Area 603

Area 603 http://www.area603.com/index.php?blogId=1 New Hampshire is different, right down to its ancient bedrock — a tectonic gift from Proto-Africa, left when the world danced with the heat of its creation. Primordial gas seeps through granite baseboards and aboriginal ghosts rattle bars of birch and maple wood. No wonder that the peculiar is so common here. In New Hampshire you are looking for something different, or else you are lost. Either way, Area 603 is where the search begins. ErnestoBurden 2009-01-06T12:17:38Z NH Fish and Game Now Tossing Out Video Casts... http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=1580&blogId=1 <a href="http://www.wildnh.com/Media/F_and_G_channel.htm">Cool -- New Hampshire Fish and Game is offering a good selection of videos on their site</a>. So if, like me, you have far less time on the water than you wish you did, here's a chance for some educational, vicarious video-casts. Looks like they're a little little on the fly-fishing/trout content, though...hopefully that's coming next. (Press release within...) PRESS RELEASECONCORD, N.H. -- Click, watch and discover. The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department has entered the era of streaming video and downloadable audio. Capture the excitement of fishing, hunting and wildlife watching in New Hampshire at <a href="http://www.wildnh.com/Media" target="_blank">http://www.wildnh.com/Media</a>. Or log onto New Hampshire Fish and Game's website at <a href="http://www.wildnh.com/" target="_blank">http://www.WildNH.com</a> and click on "TV/Video/Audio" in the menu at left. The New Hampshire Fish & Game Channel is a new web video feature that helps fish and wildlife enthusiasts get the most out of their next adventure. The program segments offer tips and strategies shared by biologists, guides and other experts. Video is played back through a flash video player, allowing viewers smooth playback of the video content. Or listen to the award-winning weekly radio show Outdoor Almanac. Peter St. James, an outdoor writer and local radio personality, shares hunting and fishing news, tips and stories about the state's wildlife and great outdoors. The radio show is carried on more than 15 radio stations and their affiliates throughout the New Hampshire. "This is only the beginning," said Jon Charpentier, manager of N.H. Fish and Game's Broadcast Media and Promotion Unit, "We also plan on adding segments that feature places to fish, hunt and watch wildlife in New Hampshire, to help people who are planning their next trip." Fish and Game plans to update the streaming videos and radio programs regularly, so check back often! To sample all of New Hampshire Fish and Game's audio, video and television programs go to <a href="http://www.wildnh.com/Media" target="_blank">http://www.WildNH.com/Media</a>. Great Outdoors 2007-11-19T18:28:21Z ErnestoBurden Conway Toy Run http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=1365&blogId=1 Folks:Another fine day (for the bikers amongst us) in the North Country, and another good cause. We participated in a "Toy Run," this one sponsored by the <a href="http://www.meredith-hd.com/custompage3.asp?pg=mwvinfo">Mt. Washington Valley H.O.G.</a> chapter in Conway on Sunday, the 16th.Always a good time, and our thanks to the Conway Police Department for the escort along the route. This always makes for a safe ride, and it doesn't get more feel-good (despite the "brisk" start yesterday morning) than this!Thirty-three degrees? Poobah! Put on the layers & leathers, and crank up the heated hand grips. Let's ride!<img style="WIDTH: 385px; HEIGHT: 303px" height="303" hspace="0" src="http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/HarleyWriter/DSC08259.JPG" width="385" align="baseline" border="0" />Just knowing that some child tonight is snuggling up to "Tony," (the little critter in the middle, above) is reason enough.Best, El Great Outdoors 2007-09-17T08:36:25Z elwin Are New Hampshire Leaf Peepers Hazardous To Our Health? http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=1362&blogId=1 <img class="res_image" style="MARGIN: 5px" height="184" src="http://www.area603.com/resserver.php?blogId=1&resource=leafpeeper.jpg" width="261" />Leaf peepers may be hazardous to our health... Okay, so you caught me being dramatic again. But I bet YOU will admit (just as I do) that (more than just a few times) you've ended up behind a leaf peeper whose driving gave you whiplash. And you've felt your stress level rise as yet still another leaf peeper puttered along ahead of you, at 23 miles per hour for thirty minutes, before there was a passing lane. Honestly, how can we blame them for driving this way, when in fact they are admiring the glory that is New Hampshire in autumn? Viewing our state's foliage can leave even the most apathetic being breathless.In case you are not familiar with the term, a leaf peeper is any person who purposefully looks for areas where the tree foliage has changed from its usual green to dramatically brilliant colors (usually reds, orange, and yellows), and then drives around to "take in" the scenery.In New Hampshire our prime leaf peeping season begins at the end of this month (September) in the very northern-most sections of our state. Then the first week of October the foliage is most colorful in the White Mountain area, with the southern part of New Hampshire following up about the second week of October. These are only general times, as it varies slightly from year to year. One of the best locations to keep up with the "in-place" for leaf peepers is at "<a href="http://foliage.visitnh.gov.ns1www.silvertech.net/index-flash.html" target="_blank">NH's Foliage Report 2007</a>." What do you think about leaf peepers? Are they a boon to our economy, or simply a nuisance on our highways?Janice Great Outdoors 2007-09-16T11:40:38Z JaniceBrown Head in clouds http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=1354&blogId=1 We have a state flower, a state bird, even a state fruit. Should we have a state cloud? North Country resident Dave Govatski thinks so. According to <a href="http://www.nhpr.org/node/13713">NHPR</a>, he wants NH to name Altocumulus lenticularis as our state cloud.Lenticular clouds, as they are also known, are "smooth, saucer shaped clouds that hang stationary in the sky for long periods." They are very common at this time of year in the White Mountains and easy to identify since they aren’t puffy.We don't often see standing lenticulars in the Seacoast but it's neat when we do.Cloud lovers unite! <a href="http://www.cloudappreciationsociety.org/">The Cloud Appreciation Society</a>A photo of <a href="http://www.mountwashington.org/photos/journal/?month=10&year=2006">lenticular clouds over Mt. Adams</a>, as seen from Mt. Washington (scroll down to see). Great Outdoors 2007-09-13T09:07:17Z AmyKane He was back...for a day http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=1335&blogId=1 After a tumble down the mountain due to extreme old age, the familiar face of New Hampshire no longer lived on Franconia Notch. Never fear. The original Old Man of the Mountain may be gone, but Shelly Bradbury and Ron Magers recently (but briefly) unveiled a portion of their Old Man Memorial. Check out this article in the Union Leader to see the prototype of the profiler, just one component of the $4.8 million memorial project. <a href="http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Old+Man+comes+into+view&articleId=a768a6a9-edbe-48ac-9059-610463e25ec8">http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Old+Man+comes+into+view&articleId=a768a6a9-edbe-48ac-9059-610463e25ec8</a><a href="http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Old+Man+comes+into+view&articleId=a768a6a9-edbe-48ac-9059-610463e25ec8"></a>I have to admit - I once thought a memorial, never mind a $4.8 million memorial, for what was essentially a fluke of nature was a bit, well, rich. However, this interesting profiler idea has started to change my mind. I'm curious to see how it will all come out. Great Outdoors 2007-09-06T12:07:11Z EricaThoits Something Unidentified in New Hampshire's Air? http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=1287&blogId=1 Can it be that September is only a week and a half away? <img class="res_image" style="MARGIN: 5px" alt="ufo" src="http://www.area603.com/resserver.php?blogId=1&resource=ufo.jpg" />Along with the turning of leaves, and an unexpected chill in the air, Autumn also traditionally brings.... UFOs!! Historically September through November are busy months in New Hampshire for viewing Unidentified Flying Objects. On September 19-20, 1961, <a href="http://cowhampshire.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2007/8/23/3172557.html" target="_blank">Betty and Barney Hill</a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Hill" target="_blank">Interrupted Journey fame</a> experienced their alien abduction in New Hampshire's north country. Then on September 3 in 1965 the "<a href="http://www.seacoastnh.com/arts/please111800.html" target="_blank">Incident at Exeter</a>" occurred. Over the years there have been several unexplained sightings in Goffstown, <a href="http://www.nicap.org/manchester731102dir.htm" target="_blank">Manchester</a> and several other locations by very credible people. There are just too many of these reports to credit them as swamp gas or weather balloons. (Actually the Goffstown-Manchester area appears to be a veritable hotspot of activity).Perhaps an increase in autumn UFO sightings is due to more New Hampshire citizens looking up into the clear New Hampshire skies. Or maybe our spectacular views are attracting cosmic "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaf_peeper" target="_blank">Leaf Peepers</a>." Whatever the reason, keep your camera handy!Janice Off the Grid 2007-08-21T10:13:08Z JaniceBrown I'm on Vacation! http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=1271&blogId=1 French President Sarkozy has not been in the big seat that long, but long enough to warrant a vacation to Wolfeboro and Lake Winnipesaukee. According to the <a title="Sarkozy Vacation" href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/08/06/sarkozy_seeks_to_dodge_public_eye/?page=1">Boston Globe</a>, we both can read into the fact that Sarkozy is not planning on visiting with President Bush, who will be at the Bush family retreat in Kennebunkport, Maine at the same time, and we should not read into it because Sarkozy is just a man on vacation and should be treated as such. The media frenzy surrounding Sarkozy's visit is understandable - I mean did he really expect to escape the spotlight and for the press to take a vacation at the same time he took his own? But it is also a little comical. For example: Sarkozy scolded two American photographers in French as if they were misbehaving adolescent pranksters and not grown men, the image makes one smile. The French President reminds me of another famous man who came to New Hampshire "On Vacation" and found little peace: Richard Dreyfuss as Doctor Leo Marvin trying to escape his neurotic patient, Bill Murray as Bob Wiley. When I lived in DC and I was trying to explain to people where I lived recognition, more often then not, would only dawn after I stipulated "You know, the lake from the movie '<a title="IMB" href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103241/">What about Bob?</a>" (If you haven't seen it pick it up for a good laugh. It's one of Bravo's 100 funniest movies.) Like Doctor Leo Marvin, President Sarkozy is simply seeking reprise and relaxation, but both are alluding him as they do Richard Dreyfuss in the movie. In a conversation with Bob and his son, Siggy, Doctor Marvin pleads, "All's I want is some peace and quiet!" Bob Wiley: Okay I'll be quiet. Siggy: And I'll be peace! Let's only hope President Sarkozy has better success when it comes to pleading with the French and American press. Area 603 Bloggers 2007-08-07T10:48:45Z ChelseyPhilpot Oh give me a home http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=1268&blogId=1 <img class="res_image" style="margin: 5px;" src="http://www.area603.com/resserver.php?blogId=1&resource=bison.jpg" />The American bison. Not an animal commonly associated with the Seacoast of New Hampshire. But a nice sized herd grazes on rolling green fields near Great Bay in Durham, at the <a href="http://www.goseacoast.com/detail.ihtml?lid=330&catID=35">Little Bay Buffalo Company</a>. Sometimes you can spot them from a boat.My 13-year-old daughter and I were taking the secret back way to Target in Somersworth today and we decided to swing by the buffalo farm. I wanted photos. She wanted to cook for us this evening, and test whether buffalo meat tastes "just like hamburger." Alas, the little store was closed.<img class="res_image" style="margin: 5px;" src="http://www.area603.com/resserver.php?blogId=1&resource=bull.jpg" />Buffalo look like an odd amalgam of other animals... cows, boar, moose, sheep, camels, horses, yaks, wildebeests. "The front doesn't match the back," said my daughter. I think they look kind of stupid and dangerous (and not fully domesticated) yet awe-inspiring. These photos don't do them justice. You must see them moving, snorting, lumbering, then breaking into a surprisingly speedy large-bodied gallop. You glance at the fences.August is a good month to wander lightly traveled roads and just look at things. I will be meeting my cross-country-driving sister in Iowa mid-month. I wanted to get her something for the dashboard or rearview mirror, like a St. Christopher but he's out now. Looks like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_of_Rome">St. Frances of Rome</a> is the patron saint of automobile drivers. Will Francesca Romana have the same dashboard charisma? Meanwhile, we stopped at the library on the way home and I borrowed <a href="http://www.amazon.com/New-Hampshire-Off-Beaten-Path/dp/0762730196">New Hampshire Off the Beaten Path.</a> Anybody got any recommendations for more secret back ways with unusual sights in our home state? I figure there must be some expertise lurking around Area 603. Great Outdoors 2007-08-06T18:08:00Z AmyKane New Hampshire Moose On the Loose http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=1257&blogId=1 <img class="res_image" style="MARGIN: 5px; WIDTH: 329px; HEIGHT: 290px" height="290" src="http://www.area603.com/resserver.php?blogId=1&resource=GRFIT045.jpg" width="329" /> Bullwinkle is touring New Hampshire??? Not exactly--but an unusual exhibit called the "<a href="http://cowhampshire.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2007/7/28/2975517.html" target="_blank">NH Locked Moose Antler Project</a>" has a busy summer and fall. During August you can find it in Errol, Hudson, Boscawen and Contoocook NH, followed by Durham, Goffstown, Loudon, and New London in September. Additional dates and places <a href="http://www.northcountrynewsnh.com/web_pages_000015.htm" target="_blank">can be seen on their web site</a>.As far as the real deal--<a href="http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Hunting/Hunt_species/hunt_moose.htm" target="_blank">New Hampshire's annual moose hunt</a> starts October 20th 2007 (when it runs until October 28th). Each year a lottery is held in order to issue 500 permits. A participant's odds of winning this lottery is about 1 in 20. The hunting fee for residents is $100 while non-residents pay $300 (and a New Hampshire hunting or archery license is also required).<a href="http://granitegeek.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=498&blogId=6" target="_blank">Before you get upset with moose hunts</a>, realize that <a href="http://wildlife1.usask.ca/wildlife_health_topics/winter_tick/wintertick.php" target="_blank">winter ticks</a> cause 41% of their annual deaths, 26% happen as a result of collisions with vehicles, and only 18% die by the hands of hunters.Moose-lovers can buy a <a href="http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Moose_plates/moose_plates.htm" target="_blank">moose conservation license plate</a> (or a license plate gift certificate) for $35. These sales have raised millions of dollars for New Hampshire Fish & Game projects that preserve New Hampshire's historic resources, and improve the quality of life for our residents.For those who want to see <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXOdylsd7tA" target="_blank">moose up-close-and-personal</a> (not TOO personal, please) visit the infamous "Moose Alley," in Pittsburg New Hampshire. Anywhere on route 3 at morning or dusk, between Pittsburg and Colebrook, where the "Brake for Moose" signs are prevalent will do. Another favorite spot is the Kancamagus Highway area of the White Mountains (Lincoln-Woodstock area). Braking is best, as a dent in your car is the least of your problems if you hit a 1,200 pound moose. And please do everyone a favor. Stay in your car if you see one--they are <a href="http://bullwinkle.toonzone.net/statue.htm" target="_blank">not at all like Bullwinkle</a>. JanicePS: <a href="http://area_603.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=1224&blogId=1" target="_blank">Don't miss El's photograph of his moose sighting</a>, and ask him about his other moose photograph! Off the Grid 2007-07-28T13:40:52Z JaniceBrown Shark Attack in New Hampshire? http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=1248&blogId=1 There was a young lady from Guam Who said, "The Pacific's so calm,<img class="res_image" style="MARGIN: 5px" alt="shark" src="http://www.area603.com/resserver.php?blogId=1&resource=sharks.jpg" /> I'll swim for a lark." She met a large shark . . . Let us all sing the 93rd Psalm. --- AnonymousJust when you thought it was safe... ...to turn on your TV set, the <a href="http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/sharkweek/ultimate-quiz/ultimate-quiz.html" target="_blank">20th anniversary of Shark Week happens</a>. From July 29 to August 4, 2007 special television programming will teach us even more about the world's most efficient predator, and mostly scare the crap out of us. I don't know about you, but I get a bit queazy when I get close to the shark tank at the aquarium. As early as 3 September 1816 sharks have been found off New Hampshire's coast when a "shark measuring 9 feet long and weighing 5 or 600 weight" was caught off the Isles of Shoals with a cod hook, and brought into Portsmouth NH (per the New-Hampshire Gazette). There is only one known New Hampshire resident who died from a shark attack, and that gruesome event did not occur locally. A Mr. Alexander Shapleigh of Portsmouth NH died in Martinique in 1802, "his head being completely separated from his body." (per the Farmers Weekly Literary Gazette of Walpole NH).There apparently have been no incidents of shark attacks within New Hampshire waters (although possibly they did occur and there were no witnesses, or conclusive evidence). This is quite a remarkable record, as there were a few shark events reported in both Maine and Massachusetts waters. In contrast, I've reviewed countless statistics stating that our chances of being killed by venomous insects, dog bites or snake poison are greater than getting bitten by a shark. At the current time a New Hampshirite's odds of being attacked by a shark are probably pretty close to that of <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2218755.stm" target="_blank">being hit by a celestial rock</a>. Those same numbers were probably not comforting to those who experienced a shark's icy stare or worse yet their frightful bite. I don't hear folks talking about methodically wiping out bee, dog or snake populations. So what is it exactly that freaks us out about sharks? Perhaps it is the thought of our becoming their next seafood brunch selection.But will New Hampshire's seeming immunity from shark attacks end sometime soon? New Hampshire is one of <a href="http://www.cdnn.info/news/eco/e050513.html" target="_blank">several locations where fish farming has become popular</a>. With the combination of our warming coastal waters and reports that <a href="http://granitegeek.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=822&blogId=6">fish farms</a> are responsible for increased shark sightings off our coast, will their presence increase? And more importantly, <a href="http://amykane.typepad.com/northhampton/2007/07/make-waves.html">will we make good neighbors</a> for our toothy visitors? The sharks themselves appear to be more endangered by human beings than vice versa. Some shark species appear to be dwindling. Conservative new estimates indicate that <a href="http://weblog.greenpeace.org/makingwaves/archives/2006/11/sharks_in_hot_water.html" target="_blank">between 26 million and 73 million sharks are killed worldwide each year</a>. So, the next time we watch Jaws.... perhaps we should feel sorry for the shark. Janice Disclaimer: the photograph used in this article is not one of an actual shark, nor was it photographed in New Hampshire. It was actually part of a prop at a miniature golf course on the boardwalk in Ocean City, New Jersey... Off the Grid 2007-07-23T07:18:40Z JaniceBrown