Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee,
Whether summer clothe the general earth
With greeness, or the redbreast sit and sing
Betwixt the tufts of snow on the bare branch
Of mossy apple-tree, while the nigh thatch
Smokes in the sun-thaw; whether the eave-drops fall
Heard only in the trances of the blast,
Or if the secret ministry of frost
Shall hang them up in silent icicles,
Quietly shining to the quiet Moon.



Thursday, October 29, 2009

Further Afield



At the moment blogging is having to take second place to sorting the garden out ready for winter hence the long gaps between posts. Not that I garden in the dark but by evening it's energy that's lacking rather than time. Today, however, I have been a 'lady who lunches' and a day of gallivanting has left me with rather more brain than is usual at this time of night so I thought I'd do the next instalment of my US trip. One place I always visit is Nubble lighthouse at Cape Neddick in York, Maine. It's a beautiful place as is all the Maine coastline.



There's somewhere else worth visiting in York too - saltwater taffy has been made at the Goldenrod shop for over 100 years, originally Edward Talpey stood in this window and pulled the taffy by hand, now it's done by machine but it is still a sight that people stop to see. As always I brought home a large box of the end result in a dozen different flavours - I love it:)



When we came out of the shop this wonderful car was parked outside - isn't it absolutely fabulous?



This is the Remick Country Doctor and farm Museum in Tamworth, New Hampshire which is well worth visiting if you are in the area. The Remick family settled in Tamworth over 200 years ago and six generations of the family have worked the farm since that time. The last two owners, father and son, were country doctors as well as farmers and between them they cared for the local population for 99 years. The younger Dr Remick died childless in 1993 but he set up a foundation to preserve the farm along with his home so that the public could visit and learn about the old ways of farming and doctoring.



The Enoch Remick house, built in 1808, was where the elder Dr Remick lived and the younger one grew up and had his doctor's surgery. The younger Dr Remick and his wife lived in the building that is now used as the museum.



I was allowed to take photos when we toured the house, it is Victorian in style and the parlour featured this rather splendid stove - a woodburner I imagine though I don't know for sure.


This is one of the bedrooms which has walls decorated with what are apparently rather special 19th century murals by a man called John Avery. Frankly I find it rather dark and gloomy and think it spoils what is other wise rather a nice room. I'm afraid the angle is rather odd but the rooms were small and it was hard to get a good picture.



My favourite room in the whole house - the screened in summer sleeping porch.



Isn't this refrigerator fantastic? The tin lined cupboard was filled with ice which was what kept everything cold. Apparently the ice man delivered ice in the same way that the milkman delivered milk - I should think he had to make pretty frequent deliveries during the hot New England summers too!



Some of the farm buildings with Mount Chocorua in the background. It is named for a Native American chief of the Pequawket tribe who leapt to his death from the summit.



Tamworth itself is a really attractive small town surrounded by some pretty spectacular scenery, this is the church with its unusual pagoda-like spire. I'd have been happy to spend more time there wandering round and exploring - hopefully I'll have chance to visit again one day.



Another trip took us up into the White Mountains and eventually we began to see these signs along the road. I would love to see a moose, even though they are such large animals they strike me as being rather gentle looking. I'm hoping that on my next visit I'll get chance to visit 'Moose Alley' up on Rte 3 where apparently your chances of seeing a moose are very good indeed.



I have rather a thing about covered bridges so was thrilled to bits to see this one in North Conway over the Saco River.



A kind man seeing me with my camera told me how I could get down to the river and take a photo of the bridge and the river with just the beginnings of some autumn colour in the background.



At North Conway we turned off the main road onto the Kancamagus Highway which is a wonderful 34 mile scenic drive through the White Mountains. There are stopping places all the way along and this one is by the Swift River.



Smokey Bear is the mascot of the United States Forest Service and his job is to educate the public about the dangers of forest fires. He is based on a real black bear cub who was rescued after a severe forest fire in New Mexico in 1950.



What had been a nice sunny day had turned into something rather more threatening by this stage of the drive, you can see what we are driving into and as we climbed higher the temperature was dropping rapidly. It was down to 41F at the highest levels and I began to wonder if we were going to see snow rather than rain!



It was raining when we stopped at the Sugar Hill outlook but happily there was a shelter so I could take photos without getting too wet. I think we are seeing Green's Cliff and Mt Tremont.


The highest point of the drive and decidedly wet and cold by this stage. It was really beautiful in spite of the rain and must be wonderful when the Fall colour is at its peak. On the other hand, as it is one of the most scenic drives on the leafpeepers trail, I imagine it's pretty much bumper to bumper at the height of the colour so I think I'd rather settle for what I got.

11 comments:

Hollace said...

I loved this! So wonderful to experience your trip vicariously. I commented on your last blog, too, but somehow it popped away instead of getting posted, so I will just say here how great it was to see Rye again. That was the first connection we had, if you remember from my 'Bouquet List', Rowan, my wish to go back to Rye and another wish to spend the summer in Maine.
Thanks for sharing your trip.
Holly

Wanda..... said...

I appreciated seeing the Enoch Remick house, with the antique stove and refrigerater. The large screened in sleeping porch was nice. I like the research of the small things that you do Rowan, like the Indian and Smokey the bear.

I've been busy also and long time between posts too.

Smiles,
Wanda

Morning's Minion said...

I've been through your photos several times--its homesick I am! I agree that the bedroom mural is a bit much, but the style of furniture, the old trunk, wide floorboards, were common in the Vermont farmhouses of my childhood.
I am more familiar with interior New England than with the coastal areas, but so many similarities in architecture.
Since you have visited York, Maine, I'm wondering if you have read any of the non-fiction of Gladys Hasty Carroll of N. Berwick. "Dunnybrook" is a social history of her family and neighborhood.
By the way, mooose are also prevalent in Wyoming. They are not gentle creatures; in spite of looking rather gangly and slow-witted they can move with great speed and are considered aggressive, particularly when they have young. I always think they look as though they were assembled from spare parts!
I look forward to the next installment of your journey.

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

Feels like we are right there. Lovely photos.

Gracie said...

Thanks for another interesting walk. Maine remids me or two things: Cabot Cove, fake home of Jessica Fletcher, and Stephen King stories.....
Gracie at http://mylittleplace.blog.com

PAT said...

Wonderful post! I'm enjoying your trip.

We had an iceman deliver ice for awhile when I was around 8 years old. Our fridge was not as "pretty" as this one.

Saltwater Taffy is a family favorite! Now I'm craving it.

I absolutely love the beauty of New England, even though I've never been there. I should put it on my list and plan a trip!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful photos! I love the covered bridge. There's at least two where my family lived in New Brunswick, Caanda. Getting to be fewer of them all the time too. They were popular with courting couples in the horse & buggy days as a place to stop in to canoodle. ;)

Have a safe and happy Halloween weekend!

Ali

Unknown said...

Hello Rowan,

The Remick home museum looks very interesting and your glimpses of Fall scenery are all very attractive. There is always something to be said for visiting a place outside the main tourist season!

Bovey Belle said...

Nearly as good as being there myself, but not quite! What a really interesting place though. The lighthouse reminds me of a really gorgeous Lighthouses of Maine quilt I saw in an old American quilting magazine from some 20 years ago.

That fridge was brilliant! One of these years, Keith and I will get to the States (and go and visit MM!!)

Anonymous said...

Lots of interest in this post Rowan, thanks for posting. The car looks great, you couldn't park it anywhere in UK though.
Covered bridges - Bridges of Madison County comes to mind every time I see a photo of one.

Sheila said...

I love this part of the USA, you really captured the essencce of it in your photos. You seem to have enjoyed your visit. I rather like the rain, it seems to make the colours more vivid. Did you eat all that taffy yet, it's good isn't it!