a weekend in new hampshire

tao hu, taoki-natto, and i seized the weekend with some folks a couple of weeks ago to lose ourselves in the lush, "well-established' foliage of fall in new england (we also took the chance to overdose ourselves on transfats in too-generous portions of everything). i may be biased, but i truly think autumn is the most beautiful time of the year, a time when all the elements of nature come together in just the right way. The leaves are wearing their best colors, the sun has mellowed from its fierce summer strength, the air has just enough chill to walk through without having to hunch one's shoulders. i think autumn is the point; winter, spring and summer, though gorgeous in their own ways, are just building up to it. It is in the fall that the earth matures into all it’s meant to be; the fields are ripe, the apples are ready , the pumpkins are set, the grapes are harvested, and crushed into wines (that IS the point of grapes, no?). by the way, these pictures aren't mine - i forgot my camera.

sugar maples in the shaker village in canterbury

flag hill winery in lee, NH

squeezing the goodness out of the grapes right after harvest, at flag hill winery

we hiked 1,786 ft up mount major - this was NOT a walk in the park ...

... but the view was well worth the climb