Tag: 220512

The Weekly Dish 22/05/12

News from the local food scene

• Farmers markets return: The Warner Area Farmers Market returns to the Town Hall lawn (5 E. Main St., Warner) on Saturday, May 14, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and will feature a selection of local vendors selling produce, honeys, maple syrups and more. The market is set to continue every Saturday through the end of October. The Concord Farmers Market and the Contoocook Farmers Market, meanwhile, both moved outdoors for the first time this season this past Saturday. Concord’s will continue every week from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Capitol Street, adjacent to the Statehouse lawn, while in Contoocook the market is being held behind the town’s Train Depot (896 Main St.) on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon. More outdoor markets are expected to return in the Granite State in the coming weeks, including in Henniker on May 26, Derry on June 1, Pelham on June 4, and Bedford and New Boston, both on June 11.

• Herbal harvests: Join the Concord Food Co-op for Easy Growing Herbs, a virtual presentation on Thursday, May 19, at 6 p.m. featuring Maria Noel Groves, clinical herbalist and owner of Wintergreen Botanicals in Allenstown. She’ll share information with viewers on how to grow and harvest multiple herbs, like lemon balm, tulsi, Korean licorice mint, bee balm and marshmallow, and will discuss their culinary and medicinal benefits. Groves, who is the author of the book Grow Your Own Herbal Remedies, will be participating in the New Hampshire Herbal Network’s annual Herb & Garden Day, set for Saturday, June 4, at the Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum in Warner. She’ll also host a home herbalist series every Thursday from June 9 through Aug. 25. Visit concordfoodcoop.coop to register.

• Dinner at the vineyard: Save the date for a Chef’s Table dinner at Flag Hill Distillery & Winery (297 N. River Road, Lee) on Saturday, May 21, from 7 to 9 p.m., the next installment of an ongoing series of four-course meals with wine, spirit and cocktail pairings under a tent by the vineyard. The dinner will include seared polenta crostini and a local greens salad, along with your choice of an entree (elk osso bucco Milanese, stuffed quail gumbo or grilled cauliflower steak), and torta caprese for dessert. Tickets are $75 per person. Visit flaghill.com.

• On the rise: Woodman’s Artisan Bakery, featuring 100 percent scratch-baked breads from country ryes and sourdoughs to multiple flavored options, held its grand opening April 30 in North Nashua. It’s in the former spot of Great Harvest Bread Co. on the corner of Amherst and Sunapee streets. Owner and founder Bill Woodman told the Hippo last month that his product line also includes traditional French butter croissants and pain au chocolat pastries, as well as soft blueberry scones and lightly salted German-style pretzels, and he recently began baking baguettes and ciabatta breads. In addition to featuring a display case of grab-and-go pastries and drip coffee sourced from A&E out of his bakery, Woodman can be found selling his breads at the Concord Farmers Market on Saturdays and the Salem Farmers Market on Sundays. Visit woodmansartisanbakery.com.

On The Job – Nate Preisendorfer

Nate Preisendorfer

Solar energy provider

Nate Preisendorfer is managing partner at Seventh Gen Solar, a solar energy company based in Bow.

Explain your job and what it entails.

I wear many hats. I’m very hands-on with every aspect of the company from bookkeeping to installations.

How long have you had this job?

I started as a solar installer in 2015 and continued in a variety of roles in the solar industry until 2020 when I was presented the opportunity to create Seventh Gen Solar.

What led you to this career field and your current job?

Throughout my lifetime I’ve been fortunate to work and volunteer with organizations that make a positive impact on our world … like The Nature Conservancy, Appalachian Mountain Club and AmeriCorps. Getting into solar was a way to continue making a positive impact on our world while working with people who shared my same vision.

What kind of education or training did you need?

When I first started in the solar industry, much of the industry was learned through a hands-on approach. As solar has gained traction, many programs have been created to educate people in financing, design, sales, installation and service. Companies we purchase solar products from … also offer great training with their manufacturing partners.

What is your typical at-work attire?

Semi-casual.

How has your job changed over the course of the pandemic?

The pandemic and other global issues have created some major hurdles with the supply chain. We’ve been able to have some control over supply chain issues by purchasing solar panels in bulk instead of ordering on a per-job basis, so we can confidently quote and install products that we already have on hand.

What do you wish you’d known at the beginning of your career?

Having a background in business administration is extremely helpful. Not having a business administration background, I had a plethora of new knowledge to learn. At times it was daunting. The assistance of the Small Business Administration and other business owners and doing my own hours of research was critical in gaining the understanding of state and federal requirements.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

We provide a service that we stand behind. The meaning behind Seventh Gen Solar is that everything we do will have a direct positive impact on the seven generations to come. Being able to provide a service we believe in is what makes working seven days a week worth it.

What was the first job you ever had?

At 16, I worked on an apple orchard, assisting with orchard operations. My second job was working for the Appalachian Mountain Club as a professional trail builder.

What’s the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received?

Maintain a balance of work life and home life. Running a small business can be extremely mentally and physically taxing. Making sure that you schedule time to unplug to mitigate burning out is critical.

Five favorites

Favorite book: The Count of Monte Cristo
Favorite movie: Cool Hand Luke
Favorite music: Chris Stapleton
Favorite food: Mexican
Favorite thing about NH: What it offers for personal, economic and health safety … and its abundance of outdoor recreational opportunities and community support.

Featured photo: Nate Preisendorfer. Courtesy photo.

Kiddie Pool 22/05/12

Family fun for the weekend

Play dough science

• The Ralph Baer Projects Club will hold a Play Dough Circuits event at the SEE Science Center (200 Bedford St. in Manchester; see-sciencecenter.org, 669-0404) on Saturday, May 14, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The drop-in lab will explain electrical current and the basics of an electrical circuit, which kids can then create (safely!) with play dough, according to the website, which recommends advance reservations.The event is part of the regular admission to SEE (which costs $10 for everyone ages 3 and up). SEE is open on Saturdays (and Sundays) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays).

The event is one of several events and exhibits related to celebrating what would have been the 100th birthday of Ralph Baer, the Manchester resident who is credited with creating the first prototype of a video game, the website said. A Ralph Baer birthday celebration will be held Saturday, May 21, in Arms Park in Manchester (from noon to 2:30), with activities at SEE from 2 to 5 p.m. See the SEE’s website for details.

See the show

• Dav Pilkey fans: Head to the Capitol Center for the Arts (44 S. Main St. in Concord; ccanh.com) for Dog Man: The Musical, based on the comics of George and Harold (in the books by Dav Pilkey), a live musical about the titular hero. The show will come to the Cap Center on Saturday, May 14, with performances at 1 and 3 p.m. Tickets cost $15 per person or you can get a family four-pack for $50.

• The kids of the Bedford Youth Performing Company will present Descendants the Musical, a musical production based on the Disney Channel movies about the children of Disney villains and heroes, on Saturday, May 14, and Sunday, May 15, both at 1 p.m., at Goffstown High School. Tickets cost $17.50 for adults, $15 for students and seniors. See bypc.org for more on the dance, theater and music school and for links to the group’s social media, where you can find information on purchasing tickets.

Little gardeners

The New Hampshire Audubon’s McLane Center (84 Silk Farm Road in Concord; nhaudubon.org, 224-9909) will kick off its Buds & Blooms Series for kids and families — a “compilation of six in-person public programs intended to introduce participants to the magic and wonder of our native plants and pollinators,” according to the website — with “Beginner Botany” on Saturday, May 14 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. The event is free but registration is required. The website says the material is best suited for children ages 4 to 12 and the first program will include exploring the McLane Center’s Pollinator Garden and a scavenger hunt.

Get out and play

The YMCA Allard Center of Goffstown (116 Goffstown Back Road in Goffstown) will hold a Healthy Kids Day on Sunday, May 15, from 1 to 3 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, according to the YMCA’s Facebook post about the event, which said it will feature a bounce house, archery, a low ropes course, crafts, a book fair, snacks and more. Call 497-4663 for more information.

Fairies & gnomes

• The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (2 Washington St. in Dover; 742-2002, childrens-museum.org) is holding its first ever Fairy House & Gnome Home Spring Celebration this weekend, Friday, May 13, through Sunday, May 15. On Friday, bring a homemade fairy house or gnome home to drop off at the museum to display in Henry Law Park starting Saturday. Or visit the museum to make a packing peanut gnome or fairy house or a paper mushroom hut (and participate in other fairy-related activities and crafts). The fairy and gnome fun continues on Saturday and Sunday, when you can check out the houses brought in and displayed in the park and the museum’s Play Patio (and make your own to add at the natural material building station). Visitors to the museum can take part in more fairy crafts and activities and check out special performances scheduled for the weekend: on Saturday, May 14, it’s Lindsay and her Puppet Pals at 11 a.m. or 1:30 p.m., and on Sunday, May 15, Musical Arts Dover will do a short Fair Ballet performance at 10 a.m.

Admission costs $11 per person, $9 for 65+ (no charge for children under 1). Reserve a spot and pay online in advance; the museum is open on Fridays and Saturdays with sessions from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. and on Sundays with a session from 9 a.m. to noon. (The museum has mask-required and mask-optional sessions; see the website for details.)

Save the date for: Winnie the Pooh at the circus

The middle school students at High Mowing School (Pine Hill Campus, 77 Pine Hill Drive in Wilton; highmowing.org/hilltop) will show off their circus skills and tell the story of Winnie the Pooh at the 2022 Hilltop Circus: In the Hundred Acre Wood. The seventh- and eighth-grade students will present their show of juggling, acrobatics and more on Thursday, May 19, at 4 p.m.; Friday, May 20, at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, May 21, at 4:30 p.m. The event is described as family-friendly and is open to the public; bring a donation to the Wilton’s Open Cupboard Food Pantry and get a free bag of popcorn, according to a press release. Tickets cost $10 for adults, $5 for kids.

Bulbs, shrubs and trees

Spring blooms I love

Spring has teased us this year. She comes, she goes; warm sunny days are followed by high winds, cold rain and even pellets of ice. But the spring flowers persist, starting with those dainty white snowdrops that appear reliably in early March for me. Let’s look at a few — bulbs, shrubs and trees. Perennials I will do on another day.

Snowdrops (Galanthus spp.) bloom with white blossoms on short stems in early March, but seem a bit depressed, I think. They always turn their faces down to the ground. I have some “double” snowdrops that really are gorgeous, but I only see their extra petals when I bend down and turn their faces up. Probably not worth a dollar a bulb, which is what they cost. Snowdrops tend to naturalize, becoming more numerous each year and moving out from flower beds and into the lawn.

After the snowdrops come Glory of the Snow (Chionodoxa luciliae). These are cheerful blue, pink or white flowers that look up to look at me. Sometimes I think they wink at me, saying, “Hey dude, look at us. We are spring.” I mainly grow the blue ones. These naturalize well, spreading quickly.

Related to Glory of the Snow, but more intense in color and attitude, are Siberian squill, most commonly referred to by their scientific name, Scilla (Scilla siberica).They are a deep purple, and their faces point down, looking at their sneakers.

Along with those flowers come a bright yellow one, Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis). These are low-growing, upward-facing flowers with five to eight petals (actually sepals, but who cares?). Like the others, they tend to spread and increase in number. Order some now, along with the others mentioned, and plant them in the fall.

You know crocus, but you might not know that there are 80 or more distinct species of crocus. Some are very early, others bigger and later. Go online and look at all the varieties. These are good for early pollinators hungry for pollen and nectar.

Daffodils are mildly poisonous to rodents and deer, so they avoid them. Mine are now in full bloom. There are 13 classes of daffies, each quite distinct. Tulips are flavor treats for deer, and rodents love the bulbs. So maybe you should grow them as potted flowers. Or take your chances. Having several cats will help tulip bulbs survive, and a dog will keep the deer away. My favorite is ‘Maureen,’ a 24- to 28-inch-tall late bloomer, but I love them all!

Most trees do not have showy blossoms. Why not? Most are wind-pollinated, so do not need to attract pollinators with flashy blossoms or great fragrances. You might never have noticed the blossoms of pines or oaks or maples. Actually, you must have seen red maples (Acer rubrum) bloom. They are early, one of the first trees to blossom. The blossoms are small and fuzzy in appearance. But there are so many blooming at once, you will notice them if you hike in the woods in April.

But of the showy trees, the best in my opinion is a hybrid magnolia called ‘Merrill’ or ‘Dr. Merrill’ (Magnolia x loebneri ‘Merrill’) named after the Director of the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard in 1952, but actually bred by Karl Sax. It blooms reliably for me in the last week of April and into May. The blossoms are double, fragrant, and 2 to 3 inches across.

This week my leatherwood bush (Dirca palustris) is in bloom with heart-stopping beauty. It is a small native shrub that blooms in dry shade for me. It has lovely gray bark much like beech trees and yellow blossoms that appear before the leaves. The blossoms are small and elegant, and almost seem to glow. It is not a common shrub for sale in nurseries. Mine has upward-growing branches in a vase-shaped arrangement. I love it and visit every day when in bloom.

Then there is February Daphne. Well, maybe it blooms in New Jersey or Virginia in February, but it blooms in April for me. It has lots of small pink-purplish stemless blossoms up its branches. It is highly fragrant. It is only 3 to 5 feet tall and wide, and rarely needs pruning. It is native to Europe and Asia, not here, and is said to spread by seed distributed by birds. But in 20 years I have never seen a volunteer on my property. Some people react poorly to the sap, and the berries are toxic if eaten by humans. It likes a part sun-part shade spot.

Perhaps a better shrub to choose would be a fothergilla, which is native and early. There are two species, Fothergilla major and F. gardenia, also known as dwarf fothergilla. It has wonderful white bottlebrush flowers in May and best of all, it has fabulous fall foliage color. Red, orange, purple and yellow leaves on one plant! It is not a fast-growing plant, and rarely needs pruning.

Another early bloomer and a great producer of berries for birds is small tree or large shrub called shadbush, serviceberry or by its scientific name, Amelanchier spp. I see them blooming along the roadsides in May, nice small white blossoms that remind me of wild apple blossoms. It has nice gray bark, and they often grow as multi-stemmed plants. I have a few, but the fruit is eaten by birds before I ever get to it.

Featured photo: Winter aconite blooms about the same time as snowdrops. Courtesy photo.

Treasure Hunt 22/05/12

Dear Donna,

We have an older home and are looking to replace the shutters. We want older wooden ones.

Can you point me in the right direction as to where to look for bulk supplies? I would need 21 of them total.

Carla

Dear Carla,

My first thought is, wow, what an undertaking! But I can appreciate the reuse.

First you need to have an exact measurement of each window needing them. Then when you buy old/antique shutters, most are painted. So you either have to use them in the original color or condition or refinish them, which probably isn’t worth all the cost and effort.

I would start off by looking at flea markets, outdoor shows, salvage stores, etc. Twenty-one is not too big a number to look for. It’s just finding them in usable condition as is!

I think you could pick up the lot of them for $200 or less depending on size and where you find them.

I wish you luck in your hunt!

Wilderness for everyone

Finding access along Manchester’s newest trail

Dan Szczesny

[email protected]

My daughter tears up the brand new All Persons Trail at Manchester’s Cedar Swamp Preserve at full speed. No rock or roots here, nothing too steep, and the hard pack prevents ruts or mud.

In short, this is the perfect trail. And it’s by design.

“Daddy, look at the bench,” she yells after hopping up onto a beautiful sitting space, shaped like a wooden fan. There are six such benches through this 1.2-mile out and back, along with seven points of interest signs.

The Cedar Swamp Preserve is already something of a hidden wonder inside the boundary of New Hampshire’s largest city, but the new all-access trail will certainly become a draw for a different type of nature lover.

According to the Nature Conservancy, the global nonprofit that owns and manages the 640-acre preserve on the city’s West Side, nearly 26 percent of adults in the United States have some type of disability. On average, inside the country’s most populated urban areas, differently-abled folks have an average of 44 percent less park acreage available to them, due primarily to lack of access.

The All-Access Trail aims to change that.

On April 22, Earth Day, the trail was officially opened with a ribbon cutting ceremony that featured politicians, environmentalists and activists from around the state. One of those speakers was Aislinn Graves, a disabilities activist who, along with her husband David, runs a YouTube channel called Wheels in the Wilderness. The channel — part outdoor adventure and part informational channel about mobility assistance hiking — provides “a voice for those in the borderlands between fully able-bodied and fully disabled.”

Graves, a one-time long-distance runner and avid hiker, found her world undone in 1992 after a serious car accident, and then the onset of lymphedema. The couple purchased a mobility scooter and set out on an adventure to get Aislinn back into the wilderness.

“What started out as just a grandma wanting to get out of the house somehow turned me into an accidental activist,” she told me. “But if I can be a voice for the community and if someone is inspired to get up and go chase their dreams and challenge their limits rather than sit home in misery, then that thrills me to no end!”

As for the All Persons Trail, Graves said that the Nature Conservancy has thought of everything. The trail is wide, which makes it easy to maneuver for those in wheelchairs or scooters. The hard pack, even in the rain, prevents getting stuck. And the benches along the way provide resting areas for those with other disabilities. There are also signs and even an audio option. Other improvements that could be made, she said, could be a handicap-accessible picnic area. (The New Boston Rail Trail has an all-access picnic table, for example.)

And the biggest factor preventing more trails like the All Persons Trail from being built?

“Cost is pretty obvious,” Graves said. “And not just cost, but maintenance. If a tree falls, the able-bodied can just step over it. But for someone in a wheelchair, they likely have to turn around.”

Indeed. According to the Nature Conservancy, the trail took three years and $664,000 to complete.

The cost and effort is well worth it, though, Graves said, if for no other reason than to reduce the isolation and depression that some differently abled hikers feel.

“So much of the time, we spend in our head,” she said. “Going for a walk (or a ride) forces you to take a break and just let your mind and body reconnect with nature.”

Meanwhile, my daughter is using the new trail to reconnect to a part of the preserve we’re now able to explore for the first time. She climbs up onto a large rock near the trail, one that suspiciously looks like a kitty head, complete with two pointy ears.

“Cat Rock,” she announces proudly. And just like that, the brand new All Persons Trail has a landmark. Before long there will be many more.

Cedar Swamp Preserve

If You Go

The preserve includes nearly 2 miles of trails beyond the All Persons Trail, providing views of rare flora like the Atlantic white cedar, giant rhododendron, winterberry, cinnamon fern and a large black gum tree. The giant rhododendrons are in full bloom in June. A walk near the Millstone Brook wetlands is a great place to see wetland birds like great blue herons and yellowthroat warblers. In winter, grab a pair of snowshoes and hit the mild trails. The brand new All Persons Trail is a universally accessible trail designed for everyone and intended for use by nature lovers of all abilities and backgrounds.  

Parking and Trail Access

The trailhead to Cedar Swamp Preserve is located along Countryside Boulevard in the Hackett Hill section of Manchester’s West Side. The pull-off, along with about a dozen parking spots, can be found about a half mile south of Hackett Hill Road.

Featured photo: Aislinn and David Graves test out the All Persons Trail with Aislinn’s mobility scooter. Courtesy photo.

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