Debra LaValley's Blog

Fall is in Full Bloom – A Casper Sighting & More

Even though we had a dry summer and have been in a severe drought, the trees have been quite lovely this year. You really cannot beat New Hampshire in the autumn!  I would never live anywhere else.  I love our 4 seasons!  I don’t even mind the snow as long as my power stays on, and I don’t need to shovel my car out 🙂 My snow tires have helped a great deal.

I have been seeing Casper the past few weeks – but I either am in a hurry and can’t stop or didn’t have my camera with me.  Today – I had the Nikon and my new 18-300mm lens.  It was drizzling and a bit dark; however, I did get a couple decent shots that I cropped.

Creepy story – in honor of Halloween:  I was in a meeting last week, and we were talking about unusual graves in the area.  Someone spoke of a grave in Concord where the person was afraid of being buried alive so had pipes for air and a door on the grave.  Well, I went out in search of it and found it!  Creepy – but back not too far in history – folks were afraid of being buried alive because mistakes were made.  Medical science was not what it is today.  The grave had 2 pipes in the back. There was a door – latched and locked and two handles.  Creepy!!!

I have carved my first jack o’lantern of the season – the New Moon white pumpkin. It was getting too ripe.

Enjoy your week!

My Favorite Month is Here!

I LOVE October! I like the crispness in the air – the foliage – and Halloween. I went to Marshall’s Pumpkin Stand just down the road from me to buy some pumpkins.

We are in a bad drought so the foliage will most likely not be very good this year. The leaves are drying out quickly and falling to the ground before they have a chance to turn color. Today, we have had some rain. We need it! The water department has a sign out to “Please not water outside.”

I spend the afternoon – putting out some of my Halloween decorations. It is starting to look festive!

Have a great October!

Summer Fun

Happy Labor Day!

Summer is NOT over!  It just seems that way with all the campers and boats on the road – heading home!  We have a bit more time before summer is officially over.  I stayed close to home today.  It was nice not to fight the traffic.  I took mom to breakfast at the Newel Post.  I had a slice of apple pie for lunch – yes – that was all.  I did my laundry.  Late afternoon – I picked up my mom, and we had ice cream at Richardson’s in Boscawen.  In true yankee fashion – dessert was first.  After – I picked us both up a 6 inch sub at Subway.

It was a nice relaxing day really!  I heard that 93 was a parking lot – the traffic was so bad.

It was a great long weekend.  The weather was beautiful.  We really could use quite a bit of rain.  It is bone dry here.

Enjoy the rest of the summer!

Smokey “the” Bear

I always like seeing Smokey “the” Bear at the Boscawen Old Home Day Parade.  I wonder if kids today know his story or the song?  I always say Smoke the Bear because of the song. Smokey Bear just sounds weird to me (like White Park in Concord that I – like many others- say White’s Park).

It was a beautiful weekend.  It was a tad warm – but at least not humid.  Sunday – Kerry and Jean La Valley hosted their annual BBQ.  There was a lot of people and a lot of food!  It is always good to see everyone.

We are in a drought.  We are currently having the second warmest August on record and may reach #1 by the end of the month.

Most schools have started or will be starting this week.  It is hard to believe.  I am holding on to summer for awhile – though I love the fall.  It is my favorite season, and it goes by too quickly.

Enjoy your day and remember “Only You Can Prevent Wild Fires.”

August 16th! Ahhhhh!

Where has the summer gone? I cannot believe it is already the middle of August. Back to School commercials are on and many kids start school next week! I am glad we weren’t cheated a week or so of our summers! We never started until after Labor Day!

It has been a very hot and dry summer! We are still in a drought. It did rain a bit today – but not enough to help! We may get some thunder storms tonight – but I am not getting excited. We have pretty much been cheated with them too. I like a good thunder storm as long as it isn’t dangerous or takes out the power.

This weekend the weather is supposed to be fairly decent (read not a Hazy Hot and Humid Hell Hole). I think we have only had 2 fire pits at my mom’s this summer. We are planning on having one Saturday night. There will be s’mores! 🙂

August 10th was Happy S’mores Day, and I came across a photo on line that looked similar to my above recreation (except it was done inside by the looks in a studio). I loved it and just had to try to do a similar shot outside – so this past Saturday – I made the little S’more man and the little campfire (tiny campfires are NOT easy to make). It was a fun shot to create.

Enjoy the Rest of Your Summer!

Ahhhh, Summer!

We are having a lovely summer – though we really could use some rain.  We are in a moderate drought here in Boscawen area – southern NH is in a severe drought.  The last two weeks in July – my mom, Aunt MaryJane and I were at Newfound Lake again.  What a glorious lake.  I love it there.  It doesn’t get much better than being lakeside!  I read 5 books!  We had only about a minute of rain during the entire two weeks – though the first Wednesday we had a severe and scary wind storm.  We had never seen anything like it!  Branches down everywhere and the water looked like the ocean during a storm!

The photo does not do it justice.

The Summer Olympics in Rio have started.  Tonight, I am watching the opening ceremony.  It is always so interesting to watch the festivities and the events!

It may be August – but hopefully plenty of great weather for a while.  Michael, Rachel, and baby Clara come for a visit next week!  We cannot wait to see them!

Have a great summer everyone!

The River Lady

I can’t believe that it is almost the 4th of July! What happened to June! Today is absolutely gorgeous! A nice breeze – it isn’t too hot and the air is dry. Perfection!  The above photo is the fist time that I saw the River Lady.  She was all decked out for the 4th of July!

I came across the River Lady last weekend. She was moored at the dock. I have heard that Harold and Wendy will be taking her through the Great Lakes and go through the Erie Canal.

I am hoping they post photos on Facebook! I have been lucky enough to have 2 rides on the River Lady – up and down the Contoocook River. She is such a unique and lovely ship – built by Harold and Wendy from an old Popular Mechanics blueprint with some of their own touches. A Subaru engine powers the wheel. I was lucky enough to pilot her for a few minutes one very warm evening.

At the helm of the River Lady Riverboat

Since summer is now in full swing – I figured I would share a favorite summer recipe.

Have a safe and fun 4th of July holiday!

Summer Squash Casserole (given to my mom from Helene Watts years ago)

1 1/2 lbs. diced (sliced) summer squash (salt optional)
1 large carrot grated (or thinly sliced)
1 small onion cut up
1 can cream of chicken soup (or can substitute cream of mushroom, etc.)
1/2 pint sour cream
1 stick oleo (aka margarine/butter)
1 pkg. Pepperidge Farm Dressing

Stew squash, onion, and carrot until tender. Drain off water. Add sour cream, soup, and mix. Melt oleo and mix with dressing. Put 1/2 in bottom of greased dish then squash. Then put other 1/2 on top.

Bake 350 for 35-40 minutes.

(You can vary – use zucchini and summer squash, etc.)

I like this even cold!

Spring in New Hampshire

It is certainly spring!  The spring flowers are out and the peepers are peeping!  The pollen is also horrid! 🙂   I spotted this Jack-in-the-Pulpit flower the other day.  I rarely come across them in Boscawen.  I am sure the lady slippers are out too – but I have not gone to  where I know they are.  The bugs have been terrible, and I have heard the ticks are out in full force  (the vile things)!  One of my nieces was bitten and has lyme disease – they noticed quickly and she is on antibiotics so hopefully no lingering side effects.

I was mowing my mom’s yard last Friday and almost ran over this gray tree frog on the walkway.  I relocated it to the apple tree in the back yard.

He didn’t look too thankful that I brought him somewhere safe.  Gray tree frogs make a neat call – a very loud trill-like sound.

I also came across a female Hooded Merganser with about 6 chicks in a small marshy area on River Road in Boscawen.  The babies are so cute!

I can’t believe that it is almost Memorial Day Weekend!  Time certainly flies!  I hope all is well with all of you.  Enjoy your day!

“StirPine”

In April, when trout season opened, my dad would take me fishing at “StirPine.” It wasn’t until I was much older, that I noticed that the real name of the road is Stirrup Iron road.

Today, I decided to drive to “StirPine” to take a photo of the sign and check out the brook, for old time’s sake. There are a few houses that were not there when I used to fish the brook with my dad (probably 30 plus years ago).

I used to love to go fishing – but was never a huge fan of brook fishing – mostly because of the bugs (black flies and mosquitoes) and I would often get my hook stuck. I did love fishing with my dad, though. I remember he would tell me to put some ferns in the creel and if I didn’t have my creel with me – to use a small twig to “string” the fish. I remember he would also tell me and any of my siblings who may be with us – to be quiet along the edge of the brook. He would say if the fish saw us they would hide and not bite. I remember he also said if we saw the trout – the trout saw us. I used to like to put my line in the foaming still area. Today, I saw a foaming area and sure enough there was a fish lurking near the foamy area. It was facing upstream and appeared to have speckles so it could have been a trout.

Do you see the fish?

I gave up fishing about 30 years ago, when I became a vegetarian; however, I used to love fishing. It was more about being outside and enjoying the sound of the water. I preferred fishing Hot Hole Pond with my dad because we fly fished from a canoe and the bugs were not so bad, and I rarely got my line caught on anything.

I was glad that I stopped by “StirPine” today. It brought back some great memories of my dad and the many times that we spent fishing this brook.

Dandelion Greens

My Nana used to make dandelion greens.  She and Aunt Cookie would drive over the Sewall’s Falls bridge to Mountain Road and pick dandelions in the fields along the “bull barns.”  I remember the bull barns vividly with the bulls looking out toward the road.  The building was sold many years ago and became a college (Franklin Pierce’s modest beginnings?) and  then the building was sold again to a church.  I believe it still houses a church community.

My mom said that Nana’s and Aunt Cookie’s hands would be all sticky and dirty as they cleaned the greens.  Nana would soak them and rinse them over and over to get them clean.  Nana would cook the greens in oil and garlic and sometimes toss in some white beans.

The process was a lot of work – but the end result were tasty.  I wonder if anyone cooks dandelion greens today?