Olivia Rodham Memorial Library
We will be discussing
Tiger’s Wife
by
Tea Obreht

In a Balkan country mending from years of conflict, Natalia, a young doctor, arrives on a mission of mercy at an orphanage by the sea. By the time she and her lifelong friend Zóra begin to inoculate the children there, she feels age-old superstitions and secrets gathering everywhere around her. Secrets her outwardly cheerful hosts have chosen not to tell her. Secrets involving the strange family digging for something in the surrounding vineyards. Secrets hidden in the landscape itself.

Nelson Congregational Church
Come join us for a simple meal of soup and bread and salad at 5:00 followed by stories and photos from the Garrett-Larsen’s trip to Burkina Faso West Africa! Donations will be accepted to offset the cost of the food. Donations of desserts encouraged and welcomed!

Spread the word!

More info: Joy Birdsey or Dawn Garrett-Larsen
603-847-3280

Three inches of fresh snow greeted us Nelsonites that morning, two days before Christmas. Our weekly Monday hike was on Friday this week, and we looked forward to exploring the extreme northeast corner of town. We hoped to check out some rumored trails around Rollstone Mountain, an intriguing area on USGS maps and Google-Earth satellite views. Rollstone Mountain and Holt Hill make up the uplands in the extreme northeast of Nelson. Strangely, the hill is higher than the mountain. Years ago Sue and I had followed a bobcat here, along logs and across walls, round feline tracks in powder.

Four of us carpooled from the village, skidding up slippery Old Stoddard Rd, barely squeezing by the Hayes wrecker parked mid-street on the straight uphill stretch of road past the town barns. The car on the flatbed was an indication of the driving conditions. So was the greasy road itself.

Two sections of Nelson’s town lines cross Rye Pond: a north-south section of the border abuts Antrim to the east. North of the east-west line sits Stoddard. It’s a wild area—most who drive NH 123 between Hancock village and South Stoddard spend less than a minute in Nelson, but a disproportionate percentage of the town’s moose collisions likely happen in those few rods. We parked on the shoulder and heading into the woods of Antrim.

Soon we were on the King’s Highway, here just a woodland trail between two parallel stone walls. In Nelson, this oldest of roads most likely is buried under 123. We could have followed it southeast into Hancock, where it becomes a town road, but instead we left it for another trail heading southwesterly. At a fork, we headed uphill to the right, thinking that was the main trail. We were wrong.

The trail disappeared on a slope of refrigerator-sized boulders. We clambered upslope, but soon decided to “follow the contour” south. We split up briefly when Kathy Schillemat and I headed uphill along a brook, while the other two, Niña Iselin and Kathy’s son-in-law Roland, chose the small ridge just past the brook. We soon rejoined on the ridge after the brook-walkers hit a tangle of downed trees, and we continued climbing.

This section was pure hardwood. Beech, maple, birch, but not a single conifer—pine, spruce, or fir— anywhere in sight. Soon we hit an actual trail—apparently an old logging road (and more currently a snowmobile trail, we soon discovered. It was also the left fork we should have followed, we later determined). This trail angled upslope to the right, northeasterly. Soon we saw conifers again—first spruce sprouts half buried in snow, then spruce saplings.

Up to now we had seen little fresh wildlife sign. Tracks of gray squirrels, mostly, and some snowed-over deer tracks. Now we found deer tracks among nibbled ends of evergreen wood ferns. Here the trail leveled—the main slope up west to our left, a rugged knoll rising on the right. It was an enchanting spot—Niña called it a fairyland. Between these slopes the trail passed through brushy pools and puddles, thinly frozen, around which we shunpiked.

A square of plywood nailed on a tree was a snowmobile trail sign. One arrow pointed down the trail we had just ascended. A side trail headed to “Mark’s Park”, whatever that might be. We went the other way, crossing a stone wall that likely is also the town line, thus returning to Nelson. The trail trended uphill. Soon we came upon fresh tracks of ruffed grouse stitching the snow and crossing the trail. We variously backtracked this “partridge” and followed the trail, until the trail headed steeply down where the bird tracks crossed again. The others returned to where we had first seen the tracks. I continued backtracking, and soon found where the tracks began. The bird had dragged its toes in the snow as it landed, then walked.

Meanwhile, the other hikers caught up with and spooked the grouse to flight. Fresh pile of droppings on a log, wingtips brushing the snow.

We continued uphill through mixed woods, towards where the grouse had flown. Saw no more sign of it, but where the slope steepened we found deer beds—melted patches in the snow. The tracks leaving them seemed very fresh.

It is fun to search for hairs in spots where wildlife have bedded. Usually you can find a few if you search. Deer and moose have hollow hairs, which likely provide better insulation than would solid hairs. It also means they kink if you bend them, like hollow garden hoses. We found and kinked a few.

When bushwacking in a group, you could walk in single file. Or you can spread out, improving the chance of somebody finding something interesting. Uphill from grouselaunch log, we were more scattered. I found red squirrel middens—little piles of spruce-cone scales where the little rodent had sat and snacked on spruce seeds, tearing apart the cones to get to the morsels—but only Roland saw the deer.

It appeared we were topping out. This could be the top of Rollstone Mountain, Holt Hill, or some other bump on the map. We were more into conifers—one section of open woods appeared to be pure spruce, contrasting to the earlier pure hardwoods. And here was the top—two or three car-sized boulders topped with an artistic stone cairn. Later we decided this was Rollstone’s peak. Through the woods and the fickle mist we picked out Nubanusit to the southeast.

Time to head back—one member of the party had promises to keep. To the east, we reckoned we would hit the King’s Highway, or maybe our old tracks. Within a few hundred yards or less we hit a stonewall running north-south.

I suspect it was the same wall we had crossed earlier to the north—the town line wall—and that if we followed it south we would get to where Kathy, Rick Church, and I had started a transect of Nelson a few weeks back. That wall is visible on Google-Earth’s satellite view, and makes a right turn where we had started our transect, heading west into Nelson. That excursion, on December 5, took us from the east edge of Nelson to Holt Farm Rd. We had bushwacked west from the town line, up over the shoulder of Holt Hill, skirted just north of White Swamp (the wetland north of Spoonwood), up an incredible steep slope of boxcar-sized boulders to a lookout spot on the north shoulder of Osgood (City) Hill, and on. (On a previous expedition, Kathy and I had named that spot “October Snow Rock”, for the day we first came there from the north. We had discovered it last summer on a hike up from Brickyard Brook and Kulish Ledges). Descending Holt Hill on December 5th, we had startled a black bear from a split red oak. We hope to return to that oak—there seemed to be a bear-sized hollow at the split, maybe 15 feet off the ground. Hollow trees have been used for denning. In November Kathy and I had found bear tracks in snow on a north shoulder of Osgood Hill.

Rollstone Mountain as an eagle might see it.

East from that stone wall on the probable town line, we slipped and slid down, grabbing saplings, our group spreading out to variously explore or avoid boulders, rock overhangs, logs and log-tangles, and finally gathered on a trail at the bottom. It was the same trail we had hit twice already. Near where we were now, it switchbacked up towards our earlier fairyland, but we followed it back to that left fork (where we had gone right), and our old tracks in the snow. Back to the King’s Highway and thence to the car.

I would like to know more about how the King’s Highway was laid out and constructed. It was a rough road through the wilderness, but here at the base of Rollstone, it passes through some bony land. Some boulders would have been a challenge to move. All this with oxen, horse, manpower, and what tools were then available? But if the Easter Islanders, in the remote Pacific, could move those much bigger monoliths without any animal power, these would not be impossible.

I have long thought that rebels in the American Revolution had dragged cannon from the captured Fort Ticonderoga to Boston along this road, and thus were able to drive out the British. I had heard this about Vermont’s old highway, the Crown Point Road, and I assumed that once they had hit the Connecticut River near Fort Number Four, they would naturally have continued on the King’s Highway through New Hampshire. But a little online research proved me wrong. Colonel Henry Knox, Continental Army, took a smoother and more southerly route through New York and Massachusetts, bringing 60 tons of cannon and other equipment to Boston in the winter of 1775-1776, in what was called “The Noble Train of Artillery”. Our King’s Highway awaits other adventures.

Supporting Language And Literacy: from birth to preschool

Come learn fun, easy games and activities that will help promote literacy and language skills in your child! Whether you love reading or not, there are many times during the day to play with words. Everyone who attends this event will receive a free book!

Please Pre-register by November 29th For more info or to register for this session, please contact Barbara at (603) 847-9070.

Supporting Language and Literacy Everday is offered by the NH State Parent Information and Resource Center (PIRC) PIRC offer workshops, publications, tip sheets and techinical assistance to parents, PTA/PTOs, schools, school districts and community organizations. For more information call 1-800-947-7005 or log on to www.pircnh.org

We will be discussing

The Floor of Heaven: A True Tale of the Last Frontier and the Yukon Gold Rush
by Howard Blum

Books may be borrowed from the library

This is a narrative history set before, during and just after the rush. Blum traces the lives of three storied men — a prospector, a cowboy turned Pinkerton detective and a notorious conman — whose fates intersected in an armed confrontation over a stash of gold in 1898. That incident comes fairly late in the book and could even be viewed as somewhat anticlimactic, but getting there is so much fun that it hardly matters. The face-off between Blum’s three principals in the harbor of Skagway, Alaska, is really just a pretext for spinning yarns about three remarkable American characters.

The Blue Cotton Gown
A Midwife’s Memoir      by Patricia Harman

Books may be borrowed from the library

Patricia Harman, a nurse-midwife, manages a women’s health clinic with her husband, Tom, an OB/GYN, in West Virginia-a practice where patients open their hearts, where they find care and sometimes refuge. Patsy’s memoir juxtaposes the tales of these women with her own story of keeping a small medical practice solvent and coping with personal challenges. The nurse-midwife tells of their lives over the course of a year and a quarter, a time when her outwardly successful practice is in deep financial trouble, when she is coping with malpractice threats, confronting her own serious medical problems, and fearing that her thirty-year marriage may be on the verge of collapse.

October 20, 2011: The Oxford English Dictionary “Word of the Day:

Nelson, n.¹

Jeanette Baker aka Jaybird

The Trails Committee of Moving in Step and the Conservation Commission invite the people of Nelson to an event to celebrate the opening of our first walking trail.

The event features a talk by Jeanette Baker on her Appalachian Trail Hike last year. The following afternoon there will be on a walk on the Old Road to Dublin, oldest documented road in Nelson. Mrs. Baker’s talk is at the Town Hall at 7PM, Friday October 21^st. The walk will take place Saturday the 22^nd at 1:45PM.

The Trails Committee has been working to layout and mark trails for the people in Nelson to be able to walk and appreciate the natural and cultural richness of our town. Detailed trail guides and maps will be available for these walks. The Old Road to Dublin is the first trail to be completed by the committee.

The trail is the original road connecting Nelson to Dublin and runs from the Hardy Hill Road in  Nelson to Cricket Hill Road in Harrisville. It was laid out in 1773. The Nelson Trails Committee has documented both historic sites and interesting things in the natural world. Rick Church and Al Stoops will be along to talk about the cellar holes (4) and the natural world along the trail.

In April, 2010, Jeanette Baker, long-time Hancock neighbor, laced up her sneakers, shouldered a backpack and embarked on a 5-month hike of the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine.  Along the way she encountered ever-changing terrain, weather, fellow hikers and creatures of the wild.  Join us to hear stories of her adventures, including how she planned and prepared for her journey.  Her delightfully captivating one-hour oration will be followed by her answers to your questions.

The walk is a 2 ½ mile round trip and should take less than two hours.  To join the walk, meet in the Village at 1:45 PM on Saturday the 22^nd. The walk will leave promptly at 2PM. The rain date is Sunday the 23rd at the same time.

Jeanette Baker aka Jaybird

The Trails Committee of Moving in Step and the Conservation Commission invite the people of Nelson to an event to celebrate the opening of our first walking trail.

The event features a talk by Jeanette Baker on her Appalachian Trail Hike last year. The following afternoon there will be on a walk on the Old Road to Dublin, oldest documented road in Nelson. Mrs. Baker’s talk is at the Town Hall at 7PM, Friday October 21^st. The walk will take place Saturday the 22^nd at 1:45PM.

The Trails Committee has been working to layout and mark trails for the people in Nelson to be able to walk and appreciate the natural and cultural richness of our town. Detailed trail guides and maps will be available for these walks. The Old Road to Dublin is the first trail to be completed by the committee.

The trail is the original road connecting Nelson to Dublin and runs from the Hardy Hill Road in  Nelson to Cricket Hill Road in Harrisville. It was laid out in 1773. The Nelson Trails Committee has documented both historic sites and interesting things in the natural world. Rick Church and Al Stoops will be along to talk about the cellar holes (4) and the natural world along the trail.

In April, 2010, Jeanette Baker, long-time Hancock neighbor, laced up her sneakers, shouldered a backpack and embarked on a 5-month hike of the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine.  Along the way she encountered ever-changing terrain, weather, fellow hikers and creatures of the wild.  Join us to hear stories of her adventures, including how she planned and prepared for her journey.  Her delightfully captivating one-hour oration will be followed by her answers to your questions.

The walk is a 2 ½ mile round trip and should take less than two hours.  To join the walk, meet in the Village at 1:45PM on Saturday the 22^nd. The walk will leave promptly at 2PM. The rain date is Sunday the 23rd at the same time.

Little Princes

by Conor Grennan

In search of adventure, 29-year-old Conor Grennan traded his day job for a year-long trip around the globe, a journey that began with a three-month stint volunteering at the Little Princes Orphanage in war-torn Nepal. But what began as a lark became a passionate commitment that would transform the young American and the lives of countless others.

Books may be borrowed from the library