A yellow carpet

An endless field of black-eyed susans.

Not far down the road from my home is a luscious meadow, a former farm pasture that the owner has preserved via a conservation easement to the Upper Valley Land Trust. This meadow is popular with local deer, turkeys, and other wildlife. In recent years, the conservators have planted the roadside with wildflowers, allowing me a brilliant commute on summer mornings. Last year, I shared photos of the multicolor feast of wildflowers. This year, the field is carpeted with the yellow and orange tones of Black-Eyed Susan flowers. Today, a mildly foggy morning provide just the right atmosphere for photographs. Click through the gallery!

Stonehouse Mountain

A beautiful new trail, close to home.

The Upper Valley Land Trust recently conserved a large area of forest on the slopes of Stonehouse Mountain in nearby Orford, NH. It’s not a well-known peak – indeed, its tree-covered summit doesn’t quite poke above 2,000′ and offers no views. But when I learned they had laid out a new hiking trail to its top, and realized it was a short drive from my home, I had the urge to investigate. The advent of fall leaf-season was the clincher. Read on.

Tim checks out the kiosk at the trailhead.
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