Free New Hampshire Blog

More Land Protected at Beaver Brook

Jim — Wed, 09 May 2012 13:22:32 +0000

I’m glad to see this. If you haven’t been there for a hike, you should check it out. The video below will give you a tour of what Beaver Brook has to offer. Another 560 acres of Beaver Brook land will be permanently protected through conservation easements, adding to the 1,044 already protected. The Beaver [...]

Fish Ladder for Herring

Jim — Wed, 09 May 2012 13:10:21 +0000

This is a cool thing to see happen. For the first time in more than 200 years, river herring are traveling past the Wiswall Dam into the upper reaches of the Lamprey River thanks to a new fish ladder. Durham got more than $1 million in grant funds from the National Resource Conservation Service under [...]

Angry Fish and Game Officer Castigates Negligent Hiker

Jim — Wed, 09 May 2012 06:00:15 +0000

Wow. Well I really can’t blame Sgt. Saunders. There seem to be stupid hikers that have to be rescued by New Hampshire Fish and Game every year, despite the Hike Safe site and all of the information on it. A Fish and Game officer will recommend that an unprepared Massachusetts hiker “who did everything wrong” [...]

Union Leader Web Site Changes

Jim — Tue, 08 May 2012 18:03:25 +0000

The Union Leader is changing its site business model: 1. Unregistered readers can read only 3 stories free per month. 2. Registered readers can read 10 stories per month free. 3. Subscribers can read all of the content. There’s no doubt this is a bit of a risk for the Union Leader. They may lose [...]

Wild Boars in New Hampshire

Jim — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:07:12 +0000

The UL has a pretty good article about wild pigs in New Hampshire. This is related to the Corbin Park Hunting Preserve I covered in another blog entry a while back. New Hampshire has a documented wild boar population in the southwestern part of the state and wildlife biologists are becoming increasingly concerned. Brought to [...]

Geese Refuse To Surrender Hedgehog Pond

Jim — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 18:03:36 +0000

Looks like the geese are not willing to move along. Though efforts to harass a group of about a dozen geese settled at Hedgehog Park seem to be disturbing the birds, Salem Recreation Director Chris Dillon said the flock could stay put until the end of the month while they finish molting their feathers. [...]

The Miniature Horse Einstein

Jim — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 10:08:13 +0000

Looks like he’s been moved to Washington State. You have to admit, he’s cute. I had no idea horses could be so small. A tiny New Hampshire horse that garnered international media attention after its birth in April has moved out of state. Einstein could be the smallest horse in the world, born at just [...]

Mica the Police Dog Passes Away

Jim — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 09:56:51 +0000

Sad story about a police dog in New Hampshire named Mica. Apparently she has passed away from cancer. My condolences to the Weare Police Department. RIP Mica. The Weare Police Department issued a statement Thursday night saying its police dog, Mica, died of cancer Wednesday. Despite her illness, the 4-year-old Belgian Malinois completed a K-9 [...]

Woman Attacked By Buffalo

Jim — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:36:08 +0000

This didn’t happen in New Hampshire, but I found it on WMUR’s site. Talk about stupid! This woman and her friend were watching a buffalo from a distance. They then decided to go through some trees to “get a closer look” at the buffalo. As soon as they walked through the trees, the buffalo became [...]

New Hampshire Budget Surplus?

Jim — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:17:58 +0000

This is the first I’ve heard that we have a surplus. New Hampshire’s budget surplus has grown to $63 million, thanks to the receipt of some additional business taxes. Colin Manning, spokesman for Gov. John Lynch, said Wednesday that business taxes filed late bumped up the $25 million surplus announced three weeks ago. The surplus [...]

New Hampshire Pumpkins in July

Jim — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:06:02 +0000

Wow. What do you do with a bunch of pumpkins that are two months too early? Pumpkin pie anybody? Dimond Hill Farm has its best pumpkin crop yet, rows and rows of large and orange gourds with strong vines. The problem is, the pumpkins matured about two months too early. “It’s one of those bizarre [...]

JellyFish Attack At Wallis Sands Beach

Jim — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:43:19 +0000

Ugh. It must have REALLY sucked being in the water with this freaking thing! A large, dead, jellyfish caused mayhem at Wallis Sands beach yesterday when it stung about 150 people in the water. Five people were hospitalized, park manager Ken Loughlin said. The jellyfish, about 50 pounds and the diameter of a large hubcap, [...]

Bruce MacMahon for State Representative

Jim — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:28:55 +0000

There is one Republican that I am happy to endorse, and that’s my friend Bruce MacMahon. He is for marriage equality, small government and he’s pro-gun. In short, he’s the perfect candidate! Alas, I don’t live in his district. But I have made a donation to his campaign and I urge you to donate too. [...]

Roll Your Own Cigarettes in New Hampshire

Jim — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:15:37 +0000

It amuses me, to a certain degree, to see this sort of thing going on. The state is suing two more businesses that let customers roll their own cigarettes, avoiding paying a two-cent per cigarette fee. The retailers, East-West Distributors d/b/a Smoke N Discounts of Epsom and Tobacco Depot of Seabrook, recently installed cigarette-making machines [...]

Capital Punishment and the Cates Murder

Jim — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:08:34 +0000

This jerk makes me enthusiastic to see the death penalty expanded in New Hampshire. One of the young men accused of murdering a Mont Vernon mother and the attempted murder of her young daughter yesterday said he may use an insanity defense. Defense attorneys for Christopher A. Gribble, 20, informed the court they are preserving [...]

Caught Between Republicans and Democrats

Jim — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:01:44 +0000

It’s been ages since I blogged here on FNH, but something is drawing me back to it today. I have some thoughts to share about New Hampshire politics, specifically how I feel caught between the Republicans and the Democrats. I lean to the libertarian right in my politics, so I’ve been dismayed to watch the [...]

Democrats Plotting An Income Tax in New Hampshire?

Jim — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:52:23 +0000

Ran into this blog entry this morning: The income tax in the bill would be at a 5 percent rate with exemptions of $15,000 per filer and $10,000 per child. The income tax portion of the bill would generate approx. $800,000,000. The statewide property tax would be raised to $5.50 per thousand (with a $200,000 homestead [...]

Why People Love New Hampshire

Jim — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 13:16:01 +0000

A guy named Timber over on the Northeastshooters forum had a great post the other day about why New Hampshire is such a great state. I loved it so much I’m putting it on this blog for other people to find and read. Great post Timber! Here is a link to the full thread and [...]

Massachusetts Residents Visit New Hampshire To Avoid Sales Tax

Jim — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 12:56:30 +0000

Well the invasion of MA residents has begun since their sales tax went up to 6.25% yesterday: All roads leading from Massachusetts into New Hampshire were jammed yesterday morning — not so unusual for a hot, sunny summer Saturday. But along with the seasonal vacationers heading north of the border were Bay Staters looking, once [...]

Fun Day Kayaking Yesterday

Jim — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 12:47:50 +0000

I went to a lake in Peterborough yesterday with my friend Kevin. We had a fun time kayaking and swimming. I didn’t have my camera with me so I didn’t get any photos. Sorry. I have to admit that my pale, white geek skin is not used to being out in the sun. At one [...]

Obama Gun Ban: More People Buying Guns in New Hampshire

Jim — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:42:11 +0000

People are stocking up on weapons in New Hampshire: Uncertainty over President Obama’s commitment to the Second Amendment or his stance on gun control has been feeding a frenzy among gun buyers who suspect the President may soon take steps to slow or stop the sale of semi-automatic weapons altogether, Bacon said. “It’s hard keeping [...]

Republican Hypocrisy and Self-Contradiction At GraniteGrok

Jim — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 13:03:21 +0000

GraniteGrok had some criticism for one of Fergus Cullen’s new columns and, in the process, engaged in some hypocrisy and self-contradiction. When talking about school choice, Skip at GraniteGrok waxed on about how “Choice & freedom = enhanced individual liberty” but when it came to gays getting married then it suddenly became simply a “…a [...]

So I Took A Skiing Lesson Today At Pat’s Peak

Jim — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 22:04:23 +0000

I finally decided to take a skiing lesson today. I went to Pat’s Peak in Henniker, New Hampshire. Some observations: 1. I hate ski boots. They are uncomfortable and too stiff and too high. I didn’t like walking in them either. 2. Skiing is MUCH harder than it looks. The people who are good at [...]

Governor John Lynch’s Budget

Jim — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 13:48:16 +0000

It looks like he’s doing a significant amount of cutting but he’s also raising taxes and I don’t agree with that part of it. And, frankly, I think he got himself and our state into this mess to a larger degree than it should have been by inflating the last budget up so high. And [...]

To Ski or Not To Ski? That Is the Question…

Jim — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 13:33:15 +0000

I’m toying with taking a skiing lesson but I’m still holding off. I had considered going to Pat’s Peak but haven’t as it would cost about $80 and I’m not sure skiing would really be much fun. I’m not one to zoom around as I tend to be more sedate. But I hate to go [...]