spring – 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.

What Springtime Meant and Means to Me

Springtime in Florida is barely noticed. Possibly it means the return of heat more than anything. Spring breakers and bikers (Bike Week) have gone, and so have the Easter visitors, but I’m sure there are some tourists somewhere, or should I say….everywhere.

Springtime in New Hampshire was impossible NOT to notice. Everything became suddenly GREEN!

Before the snow was gone, or the temps rose much, people would be running and walking wearing t-shirts and shorts. It was surprising to me how much people liked to pretend it was Spring, even when the temperatures were still in the 40’s!

Tulips and other bulbs would brighten the drab landscape and oh, the forsythia! I wonder how tall my forsythia has grown. I’m searching for photos, but can only find tulips. This one was especially pretty.

yellow frilly tulip — Yellow frilly tulip

At my house in New Hampshire the garden hoses would be brought up and re-attached to the house ready to water the flower beds and vegetable gardens. Freezing weather was gone… these were exciting times.

May meant planting season was coming and seedlings could be purchased at Tenney Farms and elsewhere. I would haul out my little greenhouse (which I sold for next to nothing when I moved) and set it up on the porch where my little plants could stay warm until the end of May.

The cats would love going outdoors again – Skittle likes it warm

The cats would begin to spend some real time outdoors. There was grass to chew and things to chase, but mostly there were warm sunny spots.

Haul the lawn chairs outside – so Fontana will have a spot to sleep!

My plastic “Adirondack” chairs would be brought up from the basement and placed in the front yard. I so enjoyed sitting beneath the big oak and beech trees that lined the front yard. It’s one of my favorite memories of the home I lived in for five years.

And oh yes, the hummingbirds! I kept a feeder hanging for them and replaced the “food” every other day or so. That was fun.

May means feeding hummingbirds! I’d almost forgotten….

The house I bought had a bunch of cement blocks lying around so I dragged them out to my front yard (that is where the sun was) and made an ugly raised bed. This thing was kinda small, but I did manage to grow eggplant and other things there.

While searching for photos of Spring for this post, I realized that I didn’t take all that many pictures of Spring in New England. Maybe I was too busy, or maybe it was mostly work, with little beauty to share. My photos are mostly of the months to come when the gardens were thriving and the flowers were blooming.

Maybe it was because of the Black Flies, which used to give me big welts when they bit. May weather was so lovely, and those bugs could ruin it! I was glad to see them go in June.

Think about planting in my makeshift raised bed

The people who bought my house removed this eyesore (can’t say I blame them) – but it worked for me.

Spring at my New Hampshire home meant no more shoveling snow, lugging wood, or dealing with the snowblower (ugh – a man’s job which I hated). It was almost time to shovel dirt – my favorite thing (sort of).

Ahhhh… the memories.

Now I live in Florida. Here is my backyard at the end of April (photo below). The weather is very warm, and hot in the sun. I have summer squash, green peppers and tomatoes already growing, and some are ready to eat. Imagine that… in the North the gardens won’t be supplying fresh vegetables for months yet.

Still, I like gardening in the North much better. My Florida garden gives me something to do, but it doesn’t compare to having a yard full of wonderful flowers and vegetables. My photo shows my entire garden area.

Dig in the dirt in New Hampshire and you have worms and good stuff for growing. Here I have to “build” my own dirt.

Ah well… no sense in complaining. I will simply take trips down memory lane to be reminded of what I had. With all the photos I’ve taken over the years I still have many to share.

There is a saying I like to remember which goes, “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”

Screen Shot 2018-04-30 at 2.44.35 PM — Reality… Spring in Florida means heat and that’s about it.

A Spring Tradition Begun Again: Fuchsia Hanging Planter

pink fuchsia hanging basket — Pretty Pink Fuchsia

Fuchsia is a word I always spell incorrectly, but I love fuchsia flowers. And I love the fact that they enjoy being grown under a tree, since I have a bunch of those.
When I first moved to a little town in New Hampshire, I discovered these pretty hanging planters and bought myself one that was red and purple flowering. I decided to have one every Spring for the front yard. Then we lost the house and I rented for ages and my mind was not on decorating the yard, but now I’m back in Spring yard decorating mode. So I had to decide on a color. The nursery I visit is HUGE and they had hundreds of fuchsia’s it seemed and I decided to go with the dark and light pink.
It is happily growing under the beech trees out front and I enjoy seeing it there. They make great Mother’s Day gifts… hint hint.

Another Wonderful Weekend in New Hampshire

pile of loam with wheelbarrow and shovel — Ready to Work

We have lucked out with the weekend weather lately. Sunny, warm and beautiful days have actually fallen on Saturday and / or Sunday for the past few months which gives us plenty of opportunities to beautify our yards.
Since I work from home, I can get yard work done any time during the week, but that means working extra on the weekends and if I have plans that take me away from home, then my work will suffer.
So I love the warm weekend days too.
I bought some new hydrangea plants for the yard and have been slowly getting them into the ground. They need the right locations according to their favorite growing conditions so I’ve been watching the sun to choose spots for them.

Also, all the so called “gardens” in this yard have been terribly neglected and need loam and compost and digging. That is the thing that slows me down. This old body will only do so much and then I need to stop if I have any hopes of moving the next day. So I’m moving my loam pile a little at a time and enriching my back yard areas for planting veggies and that time is coming soon. The growing season is so short that I always feel the pressure to get things in the ground ASAP. My little tomato and cucumber plants are waiting to be planted.

So have a great weekend!