Category: Outdoors

Kiddie Pool 23/04/13

Family fun for the weekend

Get outdoors

• Check out the offerings at the New Hampshire Audubon’s Massabesic Center summer camps at Summer Camp Open House on Friday, April 14, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Massabesic Center (26 Audubon Way in Auburn; nhaudubon.org, 668-2045). RSVP online to get a spot at this event, which includes a mini nature walk and an animal meet-and-greet.

Return of the F-cats

• The New Hampshire Fisher Cats continue their first run of home games (which started April 11) this season with games through Sunday, April 16, against the Portland Sea Dogs at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium in downtown Manchester. Games Thursday, April 13, and Friday, April 14, begin at 6:35 p.m. The game on Saturday, April 15, starts at 4 :05 p.m. and Sunday’s game starts at 1:35 p.m. Sunday’s game will also feature a hat giveaway to the first 1,000 kids, according to milb.com/new-hampshire. Tickets start at $12. The next round of home games starts Tuesday, April 25, when the Fisher Cats will play the Hartford Yard Goats.

Book fun

• Meet Curious George this Friday, April 14, and Saturday, April 15, at the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St. in Dover; childrens-museum.org, 742-2002). George will be at the museum for photos and high fives at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on both days (during the morning and afternoon play sessions), according to the website. Kids can also check out the Curious George-inspired activities, and museum educators will read Curious George books, the website said. Play sessions run from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m.; reserve spots and pay admission online in advance. Admission costs $12.50 for everyone over 12 months of age, $10.50 for 65+ and free for children under 12 months, the website said.

Lasers!

The Super Stellar Friday program at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (2 Institute Drive in Concord; starhop.com, 271-7827) on Friday, April 14, features a live, family-friendly Tesla Coil and laser show with Xploration ALC, according to the website. “See electricity dance and lasers light up the night. XPloration ALC is a fun action-packed STEM organization that makes science fun for kids. Following the presentation, presenters will answer audience questions in a Q & A session, leaving time to explore the museum,” the website said. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the presentation begins at 7 p.m., the website said. Admission costs $12 for adults, $9 for ages 3 to 12, $11 for ages 62+ and $11 for ages 13 through college; kids under 2 get in for free, the website said.

Movie fun for everyone

• All three New Hampshire Chunky’s Cinema Pubs (707 Huse Road, Manchester; 151 Coliseum Ave., Nashua; 150 Bridge St., Pelham, chunkys.com) will feature sensory-friendly screenings of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which came out last Friday and is rated PG, on Friday, April 14, at 4 p.m. The theater lights will be up, the sound will be down and there will be no 3D, according to the website. Tickets cost $5.99 per seat (plus a fee).

• O’neil Cinemas Brickyard Square 12 (24 Calef Highway in Epping; oneilcinemas.com) will also offer a sensory-friendly screening of The Super Mario Bros. Moviethis weekend. Catch the adventures of Mario and Luigi at O’neil on Saturday, April 15, at 10 a.m.

Get wild

Discover WILD NH Day celebrates the outdoors

Saturday, April 15, is the annual celebration of wildlife and outdoor fun known as Discover WILD New Hampshire Day.

“When I started I would see kids coming, and now those people are bringing their kids to the event,” said Mark Beauchesne, WILD New Hampshire Day’s coordinator. “It’s pretty cool to see year after year that this is part of their spring tradition.”

The free event, now in its 33rd year, will have a little bit of everything for everyone, Beauchesne said. People can enjoy different demonstrations, meet with a local author, and participate in other family fun activities, all while learning more about ways to spend time enjoying the local environment.

“This event, it’s a good way to make some connections with organizations that provide resources to the great outdoors,” Beauchnese said. “We’ve got a lot of different things that will connect people with getting outside.”

The biggest goal of WILD New Hampshire Day is to expose people to all the Granite State has to offer in outdoor recreation, but it shows people how to protect the local ecosystem and wildlife as well. Volunteers and experts from New Hampshire Environmental Educators, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, and the New Hampshire Audubon will all have booths set up.

Beauchnese said the recreational booths will have something for people of all levels of outdoor sporting skill. Whether it’s learning about off-road vehicles, hunting and fishing, or how to easily plan a family hike or the best ways to start a backyard garden, there will be a group ready to show the visitor the ropes.

“A good, large portion of the U.S. and the world look to New Hampshire for outdoor recreation,” Beauchesne said. “This gives us an opportunity to get closer to it and connect to the live outdoors.”

In addition to the booths and outdoor recreation demonstrations, there will be craft spaces, dog show demonstrations from Rise and Shine Retrievers, live animal presentations and more. The event will also have an assortment of food trucks from Smokestack, Bugaboos, Cody’s Sausage and Hotbox.

Last year approximately 8,000 people came to the event, Beauchesne said, and his personal favorite part was the first big event of the day: opening the gates.

“It’s the countdown, from 10 to ‘Happy Discover WILD New Hampshire Day,’” Beauchesne said. “People flood in, and it’s such a fun feeling. You can really feed off of that.”

Discover WILD New Hampshire Day
Where: 11 Hazen Drive, Concord
When: Saturday, April 15, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Visit: wildlife.state.nh.us/events/dwnh.html

More chores for spring

Walk gently and carry a soft rake

Although I still have some snow around the house here in Cornish, New Hampshire, many of you may be looking at brown grass and mud. It will be some time before real spring weather is safely ensconced. We all want to get outside and enjoy warm, sunny days, and most of us are itching to do some work in the garden.

If you do go outside, please be extra careful where you walk. Your lawn and gardens are probably soggy, and your footsteps can easily compact the soil and damage roots. Take a different route to your garden each time you go out. Game trails in the forest can be made by animals as small as a housecat due to compaction if they follow the same path, day after day. Plants do not thrive if their roots are in compacted soil.

I live on a dirt road, and each year the town plows dump sand and gravel mixed with snow on the lawn. I try to shovel that grit and snow back onto the road or haul it away while it is still mixed in with snow to cut down on raking later in spring. Use a soft rake, one with bamboo or plastic tines, when you rake the lawn so you will be less likely to tear up the grass as you rake.

If you have decorative grasses that overwintered, they are probably pretty bedraggled by now. It is better to cut down tall grasses before they start growing. Last year’s stems will not turn green- they grow new stems each year. The only problem you might have now is that they may be in a garden bed that you wish to avoid walking in. I use a serrated knife for the job, but pruners will work, too.

If you want to work in flower beds, find a couple of 3-foot-long 6- to 8-inch-wide planks. Place them in your garden bed and step on them instead of the soil. They will distribute your weight and allow you to work while avoiding the problem of compacting the soil.

If you have bluebird boxes or other nesting boxes, this is a good time to clean them out. I don’t know just when the bluebirds arrive and claim their nesting places, but I want to be ready for them. This would also be a good time to put up a bat house. Bats eat lots of mosquitoes, so you should welcome them to your garden. Pre-made bat boxes are available, and directions to make your own are available online.

I love art and whimsy in my garden, and I have all kinds of interesting art placed around my property. I recently noticed that some of it has tipped or fallen over. Depending on the nature of the whimsy, you might be able to right it now. Others, such as wire sculpture that has rods designed to go into the soil, might have to wait. My soil is still frozen, which deterred me from fixing all of mine that needed straightening.

It’s too early here for me to rake leaves and clean up garden beds that need it. But I am picking up sticks that were blown out of trees. After a little drying time in the barn they will provide me with kindling for my woodstove.

In the past I piled up broken branches each year and burned it all in late winter while there was still plenty of snow around the pile. I have stopped creating burn piles, for two reasons. First, little animals may have settled into the burn pile over the winter, and I don’t want to evict them or possibly kill them. And certainly there are lots of insects that overwinter in dead branches and stems of things like goldenrod and bee balm, which used to go into the burn pile (but are now composted).

The second reason is environmental: The bonfires I enjoyed in the past send up a lot of smoke and air pollution, and I want to avoid doing that. Instead of burning those branches, we bought a chipper/shredder to make chipped branches that can be used on pathways to keep down weeds. Or they can be double-ground and the fine results are good for mulching or mixing with food waste in our compost pile.

Chipper shredders come in many sizes. We bought a gasoline-powered machine that will allegedly take 3-inch stems but is actually better for things half that size and smaller. Manufacturers want to sell their products, so they tend to exaggerate a bit. But buy the most powerful machine you can afford. Ours cost $600 and is good for our needs.

What don’t they tell you? Chipper/shredders are noisy and can be dangerous. Mine does not start in winter. One pass though the machine makes a rough mixture of shredded branches that is not aesthetically pleasing to my eye as a mulch. But this material is easily dumped in the top hopper for fine grinding. Electric machines are out there, but the ones I’ve tried are not as powerful as a gas-powered machine. Good for small branches and leaves, I suppose.

I’ll start my tomato seedlings around April 10 indoors. These I will plant outdoors around June 10. Vine crops I’ll plant later — early May will be fine for cukes, squash and pumpkins that will go out in mid-June. I don’t need to tend seedlings any longer than need be.

Spring and summer are just around the corner. So try to be patient and avoid compacting your soil. If you see footprints in the soil, you should stay off it. Or wear your snowshoes to get around the garden!

Featured photo: This plank will let me cut down this decorative grass without compacting the soil. Photo by Henry Homeyer.

Henry is a UNH Master Gardener and the author of four gardening books. His website is Gardening-Guy.com. Reach him by email at [email protected].

Early spring chores

Take a look around without flowers distracting you

Early spring is a good time to look at the trees and shrubs on your property, when you are not distracted by flowers and leaves. Study your “woodies” now to see if they need some care — and if some plants need to be removed for the health or beauty of the remaining ones.

If you have a wooded area on your property, it probably needs some help from you, especially if you haven’t done any thinning or grooming of trees in recent years. Start by going outside and really looking at the trees growing on your property with a critical eye.

In nature trees grow willy-nilly. Where a seed lands is largely determined by chance. It is unable to know if it is 6 inches or 6 feet from another tree. If it germinates and grows it might be a good place, or it might be smack-dab next to another tree — or your house.

Ask yourself this question as you walk around your property at your trees: What is the future of this particular tree? How big does this type of tree grow to be? What will this one look like in 10 years? In 50? Is it too close to its neighboring trees or to the house? Is it shading your vegetable garden or favorite flower bed?

I’m a tree-hugger but I have no problem with cutting down trees when judicious removal is beneficial. Now is the time to plan on some careful thinning of trees to improve the health of your best trees and to improve the looks of your landscape.

Before you start tagging trees for culling, you need to learn to identify the trees on your property. A good guide is A Guide to Nature in Winter by Donald Stokes, a wonderful book that will help you with that. Because there are no leaves on most trees out there now, the Stokes book is great — it identifies trees by their bark, shape and buds. It also teaches much about all the other living things out there in the woods, from snow fleas to deer and everything in between.

Trees that I cull from my woods include poplars (Populus spp.), boxelder (Acer negundo) and alders (Alnus spp.). These are fast-growing trees that are short-lived and that produce lots of seedlings.

Trees that I revere are maples, oaks, beeches, birches and hophornbeams (Carpinus caroliniana). I would think long and hard about cutting down one of them. But if a fast-growing poplar were growing within 6 feet of one of my favorites, I would not hesitate to cut the popular down. Trees need plenty of space to do well.

Invasive shrubs make their way into most woods, too. Barberries, burning bush and honeysuckles are shrubs that can choke out native shrubs and many native wildflowers. I work on eliminating those every spring, but the honeysuckles are still ahead of me. Learn to identify them and tag them for removal.

There are a few buckthorns (Rhamnus spp.) moving into the neighborhood, and I am keeping a sharp eye to make sure none get established on my property. Buckthorns are invaders that cannot be easily killed by cutting them down because they sprout up from their roots if you cut them down.

To rid your property of buckthorns, you can pull young ones or girdle the older ones. Trees up to about 2.5 inches in diameter can be pulled with a tool designed for that purpose. It is often called a weed wrench, although the original Weed Wrench company has gone out of business. Another brand of weed wrench is called the “Pullerbear.” It is a steel tool with a gripping mouthpiece and a long handle that provides mechanical advantage. They come in several sizes and prices. For more info see www.pullerbear.com. I have not yet tried one of this brand, but they look like the old weed wrenches I have used.

If you cut down a mature buckthorn it will stimulate the roots to send up many suckers that will develop into new trees. To prevent this from happening, you need to girdle buckthorns twice about 12 inches apart. Cut through the bark severing the green cambium layer all the way around the trunk, but don’t cut deeply. They will usually survive two years before dying. Girdling starves the roots of food from the leaves.

You can girdle them now but doing so right after they leaf out in the spring is better. Just tag them now, and plan their demise. Some buckthorns develop multiple stems in a cluster, making it tough to girdle them, but it is possible using a pointed pruning saw.

Hemlocks and pines often grow so densely that their lower limbs die out because the sun never reaches their leaves. Removing those lower branches opens up the landscape — another task you could do now. And think about removing any wild grapes that are climbing your trees — they can kill them.

So enjoy the spring weather and make some plans for real spring.

Henry Homeyer is the author of four gardening books. You may contact him at [email protected], or P.O. Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746. His website is www.Gardening-Guy.com.

Featured photo: A weed wrench allows anyone to pull out invasive shrubs. Photo by Henry Homeyer.

Kiddie Pool 23/04/06

Family fun for the weekend

Spring has sprung

• Join the Manchester City Library (405 Pine St.) for a spring celebration after school on Friday, April 7, beginning at 3 p.m. inside the Winchell Room. Attendees will read spring stories, make a simple craft and go on a small egg hunt out on the library lawn. Registration is recommended. A similar spring celebration is also planned at the library on Thursday, April 6, at 11 a.m., but for kids ages 5 and under. Visit manchester.lib.nh.us or call 624-6550 for more details.

Taking the stage

• The Nashua Chamber Orchestra will present a special free family concert in the Chandler Wing of the Nashua Public Library (2 Court St.) on Saturday, April 8, at 2 p.m. The show will feature Chamber student soloists Carina Lee, an 8th-grader at Elm Street Middle School, on the viola; and Anthony Umbro, a freshman at Nashua North High School, on the oboe. Listeners of all ages are invited to attend and be introduced to the instruments. Visit nco-music.org/family-concert for more details.

• The Hudson Memorial School (1 Memorial Drive) Drama Club will present Annie Jr. The Musical, with showings on Friday, April 7, and Saturday, April 8, at 7 p.m. inside the school’s gymnasium. Tickets start at $8 per person and are free for kids under 5. Purchase them online at hmsdramaclub.ludus.com.

Storytime

• Londonderry children’s author Kayla Messana will appear at Bookery Manchester (844 Elm St.) for a special storytime and craft event on Saturday, April 8, at 11:30 a.m., featuring her recently released picture book, Spiders Love Meatballs. Perfect for kids ages 1 to 4, the book tells the story of a friendly, meatball-loving spider who only wants to share a meal with you, according to the Eventbrite page. Admission is free; copies of Spiders Love Meatballs will be available for purchase in the shop. Visit bookerymht.com or call 836-6600.

Reach for the stars

• On April 8, 2024, parts of New Hampshire will be in the path of totality for a total solar eclipse for the first time since 1959. To celebrate, the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (2 Institute Drive in Concord; starhop.com, 271-7827) will hold a special “Eclipse Countdown Kick Off Event” on Saturday, April 8, from 1 to 4 p.m., featuring an afternoon full of presentations, eclipse giveaways, solar telescope viewing with the New Hampshire Astronomical Society and pizza, according to starhop.com. The event is included with regular admission to the center ($12 for adults, $11 for seniors and students 13 through college, $9 for kids ages 3 to 12 and free for kids ages 2 and under).

Save the date

• Meet Curious George at the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St., Dover) on Friday, April 14, or Saturday, April 15, at 10 a.m. or 2 p.m. George will be available for hugs, high-fives and photos at 10 a.m. during the museum’s morning play sessions (9 a.m. to noon) and at 2 p.m. during the afternoon play sessions (1 to 4 p.m.). There will also be a variety of Curious George-inspired literacy, math and creative activities for all guests. It’s all included in the museum’s standard paid admission ($12.50 for kids and adults, $10.50 for seniors and free for kids under 12 months), and a special member-only meet-and-greet with George will take place on Saturday, April 15, at 8:30 a.m. See childrens-museum.org or call 742-2002.

Easter egg-stravaganza

Get your hunt on at one of the many egg hunts and Easter events

Kids can get ready to meet the Easter bunny, hunt down some eggs, and score some cool prizes this weekend at one of many Easter events.

• Come to the Rodgers Memorial Library (194 Derry Road, Hudson) for Curious Kids: Easter Egg Puffy Paint on Thursday, April 6, at 10 a.m. The program will have a sensory bin, art and engineering designed for kids ages 2 to 6. For more information, visit rodgerslibrary.org

• Altitude Trampoline Park’s three locations (Altitude Trampoline Park, 150 Bridge St., Pelham; 270 Loudon Road, Concord; 360 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack) are hosting an Easter Eggstravaganza on Friday, April 7, from 10 a.m. to noon. Reservations cost $22 and can be made at altitudetrampolinepark.com.

• Visit Benchmark at Rye (295 Lafayette Road) for springtime activities and an intergenerational Easter egg hunt on Friday, April 7, at noon. See benchmarkseniorliving.com.

• Skyzone (365 Lincoln St., Manchester) is hosting a Little Leapers Easter Egg Hunt on Friday, April 7, from noon to 1 p.m. Tickets cost $11 and can be purchased at skyzone.com

• Come to Derryfield Park in Manchester for an Easter Egg Hunt on Friday, April 7, at 4 p.m. Registration is free; see fb.me/e/9LBhaRxP1.

• The Gilford Youth Center and the Gilford Parks and Recreation Department are hosting Breakfast with Bunny and Friends at the center (19 Potter Hill Road) on Saturday, April 8, from 8 to 10 a.m. Kids and their families can have their picture taken with the Easter Bunny and enjoy breakfast, face painting and coloring pages, and they can enter in a cookie walk and basket raffle. The breakfast costs $4 for kids, $6 for adults. Visit gilfordyouthcenter.com.

• The 14th Annual Our Promise to Nicholas Indoor Maze to the Egg Hunt is on Saturday, April 8, from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the NH Sportsplex (68 Technology Dr., Bedford). Kids will explore the indoor maze and fill their baskets with some of the 15,000 plastic eggs available for the hunt. Ticket price ranges from $8 to $56. Visit ourpromisetonicholas.com.

• The Egg-Citing Egg Hunt is back at Charmingfare Farm (774 High St., Candia) on Saturday, April 8, and Sunday, April 9, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tickets to attend cost $22 and can be purchased at visitthefarm.com.

• The Carriage Shack Farm (5 Dan Hill Road, Londonderry) is hosting an Easter Bunny Party on Saturday, April 8, at 10 a.m. In addition to spending time with the Easter Bunny and the farm’s animals, kids can collect Easter eggs and treasures on the Easter bunny trail. Tickets cost $12.95 for adults, $10.95 for kids ages 1 to 15, and kids younger than 1 are free. Visit carriageshackfarmllc.org to purchase tickets.

• Hudson’s Best Egg Hunt at Inner Dragon Martial Arts (77 Derry Road in Hudson) will have hunt times at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and noon on Saturday, April 8, featuring more than 5,000 eggs and photos with the Easter Bunny. See hudsonnhsbest.com to reserve a spot.

• Head to Arthur Donati Memorial Field (51 Main St., Hooksett) for the For The City Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 8, from 10:30 a.m. to noon. The hunts will be grouped by age and held across three fields. Visit hooksetteaster.com.

• Everyone Eats Different Food is hosting an Easter Egg Hunt with a special appearance by the Easter Bunny at Greeley Park (100 Concord St., Nashua) on Saturday, April 8, at 10:30 a.m. Registration is free. Visit everyoneeatsdifferentfood.org.

• Miles Smith Farm (56 Whitehouse Road, Loudon) is hosting Easter on the Farm on Saturday, April 8, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Kids will be allowed to sit on the Scottish Highland cow, Curious Blu, and meet the other barnyard animals. Tickets cost $15 for adults; children are free. Visit learningnetworksfoundation.com.

• The 5th Annual Nashua Easter Family Fun Day is going to be at Broad Street Elementary School (390 Broad St., Nashua) on Saturday, April 8. The fun day (which runs from noon to 5 p.m.) will have egg hunts, games, food, vendors and crafters, and free pictures with the Easter Bunny. Tickets cost $2 for the kids’ egg hunt (on April 4, available time slots start at 11:30 a.m.). Visit allevents.in/nashua/80001306747056 to reserve a spot.

• Come to the Amherst Town Green (Main Street) on April 8, for Amherst’s Best Easter Egg Hunt at noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. There will be more than 5,000 eggs hidden throughout the green for kids to find, including golden eggs with special prizes. Visit funnels.amherstsmartialarts.com/egghunt-2023 to reserve a spot.

• The 7th Annual Special Needs Easter Egg Hunt will be at Stark Park (650 River Road, Manchester) on Saturday, April 8, at 2 p.m. Kids will be able to hunt for Easter eggs and get a special Easter surprise. See fb.me/e/NLJJ4bfB.

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