Eastman Living Online Magazine

By Aaron Brooke Jenkyn It is hard to know in what season I am writing this column – when exactly did winter end and spring begin? Is summer really here? Even those of us who have been in New England for a long time have begun to doubt our seasonal intuition. It seems like the […]

By Peter Hope This year is the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, the landmark conservation bill that protects nearly 110 million acres of wilderness area in the US. New Hampshire and Vermont have a number of really beautiful and unique wilderness areas that are ours to enjoy, alone or with a group of 10 […]

By Craig McArt and Renee Gustafson Beautiful as Eastman Lake is, are you tired of paddling the same-old-same-old? If so, maybe it’s time to venture outside of Eastman for a little variety; an interesting change of scene is just next-door at McDaniel’s Marsh. Paddling your kayak or canoe through a marsh may not sound that appealing, […]

By David Wood Palaeontologists tell us that the earth’s biosphere has undergone five catastrophic collapses in the 3.1 billion years of its existence. during the most recent of these, the cretaceous extinction, about 65 million years ago, it is believed that 75% of species on earth disappeared. Many scientist now believe that the earth could […]

By John Larrabee Even for a loving pet owner like myself, dodging dog foo on the foot-paths, trails and beaches of Eastman can be both bothersome and an assault on the senses. But pet waste is more than a problem on our shoes. As with human waste, pet waste is harmful to our waterways, which […]

By Amy Hoffman  Every Wednesday, a group of four Eastman residents travels throughout the community to check on a list of items that needs to be monitored or approved. Our list can be quite varied. We might approve some trees that need to be removed or make sure a new home construction is moving along. […]

Story By Caroline Hoen Photos Provided By Maynard Wheeler What should you do if your inner hunter-gatherer ambushes your agenda on a lovely summer morning? When it comes to Eastman’s flora, there are myriad plant types to pursue and investigate, but Maynard Wheeler of West Cove would encourage you to consider a quarry he finds […]

By Craig McArt and Renee Gustafson Starting out as just a trickle from grass pond near I-89 Exit 14, little stony Brook parallels Route 10 before angling east to be bolstered by the flow of Butternut Brook. Farther on, it plunges into a millpond where it regains its composure before spilling over a dam and […]

By Milt Weinstein Each July, the Loon Preservation Committee takes a census of loons on New Hampshire’s lakes and ponds. The results of the 2013 census were both encouraging and troubling. The good news is that the total number of loon pairs in the state was slightly up from 2012, from 280 to 284. This […]

By Judy McCarthy Eating locally was celebrated in Barbara Kingsolver’s book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, but even Kingsolver and her family, whose diet included food that was at least 95% locally grown and raised, allowed themselves a few concessions: coffee, wine, chocolate and spices to name a few. Here in the Upper Valley, it is possible […]

By Aaron Brooke Jenkyn Photos By Paul Hoffman and Aaron Brooke Jenkyn Much of this past winter was too cold for most people to stay outside for long, but once the arctic air passed and the snow began to fall, Eastman came alive. Outdoor enthusiasts of all ages could be seen skiing, snowshoeing and frolicking […]

By Ernie Mills The photos accompanying this article are of exotic milfoil. Something we don’t want in our lakes. It is not native to New Hampshire, and now the two kinds, variable and Eurasian, along with other exotic aquatic nuisance plants, infest 78 water bodies in our state.  Many of these plants were originally brought […]

  The Coming of Spring By Janice Vien Amazing to see a flying insect this early day of March. And then a spider underfoot while snowshoeing. These brave first scouts. Surely the cold night brought a slow death. What courage to be the first to check if winter’s hold is still gripped tight! With no […]

By John Larrabee Yes, it is winter. Some hearty folks stay right here in Eastman and bundle up. Others flock
to southern climes and return when the snow and cold subside. Our loons will have left the lake before it iced, heading for the coast, somewhere between Maine and Rhode Island. Our songbirds migrate south in […]

By Caroline Hoen • Photo Provided By Gay Sabine Eastman’s Grantham Village School families know Gay Sabin well. This beloved sixth grade teacher joined the GVS faculty in the fall of 2003 and retired, for the second time (read on!) this past June, after a career that spanned a total of 47 years. When you […]

By Peter Hope THINK SNOW! I hope that we can have an active Eastman Snowshoe walk program this winter. Starting after New Year’s Day and continuing as long as we have decent snow, we will enjoy snowshoe walks on Wednesday mornings. The mid-week schedule has proven to be very successful in the summer and fall […]

By Craig McArt And Renée Gustafson Heath Forest’s 160 acres lie at the southern tip of Eastman. It’s a hiker’s paradise with over four miles of trails through unfragmented woodlands, free of any roads. the trails are named by color: red, yellow, blue, green, pink, orange and yellow. this colorful mix offers a range of […]

By Aaron Brooke Jenkyn Another beautiful fall in Eastman meant kayaks on the water well into November, lots of people on the trails and happy kids playing on swing sets well beyond labor Day. In August, George and Stephanie Decker enjoyed watching a large pileated woodpecker in their backyard. Gordon Luce spotted a female merlin […]

By Susie Burbidge • Photos By Jamie Walsh While driving home one evening last fall, I saw a red fox prancing down the road, probably on its way to search for some dinner. The same week, my husband went out for an evening run and also encountered a fox. They were like two ships passing […]

By Caroline Hoen When first asked to be subjects for this column, Hal and Ethel Burton could not imagine why Eastman Living readers might be interested in their story. Modest to a fault, their long lives have, in fact, been full of sound decisions and quiet successes that have brought them to a contented retired […]

The Garden at Kid City The garden is growing. The flowers are getting tall. They have stems like green snakes and buds shooting out like cannonballs. Leaves are ubiquitous. Beetles chomp on the leaves, turning them to Swiss cheese. Ants crawl on the ground. The flowers are getting tall. A daddy-long-legs climbs up a flower […]

By Aaron Brooke Jenkyn What an exciting summer in Eastman! Cheeky foxes, hitchhiking gastropods, “bah” loons and the return of the brown bat were only a few of the things that kept Eastman residents amused this summer. I hope you enjoy reading about these encounters as much as I did. On May 26 Gale Schmidt […]

Photos by Cathy Lacombe, Larry Orloff, and Richard Sachs

By Milt Weinstein For the fifth consecutive year, two loon chicks hatched on our lake and survived through the summer. In contrast, only three chicks survived during the previous five years (2004-2008). What accounts for this change of fortune is unknown, but, as stewards of the lake and its wildlife, we can take pride that […]

Story and Photos by Jackie Underhill What On July 26, the New Hampshire Lakes Association and Eastman’s Lakes & Streams Committee co-hosted a workshop at The Center. It was promoted as a free training workshop to learn all about lake-friendly landscaping techniques. The workshop included a focus on Eastman’s Youth Conservation Corps (YCC), whose work […]

By Craig McArt and Renée Gustafson •  Photos by Renée Gustafson With its countless twists and turns, paddling on Bog Brook could almost make you dizzy. Seeming to meander endlessly, its flow snakes through a beautiful, expansive wetland, each bend exposing another. This peaceful setting is a treasure that many in our community have yet […]

By Peter Hope Once again this past summer, we enjoyed a great season of Eastman walks, both at home and farther afield and were able to restart our hiking program, albeit not on a weekly basis. However, that too will come! We do have an urgent need for more leaders, both for the hikes and […]

By Gale Schmidt Photos Provided By Chris Rimmer At 7 A.M. on Sunday morning, May 11, the weather forecast was 90-100% chance of showers, rain and thunderstorms. This did not deter a group of hardy Eastmanites, who gathered at Heath Forest for a bird walk sponsored by the Woodlands and Wildlife Committee. Chris Rimmer, director […]

By Aaron Brooke Jenkyn Owls, coyotes and turtles, oh my! What a wonderful summer to live in Eastman. With the extremely warm weather and sunny days, many of you had the opportunity to get out and explore. Others of you didn’t have to travel very far to see wildlife, as the birds, critters and turtles […]

A perennial favorite with riders, volunteers and staff at High Horses Therapeutic Riding Program in Wilder, VT, Louie, a gentle giant Belgian draft horse, was nominated for horse of the year of the National American Riding for the Handicapped Association (now PATH, Int.) in spring 2009. The photo and poem, both by Richard Sachs, were […]

By Peter Hope The summer Eastman Walk program was a great success! We focused on walks within Eastman but also returned to old favorites such as Mt. Tom in Woodstock, VT and French’s Ledges in Meriden. The hiking program was shortened due to a lack of leaders and adverse weather. We hope for a more […]

By Evan Goldsher With the presidential election on the horizon, Americans are preparing to make an important decision. Every day we hear the same news report of failing economies in Europe, a struggling stock market and a poor jobs report. But what candidates and news stations have failed to cover adequately is the condition of […]

The Lake by Amber Rose Vermette, age 7 Some things are blue. We lay on the water. We see the ducks. We kayak on the lake. We see the flowers. We see lily pads. We see turtles in the water. We jump off the dock into the water. Sometimes we see loons.   Our Lake […]

By Milt Weinstein For the fourth consecutive year, Eastman Lake’s loons produced two chicks. Born on July 2, the chicks spent the summer learning to dive for fish, and in the fall they will learn to fly so they can escape to coastal waters before the ice sets in. The breeding success on our lake […]

By Craig McArt and Renée Gustafson •  Photo by Renée Gustafson Here in the early 1900s, when the Draper Company’s mill was turning out thousands of bobbin blanks from trees logged in its tract around Eastman Pond, a Grantham girl by the name of Wilema Hastings went for a long excursion with her grandfather. After […]

  A Cottage by the Sea By Tom Graves How soporific is the ocean’s roar? Let’s rent a little cottage by the sea, with warmth and sand and shells close at our door. We’ll go there not to do, but just to be.  Let’s rent a little cottage by the sea. Where sky is blue […]

By Craig McArt and Renée Gustafson In the early days, 1851 to be exact, a road was built to connect Grantham with Washburn’s Mill at Washburn Corner in Springfield. It crossed a small, unnamed brook, later to be called Anderson Brook and finally to be renamed Eastman Brook. While the remains of the mill can […]

By Aaron Brooke Jenkyn Summer came early to Eastman this year, with temperatures reaching the ‘70s and ‘80s for several weeks in April and May. The extra warm weather has allowed Eastman residents the chance to open up their windows to listen to sounds of spring, to explore the trails and to get out on […]

By Peter Hope Once again we will offer our Wednesday morning Eastman walks, which will run from July 4 through Columbus Day. Awaited by many with bated breath, the destinations will be in Eastman and in the Upper Valley area. We’ll meet for car-pooling at 8:30 a.m. at the Alpine Vista parking area, above the […]

 By Susie Burbidge The Great Blue Heron is the largest heron in North America and is found in both freshwater and saltwater habitats. Standing nearly four feet tall and weighing a mere five to six pounds, it can be identified by the blue-gray plumage on its back, wings and belly, striped crown, thick yellow bill […]

By Caroline Hoen Photos by David Armstrong Eastman is home to scores of engaged and accomplished young people who excel in areas from academics and athletics to the arts and beyond. One noteworthy member of our 18-and-under set is Jaret Armstrong, who triumphed in this year’s Lebanon Regional Spelling Bee. Held last February, the competition […]

By Rhonda Weinstein   Photos by Amy Hoffman The Program Weed Watchers in Eastman are an invaluable group of volunteers who work to prevent the spread of invasive plants in Eastman Lake, Anderson Pond and Mill Pond. Members paddle to check for non-native plants in the water, and they also check the shorelines for sightings of […]

By Judy McCarthy and Maddie Brown Eastman resident and Lebanon high school student Maddie Brown was simply responding to her English/history teacher’s assignment when she wrote a letter to the author of one of the books she and her classmates had read in class this past year. The teacher, Deb Nelson, had challenged her entire […]

By Aaron Brooke Jenkyn After the unusually warm and snowless winter of 2012, it has been nice to have the cooler temperatures and snowfall that this winter has brought us. Eastman is alive with people walking, skiing and snowshoeing. With more people getting outdoors, it means there were lots of opportunities to see and report […]

By Peter Hope Once again this year we have been able to enjoy our ever-popular Snowshoe Hike Program, even though weather and trail conditions forced some cancellations. However, the groundhog did not see his shadow, which means we are having an early spring! Please be considerate of the trails during mud season. Stay off fragile […]

This poem is in the sonnet form, which contains 14 lines in two groups, one of 8 lines (octave) and one of 6 (sestet). The octave is often divided 4 and 4 and the sestet 4 and 2 (as in this poem). The final couplet allows the poet to state a general summary of the […]

By Rob Strong

 By Craig McArt and Renee Gustafson When Eastman Lake was just a pond, a corduroy road stretched along the length of its western shoreline. The road was surfaced with logs laid side by side to provide logging wagons access to mills near each end of the pond. The north end of the pond disappeared into […]

By Sharon Parker Lake Hosts get to spend two hours lakeside enjoying the view or reading a good book. You can make friends with boaters, walkers, dog owners and their dogs at the public boat ramp. But the biggest benefit is the sense of fulfillment you get from helping to keep our lake free of […]

By Caroline Hoen Photo by Richard Sachs Much of Don Blunt ’s life focuses on the natural world: observing it, exploring it, sharing it. Perhaps because he is so in tune with the cosmic forces around him, he projects a sense of tranquility that belies an intense curiosity and an ambitious personal agenda – he […]

Article and Photos By Don Blunt Eastman’s Woodlands and Wildlife Committee hosts a mushroom foray each September at South Cove. It’s open to all residents of Eastman and is organized by a group of fungi enthusiasts who call themselves the Montshire Mushroom Club. We hike the Eastman woods and trails with baskets for an hour […]

By Sue Pratt “Love our Lake” is the motto of the Lakes and Streams Committee at Eastman. There is no better way to do that than to learn as much as possible about its history and ecology. Education has long been a focus of the committee and starting young appeared to be one of our […]

By Milt Weinstein Last year was a good year for loons in New Hampshire and an excellent year for the loons of Eastman Lake. According to the Loon Preservation Committee (LPC), 170 loon chicks hatched on New Hampshire lakes, of which 134 survived at least until mid-August. That’s not quite as many as in 2011, […]

Article and Photos by Craig McArt The Eastman Community Association purchased John’s Glen Forest last year, adding 60 acres to its open space. The property is located on Eastman’s eastern flank as it borders Bog Brook. Cross country skiers had been using trails in the forest for years with the permission of the previous owner, […]

Apple Stealing By Ethel Paquin Five Cinderellas uninvited to the ball. “Who cares?” we blustered, while our minds plumbed the depths we’d been denied and our spotless bodies ached for the chance to be violated. What to do with the long Friday night that stretched before us. It was late September, air so sharp it […]

 By Jackie Underhill Much of what the Lakes and Streams Committee does has an effect on the water quality in our lake. The tasks of monitoring, protecting, educating and informing all play a part in keeping our lake healthy for the enjoyment of our community and future generations. Lots of data gets generated doing this […]

 By Aaron Brooke Jenkyn The lake is still, the roads and trails a little quieter and the leaves have fallen. Another season has come and gone but, hopefully, not before it was enjoyed by all. Here are a few of the things some of you saw while out and about in Eastman this fall: Residents […]

 By Kristina Burgard Grantham’s Wetland Inventory project was completed last fall with the help of 22 trained community volunteers and the cooperation of 87 landowners. This project was mandated by the Master Plan adopted by the town, which directs the Conservation Commission to “prepare a local wetlands inventory and evaluation and consider the designation of […]

By Renee Gustafson and Craig McArt Photos by Craig McArt and Michael Sandman James Smith married Mary Colby of Hopkinton in 1791 and then moved north to become some of Grantham’s earliest settlers, purchasing land by Butternut Pond. There he cleared the fields and built a farmstead where the couple raised their 12 children. Later […]

By Peter Hope Due to a lack of snow , last year’s Snowshoe Walks did not occur. Let’s hope for better conditions this season! Snowshoe walks are scheduled each Wednesday until mid-March, conditions permitting. We had such success with the summer Wednesday walk program that I decided to try that same schedule in the winter. […]

A Moment in Eastman by Joyce Schmalenberger While the evening winds whip through the trees I hear the rustling of the ornamental green leaves Watching the last golfers on #3 pass by Layers of alizarin crimson begin to form in the distant sky As I sit and remember, tears swell in my eyes Such memorable […]

by Andrea LaMoreaux, NH LAKES Education Director  We’re lucky in New Hampshire—our lakes typically freeze during winter. This provides us with another great season of fun on the lake. While many of us are looking forward to the cross country skiing, ice skating, snow shoeing, ice fishing, and snowmobiling opportunities that our favorite lake will soon […]

By Ruth Ann Eastman As the ground is covered with snow, it becomes easier to know what’s been out there from the animals’ telltale tracks. Can you see the mouse tracks, possibly followed by fox tracks, or see where a ruffed grouse has burrowed into the snow for the night? Enjoy watching the tracks in […]

By Peter Hope I write this in late May, but it already feels like summer! Eastman will again offer our ever-popular walking and hiking programs. This year both will run from July through mid-October, on Wednesdays and Saturdays respectively. If you have any questions about either, call me at 863-6456. And we always need new […]

By Craig McA rt and Renée Gustafson • Photos by Renée Gustafson rom Lorenzo Dunbar’s History of Grantham, published in 1791, we learn that “about the year 1791 two men by the name of Anderson were drowned in Anderson Pond – so called after this occurrence.” From this sad account one might reasonably surmise that […]

By Aaron Brooke Jenkyn The extended spring of 2012 has certainly brought out lots of wildlife sightings! From the Fairway foxes to some really uncommon bird sightings: white-winged scoters and a bald eagle! Eastman residents have also taken advantage of the warm weather to get outside and watch as our local fauna comes to life. […]

By Jackie Underhill A Brief History In 2005, a concerned Eastman resident alerted the Lakes and Streams Committee (L&S) to the New England purple loosestrife invasion and how it might be controlled. These invasive plants were growing unfettered throughout the region, particularly in wet, marshy areas. It was noted that purple loosestrife was indeed spreading […]

I always have a hard time deciding what species I’d like to write about, mainly because there are so many different critters that live in Eastman or visit regularly. Recently, I heard a loud tapping noise right outside my window and, after scanning the trunks of nearby trees, I saw a pileated woodpecker next to […]

By Craig McArt Walkers have fewer incidences of cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and other killer diseases. They live longer and get mental health and spiritual benefits. Where do people walk at Eastman, and where are the best places? All the possibilities come with both advantages and limitations. Here’s a run-down (walkdown?) on what Eastman […]

  In the summer issue of Eastman Living we will be launching a new feature, a special section devoted to your writing, artwork and photography. To get us started, think about this: WHAT IS IT ABOUT LIVING OR VACATIONING AT EASTMAN THAT YOU REALLY LIKE AND/OR WHAT IS IT THAT IS NOT SO PLEASING?  For […]

By Aaron Brooke Jenkyn Spring is my favorite time of year in Eastman: the birds are chirping, the wildflowers are blooming around the lake and the ground has thawed enough to plant peas and other cold crops in my garden. The critters, human and all, have come out from their winter dens to feel the […]

Writing poetry in form can be demanding but extremely helpful to the poet. Being forced into following some rules often forces the poet to get right to the heart of the matter. The following poem, a pantoum, has a unique form: an interlocking series of quatrains (four-line stanzas) with lines two and four of each […]

Article by Craig McArt and Renée Gustafson Photo by Craig McArt   Eastman Lake is fed from the north by Stroing Brook, a stream that drains a pristine valley lying largely within a conservation easement we have with New Hampshire Fish and Game. The land surrounding the valley was first cleared for fields and pastures […]

Cyndy Adamic and Suzanne Goldman will return as Peppermint Patty’s concessionaires for the third season. To round out the South Cove experience, Cyndy and Suzanne will combine their creative ideas to develop additional items for their original menu. Back by popular demand will be their signature lobster picnics overlooking Eastman Lake on Tuesday and Thursday […]

By Jackie Underhill   What are PAHs? Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH s) is the scientific name for coal tar and other similar substances. Coal tar is a black, viscous waste product derived from the distillation of coal during the production of steel. Driveway sealants, vehicle emissions, crude oil and power plants are all sources of […]

Article by Gale Schmidt • Photos by Carol Shearon Four goals were recorded in the minutes of Eastman’s founders’ annual meeting in 1970, three of which pertain to the social and environmental aspects of a sustainable community: 1. T o create a living environment with a variety of activities with continuing appeal to people of […]

By Milt Weinstein By the time you read this column, a pair of loons has probably settled on Eastman Lake. This could be the fourth year in a row that two chicks will have fledged from  Eastman Lake — for the first time in recorded Eastman history! Fortunately for the parents, and unlike humans, they […]

By Sharon Parker   Most everyone has read about nearby lake associations that are fighting invasive flora, like Eurasian and Variable Milfoil, at a great expense of money and time. Here at Eastman we are fortunate that our lake remains clean of these invasives. This could be good luck, but most likely it is due to the sharp eyes of […]

By Peter Hope Because of the lack of snow at Eastman this past winter, we were unable to enjoy our usual Snowshoe Hike Program. In order to walk in the woods, traction devices, such as stabilicers or MICRO spikes were much better options. But an early spring just might allow extended three-season hiking! Of course, please stay off all trails until they are completely dry. […]

By Peter Hope Once again, we had many enjoyable hikes and walks here at Eastman in 2011. Unfortunately, rain and/or wet trails did force the cancellation of several of our trips. But, there’s always another year! Since my work schedule precluded my leading trips far afield, other leaders were able to fill in. A great […]

By Susie Burbidge Fall, with the changing leaves and crisp days, is definitely one of my favorite seasons. My dog Zoe also enjoys the cooler temperatures because she knows winter is imminent; she’s a northern breed and loves the snow. However, there is one animal that meanders through our woods more often in the fall […]

  A Moment in Eastman by Joyce Schmalenberger While the evening winds whip through the trees I hear the rustling of the ornamental green leaves Watching the last golfers on #3 pass by Layers of alizarin crimson begin to form in the distant sk As I sit and remember, tears swell in my eyes Such […]

We’re lucky in New Hampshire —our lakes typically freeze during winter. This provides us with another great season of fun on the lake. While many of us are looking forward to the cross country skiing, ice skating, snow shoeing, ice fishing, and snowmobiling opportunities that our favorite lake will soon offer, we must wait patiently […]

By Ruth Ann Eastman As the ground is covered with snow, it becomes easier to know what’s been out there from the animals’ telltale tracks. Can you see the mouse tracks, possibly followed by fox tracks, or see where a ruffed grouse has burrowed into the snow for the night? Enjoy watching the tracks in […]

Photos by Richard Sachs

By Milt Weinstein On our recent trip to Alaska, my wife, Rhonda, and I learned something about loons that surprised even some local experts from New Hampshire. We had previously been taught that mature common loons breed on lakes in the summer and migrate offshore to salt water only in the winter. In Alaska, we […]

By Peter Hope Summer and fall saw great hikes and walks to destinations near and far, old favorites and new ones alike. Now we are looking forward to the snowshoe hike season, which will start early in the new year. Call me at (603)863-6456 or e-mail me at phope at worldpath.net with suggestions for trips. […]

Article by Gale Schmidt • Photos by Craig McArt Heath Forest (off Bogie Place) is full of treasures – some unique in Eastman: Eastman’s largest contiguous undeveloped parcel of land which correlates with maximal biodiversity Eastman’s most varied habitat: streams, wetlands, large pools, vernal pools, hardwoods, softwoods, mixed woods, meadows and ledges Confluence of two […]