Awaiting Spring

Even though Friday officially marked the beginning of Spring, the sun is higher in the horizon and the days are longer; the temperature, wind and frozen ground still feel very much like winter here in northern New England. In spite of Mother Nature not wanting to let go of winter, I have been making the best of it, by continuing to partake in cold weather activities; and by using these transitional weeks to attend some presentations and workshops.

Cross Country Skiing is one of my favorite winter activities and this March there was still plenty of good snow to enjoy.

In February, I learned about the devastation of the Emerald Ash Borer through a workshop sponsored by the NH Association of Conservation Commissions (see previous post The Emerald Ash Borer has Reached New Hampshire.) And this month, I attended the Merrimack County Conservation District's Annual Meeting to learn about all the great work they have helped accomplish. The meeting was held at Cole Gardens in Concord and included a three-course organically and locally prepared meal.

Stacy Luke, District Manager at Merrimack Count Conservation District begins the annual meeting with participant awards,  highlights of accomplishments and raffle prizes

I was impressed by all the great work that is getting done by the District and its many local partners, such as the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, farmers and local businesses, including Cole Gardens who hosted the location for this event as well as Concord's  weekly Winter Farmers Markets.

The final portion of the meeting was a presentation by author and stone wall builder Kevin Gardner who talked about the history and construction of stone walls in the Granite State and New England.

Kevin Gardner constructs a miniature dry stone wall during his presentation

It made me appreciate all the more the stonewalls that seem to appear out of nowhere in the woods with no houses nearby. Although New Hampshire is now the second most forested state in the country next to Maine, the stone walls are a reminder of the days when settlers came and cleared the land for farming. In two hundred years between the 1600s and the mid-1800s the New Hampshire landscape changed from over ninety-percent forested to only forty-five percent. The farms were eventually abandoned, but their stone walls, although diminished in size, have withstood the test of time, becoming a seemingly natural part of the forested landscape.