Category: Outdoors

Back to the beginning

Jamaican musician returns home to the Granite State

By Katelyn Sahagian

ksahagian@hippopress.com

Music is the heartbeat of the world — at least that’s what Luke “DJ Luke” Davis-Elliott believes. The 18-year-old Manchester-born musician is due to play his final show of the summer on Thursday, Aug. 18, at Long Blue Cat Brewing Co. in Londonderry before heading back to the Jamaican capital of Kingston for his fall semester of college.

“In Jamaica, I brought myself up to a level, but I wanted more,” said Davis-Elliott, whose mother moved to Manchester with her family when she was eight, then moved back to Jamaica with her son’s father after he was born.“So I decided to go international. I was born here, so this was the first place I thought of.”

Davis-Elliott is more than just a hopeful musician. He’s been live mixing music at dance halls in Jamaica since he was 10, and now he attends Alpha School of Music, one of the country’s most prestigious music schools. Davis-Elliott’s mother and manager, Charmaine, said that he has been playing music his whole life.

“He speaks to us with his music,” she said. “It means a lot to me. I feel so proud.”

Davis-Elliott has received invitations to play in other states, coast to coast from New York and Florida to California, but he had turned those ideas down. He said that he wanted to come back to where he was born, to where many members of his maternal family still lived, and to bring his passion for live-mixing to New England.

“Let’s go kick it off where we come from,” Davis-Elliott remembered saying. “Let’s start with our local people, let them know us and love us.”

Charmaine said that this won’t be the last time she and her son come back to play in New Hampshire — in fact, she said there have already been people asking if they would book him again next year. Despite that, she said there is a chance she and DJ Luke could be headed to reggae festivals in Europe in the summer of 2023.

Davis-Elliott used this trip not only to build connections in the New England music scene, but also to earn money to buy recording and music production equipment. His dream, beyond playing in nightclubs in Ibiza, is to start producing music and DJ on the side.

For now, Davis-Elliott said that he’s “going to show them what I’m made of.”

The Aug. 18 show at Long Blue Cat Brewing Co. will be the first one that Davis-Elliott has free rein over. The other eight shows he played across Maine and Massachusetts have all been more traditional reggae stylings.

“I’m looking forward to the fun energy of [the show],” Davis-Elliott said. “I like how the music and that vibe especially brings everyone together.”

DJ Luke
Where: Long Blue Cat Brewing Co., 298 Rockingham Road, Londonderry
When: Thursday, Aug. 18, 8 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Cost: $10 at the door (21+ only)
Visit: longbluecat.com

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

Days of old

Hillsborough’s History Alive celebrates town’s 250th

By Katelyn Sahagian

ksahagian@hippopress.com

This year’s History Alive event in downtown Hillsborough is going to be even more special — the town will celebrate its 250th anniversary with reenactments featuring various members of society, from leaders of the Abenaki tribe to mill workers of the 19th century, during the weekend of Saturday, Aug. 20, and Sunday, Aug. 21.

“We’ve got quite a diverse and interesting history and there’s always something new to learn,” said Marian Baker, the chair of History Alive.

Baker said that last year they had chosen to look at the people who were present before the settlers came. They worked with the Abenaki tribe and were pleased to see that they were willing to rejoin this year as well. They’ll present demonstrations on everything from how to build birch bark canoes to basket weaving and pottery.

Guest speaker Michelle Sherburne, author of Slavery & the Underground Railroad in New Hampshire, will give a presentation on how Granite Staters helped slaves escape to freedom before and during the Civil War.

One of the most important parts of the festival this year will be documenting oral histories of locals. Baker said that a local historian will be recording the stories of people who remember growing up working in the mills and what life was like when they were young.

“We’re trying to gather a more complete history of this area,” Baker said. “We want to not be just one person’s or one demographic’s viewpoint.”

As in previous years, there will be reenactors demonstrating the daily life of settlers, as well as live music from the colonial period through the jazz age. On Sunday, an old-fashioned version of baseball will be played by a group of volunteers. The rules vary in a number of ways — the most notable, Baker said, is that there is only underhand pitching, like in softball.

“This is about the history of the ordinary person, not the wealthy or military, but the person who does a lot of hard work throughout the town,” Baker said.

History Alive
Where: Multiple locations across Hillsborough, including Hillsborough Center (27 E. Washington Road), Kemp Park (21 River St.) and 44 Jones Road
When: Saturday, Aug. 20, and Sunday, Aug. 21; most activities take place between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. each day. See website for full schedule.
Cost: $8 in advance and $10 at the gate. Kids ages 16 and younger are free with an accompanying adult.
Visit: historyalivenh.org
Shuttle buses will operate between all three locations throughout both days.

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

Kiddie Pool 22/08/18

Family fun for the weekend

Family fun

• Get kids interested in Manchester’s mural-creating event Community Canvas, which runs through Sunday, Aug. 21, at the Block Party held by My Turn and Arts Builds Community on Saturday, Aug. 20, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the rear of 50 Bridge St. in downtown Manchester, according to a post on Arts Builds Community’s Facebook page. The event will feature face painting and activities for kids as well as an opportunity to meet the artists involved in making the murals, the post said. Find out more about the Community Canvas event in the story on page 15 of the Aug. 11 issue of the Hippo. Go to hippopress.com to see the e-edition.

• The Elliot is holding a Summer Fest on Sunday, Aug. 21, from 10 am. to 2 p.m. at The Hill Bar & Grille at McIntyre Ski Area (50 Chalet Court in Manchester). The event, hosted by the Elliot Community Ambassador Circle, will feature field games, face painting, music and a buffet lunch (with hamburgers, hot dogs, barbecue chicken, cookies, brownies and more), according to https://bit.ly/3QLZtAd, where you can purchase tickets for $15 per person or $50 for a family of four (children under 12 get in free).

Beach week

• The Hampton Beach Children’s Festival continues through Friday, Aug. 19, with daily events on the beach. On Thursday, Aug. 18, the lineup includes DrumatiX (a tap dance and percussion performance) at 10 a.m.; Showtime Steve (juggling) at 11 a.m.; Hampton Beach Casino daily raffle at noon; Wayne from Maine (musical sing-along) at 1 p.m., and paint with Alyssa Pine at 2 p.m. On Friday, the week finishes off with a children’s parade at 11 a.m. (meet at 10:15 a.m. wearing a costume to participate), a grand finale with every child receiving a prize at noon at the Seashell Stage and a musical performance by Mr. Aaron, and photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus at 1 p.m. Find the full schedule at hamptonbeach.org.

• And if you are near Hampton Beach on Monday, Aug. 22, head to the beach across from the playground for an outdoor screening of Sing 2 (PG, 2021) at dusk (approximately 7:34 p.m., according to the website). The screening is the last of the scheduled Movie Night Mondays of the summer season (the next week’s film is Space Jam: A New Legacy). Admission is free and bring your own blanket or chairs.

Trip to the farm

• Sunfox Farm (127 Mount Delight Road in Deerfield; sunfoxfarm.org, 244-9888) continues its Sunflower Festival through Sunday, Aug. 21. The farm is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; entry costs $10 per person on weekends and $8 per person on weekdays (children under 10 get in for free). Take pictures among the flowers and pick your own flowers for $2 per stem, according to the website. The weekends feature vendors and live music; this weekend’s lineup is Brad Myrick (10 a.m.), Rebecca Turmel (12:30 p.m.) and Joel Begin (3 p.m.) on Saturday, Aug. 20, and April Cushman (10 a.m.), John McArthur (12:30 p.m.) and Sam Hammerman (3 p.m.) on Sunday, Aug. 21, according to the website.

• Shop for some farm-fresh eats at Friday Family Fun at J&F Farms (124 Chester Road in Derry; jandffarmsnh.com, 437-0535) on Friday, Aug. 19, from 4 to 7 p.m. The evening will feature music from a Beatles tribute band, a food truck, hayrides, a corn maze, ice cream and the opportunity to meet and pet the farm’s animals, according to a post on the farm’s Facebook page. For $5 you can purchase a cup of grain to feed the animals, according to the website. Admission to the corn maze, which opened earlier in August, costs $10 per person, according to the website.

• Take the kids to meet some farm animals and climb on some tractors at the New Hampshire Farm Museum (1305 White Mountain Hwy. in Milton; nhfarmmuseum.org) for Truck and Tractor Day on Saturday, Aug. 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tractors, trucks, wagons and antique cars will be on display and tractor rides will take you around the farm to visit the cows, sheep, goats, horses, rabbits and chickens. Meet the blacksmith working the forge, purchase eats for a farm picnic and listen to music from Lance Maclean and the Moose Mountain String Band, according to the website. Admission costs $10 for adults, $7.50 for 65+ and $5 for ages 4 to 17; admission is free for kids under 4 and for active military, the website said.

On stage

• The Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org, 668-5588) finishes up its 2022 Bank of New Hampshire Children’s Summer Series with two more plays on the schedule.Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs runs through this week: Thursday, Aug. 18, at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. and Friday, Aug. 19, at 10 a.m. Disney’s Frozen Kidsends the season next week with shows Tuesday, Aug. 23, through Thursday, Aug. 25, at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. and Friday, Aug. 26, at 10 a.m. Tickets cost $10 per person.

• The young performers of the Palace Youth Theatre summer camp will present Legally Blonde the Musical Jr. on Friday, Aug. 19, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Aug. 20, at 11 a.m. Tickets cost $15 for adults and $12 for kids.

A few thoughts on planting trees

Think ahead and don’t buy on impulse

First, August is not the best time for planting trees. Most experts suggest spring or fall when it is cooler and rain more regular. But let’s face it, I’m a gardener, and if I see a nice tree for sale, especially one in bloom or one I’ve been looking for, I am going to get it, no matter what the experts say. And I bet many of you do the same.

I confess to acquiring four trees in late July. I bought three that I had been looking for, and I got a nice one as a gift. And since I have these new trees, I am not going to keep them in their pots until fall. I will plant them, and water them daily, if needed, through the heat of summer. They will do better in the ground than in a pot where roots can easily dry out on hot days. I have planted a few trees and shrubs in my garden this summer, and all are doing fine.

If you are planning on buying trees, allow me to give you some advice. First, NO IMPULSE BUYING! Learn everything you can about the particular tree you are considering well before you buy it. There are books and websites by universities or botanic gardens that provide excellent information. I suggest avoiding websites of companies selling trees. Talk to knowledgeable friends. Ask questions.

Of the tree books on my shelves, I depend most commonly on books written by Michael Dirr. A retired professor, he has been learning about trees and testing trees and talking to growers for more than 50 years. All his books are readable, dependable — and opinionated. His classic is Manual of Woody Landscape Trees: Their Identification, Culture, Propagation and Uses.

At nearly 1,200 pages, his Manual really does cover every tree I have ever wanted to learn about. It’s not flashy: there are no glossy photos to drool over. Just line drawings of the leaves for most species, and lots of good info. If you want a copy, it lists for $81.80 for the most recent (sixth) paperback edition from Stipes Publishing. Or get your library to order one. Secondhand copies are probably available, too.

So start by seeing what the hardiness of a tree is. No point in buying a tree you remember from your time living in North Carolina unless it is hardy in your zone, too, which it might well be. Then look at what he calls culture: soil, pH and sun/shade requirements.

Read what Dr. Dirr says about size. He generally tells you how big a tree will get in the garden, how fast it grows, and the biggest size known. Let that be a guide. It is so easy to buy a small tree and plant it without really thinking what it will be like in 50 years. I remember a little evergreen growing in front of our house when I was growing up. When we bought the` house in 1954, we decorated it with Christmas lights. Then in later years we used a stepladder to put more lights on. By the time I left for college, it was nearly as tall as the two-story house — and blocking the view from some windows.

So before buying a new tree, try to see what a mature specimen looks like in your town or state. Go to a public park or arboretum (a zoo, of sorts, for trees). Pay attention to the width of the tree, not just the height.

Looking in a forest to see how close trees grow together is not the answer. Trees are wonderful, and many people have done research on how trees communicate with each other (see The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How the Communicate, a New York Times bestseller in 2016 by Peter Wohlleben), but they aren’t very smart (by our standards, at least). And they don’t plan very well. Where a seed lands, it will try to grow — even if it is right next to another tree, or in a shady place where it will not thrive.

Some years ago I planted a spicebush (Lindera benzoin). This is a native shrub that thrives in the shade, even in dry shade. It has fragrant, spicy leaves, twigs and berries. I used to chew on the twigs when I was a boy in lieu of chewing gum, which was prohibited by my parents. Dr. Dirr says it grows 6 to 12 feet high “with a similar spread.” Mine now is 6 to 8 feet high with an 8-foot spread. My new specimens are in two-gallon pots, just 24 inches tall. I was about to plant them 3 or 4 feet apart, but stopped myself. If a mature tree is 8 feet wide, it is 4 feet from the center of the tree to the outside. So a pair of them should be about 8 feet apart, or at least 6.

In the past two years I’ve been working to develop a private arboretum on what was a 5-acre lawn, now a meadow. Last summer we planted about 100 native trees and shrubs of many species, including a dozen oaks of various kinds and sizes. It’s a five-year project.

A mature oak can be 75 feet tall with a spread of 50 feet or more. But I did not plant them 50 feet apart. I want the roots to interact, sharing nutrients and knowledge. And in a storm, intertwined roots can help prevent trees from toppling over. So I planted most about 30 feet apart. I’ve seen oaks in a meadow like the one I’ve been planting: the branches between trees touched but did not intrude on their neighbors. On the sides facing the meadow, the branches were longer. Yes, somehow they communicate.

So feel free to wait until the weather is cooler and rain more frequent to plant new trees. But if you must plant now, keep everything well-watered!

Featured photo: Spicebush is a great native shade shrub. Courtesy photo.

Kiddie Pool 22/08/11

Family fun for the weekend

Curtain up

A tale as old as time is coming to the Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St., Manchester). Beauty and the Beast will take place on Thursday, Aug. 11, at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.; and Friday, Aug. 12, at 10 a.m., as part of the Palace’s annual Children’s Summer Series. Follow the story of Belle, a girl from a small town in provincial France, as she learns to live in an enchanted palace and slowly falls in love with the cursed prince who resides there. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at palacetheatre.org.

This is the last week to be a part of Ariel’s world with the Peacock Players’ (14 Court St., Nashua) performance of The Little Mermaid Jr. Follow Ariel as she dreams to walk among human beings and meet her true love on the surface. The final dates and times for the shows are Friday, Aug. 12, and Saturday, Aug. 13, at 7 p.m., and Saturday, Aug. 13, and Sunday, Aug. 14, at 2 p.m. Tickets range from $15 to $18 for adults and from $12 to $15 for kids ages 12 and younger. Visit peacockplayers.org.

The Peterborough Players are bringing the fable The Emperor’s New Clothes to life at their new outdoor space, the Elsewhere Stage, on the grounds of the Players (55 Hadley St., Peterborough).

Performances will run Friday, Aug. 12, and Saturday, Aug. 13, with all shows starting at 10:30 a.m. The show follows a haughty, rich emperor who hires two tricksters to weave him new cloth from rare material. The show is performed by the Players Second Company, which features young professionals and is geared toward a younger audience. Tickets are $15 each for adults and $10 each for children, and are available online or at the door. Visit peterboroughplayers.org.

Hi-ho, hi-ho, it’s off to the Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St., Manchester) we go for a production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The show is part of the Palace’s annual Children’s Summer Series. It follows Snow White, the fairest girl in the kingdom, as she tries to escape her jealous stepmother, the evil queen. The show will run Tuesday, Aug. 16, through Thursday, Aug. 18, at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., and on Friday, Aug. 19, at 10 a.m. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at palacetheatre.org.

Party time!

Celebrate the end of summer reading at the Hollis Social Library (2 Monument Square) with its annual Summer Reading Wrap Party on Friday, Aug. 12, at 2 p.m. The library will be hosting games at the Lawrence Barn Community Center, and the town’s fire department will come by for an ice cream surprise. Kids of all ages are invited. Admission is free, but registration is required. Register at hollislibrary.org.

A student’s airplane will take to the skies during PlaneFest! at the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire (27 Navigator Road, Londonderry) on Saturday, Aug. 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The festival will celebrate all things that fly, including a demonstration of “Aviation Toys We Can’t Sell You.” There will also be family fun games and activities, aircraft displays, and the Young Eagles program. The event is free to attend. Visit nhahs.org.

There will be more than just a fun beach day at the 15th annual Hampton Beach Children’s Festival, which runs from Monday, Aug. 15, through Friday, Aug. 19. Festivities will include magic shows, a costume parade, dancing, storytellers, balloons, ice cream and more. See the Aug. 11 issue of our sister publication, the Seacoast Scene, for a full list of festival events and attractions. Visit issuu.com/seacoastscene to access the e-edition for free.

Movie madness

Get your adventure hats on for Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (PG-13, 1981), the next “Pics in the Park” screening at Greeley Park (100 Concord St., Nashua) on Friday, Aug. 12, at dusk. The movie follows Indiana Jones, an American archaeologist from 1937, as he goes on a quest to find the lost Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can steal it for themselves. The movie is free to attend. Visit nashuanh.gov/546/SummerFun.

Grab your donkey for Shrek(PG, 2001) on Saturday, Aug. 12, at noon. As part of the Manchester International Film Festival, the Rex Theatre (23 Amherst St., Manchester) will be hosting a screening of the cult classic kids’ movie. The movie follows the ogre Shrek, who is hired by Lord Farquaad to rescue the beautiful princess Fiona from the tower she was locked in as a little girl. Visit palacetheatre.org to purchase tickets.

Summer fun

Learn all about the stars, planets and other astral bodies at the Manchester Parks and Recreation Department’s Uncharted Tutoring Space Art Program. Kids will use homemade rockets, paper lanterns and other art projects to learn and explore outer space. The program runs Monday, Aug. 15, through Friday, Aug. 19, from 10 a.m. to noon each day. The program costs $100. Register online at manchesternh.recdesk.com/Community/Program.

The New Hampshire Fisher Cats will have all kinds of family-friendly activities at their home games at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium (1 Line Drive, Manchester) from Thursday, Aug. 11 through Sunday, Aug. 14. Fireworks, puzzles, and a University of New Hampshire Soccer Night are among this week’s promotions and games. Tickets range in price from $9 to $17 and can be purchased at nhfishercats.com.

Have happy houseplants in summer

Don’t sunburn your fig leaves, and other advice

Just like kids on school vacation, your houseplants may want to go outside to play. And like your kids, don’t put them out in full sun all day without sunscreen. Well, there is no SPF 30 for houseplants, so you will have to make other accommodations.

If you haven’t brought out your houseplants, you may want to consider it now. Plants have widely differing needs for light, and many houseplants are popular because they can sit on a table in the living room without any direct light. These will do best on a covered porch for the summer, not on a sunny deck.

But even plants that thrive outdoors in full sun need to be introduced to the outdoors slowly. I have a potted fig tree that I bring into the house each winter. It drops its leaves and takes a snooze, so I keep it in a cold basement, which it seems to like. I water it once a month during the winter as the low humidity indoors would desiccate its roots if I didn’t give it a little water. Then in March I bring the fig upstairs into a cool, bright room. Soon its buds swell, and it produces leaves.

When all danger of frost is past, I bring our fig outside and put it on the deck we have on the north side of the house that just gets morning sun. After a couple of weeks of morning sun, I bring it down to the lower deck, which gets more sun, and it generally rewards me with a few tasty figs before frost. This year I put it into afternoon sun too early, and the leaves showed signs of sunburn. They yellowed, and a few got brown edges. It will recover, but it just reminds me how sensitive leaves are to strong sun. It may punish me with no figs this year.

If you are interested in growing figs, you should get a copy of Lee Reich’s book Growing Figs in Cold Climates. It covers cultivar selection, over-wintering and pruning techniques, even how to tell when your figs are ripe. It’s in paperback and is fully illustrated with nice photos. Lee lives in upper New York State and was an Associated Press garden writer until he recently retired. Check out his website and blog at www.leereich.com.

My potted banana tree has been outdoors on my north-facing deck for several weeks, and I keep edging it further out into the sun from time to time. It is a tropical plant and can take lots of sun, but once again, I am careful not to shock it with too much sun too early on. Unlike my fig tree, I bought it knowing that the banana is never going to produce fruit. But I love its big, wide leaves and that it brings up memories of my time in Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer.

If you have your houseplants outdoors, be sure that they are not getting over-watered by Mother Nature. When we got an inch and a half of rain I went around to look at my houseplants that are sitting in saucers and drained off excess water. Water in a saucer will get soaked up into a pot by capillary action or even greedy roots that sneak out through holes in the bottom of a pot. Most houseplants don’t need as much water as garden plants, and continually wet roots tend to rot.

What about insects getting on your houseplants if you let them outdoors? Yes, you probably will get some aphids on them. But other insects like ladybugs will probably keep them in check all summer. You will need to give your plants a brisk shower with the hose at the end of the summer to wash off any remaining aphids and/or their eggs. Or you can spray them with a dilute soap solution that will kill the aphids. Things like “Safer” brand insect killing soap are safe and approved for organic gardeners. It dissolves the fats in their outer shell, and they dehydrate and die.

Scale insects are another pest your houseplants may encounter while enjoying their life outside, though you can get them inside, too. Scale insects are a group of some 8,000 species of insects that suck sap from your plants, and may excrete honeydew that attracts a black mold that you might notice first.

Most scale insects are small, under a quarter of an inch in size, and have a wax mono-shell that covers them as they suck the plant’s juices. The shell can be one of many different colors. But if you see them early on, you can get rid of them easily by wiping them with a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol. I have only gotten them once.

Can you take your houseplants out of their pots and put them in the ground? You bet. But if you do, they will get bigger during the summer, and may not fit into their pots, come fall, or not so easily. But if you don’t mind potting up plants, and want your geraniums, for example, to really thrive, plant a few in the ground. Real soil and sun? It’s what houseplants dream of.

Featured photo: This fig leaf got sunburned and will never recover. Photo by Henry Homeyer.

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