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Spring began today (March 20, 2025) at 5:01 am EDT in the Northern Hemisphere, marking the spring equinox, when day and night are nearly equal in length.  The illuminated manuscript featuring March from between 1412 - 1440 depicts some of the French farming practices from that time.  In the foreground you can see plowing the fields with oxen. Beyond that they are pruning the vineyards and behind that to the left they are caring for sheep.  At the top are the constellations, zodiac and image of Apollo with the sun. Phebus is another name for the sun god and he is featured in a poem by Thomas Randall of Eaton, NH here  about the birth of spring and the death of winter.  The poet Donald Hall captured a less optimistic scenario in his poem about maple syrup here .  While astronomical spring began today, meteorological spring began on March 1.  March is a time of variable weather and authors and poets had words to say about that too.  One of my favorit...

There is a lot going on in the sled dog world this time of the year. For example, did you know that this month we celebrate the centennial of the 1925 serum run that led to the Iditarod? See the links  here and here .  On Saturday February 15 and Sunday, February 16 the Tamworth History Center will celebrate the history of the Chinook, New Hampshire's State Dog. FMI see this link  here .  On Sunday, February 16 the Tamworth Outing Club will host a Sled Dog Fun Day event. See these links  here  and here .  Another sled dog event will be held in Laconia NH Feb 21-23. See this link  here .   Recently we at the Conway Public Library's Henney History Room helped with information about sled dogs and winter art for a new exhibit that opened last week. See the website here .  Near the center of the exhibit is a display case... ... that features memorabilia from sled dog races.  Inside the case is a list of the items and their sou...

Congratulations, you have survived the most active season of major holidays. Plough Monday follows Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's and signals a return to the plough after all those festivities. I find it interesting that of these major holidays, all derived from British and European traditions, that Plough Monday has not transferred to the United States calendar. It is also unique to have a holiday that celebrates work, few holidays do. In Britain, Plough Monday is observed on the first Monday after January 6, known by Christians as the Twelfth Night. Plough Monday is an old British harvest tradition that marks the start of the agricultural season. The day was a celebration for farm workers.  It usually began in the local church with the blessing of the plow that included Molly dancers.  z x Then the decorated plow was paraded in the street with more music and mayhem as they collected money for a community feast. The plow was often followed by a parading str...

We are well into what local Conway Daily Sun hiking columnist, Ed Parsons, describes in a recent article as the “stick season” that period between leaf peeping and the first snow (which may arrive tomorrow) as we celebrate Thanksgiving, a holiday with a long history and numerous layers of meaning (more on this later).  As Parsons points out, stick season allows us to view mountain peaks and profiles through the leafless trees to enjoy the panoramic vista usually hidden by foliage. As one who enjoys following in the footsteps of nineteenth-century White Mountain artists, hunting historic views and comparing them to White Mountain artworks I can appreciate this time of year.  For example, with most of the leaves gone, you can get a sense of the view shown above. During the rest of the year, the foliage hides the scene from this location.  For more info on the painting above follow this link here .  Ed recommends that we appreciate what special things each season offers...

This scene above is part of my regular commute to work. The view of the little white church nestled in fall foliage across Crystal Lake opens up after a long drive crossing through kaleidoscopic tree tunnels this time of the year, past few weeks on a different vibe pass this less serene vista on my commute  Within the "Halloween Manor" can be found this army of corn stalk zombies.   I have not seen anything quite like this creative use of corn stalks before. Note exactly your friendly scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. I explored the history of more traditional ways of displaying corn stalks in a previous blog here .  So far we have had a warm and colorful autumn, but that is about to change let's review what has happened so far and what is to come.  do decorations here? what is more common is this pic of standard corn stalks  it is very common to display corn stalks  this derived from stook, more on this below or separate blog hay and straw bales a...

a x x outline or profile of mountain peaks  with handwritten notes of  distance, color,  buy make camera lucida  x x Whiteface  from Fellows Hill Road photo/s close approximation of the scene  x x skill at capturing overall view and details  x 1860 map suggests was road in the 1820's  Durgin covered bridge also see usgs maps  location swamps, when route 25 built  Weygant  Seven miles to Sandwich  x x z