Debra LaValley's Blog

Happy Autumn! My Favorite Season

I have been wanting to check out the Miles Smith Farm for years. They sell fresh meat and eggs, etc.; but I wanted to go to see the Highland “Coos!” For decades, September was the month that my family, friends, and I attended the NH Highland Games at Loon Mountain. Terrific memories. It has been a few years since the last time I went. I will go again. It was always good fun. Covid still has me staying close to home. The farm is easy to find (off 106 – take Peck Road (dirt road) and on to Whitehouse Road in Loudon, NH). It is at the top of a hill and has a nice view.

Today, was a “typical” Scottish Highland day – cloudy and drizzling. It was the perfect day to head out to check out the farm. I had scheduled the day off a couple weeks ago. I am glad that I thought to go to the farm. The girl in the store gave me two big carrots to feed the two cows in the Holding Barn. Bear ended up eating them both since June turned her nose up at them. The girl in the shop said that June is picky and likes them broken up and fed in pieces. I took a bunch of photos before it started raining too much. I bought honey (in a plastic bear bottle) made in NH. I will definitely go there again this fall. I will bring my mom and sister Jackie. Jackie adores Scottish Highland Coos (I am partial to them as well). She will love to pat them, etc.

Stay safe and enjoy the Fall!

Happy almost Fall/Autumn! September and October are my most favorite months. I love the crispness of the air and the foliage. The tips of the trees have started to be touched by color, but it will be a while before things really start to pop. I will not rush the season. I like to enjoy every moment of my favorite months. The coffee above is what I am savoring as I write this post. I enjoy a great cup of coffee! I don’t usually go for flavors; however, this one (butterscotch/caramel) is tasty. The skeletons also get me thinking of Halloween. For those of you who know me, you know I LOVE Halloween.

I have been getting out a bit more to snap photos. I have been in search of a praying mantis to photograph, but I have been striking out. With the raptors migrating, I was fortunate to capture some photos of a juvenile female Northern Harrier. A rare sight for me. It was hunting over the fields by Horseshoe Pond in Concord, NH.

I hope this post finds you all safe and well. Take care, everyone! Enjoy the Fal!

Where has the time gone? It is corn season already! I love fresh corn on the cob. When we were at Newfound Lake on vacation, we picked up some fresh corn at Walker Farm. It was so sweet and tender! Yummy!

I took this photo of some “cow corn” off river road in Boscawen this past weekend. When I was going through the photos, I noticed that this ear of corn had a face in it! Do you see it? One of my friends also noticed a weird blurred doll’s face in another area of the photo. Can you see it? It is almost like looking at clouds and seeing various animals and things.

Have a great rest of August! It has been so raining here. It has also been very humid! I look forward to September and the start of fall – my favorite season!

Take care and stay safe!

June! Ahhhh! Summer is on the horizon and Covid numbers are declining as the number of vaccinations increase. I don’t know if we will ever go completely back to what used to be “normal;” but things are looking up.

I saw this mama snapping turtle crossing a country road about a week ago. She was heading back to the marsh. Most likely, she had been out to lay her eggs.

At lunch today, I went to the local eagle’s nest, and the one eaglet is now as large as its parents. It has started flapping its wings and jumping in the nest. It is on schedule to start branching later this week. It will most likely be soaring by the 20th or so. How fast eagles grow!

I hope this finds you all well. Take care everyone!

Ahh! The signs of spring are all around us. Here is central NH – the snow has been gone for a while. We are in a drought (as we were going into the winter). It was not a big snow year (I wasn’t crying over that 🙂 at all.) We had quite a bit of much needed rain last week and the spring colors are starting to pop. The grass is green and the spring flowers and flowering trees are blossoming. The pollen has been very high the past couple days. I have been wearing a mask outside to lessen my allergies. I am fully vaccinated – so I don’t need to wear the mask when I am not in public, but I have been on high pollen count days.

Speaking of COVID. I had not been grocery shopping at a large super market since last July and months before that. Two weeks ago around 7:00 pm – my mom and I went grocery shopping at the Market Basket in Concord. We went again this past Friday night. Folks were wearing masks and being good about social distancing and the store was not crowded since they closed at 8:00. This morning was the first time my mom and I went to Sunday mass for the first time in over a year. We have been watching mass on tv Sunday mornings. There were only about 40 people there and all were wearing masks and socially distant. Slowly things are getting a little more normal with the vaccines. New Hampshire has been very good at getting the vaccines out. There is still a way to go before there is herd immunity but in a month – we should be over 60% vaccinated (over 16 populations since no one younger can currently get a vaccine).

Spring and signs of Hope. A good thing! I pray you are all well!

We have a hatch! Yesterday at lunch, I took a drive to the nest to see if I could tell if there had been a hatch since it was due around 3/28. I was thrilled to see an adult bald eagle standing in the nest, and it appeared to be feeding “something.” 🙂 I let the NH Audubon biologist, and he said it was the first reported hatch in the state. Yeah! I can’t wait until I see a chick or two or three. 🙂 Happy Spring!

Introducing – Maisey! I newly adopted her from the local SPCA. My Molly had cancer and “went to college” on January 26th. She was a good kitty and greatly missed. The apartment was so quiet. I was missing the pitter-patter of little fur feet. I have always wanted a Calico. Yesterday, I received and email with “Jessi’s” photo and giving me information about her personality, (loves to give and get affection – likes to be picked up and that she was a year old), etc. I emailed back immediately and had her home in about 2 hours. She is so sweet. I renamed her Maisey. She didn’t know the name Jessi since the SPCA just gave her the name recently. I am very happy! She has been exploring the apartment. She is a climber 🙂 More to come.

2020 is winding down. What a year it has been. I am hoping that 2021 will become more normal. The Covid vaccines are now starting to be distributed. Hopefully, by summer the virus will be more under control everywhere in the world. 2020 has resembled a bad sci-fi movie! A year ago, we would have never thought 2020 would have become such a challenging year.

One good thing about 2020, people have really decorated for the holidays – all of the holidays and especially Christmas. You can drive around almost any neighborhood and see so many decoration and stunning light displays. Elm Street in Penacook is exceptional this year. I took the above photo on Elm Street.

This is the first year, in many years, that I have not put together a desk calendar to give out to family and friends. I would have 150 printed professionally and most were distributed in person; but with Covid that just would not be wise – so I decided to pass on the calendars this year. Maybe next year, or I may come up with something else.

Also people are being creative on how to connect with friends and family. Love finds a way.

I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year! Take care everyone!