When I say Falls, I’m not talking Niagara…
In October, these are dotted with bright foliage…..
And cascade gently down the hill.
No barrel required.
Which is good, because it’s a hard look to pull off.
Selfies you shoot into the sun so you can see your hands holding your phone reflected in your glasses are so much easier.
Did I mention there were rocks?
And tranquil pools…
As well as some pretty nice views?
Well there were.
After our moose sighting, we set out through the Mount Washington Valley of New Hampshire.
We’ve done Washington many times and this trip we were just passing through…
It was a crisp and clear 64 degrees down below…
But she already had a 4 inch dusting of snow.
Not yet, thank you very much.
I’ll stay down below where it’s warmer and greener.
Next stop?
Jackson N.H….. where they’re famous for their falls. They’re a little hard to find but when you see houses with backyards like this –
You know you’re getting close.
Along the way, the husband was fascinated by an early snow plow….
But I told him keep walking…. it won’t fit in the barn.
We headed down a path looking for the falls….
And found a few rocks…
With a wedding venue set up alongside. A sign said the public was invited, and to feel free to come as you are.
You have to love New England.
Still looking for the falls, we backtracked, and walked up a steep sidewalk past a very pink cottage.
And found more rocks.
Some running water….
And the soon to be married couple…
Taking some wedding portraits with an interesting backdrop.
And finally, the bottom of the falls….
Next up? Permanent walls for the third side.
As opposed to the numerous sets of temporary walls we’ve installed, uninstalled and installed again.
And it’s finally starting to take enough shape for the husband to hang up a few tools.
Of course…. a chain, a pick ax and a shovel might not bode well for me and my oh so helpful ideas.
The floor is still 2 different levels of dirt thanks to the woodchucks and chipmunks….
But we haven’t had time to deal with it between rain storms.
The husband has also discovered that when I’m busy taking pictures… he can use his head for a brace. It works quite well.
So, walls and roof section on…
The tape was applied.
If you’ve never used the Zip wall and roofing system? Let me tell you… this stuff is golden. I don’t know what the hell they treat it with but once you tape up the seams it stays waterproof for a long time. I think they say 3 months open to the weather, but on our big barn we left it for over a year… through a Maine winter.. and it was fine.
You’re only supposed to use the tape with the Zip pieces, but baby barn has so many gaps and holes we taped everything we could find in preparation for a big upcoming storm.
Did the husband get a little happy with the tar paper caps? Probably, but we get some hellacious wind blowing across the fields.
So, three and half sides are done and it’s battened down for rain and wind.
Maybe it’s just me, but I swear it’s big brother is looking down in disgust.
Sadly, we may not have time or appropriate weather to finish it this year. I seriously wanted shingles on before the snow flies but my husband says the siding and trim have to go on first… something to do with flashing.
Although what that has to do with anything….
I’m sure I don’t know.
So, fingers crossed we can at least remove that last rotted section soon.
It’s a little too split personality for my taste.
I like…
The Damariscotta Pumpkin Fest. We’ve never been, but someday….
Someday I’m going up there to watch people float down the river in giant pumpkin boats.
I like…
The color coordination of fall leaves and the husband’s tractor.
I like….
The idea of cotton candy cloud coffee.
On second thought, to heck with the coffee…. just let me walk around with a sugar cloud over my head all day.
I like…
People who are really, really devoted to a theme.
Please note the skulls on the front grille.
Doesn’t that just make you want to yell….
Just some deer…
And last month’s backyard fall leaves.
I fear for our resident buck this time of year.
Bow season in October, rifle season in November, black powder season in December.
Three months of abject slaughter I will never understand.
I’m tired of the culling argument. Mother Nature takes care of her own…. and hunters don’t want the small and the weak.
They want the big racks. (Of course they do, they’re men.)
They kill the strongest, largest and healthiest buck they can find…. which means those genes won’t get passed on.
Meanwhile, Momma’s fawns are growing up.
No more spotted Bambis.
And the does enjoy a treat before cold weather sets in….
Moose.
When you think of Maine? You think of lobster… and moose. But let me tell you, I’ve lived here on and off since 1978 and have seen exactly one moose in the wild. Granted we live in the Mid Coast region and they’re more prevalent up north, but still… one in 41 years is not a good ratio.
So when we crossed the border into New Hampshire after leaving the Moose Cave in Grafton Notch….. and I saw numerous signs warning of the dangers of moose crossings?
I thought, yeah.
We’ll never see one.
Until we did.
Right there on the side of the road…
A moose!
Happily munching away on some swamp grasses.
A real live moose!
And I was halfway out of the car to get some really good pictures when the husband said no. This was a teenage male and though he was probably too young to rut…. it was that time of year.
So I had to stalk him from an open window instead.
But I saw a moose!
My second in 41 years…
And then all too soon he was tired of us….
And headed back to the woods.
Goodbye moose….
I may not live long enough to see another wild one of you, but thanks for showing up and making my day.
As I said before, the fall colors were all over the place. We had an early turn this year so by the time we got to the mountains, many places were past peak foliage. But that doesn’t mean they weren’t still spectacular…
Rusty oranges…
Muted greens and yellows…
Peaks of reds.
Even speckled with rain, I’ll take them.
It’s different around each bend.
And around each bend?
Another outhouse for the husband to christen.
The journey continues….
As the husband was laying tar paper on the roof of the baby barn the other day, our farming neighbor dropped by to say hello on one of his toys.
Clearly my husband is not the only one who likes old and rusty things.
I have to laugh at how comfortable the husband looked up on the roof.
Give him a beer and a snack and he could happily watch the game from there.
Neighbor’s 2 year old son is a cutie and loves going for a ride with dad.
That being said…
You know husband had to take a ride himself.
And I can only hope our neighbor never wants to sell the damn thing…
Because you know where it would probably end up.
Down the road from Screw Auger Falls in Grafton Notch you’ll find a trail to the Moose Cave.
Easy walking through the forest….
And steps that run along a gorge.
We did a lot of looking down.
The fractures in the granite were impressive and show you what the force of running melt water can do.
And then before we knew it…
We saw a sign, but no cave.
Oh, wait….
I guess that hole was it.
Not my idea of a cave…. but I did feel sorry for the moose.
Action shots of my senior citizen husband with the bad back and sciatica….
Once a Marine, always a Marine.
Uncave-like cave seen, experienced and photographed… we took an alternate trail out.
Some granite steps…
And a tree root staircase later….
We came upon a moss garden.
What kind of moss you ask?
Reindeer moss.
Isn’t that exciting?
Look how excited I was…
Mutilate the moss?
No…
I would never.
Next step in the baby barn remodel was the removal of the addition the previous homeowner added.
This was easier said than done….
And at times required multiple beatings with a crowbar.
Slowly but surely it came down.
And the temporary walls and roof were removed.
Which is when we noticed a wee bit of sag.
A little lifting…
A little of me saying WTH?
A whole lot of digging….
And propping up later, it was level.
On that side…. which usually throws all the other sides off.
I swear this entire project has been so much work than it needed to be. We could have torn it all down and rebuilt an entire new one in half the time it’s taken us to get this far. Which I believe was my original idea.
Cold weather is fast approaching, and we’re no where near done.
News flash – yours truly will not be out there working in sub zero temps.
Though our condo unit wasn’t the greatest, I have to admit the mountain sunrises were rather nice.
But before I jump into the day’s activities…. I have to tell you about our first night. We spent it in a spacious king size bed with 6 snuggly goose down pillows and comforter. At 2:00am I rolled over, stretched out my leg and felt… something hard. ( No, not that. I’ve been waking up to that for years…. I recognize it.)
This was down at my feet. Hard, light weight and bumpy. But I was half asleep and wrote it off to part of a twisted sheet.
It wasn’t.
When I got up the next morning and made the bed?
I found these.
Yup.
Four rubber duckies hiding at the very bottom of the bed where the comforter is tucked under the mattress.
I don’t know about you, but that was a first for me.
Free ducks!
Give this resort 5 stars…
Mints on pillows? Pffft. That’s for amateurs.
Plastic waterfowl is where it’s at.
Anyway –
Leaving the resort everyday looked like this…
So free ducks aside, I’m not complaining.
We passed this ski season bar everyday as well.
Poor lonely mug.
Our first excursion took us to Grafton Notch.
And yes, that’s really the name.
(Here’s where we begin the rocks and trees, trees and rocks part of our story.)
Clambering around the granite boulders, you find the falls.
And you have to admit, for rocks…. they’re pretty awesome.
Walk the charming leaf strewn path…
Across the cute little bridge…
And there are more rocks.
The mini falls and pools are a favorite swimming spot in summer, and rage with fury during the spring snow melt.
Falls seen, experienced and photographed, the husband begins what would become his epic “I will leave my mark on every state and national park portapotty I can find” challenge.
Who says we don’t know how to have fun on vacation?
River's world..... 