresh air of the north. Most days were nice, cool and sunny. There were some cold and rainy days, and that day it snowed, but getting outdoors was a priority.

I arrived in March just as Maple Syrup season was ending. On a walk along the road I found some buckets still attached to the maples collecting sap.

granite seat next to Nubanusit Brook — Stone seat, brookside

Stone park in Peterborough New Hampshire — Stone seat, brookside

I enjoyed every day of my trip to New Hampshire and saw my kids as much as possible. I even met up with an old friend whom I had not seen in about 30 years! That was freaky and fun.

Hiking New Hampshire, So Happy To Be Here!

I arrived in New Hampshire for an extended visit in March 2021, after two years of not traveling north (thanks Covid). On the first weekend of my visit, my kids and I took a walk on a Harris Center trail, which is in Dublin or Hanock, I believe. There are a lot of trails in the area and this is only one of them.

This one is 2 miles long and makes a loop through the woods and along the water, with pretty views. I was so happy to be here where walking and hiking is fun, and the weather is cool enough to be enjoyable.

Harris Center sign at trailhead — Trailhead sign – Wish I’d read that beaver information!

For some reason I didn’t get many photos on this hike, and most were of us, which I won’t share. Maybe I was too busy skirting the ice on the paths and trying not to fall! Although the day was sunny and beautiful, snow and ice still stuck to the ground in the woods.

This trail begins in a field, where we parked in mud. March is mud season, so there ya go. There is one slight hill at the beginning of the walk, but the rest of the hike is pretty flat. It winds around a lake, or pond, not sure of the name. We saw a few ducks and geese in the water, which still had ice in places.

Harris Center trail winds by a lake which still had ice in places

The day we went there were not a lot of hikers. We met one couple on the path and saw a few more people. The most stunning thing we found (IMO) on this hike was a big tree which was completely chewed around the bottom by beavers! Why? I thought beavers chewed on small trees to make them fall to use for building. But this tree was big.

It made me wonder if they were using this wood to sharpen their teeth, or do they have some big building plans in mind? I also wonder if someone will cut the tree down before it falls in a storm.

Big tree which was extremely chewed at the base by beavers — Crazy beavers!

I Love New Hampshire

One of the most wonderful things about New Hampshire is how pristine it is. The air is crisp to breath, waterways are clear, and all the surrounding nature is a joy to behold and explore. People take care of New Hampshire land.

The day after this hike, we drove up north to visit the Woodstock Brewery.

The day before we took this hike, my daughter drove me to visit Harrisville Designs in the town of, yup, Harrisville. I don’t know much about the area’s history, but apparently someone named Harris made a big impression!

Clear water and big walk on Harris Center trail — Clear water

We took another beautiful, and more exerting, hike on Easter Day. That one gave us some wonderful views and I will write about it, and share photos, soon.

My Thoughts on Trees and How They’ve Changed

tree branches in winter — Leafless Tree in Winter

I’ve always loved trees. They are just so amazing in many ways. But now that I live in a place where I have to burn firewood in winter, I look at trees differently. I look at a tree like the one pictured and think, “would that be great firewood or what?” Actually, I don’t know what type of tree this is, but probably it would be great firewood. If I had to guess, I’d say oak.
Without leaves, I have trouble telling an oak from a maple. The beech, with it’s smooth bark, and the birch with it’s white, are no-brainers, but the rest of them leave me baffled.
I don’t know how people go out and hook up their maple syrup collecting apparatus in Spring – and can figure out which trees are the maples.
Being a Florida transplant (even though I grew up in the northeast) I have to learn the tree types that grow around me. I have an acre of land now and out back I have a forest, with some trees that are dead or dying and when I have them cut down, I’ll use them to heat my house.
Trees are beautiful, but they were meant to be used and I don’t feel bad cutting down a tree to serve a purpose. It’s helpful to thin the forest and allow other trees to grow larger too. Then again, some trees are too beautiful to cut down.

♦The Chore of Stacking Firewood
♦Make Birds Happy With Homemade Suet