Barn Charm 74...on the Bedford/Merrimack line...

I saw this barn in Bedford driving to Merrimack....

It was a 'drive-by' as you can see in a wider angle...

This lack of a proper winter is fine with the wild turkeys....

...they look good and healthy!

To see more barns from all over, visit  http://bluffareadaily.blogspot.com/

A blustery day....

The wind is just dreadful today and from my back door I can see my cardinal friend trying to brave the storm...

http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/

Wild Turkey

I came upon a rafter of turkeys and some appeared upset. It seems half of the group had already crossed the road and the others were anxious to get to the other side...

Wild turkeys totally disappeared from New Hampshire 150 years ago because of habitat loss and the lack of a fish and game department to regulate hunting seasons. N.H. Fish and Game began transplanting wild turkeys into the state in 1969-70 (this initial effort failed), then again in 1975. Today the population is estimated at upwards of 25,000 birds. Turkeys are now present in every county in New Hampshire.

Wild turkeys aren't territorial. They travel over 4 to 5 square miles during the year, although during the winter and nesting season they often restrict their movements within 100-200 acres. Turkeys are active during the day, roosting in trees from sundown until sunrise. Wild turkeys take advantage of different habitats throughout the year based on their food and nesting needs.

The idea that Benjamin Franklin preferred the turkey as the national bird of the United States comes from a letter he wrote to his daughter Sarah Bache on January 26, 1784, criticizing the choice of the Bald Eagles as the national bird and suggesting that a turkey would have made a better alternative.

Watery Wednesday in Bedford Massachusetts

In its 90th year, the New Bedford Whaling Museum is the largest museum of its kind in the world. Telling the story of American whaling and its renowned whaling port.

The Museum's exhibits include the 89-foot half-scale model of the whaling bark Lagoda, largest ship model in the world, a 35' skeleton of a young humpback whale, and the 98-foot mural of sperm whales by noted marine artist Richard Ellis.

The Museum is located on Johnny Cake Hill in the heart of New Bedford's historic district.

linking to http://waterywednesday.blogspot.com/

Barn Charm

Back in the White Mountains hoping to see a little snow during this strange non-winter...

Jefferson, NH

Cherry Mountain

Littleton, NH

...and here is a clip of the Jefferson farm from last summer...it had been a small farm with cattle and chickens. The new owners have beautiful horses and I just love the setting!

To see more barns from all over, visit http://bluffareadaily.blogspot.com/

A Ride to Canterbury Shaker Village

The first time we visited the Shaker village in Canterbury, NH was in 1985 at the annual Spring Herb and Garden Day. Eldress Bertha Lindsay, Eldress Gertrude, and Sister Ethel were still alive and available to talk with guests. At its height in the 1850s, 300 people lived and worked in over 100 buildings on more than 3,000 acres at Canterbury Shaker Village.

Canterbury Shaker Village was established in 1792 when followers of founder Mother Ann Lee formed their seventh community in the United States, which remained prominent for 200 years. The Village has operated exclusively as a museum since 1992 when Sister Ethel, the last Shaker in residence died.  I drove out there yesterday and the museum is closed for the season.

Meetinghouse built in 1792

Canterbury Shaker Village is one of the oldest, most typical and most completely preserved of the Shaker Villages. The Village contains the only intact, first-generation Meetinghouse, built in 1792, and Dwelling House, built in 1793, in their original locations. The Shakers emigrated to the United States from England and eventually established nineteen self-contained communities from Maine to Kentucky. Overall, the Shakers were the most successful communitarian society in American history.

The Shakers' revolutionary Christianity shocked their contemporaries. They challenged almost every mainstream ideal of American society during their time. Shakers believed in community ownership, pacifism, dancing in worship, equality of the sexes, celibacy, and living simply. According to founder Mother Ann Lee, the Shakers devoted their "hands to work and hearts to God." The Shaker "brand" quickly became known for quality, integrity and reliability. Shakers cared for the poor and used resources and profit for social good.

Eldress Bertha, who passed away in 1990 at the age of 93, came to Canterbury in 1905 as an orphan. She lost her sight when she was 90 years old and put her remaining energies into making audio recordings about the history of the movement. ''I want people to know we did have fun and plenty of it,'' she said in an interview.

Oh Deer!

This warm weather has the deer out during the day. I saw a huge doe and a smaller one about to jump out in front of my car. I missed the big one because I couldn't get my camera in time. This is the smaller one taken through the windshield...

Watery Wednesday

My dear friend Liz took me to this beautiful brook in Dummerston Vermont this past weekend.

http://waterywednesday.blogspot.com/

Barn Charm 71

This week I have barns from the Brattleboro Vermont area.

To see more barns from all over, visit http://bluffareadaily.blogspot.com/

Happy Groundhog Day!

We have a groundhog den in our sideyard at the house up north. A few years ago, there were four babies...and they were so cute! It was great to watch how the mama communicated with them.

I was able to get a few shots while the mama was away...

An early American reference to Groundhog Day can be found in a diary entry, dated February 4, 1841, of Pennsylvania storekeeper James Morris:

Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas day, the day on which, according to the Germans, the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate.

In Scotland the tradition may also derive from an English poem:

As the light grows longer
The cold grows stronger
If Candlemas be fair and bright
Winter will have another flight
If Candlemas be cloud and rain
Winter will be gone and not come again
A farmer should on Candlemas day
Have half his corn and half his hay
On Candlemas day if thorns hang a drop
You can be sure of a good pea crop

Despite the common tongue-twister (How much wood would a woodchuck chuck...) woodchucks (Marmota monax) are burrowing creatures that usually stick to smaller plants. The name woodchuck is likely derived from a Native American term for what are now also called groundhogs...or less commonly the whistle pig.

This is the mama.

 http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/