The first thing you notice when you walk into Mr. Leete's showroom is the sound, it's almost like rain, but not quite. It's the sound of a room full of antique clocks, mantle clocks, banjo clocks and grandfather clocks. Each one coming form a different time, some from as far back as the early 1800's some far less old. The thing they have in common is that they work now, and work well. Thanks to the hands of Thomas Leete who has a deep understanding and appreciation for these clocks. In an old barn in Moultonborough Thomas has several clocks and pieces of furniture in random stages of repair or disrepair. While paint is drying on a dining room chair he heads to his office to dig up an old reference photograph of a particular Daniel Pratt clock from 1838, and in between he deluges me with interesting facts and lessons on the mechanical workings of numerous clocks hanging in the barn or showroom. At the end of my visit I realize that I have just had a Phd. level course on the history of clocks here in America.

Mike Allain is a logger that works along the border of Maine and NH, this day it's in East Madison, NH. What's interesting about Mike is that he is harvesting trees for a local lumber yard, 12 miles from where the trees are cut. These 80 to 100 year old trees are being trucked to East Conway, NH to "Home Grown Lumber" and processed into flooring. Mike has worked for years with the mill owner, Steve Morrill. In the early days it was out in the woods together, now Steve runs the mill and Mike supplies the some of the logs. Home grown lumber is one of the few mills in NH that is "re-discovering" wood that was typically thrown out, as well as sending bark, and chips to Ossipee, NH's wood fired power plant. Planks at the outside of the tree, containing numerous knots are now not thrown away but processed into usable flooring, increasing the usable percentage of the tree. By keeping the harvesting local, processing local and working with new ideas this local mill is keeping the carbon footprint of its finished goods down to a minimum, and making the most of our natural resources here in New Hampshire.

There's plenty of skiing outside of the usual resorts in NH. Grab a map and head out to the Kancamagus Highway or north of the Notches and stretch out without a groomer in sight.

I took a look at my property tax bill today and was surprised but not shocked to see that this half of the tax bill had risen by $600. I also noted that the school portion was 60% of the total bill or over $3000. Before anyone thinks that I support a sales or income tax, let me say that I don’t. After all, a family with even an income of $60,000 if subjected to a 5% income tax would pay $3000 anyway and that would be watered down to around $2000 due to administrative costs. Common sense dictates that adding a 'middle man' would just requie a higher tax rate and people would quite obviously pay more. People wonder how we have arrived at this point in New Hampshire, the answer is slowly, methodically and the cause in large part is simple...

Just in time for the beautiful fall foliage and my favorite time of the year, apple picking season, there was a great article in the Washington Post last week about how New England is becoming a top travel destination for gay and lesbian couples across the country. In the article, the reporter talks about how the region's more socially progressive atmosphere makes it quite an inviting place for gay and lesbian travelers. Not to mention the amazing landscapes, friendly people, and the variety of hisoric sites to visit.

It was a busy weekend for us, with two BBQ's to attend, my high school class reunion and a trip to the Craftsmen's Fair in Sunapee.  By Sunday's BBQ, I was tired and irritable, but that is another blog for another day.  We make the trip to Sunapee's Fair every year.  Even when we can't afford to buy, it is a nice day of looking at some beautiful craftsmanship.  The people on Sunapee couldn't have asked for more perfect weather this past weekend.

We spent more then 4 hours going from tent to tent, booth to booth.  This year we did buy some artwork to hang on the newly remodeled walls of our stairwell, as well as the yearly jewelry item.   We also get some great gift ideas and usually end up coming home with a small stack of cards of craftsmen we will look up later (I was smart this year and wrote on the back what it was that intrigued us about the particular artists).