“It feels kind of weird,” I said, barely one month into living in the Granite State. “It’s been me. It’s been who I am.”
She looked me in the eye and said, “You’re very brave.”
She was not the first to call me brave. She was not the last to say it, to write it in a card. But I was on autopilot since I received an inviting job offer a few days before Christmas. There was much to do.
The pandemic, I quickly learned, transformed an affordable real estate market in the Granite State to the Wild West of home buying or renting an apartment — the same story as the rest of the country: no inventory and skyrocketing prices. Still, no match for Ginger, my high school friend who was like an English pointer, doggedly scouring housing websites for me for weeks, until she reached a breakthrough and found a new listing. I needed a decent place to land. Check. Pet-friendly. Check.
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Over text, I was introduced to a future colleague who FaceTimed me during a walk-through so I could see the apartment. By Jan. 8, I was setting up the electric utility account for my apartment, situated between the Lakes Region and the gateway to the White Mountains.
It took awhile before I understood what that meant, the beauty, the majesty, the isolation.
Dodging New Hampshire snowstorms, I moved in on Jan.12, with a job-start date of the 15th.
I left the Garden State with a friend who lovingly packed a 12-foot trailer with several pieces of furniture that would make this one-bedroom galley apartment home. I left my childhood home in the hands of friends who would caretake the last place where my family had been a family and help offset the cost of expenses. I left my neighborhood with the tears and hugs of neighbors. I knew this house. I knew this town, this state, these roads. Eventually, living in the day-to-day of New Hampshire, when the boxes were unpacked and the furniture shaped a home, I came to realize that I left familiarity, and recognizing that held its own kind of emptiness.
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A driver approached a tree that had fallen in Chesterfield, N.H., after a snowstorm in January 2023.Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer via AP
There are things that my small and unpretentious wardrobe never imagined, like fleece-lined pants or NASA-technology down jackets. Their warmth and comfort do not eclipse my sense of what it must feel like to be an astronaut wearing a diaper. And the boots. Oh, the many boots.
Adjusting to winter seemed frivolous compared to driving an hour to shop at Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods. Two hours to Costco was like Christmas. I was shopping for familiar comforts. Some days, just deciding which boots to wear and leaving the apartment and getting on roads without cell service seemed brave. For this suburban kid who has always lived a stone’s throw away from Manhattan, driving on dirt and densely wooded roads is not natural.
And when mud season arrived, like the day I found myself unintentionally off-roading — seriously, some people do this for recreation? — itwas nothing short of terrifying. I have never seen mud tracks that were somewhere between six inches and “We’re sinking.”
Two bull moose faced off over rights to a patch of mud where they were feeding at Umbagog Wildlife Refuge in Wentworth Location, N.H., in May 2018.Robert F. Bukaty/Associated Press
Would the SOS button in my Subaru work? Would anyone find me if something happened? There was no place to turn. I understood one thing: Keep the car moving forward. It was time for X-mode, a feature that I had never before used but was willing to trust. It felt at once like I was an action figure clawing the earth and Captain Kirk commanding the Starship Enterprise. Oddly exhilarated and terrified, I steered the Subaru up over the mountain. Not bad for a flatlander. I felt something akin to courage.
As my days and months in New Hampshire pass — now just shy of eight months — there have been other mettle detectors, like the nine-hour drive home from what now plays like an adventure movie: Escape from the Eclipse. On the winding, wooded roads where I have learned to trust my companion, the British GPS man, my once-sheer panic is mostly a diluted nervousness. It lasts for a moment, while I mentally review whether I have water, coffee, or food in the car. But then I hear myself: We’re OK. Everything is OK. And I go back to listening to my book on tape. Or I see the sun filtering through the richly forested areas, the elegant, feathery ferns, the impressive rock walls, and I see the elements as the forces they are: self-assured, nonthreatening.
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Through snow or mist, the mountains — set against the greening of the trees, the painted clouds, and big sky — carry a nobility. Breathing in the expansive landscapes that brim with possibilities, I cannot help but feel that too. And the move that brought me, a writer, to live and work in this rural, sometimes remote area of New Hampshire has shown me that courage comes in bits and opportunities.
Sunflowers are my absolute FAVORITE flowers. I truly feel like they have magical uplifting abilities. Hence, why I’ve always kept fresh sunflowers in my house, brightening up my kitchen table or even my TV stand.
Obviously, it was a dream of mine to have my maternity photos taken in a sunflower field. They reflect sunshine and exude happiness.
Not to mention, one of my favorite quotes is about sunflowers! “Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow. It’s what sunflowers do.” Helen Keller
A beautiful reminder to keep an optimistic outlook on life and not dwell on the negative.
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So, you can imagine the joy I felt when I learned that New Hampshire had its very own Sunflower Festival at Coppal House Farm in Lee!
Coppal House Farm via FacebookCoppal House Farm via Facebook
About the Sunflower Festival:
During the summer, the farm transforms into a sea of golden blooms, giving visitors the chance to wander through thousands of sunflowers, snap photos, enjoy local food vendors, artisan crafts, listen to live music, and experience one of New Hampshire’s most beautiful summer traditions.
Other unique activities on the itinerary? Sip-n-snip! Guests can enjoy a cocktail or mocktail of their choice and cut their own fresh bouquet of flowers.
Coppal House Farm via FacebookCoppal House Farm via Facebook
Or maybe you’re a yoga fan? You can join a 60-minute sweat session from Lee, New Hampshire yoga instructors right in the heart of the flower field.
And because the farm grows oilseed sunflowers for culinary oil (which they harvest in the fall months), the flowers only stay at their peak for a brief window, making the festival a limited-time experience, according to the festival organizers…
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What makes this event even more special is the reason behind it. The festival started as a way to share the beauty of the sunflower fields, but it has grown into something much bigger. Organizers say the event has raised more than $90,000 for Make-A-Wish New Hampshire over the years and now shares a portion of its proceeds with several local nonprofit organizations serving the Seacoast community.
Anyone who knows me knows that paying it forward is something that’s incredibly important to me. It’s right up there with my love of sunflowers because both fill my cup in the best way. So, when I found out this festival celebrates my favorite flower and gives back to the community, I knew I had to share it.
Sunflower Festival Details:
This festival only runs from Saturday, July 25th until Sunday, August 2nd. You can get the full list of activities and more on the Coppal Farm website.
Daily Field Hours
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10:00 AM – 6:30 PM (last admission at 6PM because fields close at 6:30) Weekend Tickets (prepurchased online – day before) $12 per person ages 13 & older $10 per person ages 5-12 $10 per person Seniors (65+) & Military 4 yrs & under are always free Weekend Tickets (purchased day of – online or at farm): $16 per person ages 13 & older $14 per person ages 5-12 $14 per person Seniors (65+) & Military 4 yrs & under are always free includes: access to sunflower fields, craft fair, food vending area, tented shade area, picnic area, farm animals, & live music
Weekday Tickets (prepurchased online – day before) $8 per person ages 13 & older $6 per person ages 5-12 $6 per person Seniors (65+) & Military 4 yrs & under are always free
Weekday Tickets (purchased day of – online or at farm) $12 per person ages 13 & older $10 per person ages 5-12 $10 per person Seniors (65+) & Military 4 yrs & under are always free
What tickets include: Access to sunflower fields, food vending area, tented shade area, picnic area, and farm animals
READ MORE: A Classic Fairy Tale Comes To Life At Portsmouth’s Prescott Park This Summer
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This festival might just leave you smiling long after you leave the fields!
What Flowers Thrive in New England
See what flowers thrive in New England weather: Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.
Gallery Credit: Logan
14 of the Best New Hampshire Farms Offering Locally Grown Strawberries
14 of the Best New Hampshire Farms Offering PYO Strawberries
Ed. Note: If this was you and you are interested, please email [email protected] so I can put you in touch with OP.
“Dear PoPville,
I was biking home from a doctor appointment a little before noon on Friday, and stopped at a red light on New Hampshire & L st nw. There was a woman across the street who was looking fine in her dark blue (I think they were) scrubs. I might be crazy, but it felt like we kept checking each other out. By the third time,
if we were in a romcom, one of us would have waved. Sorry I didn’t, but if you are reading this and date men, reach out to the Prince if you are interested in that man on the bike. Have a great weekend!”
Ed. Note: If this is you, please email [email protected] so I can put you in touch with OP. PoPville is not affiliated with either party, please proceed with any potential connection at your own risk using caution as you would any online encounter. For those curious about past missed connections, many have been made and when possible I’ll try to update when/if more are made.
A New Hampshire motorcyclist who had been missing since the Fourth of July was found dead in Shelburne late Thursday night.
State police say they received a request from the Berlin Police Department just after 7:30 p.m. Thursday for help locating 41-year-old Wesley Grondin — the Berlin man was last seen riding his motorcycle on Saturday, July 4, and had been reported missing.
Troopers received a call a couple of hours later, around 10:10 p.m. Thursday, from a concerned resident who had been out looking for Grondin along Route 2 in Shelburne. The person told police they had found Grondin dead, along with his Harley Davidson.
According to state police, a preliminary investigation determined that Grondin was riding his Harley on Route 2 westbound in Shelburne when, for reasons that remain under investigation, he crossed over into the opposing lane, struck a post, and came to a final rest in the wood line.
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The crash is believed to have occurred just before midnight on July 4. At this time, police say there’s no indication that another vehicle or person was involved.
All aspects of the crash remain under investigation, however. Anyone with information that may assist investigators is asked to contact Trooper Hunter Newsham at Hunter.P.Newsham@dos.nh.gov.
