03.29.08

New Hampshire: Where the Purple Lilacs Grow

Posted in Nature at 2:26 pm by Administrator

There is a song that campers always used to sing at 4-H camp:

I want to wake up, in the mornin’,
Where the purple lilacs grow
Where the sun comes a-peepin’
Into where I’m a-sleepin’
and the songbirds sing “hello.”
I want to wander through the wild woods
Where the fragrant breezes blow.
And drift back to New Hampshire
Where the purple lilacs grow.

The words of this song always make me smile. New Hampshire is a unique state. At that same camp, where I was a counselor in my college days, I remember leaving my cabin at dusk, only to startle a Bobcat, right outside my door. They are not as large as you might think, and they have wisps of hair on their ears.

In this state, I have personally seen sea otters, moose, deer, bear, opossums, raccoons, skunks, fox, beavers, woodchucks, and probably other critters I can’t recall.

Bird life has its seasons. Right now, we are still seeing woodpeckers at the suet feeder. We did not feed bird seed this year, and as a result, we only heard one mouse in the wall all winter. Soon, the hummingbirds will show up in April, and the Orioles will breeze through in May, usually Mother’s Day weekend.

Between the trees, the mountains, the streams, lakes, and ocean, for a small state, New Hampshire has it “all.” It also has the local characters - like me! From time to time, I’ve considered moving, but when push comes to shove, I think I’m planning to stay right here in New Hampshire, where I can hibernate with the bears in the winter, and where the purple lilacs grow … right outside my window!

Happy Spring!

Patricia Cummings

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