Early Spring In a New Hampshire Bog

 

 I just returned from an impromptu visit to our daughter's in New Hampshire. I was able to spend an entire week, blending into her daily routine and sprinkling some fun activities in as well.

The weather forecast called for warmer temperatures and it turned out I did not pack enough warm clothing. Although it was fifty to sixty degrees in New Hampshire, it is different than fifty to sixty degrees in Virginia. Somehow it just feels different. I certainly was not expecting to see snow on the ground! It was just in the shady patches but I was still surprised. So I lived mostly in the same outfit every day consisting of a layering of a long sleeved tee, a cozy warm sweatshirt, and a borrowed down vest. 

One morning, we took a lovely walk around Kezar Lake and I fell in love with every New England home we walked past. We have stayed at the Follansbee Inn which is situated on the shore of Kezar Lake. It is a beautiful old inn and they serve spectacular breakfasts! As we finished up our three mile walk around the lake and were returning to our parked car, we saw a truck parked at the side of the lake. Two men were getting ready to send five hundred young trout down a chute and into the lake. We walked over to watch them and one of the men took up a net full of trout so that my grandson and I could touch the wriggling fish. They were so pretty in their rainbow colored scales glinting in greens and purples. 

Witches Broom

Pitcher plants grow among a carpet of cranberry plants.

Another day, we visited the Philbrick-Cricenti Bog. It is an enormous bog with a planked walking trail looping through it. I learned that a bog is a mat of growth floating on top of water. The mat is interconnected and if you jiggle the board that you are standing on, the plants several yards away will wiggle too. The surface is covered in cranberry plants, evergreens, and pitcher plants galore. It is very deep and one would not want to fall into the bog. 

The weather turned damp and rainy toward week's end so we took a one hour drive over to the Vermont Country Store. It was fun to wander from one room to the next and browse all the old fashioned products, pretty clothing, and lovely housewares. Eliot particularly liked the toy section and the colorful candies. The store attendant encouraged him to try out the toys on display and he did not need any coaxing. There were no crowds and we were able to take our time. We came away with a Vermont woven tablecloth for Chelsea, a game and dinosaur chopsticks for the three boys, and some dryer balls for me. We lunched at the little snack bar attached to the store and felt ready for the hour drive back home. We happened to pass an old building with a sign that read, "Frank's Bargain Fabric". With curiosity peaked, we stopped in and found an enormous store crammed with aisles and aisles of sewing and crafts of all sorts. Fabrics, patterns, embroidery, buttons, zippers, knitting, candle making, stencils, and on and on. There was one very odd caveat. Everything in that space was from the 1980's and 1990's. Everything was new and unused, but it was old. It felt as though we had entered a time warp. I found a dress pattern that I had sewn back in 1986. I bought it again because I recall it being a very nice summer dress and the style would still work today. Chelsea bought a package of countrified duck decoy stickers. I have no idea why she wanted those. All in all, we spent four dollars. 

When it was finally time for me to return home, it was hard to leave everyone behind. I decided to make the drive home all in one day rather than stopping overnight as I had done on the way up. I took a different route in hopes of saving a little time. It still took me twelve hours to drive home and my eyes were weary by the time I got home. I will always wish my daughter and her family lived closer. But they live in a beautiful area of the country and I am always happy to visit there.