A violent wind storm last night brought down trees and power lines across the state. After making sure we had not sustained any damage, I headed over to our new house to ensure the same. On the way, I had to turn around and seek a detour to avoid this fallen tree which was blocking the road. Fortunately, the new house was also free of any damage although I did find a woodpecker making a meal of one of the eaves. Whatever stress was induced by the storm was reversed by finalizing the Purchase & Sale Agreement for the sale of our home. Until such a contract is executed, there is very little binding the deal, making all future planning somewhat tenuous. We are very excited about the family that will live here next. They have three children, 6, 4, and 2. Their only daughter is named Maya and my bet is that she will wind up in our Maya’s old bedroom.

Normally, when I use my drone for landscape photography, it is from a rather significant altitude. It is, however, just as useful for taking low angle shots from places it would be hard to get to otherwise, say the middle of a river. I realize the one above appears to be very shallow but it was quite deep on the left side of the photo and I was standing on the left bank.

This afternoon, my team at Digital Alloys completed our first printed part for sale. A monumental milestone, for our tiny startup. This part will actually wind up in our museum. We have a second part right behind it which we hope to finish next week. Once it has been CT scanned (to ensure quality) it will be delivered to our customer. The part is made of H13 tool steel, weighs in at 2.5 pounds, and measures roughly 2.5 inches in each dimension.

Tomorrow our home will be inspected ahead of entering into a Purchase & Sale Agreement that will be binding. After the backyard view, I think I will miss my study the most. Jeanine calls it my cave which is an apt description since I keep the blinds closed and lights off to enhance image viewing on my computer. This is where I process all of my photos, write my blog, manage our finances, and plan my travels. I think it is one of the more elegant rooms in our home. The same was true of our last house, pictured below, with some of the same furniture.

My study in our new house will have a much less formal design but hopefully, retain the same cozy feeling.

Wolfeboro, NH claims to be the oldest summer resort in America. Over the years it became a popular summer colony, particularly for families from Boston and southern New Hampshire.  Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco, Kurt Vonnegut, Drew Barrymore, Jimmy Fallon, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have all vacationed here. Jeanine and I started our day with a takeout breakfast followed by a leisurely stroll along the town’s rail trail. In the town center, we looked over the local real estate listings and found one for a 55-acre mountain top parcel with commanding views of the area. Imagining our own Castle in the Clouds, we decided to visit the property on a whim. We were never quite able to locate it but did come across Camp Merrowvista, where all of our children came with their elementary school class.

For the remainder of the day, we worked our way north stopping for views of the Pemigewasset River and the covered bridges that span it. Eventually, we reached the Lost River Gorge where we warmed up with a hike on its Eco Trail before jumping on to the Appalachian Trail at Kinsman Notch (pictured below). In all my years of hiking, this was my first time on the AT and it left a very favorable impression. We made the steep hike up to the Cascades where we enjoyed a brief respite before starting back down the mountain and once in our car the journey home.

We are staying on a narrow causeway between Mirror Lake, pictured above at sunrise, and Lake Winnipesaukee. Our plan for the day was to climb Mount Major but we were quickly sidetracked with more immediate opportunities. We stopped briefly at the Abenaki Fire Watch Tower. Originally built in 1929 and standing 80 feet tall it offers a commanding view of Winnipesaukee and the Ossipee Mountains.

Shortly after departing the tower, we happened upon Castle in the Clouds where an antique car show was underway. There I noticed an early Triumph Spitfire, my first car, and had to pose with it for a photo.

Still early for admission to the estate, we hiked the Brook Walk trail taking us past seven waterfalls. The last and most spectacular is the Falls of Song, with a 40-foot vertical plunge.

By noon, we were ready for our tour of the main attraction. After earning his fortune in the shoe industry at the turn of the 20^th century, Tom Plant focused his attention on the Ossipee Mountains in Moultonborough. In 1913-1914, Tom and his wife Olive built a unique and stunning country estate, which they called Lucknow. The property spanned 6,300 acres and featured a 16-room Arts and Crafts mansion, stable and six-car garage, two gatehouses, a greenhouse, a golf course and tennis court, a man-made lake, a boathouse on Lake Winnipesaukee, and miles of carriage and bridle trails. For several years the Plants enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle at Lucknow, with state-of-the-art amenities, beautiful hand-made furnishings, and a large staff to run the estate.

Poor investments and a penchant for overspending left Plant penniless at his death but the residence he left behind stands testament to his ambition and vision. Our final stop for the day was the Grove at Chocorua Lake, an idyllic setting with lovely views in all directions.

On October 6th, Jeanine and I will celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. We had planned to take a couple of weeks off for a trip to Greece and Italy. That was before COVID-19. Instead, we left this morning for a long weekend in New Hampshire on Lake Winnipesaukee. We were greeted with the above message and a bottle of Champagne when we arrived at our lodging in Wolfesboro by mid-afternoon. Exhausted by life under COVID, our first priority was a long nap. Later, we dined in style at the recently opened New Woodshed, rebuilt on the site of the original Woodshed which burned to the ground. With very well-spaced tables, acrylic partitions, and a thirty-foot ceiling we felt pretty safe. Table bread is baked in flower pots which made for an interesting photograph. The meal was exceptional and our weekend was off to a very good start.

With the corn crop which grew behind our house this summer now harvested, the farmer who tends the land returned to till the earth in preparation for the next crop. We have no idea what it will be but my guess is grass for hay. Although we are very excited about the views we will have from our new home, we are certainly going to miss the ones we have enjoyed here for the last 17 years. Fortunately, we will be less than a mile away and will be able to look in from time to time.

A Concord family with three children and the need for a larger home learned by word of mouth that we were about to put our house on the market. The husband and wife came for a private showing, submitted an offer the same day, and we have accepted it. Until we sign the Purchase & Sale Agreement, it is not a done deal but all indications are that we have found our buyer.

Jeanine and I put the finishing touches on our house as we prepare to put it on the market. This morning, we met with the realtors who we worked with on our new house to decide if we will list with them or sell the house ourselves.

Nights are growing colder and the leaves are just starting to turn. This is without a doubt my favorite time of year. The farmer who tends the field behind our house was busy at work, tilling the soil in preparation for the next crop.

This evening, the family gathered to celebrate my 62nd birthday even though it does not actually arrive until Tuesday. In lieu of cake, Jeanine prepared my very favorite lemon ice using the same recipe from Civitello’s, the Italian bakery of my youth located in Schenectady, NY. Served inside the lemon skins from which it was made, the treat was exquisite.

We are very pleased with the way the refinished floor in our master bedroom turned out. Having waited for the finish to completely harden, today was the first time I could start to re-furnish the room. Even though I believe I have a buyer for our bed (it is too tall for our new house) on Craig’s List, I decided to reassemble it so that I could demonstrate how to take it apart when the buyer comes to pick it up. It also allowed me to take a proper photograph of it for posterity’s sake. Jeanine and I spent the rest of the day getting the house ready to put on the market.

It is really hard to surprise Jeanine. This evening, I took her out on a mystery date. Open-air dining at Bistro 781 in Waltham where they have closed Moody St. to traffic and all the restaurants there have set up tables outdoors. As we approached on foot after parking where we could, it was no feat of detective work to determine that we were going to have dinner al fresco. As we approached the restaurant, Jeanine asked me if we would be joining good friends, Tom and Karen Metzold for dinner. How could she possibly know this? Apparently, she pattern matched the last time we dined in this area with the time of year and made the correct prediction. Even though she ruined the surprise, it did not diminish the enjoyment we had catching up with my high school wrestling partner and long time friends.