Category: Quality Of Life

Fashion-forward vultures

The New Hampshire Audubon Society announced in an Aug. 18 online article that it is celebrating its newest “”animal ambassador,” a turkey vulture, by sponsoring a T-shirt design contest. “We’re inviting artists, illustrators, designers, and creatives of all kinds to submit original artwork” the announcement read. “The winning design will be printed on the back of the T-shirt (with NH Audubon’s logo on the front) and offered in a variety of colors, like our previous Barred Owl artist-designed shirt.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: According to the announcement, his project is open to New Hampshire-based artists, and submissions must be original artwork and must include the label “Turkey Vulture” somewhere in the design. The deadline is Monday, Sept. 8. Visit nhaudubon.org.

Lights, camera, abduction!

New Hampshire Public radio reported in an Aug. 27 online article that the supposed alien abduction of Barney and Betty Hill in New Hampshire in 1961 is set to become the subject of a feature film starring Demi Moore and Colman Domingo, based on the podcast Strange Arrivals by New Hampshire podcaster Toby Ball. The Hills’ story was one of the first alien abduction stories to receive public attention.

QOL score: +1

Comment: This movie will be made by SeeSaw Pictures.

Colorful foliage predicted

An Aug. 19 forecast by NewEngland.com predicts an especially “vibrant foliage display in New Hampshire this autumn.” Apparently this is a result of this spring’s unusual weather. “It rained (or snowed) for 12 Saturdays in a row! Beautiful weather during the week, then … a wet weekend,” the report read. “If we get a string of warm, sunny days and crisp, clear nights leading up to the trees changing, it will set the stage for a spectacular color show,” the forecast concluded.

QOL score: +1

Comment: If dry conditions persist, the article reported, this foliage season will be brighter but shorter. Visit newengland.com/foliage.

QOL score last week: 66

Net change: +3

QOL this week: 69

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Welcome, Titan

Manchester’s most recent police horse has a name. As reported by WMUR in an Aug. 21 online article, there was an online contest earlier in August to find a name for the Mounted Patrol’s 6-year-old equine officer and voters picked Titan.

QOL score: +1

Comment: Titan is the equine officer’s working name; his official registered name is Tally Ho Alphie’s Fritzmon.

Back to school, looking sharp

For many families, back-to-school shopping puts a strain on already strained budgets. This year, local businesses and organizations have stepped up to lend a hand. As reported by WMUR in an Aug. 24 online article, for the third year, Get Faded Barbershop (282 W. Hancock St., Manchester, 628-2867, getfadedbarbershop.com) organized a back-to-school event to provide returning students with free haircuts, braiding and other services. School supplies were also given away. Meanwhile, for the 30th year, the Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter (2 Quincy St., Nashua, 889-7770, nsks.org) held its annual Backpacks for Back-to-School program last week. As reported by Nashua InkLink in an Aug. 24 article, “Each backpack is loaded with age-appropriate school supplies”

QOL score: +1

Comment: According to the InkLink story, the NSKaS distributed 1,600 backpacks this year, and 42,000 since 1995.

Nature in Nashua

As part of this year’s City Nature Challenge (citynaturechallenge.org), communities across New Hampshire took time out to count how many species of wildlife they could find, and register them on a smart-phone app. According to an Aug. 15 article on Nashua InkLink, the Challenge “is a bioblitz-style competition where cities embark to find and document the most observations of plants and wildlife in their city.” This year, the article continued, Nashua residents found the most species: “405 observations of 184 species, such as staghorn sumac, American toads, blue herons and barred owls,” the InkLink article read.

QOL score: +1

Comment: See citynaturechallenge.org for information about 2026.

Last week’s QOL score: 63

Net change: +3

QOL this week: 66

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Where are all the loons?

An Aug. 18 online article by the Laconia Daily Sun and New Hampshire Public Radio reported that there are fewer loons in the state than expected. “According to the preliminary results of the 2025 New Hampshire Loon Census, numbers are down statewide,” the article read. “There were 541 adult loons — that comes out to 270 pairs — and that’s far under what we expect our population to be,” the Sun quoted Caroline Hughes, outreach biologist for the Loon Preservation Committee. “The results from the 2024 census yielded 359 loon pairs and 100 or so unpaired loons, showing a preliminary decrease of 89 pairs.”

QOL score: -1

Comment: The Loon Preservation Committee surveys New Hampshire’s lakes each year. According to its website, “lead poisoning resulting from the ingestion of lead fishing tackle is the leading cause of documented Common Loon mortality in New Hampshire, accounting for 159 (42%) of documented adult loon deaths since 1989.”

Girls and Crocs

As reported by Nashua Ink Link in an Aug. 12 online article, 160 girls from Girls Inc. in Nashua and Manchester slipped into new school shoes “thanks to a generous gift of new Crocs from Brady Sullivan Properties. The girls — 75 from the Girls Inc. Manchester Center and 85 from its Nashua Center — traveled by coach bus to the Crocs store at Merrimack Premium Outlets to select their new shoes.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: According to the Crocs website, a Classic Clog can accommodate up to 13 charms per shoe.

Keep your copy of Sunrise on the Reaping

The Manchester City Library announced on Aug. 5 that it is no longer seeking book donations for its upcoming quarterly book sale.“Due to overwhelming public generosity, we are unable to accept any additional donations at this time,” according to the library’s website. “…[P]lease visit us on Saturday, Aug. 23, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. for our next book sale.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: The Library’s quarterly book sales fund its collection of passes that patrons can check out for reduced or free admission to museums and other institutions.

QOL score: 62

Net change: +1

QOL this week: 63

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Name that horse!

His official registered name is Tally Ho Alphie’s Fritzmon, but the Manchester Police Department is looking for something less formal to call its new police horse — technically a “Mounted Patrol Equine Officer.” As reported by WMUR in an Aug. 7 online article, “the 6-year-old gelding is currently known as Fritz, but a new name will be selected through a community contest.” In an Aug. 6 Facebook post the MPD announced a contest to give a new name to the new officer. Name suggestions can be made through Zeffy.com. Each submission costs $5, which will support the Friends of the Manchester Mounted Patrol.

QOL score: +1

Comment: According to the Police Facebook post, one name suggestion will be accepted per entry, the deadline for submission is 8 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 18, and the chosen officer name will be announced on Wednesday, Aug. 20.

Veterinarians booked solid

Tough financial times are not limited to humans. According to an Aug. 7 online article by WMUR, the New Hampshire SPCA has expanded its available veterinary care for pets in financially strapped households but is already booked to capacity. “It’s open on Tuesdays and Thursdays and has been booked solid.”

QOL score: -1

Comment: WMUR quoted veterinarian Kristi Zimmerman-Lundt, who said the clinic largely performs wellness exams, gives vaccines and provides medicine, all at a low cost. Visit nhspca.org/community-wellness.

Get used to that haze

The Department of Environmental Services has issued eight air quality alerts this year, according to an Aug. 8 online story by New Hampshire Public Radio. “Of those, six were issued because of increased levels of fine particle air pollution caused by wildfires in Canada, which is on track to have its second-most devastating wildfire season on record,” NHPR reported. According to several climate scientists interviewed for the article, this will probably be the “new normal” in our region for the foreseeable future.

QOL score: -2

Comments: Find real time reports on air quality in New Hampshire at des.nh.gov.

QOL score last week: 64

Net change: -2

QOL this week: 62

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Animal news, part 1: Snake!

As reported by WMUR in a July 29 online article, a Derry woman was shocked to find a 5-foot python in her bathroom on Monday, July 28. “The woman called police for help,” WMUR reported. “They … found the snake inside the woman’s bathroom. Officers safely placed the snake in a tote and contacted some nearby neighbors to see if it belonged to them.” WMUR quoted the police responders who said that the snake was “docile, friendly, and clearly someone’s pet.”

QOL score: -1 because, like, this can happen? In NH?

Comment: WMUR consulted Kevin McCurley, owner of New England Reptile Distributors in Plaistow, who speculated that the snake may have gotten into the apartment through the toilet.

Animal news, part 2: Sad summer for pets

A July 31 online story by Nashua InkLink reported that area animal shelters are at capacity, due to an unusually large number of owner surrenders. According to Humane Society for Greater Nashua president and CEO Douglas Barry in the story, it’s not uncommon for newly homeless pet owners to be forced to give up their pets.

QOL score: -2

Comment: According to a recent study, the InkLink article reported, “In 2024, 5.8 million cats and dogs entered shelters and rescues in the U.S. This marks the fifth consecutive year that shelters experienced more intakes than outcomes.”

Animal news, part 3: Top dog

As reported by WMUR in an Aug. 4 online article, New Hampshire Fish and Game K9 Aspen has won a photo contest sponsored by the Vermont Police Canine Association. “Aspen will be the inspiration for the association’s next T-shirt design,” the article read. According to a post on the Association’s Facebook page, Aspen received 579 of 2,623 votes.

QOL score: +1

Comment: Aspen was recently in the news for locating a missing person, according to a WMUR report from July 27.

QOL score last week: 66

Net change: -2

QOL this week: 64

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

A big firefly summer

If it seems like there are more fireflies this summer than usual, you are right, according the New Hampshire Public Radio “Something Wild” feature posted on July 24. A wet spring created “perfect breeding conditions for fireflies” according to the feature on nhpr.org. “The larvae get bigger faster, more survive to adulthood, and adult fireflies emerge earlier,” the article said.

QOL score: +1

Comment: “New Hampshire is home to at least 15 species of fireflies, also called lightning bugs,” NHPR reported.

Pets in summer

According to a recently released study by pet insurance company Trupanion, our pets are suffering from summer heat at least as much as we are. In a July 16 online article Trupanion said, “More than 13,000 pets have been affected [nationwide] by dehydration or heatstroke since 2020. Heatstroke claims have increased by 45 percent since 2020, and dehydration claims spike by as much as 364 percent during the summer.” Trupanion reported that it has received more than 12,000 dehydration claims during that period, and that those claims rose by 20 percent between 2023 and 2024. There have been 183 claims from New Hampshire since 2020, they said, and claims in New Hampshire rise by an average of 104 percent during the summer.

QOL score: -1

Comment: “Fresh water, shade, avoiding the hottest parts of the day and never leaving pets in cars are some simple steps that can save lives,” the article said.

Shark summer?

As reported by WMUR in a July 16 Chronicle story, researchers have spent this summer studying the appearance of great white sharks in New Hampshire waters. In 2024 there were confirmed sightings of the apex predators at Wallis Sands, Foss, Cable, Sawyers, and North Hampton beaches, as well as two sightings in the Isles of Sholes. Chronicle quoted Dr. Nathan Furey, a marine biologist at the University of New Hampshire, who said the sharks are drawn in part by migrating populations of seals.

QOL score: +1

Comment: See the report at wmur.com. And for more fun New Hampshire shark facts see seagrant.unh.edu/shark-safety-facts-new-hampshire.

QOL score last week: 65

Net change: +1

QOL this week: 66

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.