News from Newfound

January 22, 2021

Welcome to the Newfound Connection

Each edition of the Newfound Lake Region Association newsletter features events, news, trivia, and the people of the watershed—everything a Newfounder needs to know!

Finding Comfort in the Cold

Hikers enjoying hot drinks and sunrise over Newfound Lake

This year, the post-holiday blues are combined with the stress of an ongoing pandemic. If the sight of snow has lost it's luster, we're here with some helpful suggestions to find joy in the season!

Get Outside

Many of the beautiful trails, beaches, and other outdoor spaces you enjoy during the warmer months also provide opportunities for enjoyment in the winter. Get your winter gear and a warm drink together, and check out some of these areas:

Explore the Newfound Watershed

Stay Engaged

It's a tough year for community events, but staying engaged is an important part of enjoying winter. Join a virtual book group, check out the events at the bottom of this email, or sign up for "Volunteer!", the NLRA newsletter that highlights volunteer opportunities and citizen science projects, to learn about ways you can engage and make a difference all year long:

Visit with Friends

Get your friends and family together for some classic winter fun, like sledding or a bonfire, or make summer classics that allow social distancing, like cornhole games and grilling, winter events too! Did you know Grey Rocks, with it's perfect picnic area, is open year round? (Thank you 3 Lakes Landscaping for keeping the parking lot plowed!) Call a friend, pack a winter picnic, and enjoy the lake in winter. Here's more information to plan your trip:

Grey Rocks Conservation Area

Get Hygge

Hygge is the idea of embracing winter with cozy, restorative time inside. Fill your house with the smell of baking goodies, read a book under a blanket, or take up a new craft. Learn more about Hygge from "The Little Book of Hygge", available on audio with a New Hampshire library card:

The Little Book of Hygge

UPCOMING NLRA EVENTS

Virtual Nature Storytime

January 29, 10:45 a.m.

Online Event

Follow along on Facebook or Youtube as we read "Winter Bees and Other Poems" by Joyce Sidman and make a pinecone bird feeder. Stop by the Minot-Sleeper Library to pick up craft supplies to make your own bird feeder, provided by the Slim Baker Foundation!

Supporter Stories: Diane DeMers

In their own words, our supporters highlight their special connections to the Newfound Watershed.

Diane DeMers with her family, photo: Carol DeMers Aguayo

My family grew up going to Merrill's campground on the east side of the lake. (My mom started going there in the 1930s with her family.) When my brother, sister and I came to the lake in summer during the 1960s, we used to search for garnets. There were a couple spots along the Merrill's shoreline that seemed to have many small flecks of those beautiful ruby-colored stones. We would hunt for them and save them in a yellow Dixie cup (remember those?), and my mom would put the Dixie cup in a special place in our cottage so we could add to it the following year.

Unfortunately, Merrill's closed down in 1983, but I took the Dixie cup back with me to Illinois where I live. For years I wondered what I could do that would be meaningful with those tiny beautiful garnets. In spring of 2017, I thought of trying to find a necklace where I could encase the garnets. I found one on Etsy and made two necklaces - one for my mom, who was then 91, and one for my sister. I wrote the attached poem, took a photo of the necklace, and gave the poem and necklace to them both for Mother's Day. My mom passed away two years later, and I now have her necklace.

Garnets

By Diane DeMers

Jagged, ruby-hued treasures

Semi-precious (but precious to us)

Hiding among grains of sand

where Newfound waters meet Mackenzie’s beach,

waiting

to be discovered by a child’s fingers,

claimed and dropped gleefully

into a Dixie cup, supplied by a wise

mom

(who knows the real worth of these gems)

Pink chips are added to

other summers’ collections

One generation of years produces a scant half-teaspoon’s-worth of

rosy silicates

now poured out and saved into a golden locket

of memories

May they lie close to your heart with love

forever.

What's your story? Email: info@newfoundlake.org

Nature Needs a Low-Salt Diet

Salt from roadways, driveways, walkways, and salt storage areas finds its way into our groundwater and surface water, leading to chloride pollution that can't be removed or treated. Lowering salt use is the only way to lower chloride pollution in our waterways. Read more from NH LAKES:

Protect Our Lakes: Put your property on a low salt diet!

Chloride levels in New Hampshire’s freshwaters are 100 times more today than they were 50 years ago before salt was used to melt ice on roadways. In many small streams in southern and coastal New Hampshire, elevated chloride levels are so high that..

Read more
nhlakes.org

Our recommendations to keep you entertained and informed about the world of conservation.

Watch: All the Time in the World

What is the difference between isolation and solitude? This documentary is about a family that leaves society behind to live in the remote wilderness of the Yukon for nine months. While this is not a movie about conservation, it is a reminder of how connecting with nature helps us connect with ourselves, even when isolated from others. Watch it here.

Read: A Beginners Guide to Staying Warm Outside

“Expensive cold-weather clothes? They’re just fancy ways to hold air.” Musher Blair Braverman shares her top ten tips for keeping cozy in frigid temperatures.

Read it here.

Listen: Outside/In: If You Wanna Get Koselig, You Gotta Get a Little Friluftsliv

This is the 2021 edition of Outside/In's "How to Thrive in Winter Recommendation Show". Hosts explore the Norwegian concepts of koselig (coziness) and friluftslive (outdoor living). Listen Here. Bonus: Scroll to the bottom of the episode's page for some great ideas on how to enjoy koselig and friluftsliv yourself this winter.