Debra LaValley's Blog

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?

Snicker All You Want – It was the 80s! 🙂

I was going through some old photos and came across this shot – taken sometime in the late 80s. That is my guess. I laughed so hard that tears were coming out of my eyes. Yes – that is a picture of me. Dig the HUGE glasses and the permed hair. I was VERY Cool! By the way, did you notice the large reptile on my leg? (I just started laughing again!)

The creature was Baby – my brother Ken’s pet iguana. When he bought it – Baby was only a foot long and very skinny. Baby was fed monkey chow soaked in water. I still remember him tilting his head and then – gulp!

Baby grew quite large. I would say at least 3 feet long. He also had a wide girth and was a handful. I remember once that I was checking on the house since everyone was away and Baby was not in his aquarium tank. I found him upstairs in a room – basking on the floor. It was much warmer up there.

I didn’t mind Baby at all. I have always liked salamanders, lizards, alligators, and crocodiles. Iguanas cannot retract their claws – many a time we were scratched big time and being whipped by that tail smarted a bit too.

If I remember correctly, Baby was returned by my brother to the Pet Shop owner where he purchased Baby. My mother tired of caring for Baby, and my brother was away at UNH most of the time.

You are probably still snickering at the photo so I will leave you with my Mom’s recipe for Snickerdoodles. A family favorite. My dad especially loved them.

Snickerdoodles

1/2 cup oleo (that is what they called margarine back in the day)
1/2 cup Crisco
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. soda
2 tsp. cream of tartar (What is cream of tartar anyway? Sounds kind of gross.)
1/4 tsp. salt
2 3/4 cups flour

Roll in 2 Tblsp. sugar and 2 tsp. cinnamon. Bake in 400 degree oven until done.

Enjoy!

PS from Cousin Joan Smith:

Cream of Tartar is one of the ingredients in baking powder.  It comes from the residue left in wine barrels when the wine is drained off.  Many old bakers used cream of tartar along with baking soda in their biscuits, cookies etc.  Today we also use it in egg white meringues in a very small amount to stabilize and keep the meringue from weeping, shrinking and breaking down.   It is a nice ingredient in snickerdoodles because it helps to give the cookie a smooth and silky texture.  Hope this helps.  Keep the pics coming!!  Cuz Joan

Mmmmm Good!  Love that Real Maple Syrup!

The weekend before last was Maple Weekend where various sugar shacks in New Hampshire have open houses, and you can learn about the process of boiling the sap and making maple syrup.  You can also buy yummy syrup, etc.  I love going to Ledge Top which is within walking distance from my house. I went both on Saturday and Sunday.  I bought syrup and their delicious BBQ sauce.  Mom bought homemade doughnuts made right there (she froze some and I had two tonight!). They also had samples of dips and maple milkshakes.  There was no snow this year so no sugar on snow as in years past.

Seems like our Grant ancestors that lived in Tunbridge, Vermont boiled maple syrup too.(John Grant and Polly Bacon Grant are my 4th great grandparents.  Their son Major Grant married Sarah Luce.  Their daughter Cora Grant married Marshall Sherman Ross and that is how our Grant and Ross Clans came together.)  I remember my mom talking about other relatives in Vermont who boiled syrup.  Ken and Dorothy (my brother and sister in law) boil a bit of syrup themselves.

Below is an article about the Grants written in 1993 in a Tunbridge newspaper:

I think Mr. Farnham sent me this article years ago.  I hope you enjoyed it.

Season 3 – at the Canterbury Eagles’ Nest

It appears Orange C/K and Orange A/4 are expecting a bundle of joy or two.  I stopped by the nest site for the first time today and saw that mom (guessing it was mom C/K) was incubating.  It is so exciting.  Last year, they had 2 chicks and the year before 1.  I wonder how many eggs she is sitting on.

I am psyched!  Spring is in the air for sure!

It Looks Like Spring!

By the looks of the Contoocook River coming over the York Dam in Penacook (Contoocook Island), you would think it was spring already. We have not had a lot of snow – but we certainly had a lot of rain the other day. The rivers are very high. I decided to walks out to the park and see what the water looked like coming off the dam. What a roar. I took video as well.

Video 1 – Contoocook River

Video 2 – Contoocook River

I snapped more photos – a selection is on my Flickr Photostream, if you want to see more.  The paths out to the dam were icy in places – so I walked through the woods since most of the woods since the ground was bare in most spaces or just a little snow.  I had my sneakers on and didn’t get wet.  I have always liked walking out here.  This is where the old  Contoocook Island River Park was in the early 1900s that my Grammy loved going to.  It was not far from her house on Washington Street.  Below are some of the old postcards – circa 1909 that I have of the park when it was in its hey day.

The above is from the Stories from the Kitchen “book” that I wrote after my Grammy La Valley passed away.  I compiled her stories that I jotted down when I would visit with her along with some of her favorite recipes, family photos and genealogy.

Ha e a great rest of the weekend!  March is almost here!

Concord beat the old record of 60 degrees on February 25th.  It reached 63 degrees today!  It was quite lovely.  I had a light jacket on in the morning because of the breeze – but at lunch I was in my shirt sleeves.  I am so glad that the winter has been kind to us this year.  Last year was extreme.  I don’t mind snow – but I do mind storms every other day.  Right now, I am ready for spring.  I am looking forward to seeing the birds and green.  I actually love temperatures in the 60s … 70 is perfection – but I could handle the 60s.  I do not like the heat.

I am back at Weight Watchers – so of course, I can think of nothing else but food.  Below is a recipe that you may like.  It is a family favorite!  I have posted it before – but it may be new to some of you or remind you that it is time that you make it again.

Aunt Cookie’s Secret Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 cups flour
1 cup cocoa
2 tsp. soda
2 eggs
1 cup Wesson oil
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup milk
2 Tblsp.vinegar to sour the milk
1 cup hot water

Mix everything together. Put in a 13 x 7 or bundt. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Uncle Leo & Aunt Cookie

I hope this finds you all well.  Have a great rest of the week.  I will try and update this more faithfully.

Debbie 🙂

I saw this cute little Tree Sparrow this afternoon.  I have only seen one – one other time.  I picked up Mom, and on the way to pick up Aunt MaryJane so we could drive to Sydney’s birthday party in Barrington, I went by the spot where I saw the eagle pair on Monday.  They were sitting there again.  My mom said it was the closest she had ever seen an eagle.  She also had the thrill of seeing the pair.

We had a great time in Barrington at the party. It is hard to believe that my niece Sydney is 20 years old! We were glad that the giant snow storm stayed well south of us. It was a grey day – but at least we didn’t have to shovel!

I hope this finds you all well.

Love is in the Air!

I had heard that a pair of eagles had been seen lately by the old mills. I figured they were the local mated pair that I have been watching for a couple years. I am one of the few who know where their nest is. I am an volunteer eagle observer for the NH Audubon. Monday, I was working from home, and at lunch, I decided to take a quick drive and saw the pair. This is one of the photos. I did manage to see the bands of the male (the one on the right) and confirmed he was Orange A/4 – the male of the local pair. I could make out part of a K on the other bird. Orange A/4’s mate is Orange C/K. This is their 3rd breeding season together. The first season, they had one chick. Last year, they had 2 chicks. I wonder how many they will have this year?

The weekend before was the NH Mid-Winter Eagle Count. I was a volunteer again this year. My route is from the Penacook Waste Water Treatment Plant to the Jamie Welch Field. I saw 3 different eagles (an adult, a sub-adult about 4 years old, and a 3 year old). I never tire of seeing an eagle. They are such awesome birds!