Last night I posted a photo of the fall foliage at our home, a photo taken three weeks ago (October 14). This morning we woke to a very different scene!
Snow
Such a difference a little snow makes.
Tag: New Hampshire
Fall foliage
A spectacular year for fall foliage.
This fall brought us some of the most intense fall foliage we’ve ever seen, in three decades of living in the upper valley region of New Hampshire and Vermont. When we had a seriously long drought this August, so many were concerned about a potentially disappointing fall-foliage season, but we’ve experienced quite the opposite! Don’t miss the full gallery.
Farnum Hill
A late-fall outing in a forest close to home.
This weekend’s outing was a mild hike across the ridgeline of Farnum Hill, in nearby Lebanon, NH. Its trails stroll along the rolling hilltop on an 820-acre reserve managed by the city as a space for wildlife and recreation. Here at the end of October (Halloween morning!) these hardwood forests were mostly bare, with a colorful carpet of fallen leaves covering the forest floor. I walked out and back along the spine of this ridge, enjoying the sunshine of a late-fall morning and the crisp crunch of barely-frozen leaves along the trail.
The trail begins at a marker noting the historic King’s Highway, “the first planned colonial road in Lebanon”, and now a class-VI woods-road suitable for walkers and skiers.
A light dusting of snow on the fir trees recalled the early snow that drifted through the morning before.
A small critter walked along top a snowy log, not too long before I did.
Hike stats:
distance: 10.3km round-trip
time: 2h20m
gain: 367m
Holts Ledge
Hiking from fall to winter.
After yesterday’s brief snowfall the weather turned warm and sunny once again, allowing us a beautiful fall afternoon. This morning we woke to dense river-valley fog, so I headed across Lyme to the Dartmouth Skiway and the high point of Holts Ledge. There, well above the fog, I encountered brilliant foliage at the base and an impressive 2″ snowcover on the exposed slopes near the top. Here is one photo from the top, showing Holts Ledge at left and the peaks of Moosilauke, Cube, and Smarts left to right – but don’t miss the gallery for six other full-res photos in brilliant color.
Hike stats:
distance = 5.9km
gain = 353m
time = 1h 37m (including photo stops)
First snowfall
Brief but beautiful.
It rained all day yesterday, and rained hard all night long. At first light today, I looked out the window to see blobs of snow falling amongst the raindrops. Although the air temperature was above freezing, it must have been cold higher up. The snow/rain mix continued for about an hour, with little of the snow sticking to the warm, wet ground. It’s a beautiful sight, and also a reminder that the warm side of fall weather may be with us only for a few more weeks.
Mt. Israel
A beautiful hike through fall foliage.
Today was another spectacular fall day in New Hampshire. I enjoyed a lovely early-morning drive across the rolling hills of center-western portion of the state, around Squam Lake, and past the trailhead for my prior Morgan-Percival hike, to the pretty village of Center Sandwich. My destination was Mt. Israel, seen in photo of fall colors above a roadside wetland. Read on and check out the gallery.
Morgan and Percival
A beautiful hike through fall foliage to summits that overlook Squam Lake.
The trail sign gave me two choices to reach the summit – via the caves or via the cliffs. Well, I picked the caves of course! Little did I know that the trail would in one place make me squeeze through a passage so narrow I’d need to remove my pack, and that in another place the trail would actually cross over itself like a corkscrew. Read on and check out the gallery for more photos of Mount Morgan and Mount Percival, during fall-foliage season!
Rowing disappointment
The beauty of sculling on the river.
Last summer when I moved to Switzerland I was, despite the excitement of the new adventures I’d encounter there, sad to be leaving New Hampshire during the prime season for rowing (sculling) on the river. So I was, this summer, looking forward to returning to the river to resume rowing in late July. The first few weeks were wonderful, as I slowly built up my strength and re-tuned my skills for rowing on the Connecticut River where it flows beside our home. It was not to last.
Mount Washington Hotel
A beautiful day for a drive.
It’s been over six years since I was last at the Mount Washington Hotel, one of my favorite places in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Today was a beautiful day, in fall foliage season, so Pam and I decided to drive up there for lunch and a chance to enjoy the views along the way.
Northern New England has been suffering through an extended drought, ending yesterday with a very welcome and drenching rainfall. I’d guess we were two weeks too late for the peak colors at this latitude and elevation, the peak coming about 3-5 weeks ahead of schedule due to the drought. Although the colors were a bit muted today, it was still a beautiful drive.
The Mount Washington Hotel is one of the last great Grand Hotels from the early 20th century, and still carries much of its grandeur despite a thorough renovation and several recent expansions. We found a table on the patio looking out at Mount Washington and the Presidential Range, its granite ridgeline gray above the rust-colored fall foliage on the valley slopes below.
There were quite a few other people there, although it was mid-week, enjoying the clear mountain air and the warm days of early fall weather.
Fortunately, last weekend I explored the back roads of Lyme during what may have been its peak-colors day, and took many photos. I hope to post them soon.
Lyme wildlife
I meet a patient red fox in the Lyme graveyard.
I’ve not been blogging lately, but I have been getting out. Several sightings of a bald eagle soon after our return to Lyme (New Hampshire) had me excited to visit its favorite perches with my long lens, hoping for an opportunity for some great photos. Despite many evening walks and morning paddles, he was never home when I came knocking.
Nonetheless, in the two months we’ve been home I have seen an amazing variety of wildlife within two miles of our house – black bear, red fox, white-tailed deer, red-tailed hawk, bald eagle, blue heron, mallard duck, canada goose, kingfisher, hummingbird, beaver, osprey, loon, and my first ever sighting of a bobcat. I just never seem to have my camera handy when they come by. Until today! Read on.
