The Raft

Almost 25 years ago Toby, with Sam's help, built our Chocorua raft.  Here are the launching photos:

The tractor and trailer with raft and giant blue prune juice containers to float the raft.

Cast of launchers:  Sam, Carolyn Garner, Rachel, Rebecca Regan, Toby, and in the back Mathew, Alan and Carol Phenix.

The confident tractor driver, Sam, taking us all down to the launching site.

 

In the water--hurray!

And now--

a little sad but probably necessary--the raft is so big and heavy and hard to move from the shore to the lake in the spring  and back in the fall.

We paddled it down to the old launching site with the help of Alan and his dog Chaz,

tied it to a big oak tree to be taken up by it's new owners, our neighbors down the road,

and said a little good-by.  

We hope to have a smaller, lighter raft built for us next summer.

Moon Over Chocorua

Okay, if a moose, a snake and a turtle egg don't move you,

surely you'll love this slightly hazy photo taken of a harvest moon over the lake a few nights ago.

Creatures Great and Small 

 

Starting with small, really small, well--still in the shell.

 

 

 

Snapping turtle eggs, found while planting a large hydrangea on the slope near the basement door.  Amazing that the mom turtle waddled all the way uphill to lay her eggs.  Even more amazing to think the babes could get down to the lake.

 

 

 

 

Quite small milk snake simply looking for warmth in our dining room--Toby took him/her out.  Please don't use our house as a haven.

 

To large, really large---

 

Late yesterday afternoon Ned knocked on our door to say that there was a huge bull moose with a large rack (antlers) quite close to the path to the lake.

 

 

 

 

We went down 

 

 

and stood very close to him, got these photos, 

 

 

 

but when he started to turn around I was out of there.

While on our Short Trip to Burbank

we got a chance to walk Maddie (and doll) to school, a short 4 blocks from their home

and loll around just a little bit with the family--Sam, Toby and Max intent on something on TV--was it a hockey game?

And pat the elusive Oscar who comes out at night to sit on Sam's lap.

Getting Out West

 

 

 

Here's Rachel driving the red Prius, but it's actually David whose driving it out to Burbank for us. Rachel and the kids are back in Gamboa and David's on the road, hopefully enjoying a solitary drive across the country.

 

 

Toby and I flew out to Burbank right after Rachel and her clan left to welcome Skip in his huge truck bringing our furniture.

 

 

 

An early pic of our little house--which now has red trim (it seems to be beyond my computer abilities to transfer a current photo to this blog site).

 

 

 

The table Ned made for us,

 

 

 

Barrington living room transferred to Burbank,

 

 

 

and a crew landscaping the back yard with my studio in the back.

We're back in Chocorua now--will settle into our western house for the winter at the end of November.

Celebrations!

 

 

Rachel's 40th--Gwen put every candle in the box on the cake but they all went out in one blow.  Wonderful to be able to celebrate Rachel's special day all together.

 

 

 

Another picnic on the dock--in fancy dresses.

 

 

 

And more dress-up while packing up. 

Great visit Page/Bethels--we're so glad you came!