USA Today also has generated some additional media interest for the cause, including a few potential network appearances as we approach Veterans Day and the 500,000-made mark.  And here’s to our good buddy, Yuri Pride (pictured at right), who submitted a blurb that ran in the Hot Clicks column of SI.com, under “Charitable Efforts.”  (Very incidentally, you should know this about Yuri: Do not challenge him to a hand-in-the-snow/high-five contest, whereby you see who can outlast the other.  He will never lose.)  Can’t wait to see you again, Dr. Pride.

Most importantly, this week has brought us the kinds of messages that will sustain us as we approach, and then take on, the second half of this effort.  Here are a few of them:

I’m about to make my second trip to Afghanistan and it makes me feel a lot better about what I’m doing knowing we still have the support of our country.

As someone who cares deeply for a young man in harm’s way and who prays daily for his and his unit’s safety, I am grateful for your efforts to be mindful of those who are serving and sacrificing.

It is inspirational to me to see people doing their part to help raise awareness and funding to help take care of soldiers when they need it.

I would like to volunteer to help on or about Nov 6th, when I will be traveling in the NH area. My son Adam just deployed to Iraq yesterday for a year and my nephew Dennis gave the ultimate sacrifice while serving in Iraq in 2006.

As a retired veteran and father of two who are currently serving, I want to congratulate you on each dollar you raise and I pray that you reach your goals. A military service member stands a little taller when a stranger tells them how much they are appreciated.

As the mother of a brave and valiant Army Captain who lost a leg in Iraq, I would like to thank you for your special support of our brave troops and their families.

As an active duty service member, I wanted to say thank you. It means a great deal to have people like you thinking of us.

I’m well aware of the cynics out there (I mean you, “Beers for Troops” guy) who may say that sharing these excerpts is self-congratulatory, and that’s fine … but it’s missing the point.  While many of us, me included, know of these physical and emotional traumas only by reading the words (“ultimate sacrifice,” “pray daily for his and his unit’s safety,” “second trip to Afghanistan,” “lost a leg in Iraq”), thousands of soldiers and families are living them, with every waking breath.  Right now.

If you and I can make even a small difference to some of them — raising a few dollars, being mindful of their sacrifices, sending our prayers, just thinking of them — we’re at least doing something.

What we’re doing is collectively saying thank you.  That’s the point. 

For more on Hoops For Heroes, with a goal of 1 million made foul shots and $1 million raised for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, visit www.hoopsforheroes.com or contact Dave Cummings at 603-554-7855.

one of my pieces in the background, called “Cover,”  Virginia in her dress from Oaxaca, the earrings too,

getting paintings lined up  for the show at Waterville in two weeks

reading Shafak’s The Bastard of Istanbul

Organizing the BIG Picture!

When Kelly first came in to work with me things were quite WYLD to say the least!  I had committed to a series of telesummits and other speaking opportunities, had several trips planned and had an inbox overflowing with email as my business got a sudden shot in the arm from one of the summits I did about Sound Healing with Jennifer McLean for her Masterworks Community.

For most of the first 2 months that Kelly was working with me we were mostly in Jaguar Up the Tree mode (aka Fight or Flight) just trying to keep some semblance of order in the chaos as my little world went Pachacuti (Upside Down) and took a huge leap in growth and expansion.  When this happened of course much of what had been working (i.e. me doing a WHOLE LOT of administrivia) wasn’t working any more.  There was so much that I had to just admit that it was time for me to release and bring in others who could support the growth of the business and my own personal growth into another level of service to the business, to my clients and to myself.

I had to make the LEAP into LEADERSHIP!! My new favorite word is DELEGATE – and even though I have been delegating to my awesome team in Canada at BSETC for about 6 months when this happened I discovered SO MUCH MORE that I want other people to be doing now instead of me.  I’m grateful beyond words that I have been fortunate enough to attract some really great people to work with me on the “A” team and I’m especially grateful to Mikael Sami who stepped in shortly before my wrist break to co-facilitate the delivery of service that we are offering together through my Energy Journey site.

When the dust finally settled after returning from my many travels this spring – one day a few weeks ago Kelly and I actually had a few hours to look at ORGANIZING which of course is her specialty!  We tore apart the office – threw out a bunch of stuff and I was even inspired to paint over the builder white walls with a tri –color theme of beautiful FRESH AIRE paints from Home Depot in Sacred Soil, Canyon Pebble and Summer Dragonfly.

Prepping for Painting Office BEFORE Pic

One thing that I discovered in the organizing/clearing process was that there were two big areas in my business that were what we called “Hanging Blobs”.  They were the piles of papers and other assorted materials that make up my “Creative Ideas/Content/Commitments” stuff and my “Continuing Ed/Personal Development” stuff.

One project in the Creative Ideas pile was also a Commitment I had made at the beginning of the year to write a chapter for Volume #3 of Debbi Chambers’ Manifest Success series.  When I committed to this it was late January or early February and I thought NO PROBLEM – I can EASILY have this completed by June 1 if not beforehand.  Well THAT didn’t happen – because of course typing one-handed was reserved for only the most pressing of priorities.

Simplify! - Simply Beautiful - After Pic New Office Colors

So what happened was this chapter had taken on the energy and the density of a HANGING BLOB!!  When I finally sat down to make myself write it – it was May 31st – Memorial Day and I just really wanted to get it out of the way and out of my inbox.  I had a pretty poor attitude about it when I sat down to write to say the least!

Of course – the “upstairs” team was NOT going to let me get away with writing this chapter with THAT kind of energy attached to it – and so they sent me a few messages – first every time I typed out a paragraph or two I would somehow “accidently” push GOD KNOWS what button on my netbook and the whole (or a good part of) darn paragraph would vanish.  This happened at least three times before I finally called UNCLE and just stopped everything to get CLEAR, PRESENT and FOCUSED on what it was that I was being called to do in the moment.  Next thing you know – who shows up and plants herself right on my folder of papers??? A big ole fat MAMA BUMBLE BEE.

There she sat – looking RIGHT at me…… Then what do you know – she started to actually RUB HER HANDS TOGETHER as if she was getting ready to give me a good talking to!  I got that all right – the core essence of the message was WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING??? How DARE you sit out here on the porch on this BEAUTIFUL CLEAR SUNSHINY DAY with THAT attitude!! Get your self TOGETHER GIRL and REMEMBER WHY YOU ARE HERE and WHAT IT IS YOU ARE HERE TO TRANSMIT.  IT’S CERTAINLY NOT THIS JUNKY ATTITUDE – BY GOD GIRL YOU ARE WRITING FOR A SUCCESS BOOK OF ALL THINGS – AND ABOUT THE ENERGY YOU TRANSMIT BEING THE ABSOLUTE KEY TO YOUR SUCCESS – EXACTLY WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING???

Busy Bee

(MAMA Bee can be VERY Forthright and Confronting – not a bad ally to have when one needs a good talking to!)

She adjusted my attitude and my energy BIG TIME and of course the story itself became a teaching tool in my chapter!  Here’s what I had to do to make the shift:

I LET GO!!

I Let go of my resentment towards myself.  I Let Go of the Time Pressure I was putting myself under.  I Let GO of the investment that I had made in becoming a co-creator with Debbi and the other authors in this book.  I LET GO of the thoughts that I had about what I SHOULD be writing.  I LET GO of expecting that this particular piece of work was going to be bringing ME something.  I LET GO of HAVING to do it.  I just flat out surrendered right then and there.

What do you know – within moments my channel was CLEAR!! I began to RECEIVE!! Mama BEE was there to HELP and TOGETHER we co-created that chapter and EXACTLY ON TIME too!  I sent it off to Debbi by email later that day – haven’t even heard back from her yet as to whether it was received, accepted, approved, when and whether the book is moving forward and you know what??? It DOESN’T matter.  In the end – the whole experience served me (and I hope YOU) much more in the present moment than I ever expected – Funny how that works isn’t it?

So What about YOU???

Where can you let go of the “hanging blobs”? Are your actions in alignment with your intentions? Are you struggling or is your work easy and fun? Have you decided that there is an area of your work or your life where you need help, coaching, mentorship? Do you have positive allies in your life like the Mama Bee who will show up and give you a gentle yet powerful kick in the butt when you need an attitude adjustment? Can you take care of yourself better in any way? How are you expending your energy? How can you save, conserve or concentrate your energy? Are you all over the place or are you focused on what it is you truly desire to be creating? Do you know what it is you want? Have you already accomplished many of your goals and now you are in the ‘waiting’ room not clear on what is next for you? Can you allow yourself the time and the space to stop all the activity for a change and just beeee? Is there some aspect of the “way things are” that just doesn’t sit right with you in the larger world that you can devote your time and talents to?

I would so love to hear your thoughts and comments – please share!

Love lights us… Peace is in you!

Amethyst

I Want a PEA!

PS:  PEAS are being harvested now!  If you are ready for a PERSONAL ENERGY ASSESSMENT – please apply for the opportunity to receive from either myself or my colleague Mikael Sami who assists me in these assessments when there are a lot of applications!

Interview with Freestyle legend Wayne Wong at Alpine Meadows lodge. Here he talks about the run that earned him 3rd place at the historic Waterville Valley event 1971. The entire interview runs just under 25 minutes.

The snippet of Wayne’s interview is raw footage. I’ve only removed the audio track from my shotgun mic and used the lav. audio. There were others in the lodge so some background noise is heard. I used a single 1000 watt Tota light, diffused with an umbrella. My brother Cody was the P.A. that day. Wayne talks about developing his bag of tricks, early influences, the 1st Waterville Competition, why freestyle was so popular, the early competitions, and the spirit of Hot Dog skiing.

Martin Griff photo.

When I arrived in New Hampshire to ski last week, the car outdoor thermometer read 58 degrees. And, it was raining.

“Is this fair?” I kvetched to myself.

Out west,
Whistler had six feet of snow in a week
Tahoe just reported three feet of new
Training runs for the World Cup at Beaver Creek had to be postponed because of—you guessed it—too much snow.

And, here we were in the East ready to play golf.

Yes, things have changed radically in the last week. The cold weather came along, snow making began in earnest, and some New England ski resorts reaped more than a foot of snow.

But wait. I’m headed, with Phil and his wife Brigitte, to the Adirondacks’ Gore Mountain this weekend, where the forecast calls for low temperatures of 9, and highs of 20 or so.

Is this fair?

No.

But, then again, the weather gods have never been fair. Sometimes they’re kind. But never are they fair.

Why is that?

I don’t have that problem anywhere else in New England. Not in Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island or ever Maine, which is vast and, in some places, virtually unexplored.

And, I drive to New England a lot. Including New Hampshire. To ski mostly. But, in summer, I find myself up here to hike, play golf, or do the myriad other activities offered by the mountains the coast, and the resorts.

So, how come I never have a sense of knowing where I am?

Take yesterday, for instance. I drove to Waterville Valley. No traffic to speak of, excellent driving weather. I chose a route through Hartford, then north on I-91 through Springfield, Mass., and up to White River Junction, Vt.

Fine to that point.

Then it was east on a series of numbered roads til I was supposed to reach I-93, on which I was to travel two exits north.

I did all that. But, by the time I reached I-93, I had no confidence that I was in the right place or driving in the correct direction. I was traveling on faith.

Sure, I got here in the end. Still, what is it about New Hampshire that engenders this state of confusion? Forget “Live Free & Die”; for me, it’s “Live Free & Feel Lost.”

– Mitch Kaplan

This info came from,  Foliage Drives: www.visitnh.gov

White Mountains

A MULTI-NOTCH MOUNTAIN RIDE (approx. 142 miles)
This loop has several variations. From Conway, turn west on Rt. 112, the Kancamagus Highway (locals call it the Kanc), which offers 37 miles of stunning mountain scenery through the White Mountain National Forest.
In Lincoln, you can either turn north onto I-93 through Franconia Notch State Park and its soaring mountain peaks, then onto Rt. 3 to Twin Mountain and the junction with Rt. 302 OR you can continue west on Rt. 112 through Kinsman Notch to Rt. 302, which heads to Bath, Lisbon, Littleton, Bethlehem, Twin Mountain and Bretton Woods, home of the Mount Washington Hotel .
Rt. 302 continues east through Crawford Notch and past some of the most spectacular scenery in the East. In Bartlett, you can turn south on Bear Notch Road, a seasonal road that connects to the Kancamagus Highway west of Conway ; or you can join Rt. 16 in Glen and follow it back to your starting point in Conway.
If you turn north on Rt. 16 in Glen , you’ll go through Pinkham Notch , past the Mt. Washington Auto Road the Ride to the Sky to Gorham and the Great North Woods Ride. 

Scenic Byways,

 Kancamagus Highway
 Rte. 112, Conway to Lincoln. Part of the White Mountains Trail. Passes through the White Mountain National Forest. Colonial history and forest ecology experiences offered along the way at the Russell Colbath Historic Site and Forest Discovery Trail.

Presidential Range Tour: 
Rte. 116, Littleton to Whitefield, then Rte. 3 to Lancaster to Rte. 2 E to Gorham, then Rte. 16 S to Glen, Rte. 302 W to Littleton.  Four state parks, numerous scenic vistas and historic villages.
River Heritage Tour:  
Rte. 3, North Woodstock to Rte. 175 to Waterville Valley, then Plymouth Rte. 25 and 25C to Warren and Piermont, then Rte. 10 to Haverhill to Rte. 135 and Woodsville to Rte. 112 to North Woodstock. Superb views, river recreation, agricultural heritage, period architecture. White Mountain Trail Make a loop along the Kancamagus Highway to Rte. 16N to Glen and Rte. 302 West to Rte. 3 South to I-93, the Franconia Notch Parkway to Kancamagus Highway. Views include Mount Washington, Mount Washington Resort, mountain cascades, wildlife and the Appalachian Trail.
White Mountain Trail
, The White Mountain Trail is a 100-mile route offering rugged mountain scenery, three historic “notches,” 7 covered bridges, roadside waterfalls, 32 scenic outlooks and historic and interpretive sites. The trail loops from Rte. 302 to 16, 3, I-93 and 112.
Great North Woods

GREAT NORTH WOODS RIDE (approx. 120 miles)
Less populated, with many opportunities to see wildlife including moose, black bear and deer this section of New Hampshire is a must-see for nature lovers. From Gorham, go north on Rt. 16 to Berlin, a historic mill city.

Here you can start a loop by continuing on Rt. 16 through Milan and the beautiful Thirteen Mile Woods to Errol, where you’ll turn west on Rt. 26 through Dixville Notch, past the famous Balsams Resort, to Colebrook; this stretch is curvaceous and spectacularly scenic.  At Colebrook, turn south on Rt. 3 and stop at the Shrine of our Lady of Grace ; then continue, following the winding Connecticut River.  In Groveton, turn east on Rt. 110 to Stark, famous for its picture-perfect covered bridge, and back to Berlin.
Mahoosuc Touring Map:  

Also located in the Great North Woods is the Mahoosuc region, which stretches from the White Mountain National Forest and Nash Stream State Forest in eastern New Hampshire to the lakes and high peaks of Maine’s Western Mountains.  

The Mahoosuc Initiative has published a touring map and guide to the Mahoosuc region: Spectacular Scenic Touring Loop in the Mahoosucs: 100-mile Adventure in NH and ME. It includes a full listing of area visitor services, Chambers of Commerce, natural and historic areas, forests and parks, trails, campgrounds, outfitters, 4-season recreation areas, and other businesses of interest to visitors.

Scenic Byways

Connecticut River Byway:  
This byway begins at Fourth Connecticut Lake near the Canadian border and follows the river the length of the western border of New Hampshire. Experience history, tradition, farming heritage and natural beauty.
Moose Path Trail:  
Rte. 16 north from Gorham to Errol; Rte. 26 to Dixville Notch to Rte. 3 north to Pittsburg. This wilderness byway is ideal for the outdoor enthusiast.
Woodland Heritage Trail:  
U.S. 3, Lancaster to Northumberland; Rte. 110 to Stark to NH 110A to Rte. 110B, Milan; Rte. 16 south to Berlin and Gorham; Rte. 2 west to Lancaster. Circles the northern most section of the White Mountain National Forest.

Blue Boar Waterville 09

Blue Boar Hellhockey, America’s favorite D level men’s hockey squad, entered the Waterville C level tournament and got pounded.  ”They always say you learn more by playing with guys who are better than you, well, we got like a Masters Degree at this tourney…” quipped emotional leader, Paul Clark(e).

On Friday, Blue Boar skated well with Slightly Impared, a small defensive lapse in the second period sunk the Boar as they fell 6-2.  On Saturday, the morning game vs. Double D’s was close, before another second period collapse put the Boar deep in a hole.  Newly acquired goalie, Jim “Smitty” Smith made tremendous saves, including the best ever Blue Boar save at the blue line.  Despite the heroics, Blue Boar lost 7-2.  In the nightcap, old nemisis Goat Bar was determined to destroy Blue Boar. The crowd tried to rally the hellhockey team with their “2005!” chants, but Goat Bar, who had been building this team with this game in mind for four years, was just too strong.  Even Clark(e)’s Spartan Gladiator sandals were not enough to thwart the Goat Bar assault.  Blue Boar suffered its first shutout in three years, losing 9-0.

Relive the action by watching the official tourney highlight video below… featuring “Clark(e)’s Corner!

oomph

The Blue Boar Hellhockey Legions will descend upon Waterville Valley once again for the summer Hockey Academy tourney.  Action starts Friday night with a test against slightly impared.  Then on Saturday, Blue Boar takes on Double D’s before a run-in with Waterville arch-nemesis Goat Bar.  Check this site on Sunday for a complete Tourney recap.

My first ski trip in twelve years, my boyfriend, our two friends and I all went to Waterville Valley for the day. I’m not going to lie, I was pretty terrified! As for my boyfriend, it was his second time skiing and he had never taken a single lesson. The day at Waterville was tough, we both struggled gaining our balance and turning properly. That’s nothing that a quick beer break couldn’t cure! We were able to finish the day with smiles on our faces. We were both proud that we struggled through the challenges and developed comfort and refined skills out on the slopes!

Our second ski weekend we went up to Sunday River in Bethel, Maine over Presidents Day Weekend. We were excited to try out a larger mountain that had a wide variety of easier trails, instead of just a few short runs. Sadly, the wind was so fierce that most of the lifts were closed, so we decided to explore the Bethel, Maine area and relax. When we finally got to the mountain, we had to deal with trails thickly settled with families whizzing past us, and an abundance of ice. We felt like we were back to square one! We struggled through a few long runs, and then got into our groove. Sadly, we had to leave the mountain at 1pm so we could get back to Boston for plans we had that evening. Overall, it was a great trip, but we longed for better weather!

Our latest trip was to Killington Mountain, in Killington, Vermont. We went up for the day, and skied from 10am to 3:30pm-it was an absolute blast! The conditions were extremely icy, with golfball sized ice balls sprinkled all over the trails. Despite the fact that we had to ski on ice, it was a beautiful day and it was wonderful to challenge ourselves on some more difficult terrain and conditions. During the last run of the day I looked back to my boyfriend and said “Foxy, we’re REAL skiers now!”

Skiing will never compare to running or swimming, but it feels great to just get outside and see the sun during these long winter months! It makes me look towards winter snow storms and think “Wow, I wish I were skiing!” Instead of, “great, now I have to trudge to work in this stuff”

This weekend was a good one. Full of relaxation, friends, family, and fun. I should think of a synonym for “relaxation” that starts with the letter “f.”

Friday, the BF had to work, so I just vegged out. I read a whole bunch and just relaxed, and went to bed early, so it was nice.

Saturday, the BF and I went to my aunt & uncle’s house for brunch for Nana’s birthday. It was great to see extended family that I don’t get to see very often. I love brunch, too, so that was a big plus. After that, we went to the BF’s mom’s house to move some stuff and so he could help her mount her new TV, then he went to work. I decided I wanted to get my GPS (have been wanting one since before Christmas, but just told people I wanted one for my birthday), so I started driving. Went to Radio Shack, BJ’s, Circuit City, and Best Buy. I have one thing to say: what recession? Everywhere I went, the parking lots were packed! Hmph. I didn’t find the one I wanted, either.

My cousins and I had tentatively planned a girls’ night out for Saturday, but it fell through at the last minute (mostly because I kept forgetting to send the e-mail). One of my cousins didn’t have plans, though, so she came up and we went to a martini bar near my apartment called Venetian Moon. We were able to find seats at the bar with some help from a guy the BF played soccer with in high school, and we settled in for some cocktails and appetizers. She got a pomegranate martini and I got a peach martini, then we both had  Soli Blueberi with ginger ales. We split a grilled zucchini with mozzarella and prosciutto appetizer and bruschetta. The zucchini was definitely better! It was really nice to be able to just sit and chat with her, since we’re usually surrounded by the other 9 cousins and their respective parents, all of whom are accomplished at the Irish Whisper… essentially shouting conversations.

On Sunday, the BF and I woke early to head to NH skiing. We met up with his friend from college and his girlfriend at their house, then continued north to Waterville Valley. Tip: order your tickets online 48 hours in advance, and you can ski for $10 less! We were nervous about the weather (started raining near the mountain), but everything turned out fine. I made it down one of the black diamond runs (the second EVER!) in one piece, and was even coerced into the top half of a double black diamond! I made it through that part without event, but then got too scared to do the rest, and moseyed across to another trail.

After skiing, the BF and I decided to head to Texas Roadhouse in Methuen. He’d been raving about it for years, and I finally caved, since it was on the way, and he heard an ad on the radio, saying that if you showed a lift ticket, you could get a free appetizer with two entrees. Score! Unfortunately, we found out when we got there that particular special only applies to the Everett location. D’oh! We stayed anyway, and enjoyed some delicious Sam Adams White Ale, the spring seasonal. I’m so excited it’s finally out– now I’m going to have to go buy a whole bunch… yummm!

Anyway, the service during the meal was so-so, partly because the server was triple-sat in short order. He also seemed to have an issue with his table/time management skills. After eating roughly 7 tons of peanuts while we were waiting, then two of the fabulous sweet rolls, I was pretty much full. Instead of sitting dinner out, I ordered pulled pork with applesauce and steak fries (yummmmmmmmmmm). I had about 5 bites of the pork, a couple of fries, and all of the applesauce, but I was stuffed, so I decided to box it up for lunch today. The BF finished his meal, and we headed out to the parking lot. Lo and behold, I realized I forgot the leftovers on the table! I ran back inside, only to see the server and the busser standing at the table, wiping it down. I asked if the leftovers were still there, and they both apologized and said they’d already been cleared. Man! The server saw the look on my face (probably one close to devastation), and said that he’d see what he could do. A few minutes later, he came out of the kitchen with a fresh serving of pork and fries! For free!

And so in a short period of time, Texas Roadhouse redeemed its initial reaction of “slightly overrated but good” to “outstanding service, definitely worth a try.” So easy!

Then the BF and I watched Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, rented from the Redbox in our Stop & Shop. I loved it– thought it was hilarious! The BF, though he was cracking up throughout the whole movie, said he thought it was just ok. I think he was lying.

Well folks, this is it! Peak foliage in the Great North Woods area of Northern New Hampshire!

The colors have been moving fast. As of last week, the Buck Rub Pub were telling me that foliage color was at 75% in the Pittsburg area. Today, Dennis Bisson, of Berlin tells me that foliage in Berlin is at peak, which puts all to the Great North Woods at peak foliage.

Speaking today, to Pete Henden, of Peter Henden Carpentry in Dalton, Pete said that the foliage in Lancaster, Whitefield, Jefferson and Dalton surrounding areas are just at peak, approx. 90% and moving fast.

Here in the White Mountain Region, Littleton, Bethlehem, Franaconia, Sugar Hill and surrounding the Franconia Notch State Park, our foliage is also at 90%!

Honestly, it is an incredible blanket of color! Every hill, mountain, back road and riverbank are absolutely beaming with color. I’ve mentioned in my past posts that the color this year is the most beautiful that I’ve seen in many years. I mention it again as I feel that I can’t find enough words to describe this magnificence.

Lincoln, Woodstock, Crawford Notch, Waterville Valley foliage colors are moving along very nicely, some higher areas are showing close to peak while most other areas are showing about 50%. Blazing color that is carpeting every mountain, hill and valley. Peak isn’t expected until Columbus Day Weekend, October 11-12 or a bit after.

Yesterday I travelled from Littleton through Lisbon, Landaff, Bath and Woodsville, the colors have picked up dramatically but still much further to go. Some of the lower hills were covered with a patchwork of color to the top but most other areas are still showing some green. I’d say they are at about 75% color.

The Lakes Region is just beginning, all those yellows, oranges, reds and pinks are starting to show brightly. Much more time to enjoy the colors as they continue to move across hills and valleys.

It’s a gray day today, we had a good amount of heavy rain yesterday so the streets and lawns have a scattering of leaves and color. Surprisingly, not many leaves have come down off the trees, this is good news!

The rest of the week is calling for partly sunny/cloudy days, cool nights around 40. Some scattered showers or chance of showers. When I read that about the showers, it doesn’t usually amount to anything significant. It usually turns out to be a scattered shower here or there or nothing at all.
Rain or shine, this year’s foliage is a brilliant, striking display of color.

As always, you are welcome to email me your photos of your foliage adventure at:  info@northernnh.com

Here are some photos taken yesterday during the rain. You will be able to see that some are dark while others are bright. One photo of the maple tree is from the Sugar Hill / Lisbon area all the other photos are from Pearl Lake, Lisbon, taken just minutes apart, different sides of the lake, to give you the perspective you need to see, foliage on a day of heavy rain.  Remember to double click to see the larger photos!

Pearl Lake, Lisbon - Rainy Day Foliage

Rainy Day at Pearl Lake, Lisbon - Fall Foliage

Garnet Hill - Other Side of Pearl Lake - Rainy Day Foliage

Maple Tree-Sugar Hill-Lisbon-Rainy Day Foliage

The foliage in Northern New Hampshire is moving along at a great pace.  The cool frosty nights have accelerated the depth of the changing colors.  The days have been sunny and warm, perfect fall weather!

The Great North Woods is really close to peak, colors are vibrant and deep, in Errol, Dummer and the far reaches of NH. Carla Lapierre of Gateway Gallery & Gifts in Gorham, NH, tells me that the colors are coming along nicely along the rivers in particular. The Androscoggin through Berlin is quite lovely.
The reds can be seen through the green cover of the leaves which should be close to peak by this time next week.
Dennis Bisson said that Berlin is at 70% color, with vibrant reds, oranges, yellows, and bright pinks. Gorham which is just below Berlin is close to 70% in color, just beautiful!

In the White Mountains our foliage is at a good 50%, unbelievable vibrancy! I’m just amazed at how the rivers are transformed by these colors, as if it’s the first time that I’ve looked at these rivers and trees.
Here just above the Franconia Notch is the most amazing display of vibrant colors that I’ve seen in years! These colors are just breathtaking from Franconia and Sugar Hill, north to Littleton moving into Bethlehem and Whitefield, deep reds, light reds and fire reds. Blazing yellows, golds, orange to hot orange-pink!

The Waterville Valley Region seems to be well-developed with reds and pinks. Moving up to the Mount Washington Valley the Presidential Range is showing about 30% with reds and oranges.

Moving below to the Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee Region the colors are moving along nicely with reds, oranges, yellows and greens, still much time to reach peak!

The Lakes Region is also moving along with deep reds, on the maples. Oranges and yellows along the Mount Ossipee Range is a beautiful blanket of patchwork colors.

I just have to laugh at myself as I drive along and see all these vibrant colors, I stop and think, OMG! look at those colors! I pull out my camera and snap some pics. I am just blown away by the vibrant fire reds! I drive on and see another fire red, stop and think, OMG! look at those colors! and take another picture! I do this with every different color. Just yesterday I realized that I now how many pics of reds, oranges, etc, that I do this every year!  It’s as if each tree has a more beautiful color! Some of these pictures have the same vibrant colors as the last picture, I’ve decided that it’s alright to do this as I’m enjoying myself immensely. Living the good life in the north country!

I’m back, it’s early evening. I just had to tell you about my newest experience.

I’ve just come back from running errands in Littleton, Franconia, Sugar Hill and Lisbon. It started to rain today and I thought “oh, this is terrible as the foliage will look dull”, not so! I’m just blown away by how vibrant the color of the leaves are in spite of the gray, rainy day! I can’t be sure which was more vibrant, sunny or rainy! This is a spectacular foliage season here in Northern NH, I haven’t seen the colors this vibrant in years. I couldn’t believe the palette of colors! Yellows that range from bright yellow to yellow with red, with pink, orange, gold, green, salmon; it’s the same with all the colors, an array of colorful mixtures along with the blazing hots!  I can’t believe that I didn’t have my camera with me, so bummed.

I should also tell you that yesterday I was driving down one of the dirt roads in Franconia and a fox ran out in front of my car, running right down the middle of the road until he finally turned left into the woods. Then at a friends house, there was a grouse on the lawn, I took his pic, he looked at me and started to puff up and sing his put, put, put mating song; I changed over to movie mode and the sound of the camera made him fly away. I’ll add the pic but it didn’t come out that great.

Today on my travels I saw a wild turkey with her three young ones. I guess even the wild life is enjoying the foliage and good weather.

Grouse in Sugar Hill

If your coming to visit Northern NH, don’t be put off by any rain, this is just too good to miss!

Here are some photos for you, double click to enlarge!

Birch Tree Fall Foliage

Firey Fall Foliage

Orange-Pink FoliageTurtle Ridge Orgainc Farm, Sugar Hill, NH

Sugar Hill Foliage Along Stone Wall

Coffin Pond Foliage

Cannon Mt. Early Foliage

This weekend after an amazing service, the lead team at Fellowship Church headed North to Waterville Valley, NH.  I was excited to get away from home even for a night. 

On Sunday afternoon we had some free time.  Some napped, some read, some swam, other went for a walk.  We just relaxed.  We got together around 7:00 and ate and fellow shipped.  We had a time of prayer and focusing then we played.  The nerds played Boggle, the Geeks played on there computers.  I played on my laptop changing and customizing themes.   After that we played a few rounds of “imagine if” (this is a great game to see what others really think about you.) then headed off to bed.

The next morning the Guys woke up early and headed into a “meeting.”  I put that in quotes because it was less a meeting and more a dream session.  We were all allowed a time to dream out loud for our ministries.  We shared our goals, or ideas, our hopes.  It was great to hear from Al, Jeff, Marty, and Steve, what God is laying on there hearts for there areas of ministry, and to see what it may look like in the future. 

It was equally as great to share what God is doing in me and in my ministry.  To make clear what direction my teams are headed, and how I see them aiding in the mission of Fellowship Church “To lead people in a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.” 

After a short break we were lead in a time of training (ironically) on training.  Derek (no blog or twitter… yet) did a great job of imparting wisdom from his years in the business world.  I loved every word he spoke.  And was in awe of his knack for hearing what every person was saying no matter how poorly we were conveying our dreams.

SIDE NOTE: Isn’t it funny and a little cool when your dreams are so big and wide that your words actually fail them?  I know I was only able to impart a small part of the grand image of my dream.  The smaller subtle nuances (some would argue the important pieces) were lost in the vastness of the dream.

After our meeting we met back up with our wives and (at least for me) spent some nice quality time just one on one with each other.

I know our wives had a great time of sharing and community building as well.  Unfortunately my wife didn’t share details.  But she did say it was great and she feels closer to all the wives as a result.

So, that’s what has me pumped.  What has you pumped?

Billy

Just to kick off the snowboard season, my homeboy Nick and I headed up to New England shred hot spot, Waterville Valley in New Hampshire. It was a pretty damn cold day, glad I was rocking my Burton down, thanks to my lady for hookin that up. I’ve gotta say and Im sure you’ve heard it before, Burton really does make some solid products. If you have the green, I recommended the Burton down jacket, uber waterproof, and ridiculously warm. I often just wear a t-shirts and just the jacket.

I think it’s really a great thing when I see more and more younger riders really being able to excel in the sport. Some of you may have heard of Waterville Academy (http://www.wvbbts.org/wva/index.html). They’ve really had a hand in pumping out some serious riders. They pretty much take over the hill and it’s a great vibe.

When I was younger, I almost went to the Carrabassett Valley Academy (http://www.gocva.com/snowboard.asp) in Maine. But, unfortunately leaving all of my friends and helping my parents round up a truck load of cash for tuition, really isn’t the easiest thing to do when you’re 15.

Long live the shred.

This was just the first day of a great trip. We had about 25 people or so, only two of which skied from my memory, and we just rode all day and partied all night. There was salt being poured over people’s heads and massive amounts of alcohol consumed – my heart is still pumping fast from all the Red Bull and vodkas. WICed Fun time!!!