Fiery sunrise

Fiery sunrise, originally uploaded by scotsdc2000.

This is a favorite spot to catch the sunrise.

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Walk Around the Neighborhood

Walk Around the Neighborhood, originally uploaded by Tiny Giant Clothing.

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Cloaked in Darkness

Cloaked in Darkness, originally uploaded by MattJohnston.

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Halloween is coming!

Halloween in NH without Bats?

October 26, 2009

CONCORD, N.H. - Halloween is almost here, and that means jack-o-lanterns, black cats, and bats... Well, maybe not the bats. According to wildlife experts, bats are disappearing from the Northeast and elsewhere at an alarming rate. The culprit is a mysterious new disease known as "White Nose Syndrome," in which a white fungus covers the skin of bats during hibernation, and somehow causes them to wake up starving and emaciated.

Emily Brunkhurst, a wildlife biologist with New Hampshire Fish and Game, says this all began in New York State in 2006, and the disease has since spread to New England and as far south as Virginia. She says wildlife managers expect the disease to spread to other parts of the country this winter, a situation which has experts scrambling for answers.

"It's fatal; that's the big deal about this, and in some of those caves in New York, the population is essentially gone. So, there aren't any bats there. And it's very serious because it covers not just one species of bats, but six species of bats."

While it's hard to predict just exactly what the loss of bats will do to the ecosystem in general, Brunkhurst says one thing is for sure; bats can eat up to their own weight in insects every night, and without bats, New Hampshire could be in for even "buggier" summers.

"I think that we will find that sitting out in a boat or on the edge of our favorite river or pond will not be as pleasant; we will end up with more mosquitoes perhaps, or other forest pests."

Bats typically begin to hibernate in November, mostly in caves and mines, but also sometimes in houses and other structures. Researchers in New Hampshire and around the country are working together to find the answers to try to save them. You can help both bats and scientists by getting in touch with New Hampshire Fish and Game if you see bats flying around this winter, or find colonies in your home, barn or elsewhere. Fish & Game asks that you do not move bats yourself if you do find them.

More information is available at www.wildnh.com

Monique Coppola, Public News Service - NH

Copyright © 2008 Public News Service

Taking a Moment

, originally uploaded by Balaji B R.

IMG_0006 - 2009-10-25 at 08-14-30

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In the spring and summer, we can stop and smell the roses.

However, in the fall before the onset of winter, we ought to stop and enjoy the foliage.

bridge builders

bridge builders 5, originally uploaded by mhartford.

bridging the Peabody River, near Dolly Copp camp, New Hampshire

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Crawford Notch afterglow

Crawford Notch afterglow, originally uploaded by thomaspfadenhauer.

Leaves are nearly gone now, but there is a distant memory of a colorful fall...

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The Final Act

The Final Act, originally uploaded by LibraSpirit03.

View On Black

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"I saw old Autumn in the misty morn
Stand, shadowless like Silence, listening
To Silence."

- Thomas Hood

Frozen Glass

Frozen Glass, originally uploaded by thomaspfadenhauer.

Wild and wonderful - a little lake along the Androscogging River in N.H.

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Transitioning between seasons

New Hampshire, originally uploaded by americanadian_8.

Evening sun on the mountain tops. Best viewed large.

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Mark Ducharme (aka americanadian_8) was in the right place at the right time to grab this gorgeous shot of snow dusting the top of a foliage-covered mountain. The lighting is perfect and you can almost smell the crispness in the fall air when looking at the photo.

I asked Mark a few questions about the great photo:

1.) Where were you when you took this?
I was on Route 2 heading towards Lancaster, NH.

2.) What were you doing?
I am a Wedding Photographer and was headed to Lancaster for a Wedding Rehearsal that evening.

3.) What were you thinking about when you took the shot?
I was thinking of how great the lighting was and how I wanted to capture it on the mountains. Also I wanted to ensure it was going to be a good composition and a clear shot!

4.) What do you love about New Hampshire?
I enjoy NH for many reasons. One being the scenery where I live in every direction. I enjoy the seasons and the State motto!

Surfing New Hampshire!

IMG_8718, originally uploaded by jrg603.

Rye NH

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NEW HAMPSHIRE SURFING AREAS

Inventory and Perception of Status

The state has a public access map that includes beach access points, but it is not specific to surfing.

New Hampshire has at least twenty-six well known surf spots.12 The breaks are a mix of reefs, point breaks and beach breaks.

The areas are generally in good condition, but there are localized threats due to water quality, structures, and erosion. Dirty marsh water infiltrates the break at Septics. Lack of parking or very limited parking is a problem at several locations, including The Point, Indicators, Ahoo, Foxhill Point, Linky's and Rye Beach (summer). "The Wall" is perhaps NH's most popular surf spot. Surfing is restricted or prohibited in the summer at Main Beach (Hampton Beach).


Recognition by State

Surfing is becoming more recognized by the state and local municipalities due to positive exposure and public education. The state coastal zone management program recognizes surfing and surfing areas as a recreational, economic, and/or cultural resource.

The Northern New England and New Hampshire Surfrider Chapters have received public exposure during beach cleanups that brought television stations and local papers to report on the events.


Local Surfrider Foundation Chapters

Surfrider Foundation now has a New Hampshire Chapter!

Information Sources
The summary of surfing areas comes from Surfer Magazine's The Surf Report issues for the state. The Surfrider Foundation Northern New England chapter was also surveyed to establish surfing conditions in the state.

Covered Bridge #31 Lancaster NH

Covered Bridge #31 Lancaster NH, originally uploaded by surfer_vero.

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New Hampshire is a photographers dream, because we have seacoast, rolling hills, mountains, evergreens, and hardwoods to name some of the beautiful features in our state that we capture through our lenses.

We also have history here that is deep for America that includes Colonial architecture and covered bridges.

The NH Group in Flickr has many projects that focus on various features of New Hampshire. Our projects include NH Waterfalls, New Hampshire Historical Markers, NH Cupolas, Steeples, and Vanes, and NH Covered Bridges that could include the wonderful covered bridge in Lancaster featured above.

Mount Washington Cog Railway Bio-Diesel

Cog Diesel, originally uploaded by Gary Tompkins.

One of the new bio-diesel engines on the Mt Washington Cog Railway.
Not only cleaner, but faster too.

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New Technologies at The Mount Washington Cog Railway
From the Mount Washington Cog Railway Website

The advent of biodiesel continues the tradition of innovation and improvement that has characterized the Cog Railway since 1869, from being the first mountain climbing cog railway in the world to the solar-powered track switches installed in 2007 and the 1994 Marshfield Station and Museum.

For the first forty years of Cog's operation, wood-fired boilers powered the train to the 6,288-foot summit. Around 1910, coal was introduced. The inauguration of the first biodiesel locomotive, Wajo Nanatasis, and two more biodiesel locomotives in 2009 signaled the intention to supplement the coal-fueled locomotives with biodiesel engines which will diminish emissions and conserve fossil fuels.

A source of pride to the Cog Railway is that the design and construction of the new locomotives were accomplished on site, in workshops near Marshfield Station. The accomplishment culminates over 30 years of experimentation with diesel locomotives at the Cog. The dream had to wait until 21st century technology made the feat possible. For example, the new locomotives have a computer package on board that serves both to govern the engine and to monitor the engine's exact position on the track. The development of biodiesel surged world-wide since 2000, making it feasible as a major source of energy. Finally, the arrival of the Cog mechanical engineer Al LaPrade, a recent retiree from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, brought up-to-date expertise to the project. Al worked with John Deere and several New Hampshire-based manufacturers in designing the drive train and assuring that the electronics were state-of-the-art.

365:326 Keene Pumpkin Festival

365:326 Keene Pumpkin Festival, originally uploaded by pennacook.

Traveled out to Keene, NH for their pumpkin festival. Lots of great artistic works of pumpkin carving. I had a tough time choosing just one, so a mosaic was in order. I noticed in post processing that I tended towards the ones that looked like they were vomiting. Lots of people at the festival. The wall of pumpkins has held a world record in the past. It was an enjoyable event (other than the drive...) Lots of lens cycling - used everything in the arsenal except my wide angle (which I could have probably used once).

Project 365, Day 326.

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Foliage and Waterfall, NH 2009

Foliage and Waterfall, NH 2009, originally uploaded by jw Photo MA.

New Hampshire waterfall, Fall 2009

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Taking autumn's beauty for granted

Swan Song, originally uploaded by Melissadilla.

Both for autumn and for my camera. See above photo for description of camera's untimely and completely random death.

But at least I got this. Wow. This was one of the most amazing scenes I've ever witnessed, and this is now my favorite photo I've taken, ever. It'll be hard for me to change my mind again on this one.

Mad River en route to Waterville Valley.

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As New Hampshire-ites, I think we sort of take for granted the annual ritual that is fall foliage. Leaves falling in the yard and traffic jams caused by leaf peepers can make one grumpy, taking away from the spectacular nature show taking place in the trees and forests around us.

Over the Columbus Day holiday, I took a trip up to the Kancamagus Highway for some early morning photography with two fellow early risers from the NH Photo Group.. Having never been to the “Kanc” for foliage, we sort of felt our way along moving west to east looking for interesting things.

During our stop at The Gorge, we noticed a larger group of people making the walk from the parking lot to the waterway. I muttered that it must be a bus load of tourists. Sure enough it was: Leaf Peepers!

But, as we made our way back to our car, I struck up a conversation with one gentleman from the group who had an Irish/Scottish accent – he definitely wasn't around here. He made a joke about his big group spoiling the serene quiet of the mountains. I asked him how the trip was and his answer struck me: “It's been a life long dream to visit New England in the Fall,” he said.

It helped me realize just how lucky we are that come late September and most of the way through October, this can be one beautiful place. Most of the time we talk about how great fall is but tend to rush through it as daily life blurs one day into the next. Our visitor's comments made me take a step back and enjoy the natural beauty that surrounded me that day.

I hope you can take some time to enjoy the crisp air and rich colors before it all fades to gray and the snow starts to fall.

Live-Free-or-Die

Live-Free-or-Die, originally uploaded by holgaguy.

Found along a road in New Hampshire.

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Fall Foliage in the White Mountains

fall2009 (3), originally uploaded by mattcnh.

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A few of us from the NH Group in Flickr drove through the White Mountains yesterday capturing the fall foliage through our lenses.

Matt wasn't with us, but there were many photographers capturing the beauty like you see in his photo.

Two women that were on a leaf peeper tour bus gave us encouragement, 'Keep on taking pictures!'

When we see beautiful foliage like this in New Hampshire, we're inspired to head into the great outdoors.

Kimberly Cates, Mont Vernon, NH

Kimberly Cates, Mont Vernon, NH, originally uploaded by mvnhfotog.

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4 teens held in N.H. slaying

Attack with machete, knife called planned, arbitrary

By Peter Schworm and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff | October 7, 2009

MONT VERNON, N.H. - The four small-town teenagers arrested yesterday in the brutal killing of a 42-year-old nurse and the maiming of her 11-year-old daughter stole upon a house they chose at random, solely because of its isolation on a forested patch of land along a dirt road, prosecutors say. They came in the dark of very early morning with a knife and a machete, intent on killing anyone they found inside.

They found Kimberly Cates, who was hacked to death in her bed, and her daughter, who sustained “very, very serious injuries,’’ inside the house around 4:30 a.m. Sunday, authorities said.

The sixth-grader underwent extensive surgery at Children’s Hospital in Boston and is expected to survive. David Cates, Kimberly’s husband and the girl’s father, was away on business at the time of the attack, and rushed home to be at his daughter’s bedside.

The grisly attack, described as both premeditated yet bizarrely arbitrary, was coldly planned, prosecutors say, and executed by a group of troubled teenagers who, on the surface at least, had little in common - and had no connection to the victims.

“They picked the house at random because it was in an isolated area,’’ prosecutor N. William Delker said yesterday during the teens’ arraignments in Milford District Court. “Before they entered the home, all four defendants were aware that the intent was to kill the occupants.’’

Prosecutors charged Steven Spader, 17, and Christopher Gribble, 19, with first-degree murder and attempted murder. They did not enter pleas, the customary practice for serious crimes in New Hampshire, and were ordered held without bail.

The two other teenagers - William Marks, 18, and Quinn Glover, 17 - face charges of burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, and armed robbery, although prosecutors said both were armed with deadly weapons and were willing participants in the lethal scheme.

Prosecutors did not specify why Marks and Glover were not charged with murder but did not present evidence that they attacked Cates or her daughter.

Residents and friends described the teenagers as a group of disaffected youths led by Spader, a high school dropout who was frequently in trouble with the law over the past several months and saw himself as a kind of gang leader. Gribble, who was home-schooled and, like Spader, once a Boy Scout, wrote on his Facebook page about a fondness for “anything sharp’’ and posted a photo of himself smiling as he held his favorite knife. Marks was described as a troubled and malleable teenager whose behavior had taken a worrisome turn after he met Spader earlier this year.

At yesterday’s court appearance, prosecutors said Spader drove to the Cates home and wielded the machete, drawing gasps from the gallery. Spader, who wore baggy powder-blue basketball shorts, stood expressionless during the proceedings.

Spader has a lengthy criminal record, court records show. In August he served 13 days in jail after admitting he had waved a tire iron at a group of teenagers after ramming their car in a chase. He also faces charges of possessing stolen stereo equipment.

His record includes convictions for trespassing, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest, all within the past several months. He had been scheduled to be arraigned today on marijuana possession charges.

In an interview at his home in Amherst, N.H., Marks’s father said that he “rued the day’’ he met Spader and that the teen acted as though he were a gang leader. He said that he worried about Spader’s influence over his son.

Gribble, in his Facebook profile, expressed a fondness for weapons, especially swords and knives. According to a report in the Nashua Telegraph, he also wrote that he was prone to extreme anger.

“Although everyone has a light and a dark side, mine are very extreme,’’ Gribble posted. “If I like you (or at least don’t dislike you) I’m the sweetest nicest person ever. But heaven help you if I truly lose it. It’s not pretty.’’

His last status update, according to the newspaper, came Sunday at 10:58 a.m., hours after the killing. He wrote that he had enjoyed hanging out with two friends watching “Dexter,’’ a television show about a serial killer.

Gribble, who lives near Spader in Brookline, N.H., a small town about 10 miles south of Mont Vernon, was accused of stabbing Cates with a knife. Autopsy results showed that Cates died from multiple sharp injuries to the head, torso, left arm, and left leg.

Glover’s lawyer, Peter Anderson, described his client as a solid high school student without a prior criminal record, and said there was no evidence that Glover acted violently.

Prosecutors countered that Glover and Marks were both armed with a deadly weapon, and that all four knew the plan was to kill anyone at the home.

“He [Glover] went along with them willingly,’’ Delker said. Glover and Marks were held on $500,000 bail.

The crime holds an eerie resemblance to the 2001 murders of Dartmouth College professors Half and Susanne Zantop, who were fatally stabbed in their New Hampshire home by two small-town teenagers they did not know.

Police did not describe the circumstances behind the arrest, but friends and residents said that Spader and Gribble, in particular, were seen as ominous figures.

“I had heard stories of the trouble he had gotten into,’’ said Andrew Doyle, who went to high school with Spader. “I was shocked when I heard, but it still seemed plausible.’’

Mary Jennings, superintendent of the school district that Cates’s daughter attended, said the youngster, a black belt in karate, was known as a “very strong, happy young lady,’’ who had been at a school dance the night before.

“She was very engaged in school and very happy with her friends,’’ she said. Jennings said the girl, who has taken karate lessons for several years, was “greatly missed by her classmates.’’

Friends said Cates, a registered nurse who worked at several area hospitals, was a friendly spirit who was often seen running around the neighborhood.

“She was very energetic, and she put me to shame as a runner,’’ said Paul Apple, a neighbor and town selectman. “She was giving me a hard time, good-naturedly teasing me.’’

Apple, like many residents, was struggling to make sense of the crime, the town’s first homicide in at least two generations.

“It’s an uncomfortable moment when you realize life is an uncertain game no matter where you are,’’ he said. “People came to Mont Vernon because they believed it was safe, and now this happens.’’

Apple, 41, a father of three, said he did not regularly lock his doors, but has started to.

Other residents were similarly unnerved, saddened by a sense that life in their quiet village had unalterably changed.

“My wife just called, and said ‘I just want to wrap up the kids and run away,’ ’’ said Wesley Robertson. “But I guess we can’t do that.’’

Martin Finucane of the Globe staff and correspondents Michaela Stanelun and Jack Nicas contributed to this report. Peter Schworm can be reached at schworm@globe.com

Autumn Reflection

Autumn Reflection, originally uploaded by Denis Tangney Jr.

Autumn in the Berkshires region of Massachusetts

More Autumn images www.Baystatephotos.com

My stock portfolio www.istockphoto.com/user_view.php


Copyright 2009 by Denis Tangney Jr. All rights Reserved. No part of this website may be reproduced without permission from the author.

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1st Alarm

1st Alarm, originally uploaded by brianblackden.

Concord NH firefighters silhouettes while fighting a 1st alarm building fire

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Pumpkin Hound

Pumpkin Hound, originally uploaded by davidk.headley.

This dog was digging down in the pile of pumpkins, and I assumed there must be a mouse or some thing in there he wanted.
Copyright 2008 David K Headley

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The chilly days of October are a clear sign that the Keene pumpkin festival is just around the corner.

This annual event attracts over 70,000 people to see nearly 30,000 pumpkins displayed throughout the sidewalks and open spaces in Keene, NH.

Organizers estimate that since the first pumpkin festival 19 years ago, there have been nearly 300,000 pumpkins displayed.

Ripples

Ripples, originally uploaded by Raymond Larose.

Happy October!

Nikon D80 + Sigma 10mm + Cokin filters: GTobacco (Z125)

View Large

The journey is the reward. Please, no group invitations or badges.

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change in the weather

change in the weather, originally uploaded by Ed Karjala.

sunset over Lake Massabesic in Auburn, NH on a chilly, windswept autumn evening. shooting with Pete.

bigger is better

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Happy Octobrrrrr....