06.26.08
Posted in Nature at 2:17 am by Administrator
Ever since I was a little kid, I have really liked an outdoor plant called “Hens and Chickens.” Well, that was their name … to me. You can get a better view on the plant itself in the upper left corner of the photo above. You can also see the wonderful pink blossoms they have.
We wanted something to plant around an old tree stump. I said, “Ah, ha! Hens and Chickens would be great there.” Jim asked what I meant, and after I went to great lengths to describe the plant, he said, “Ah, you mean Semper virens.” Indeed, I had! So much for being married to a former Botany/Forestry major. He also knows everything in the world worth knowing, including information on some pretty obscure topics. This quality comes from a lifetime of reading.
I just wanted to share the lovely blooms of this plants. I had no idea that they would appear. I suppose as a succulent, they are in, or related to, the cactus family. Cacti bloom, so that would make sense. Just a wild guess on my part. All I know is that whatever these plants are called, I like them!
Have a great Thursday!
Patricia Cummings
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06.12.08
Posted in Nature at 12:44 am by Administrator
Once every year, the “north country” New Hampshire celebrates with a Lupine Festival. We have attended on other occasions, camera in hand, to capture views of the flower-filled meadows, the mountains, and the azure sky.
This year, we also stopped at the “Sugar Hill Sampler,” located in an old barn on Sunset Hill Road, Sugar Hill, New Hampshire. Most of the place is for retail sales of fine crafts, quilts, tablerunners, maple sugar candy, jellies, lamps, and much more. The building houses a museum with a variety of small items such as large poster-type images of President Eisenhower, Victorian-age quilts, barkcloth, some old shoes, a dress for a little girl, embroidered with flowers, and other items of interest.
Outside, there is a specially-mowed path so that anyone can walk through the Lupine Fields. It would be a great setting for some impressionistic Plein-Air painting. For a nominal fee, there are horse drawn wagon rides available on weekends, from 10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Of course, a trip to the area would not be complete without a stop at the Bath General Store, the oldest store of its kind in the country. Food-wise, their main attractions are their smoked cheese and bacon, and their fudge of many flavors. This month’s special flavor is Creamsicle, an orange and white confection that is delicious.
The northern tier of New Hampshire has much to offer those who like to take “the slow road.” I was waiting for a moose to jump out of the bushes, but instead we saw a few working farms with cows.
Some days, one has to do something completely different than … work. So, that was our great escape.
Patricia Cummings
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06.09.08
Posted in Nature at 5:07 pm by Administrator
Bobcats (Lynx rufus) are predatory animals that are seen in New England. Charlotte Croft has sent two photos of a bobcat that showed up in the backyard of her son John, and his wife, Sandy, one winter morning. They did not venture outside. Here is the cat, sitting on a well cover. The cats are solitary, territorial, and can take down a deer.
Thanks for the photos!
To read more about Bobcats, visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobcat
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