Free New Hampshire Blog

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 [...]

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 [...]

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” [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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. [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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, [...]

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. [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

John Harrigan has more on the New Hampshire Fisher Cat and Virginia Turkey exchange that got New Hampshire’s turkey population back on track in the 1970s: The 1970-71 exchange involved 31 New Hampshire fishers for 31 West Virginia turkeys. Walski and cohorts released the turkeys in Deerfield, Nottingham and Pawtuckaway. That effort failed, due largely [...]

Union Leader has an analysis and breakdown of what the Granite State will get from Obama’s spending orgy. I am absolutely disgusted by all of it. It is simply generational theft and America’s children will have to pay for it. The best way to stimulate the economy would have been to cut payroll taxes in [...]

A nice change of pace column to take your mind off all of the financial bad news: Last week’s bright “owl moon” dimmed the impassive winter stars above wispy “mare’s tails” cirrus clouds racing east. The night sky reminds me of a universe even bigger than the economic stimulus package. Ever-changing weather and seasons speak [...]

So I freaked out earlier this evening when I realized I’d run out of Green Mountain cocoa. I usually keep a healthy supply around but I forgot to get some when I was out earlier. So I hopped in my truck and went to Market Basket. Closed. Damn! Then I went to Stop and Shop. [...]

Big Hollywood is my favorite new blog. Add it to your bookmarks list if you haven’t already. It’s about time that Governor Palin hit back. The treatment she and her family endured during the 2008 campaign was truly awful and it’s one of the reasons why I use an ad blocker in Firefox. If I [...]

The King is still doing great business even in a recession: Unlike Chrysler and General Motors, Elvis Presley, who would be celebrating his 74th birthday Thursday, is running smoothly. Robert Sillerman, chief executive of CKX Inc., the parent company of Elvis Presley Enterprises, said Tuesday that Graceland weathered high gasoline prices during the summer with [...]

Excellent editorial from Matt Murphy about Concord’s spending addiction: Now is not the time for New Hampshire taxpayers to make a choice about which new “revenue stream” they want. Rather, it is the time for New Hampshire lawmakers and Gov. John Lynch to spend less of the taxpayers’ money and reduce the burden felt by [...]

I’m firmly in the camp that believes New Hampshire has WAY better roads than Taxachusetts: Thousands of commuters make the trip between Massachusetts and New Hampshire each day, and many have the opinion that the Bay State’s roads are in better shape than New Hampshire’s. But is that the case? Transportation officials in both states [...]

I got an interesting report from Stratfor in my inbox today and here it is with full permission from them to repost it. Food for thought with all the stuff going on in the middle east right now. By Kamran Bokhari and Reva Bhalla Related Special Topic Page Fatah, Hamas and the Struggle for the [...]

Is it me or does New Hampshire’s “work force housing law” passed last year seem downright obnoxious? With the state’s new work-force housing law taking effect in July, some towns are pushing ahead to meet the new requirements. But some towns just won’t have it all figured out. The law says towns must provide the [...]