A perfect New Hampshire day

One day last week, sitting in a rattan rocking chair lined with cushions covered in fabric faded from the sun, I thought, “This was a perfect New Hampshire day.” An August day I will remember when the days are short and the earth is covered with snow.

The day began before dawn, when the sky was gray. The birds were talking, one to another, and the trees were still. Enjoying my coffee and toast I watched the formation of  clouds as the sky turned a perfect blue. In the middle of the morning, walking through the rolling fields, I collected an armful of wildflowers: purple clover, black-eyed Susan’s, Queen Anne’s lace, ferns and sheep laurel. Soon the house was filled with bouquets of flowers.

Late in the morning I wandered through the Old Burying Ground behind the Jaffrey Center Meeting House. Willa Cather and Amos Fortune are buried there. Willa Cather first visited Jaffrey in 1917, when she was seeking seclusion for her writing and stayed at the Shattuck Inn, where she found not only the quiet she desired, but a perfect view of Mount Monadnock.

WILLA CATHER

December 7, 1873–April 24, 1947

THE TRUTH AND CHARITY OF HER GREAT

SPIRIT WILL LIVE ON IN THE WORK

WHICH IS HER ENDURING GIFT TO HER

COUNTRY AND ALL ITS PEOPLE.

" ... that is happiness; to be dissolved

into something complete and great."

From My Antonia

Amos Fortune came to the United States from Africa, became a slave, purchased his freedom when he was 60 years old, moved to Jaffrey and established a leather tannery business. He was an active and well-known citizen in the community of Jaffrey until his death in 1801 at the age of 91.

After exploring Jaffrey, enjoying lunch on the porch at the Harrisville General Store, and while the sun was still high in the sky, there was time for an afternoon swim. Thorndike Pond, located on Upper Jaffrey Road at the base of Mount Monadnock, was cold but refreshing in the heat of an August afternoon.

As the day transitioned to night I sat on the veranda and watched the sky. Clouds were in constant motion and changed from white to pastel colors as the sun began to set. The trees, at the edge of the rolling hills so tall they almost touched the sky, were swaying as if waving good night to one another. The birds were quiet, and the sound of the wind was whistling through the trees.

As the sky became black and night descended, there was lightning in the distance. Randomly an exquisite explosion of yellow light filled the sky. I sat wrapped in the black mist in awe of the pure and exquisite beauty of this performance.

It’s not difficult to understand why Willa Cather – born in Virginia, raised in Nebraska and essentially a New Yorker – would want to be buried in the Old Jaffrey Burying Ground, here in the womb of nature with views of the sky, lakes and mountains and four distinct seasons, covered at the end of each day with a blanket of stars. A perfect New Hampshire day.

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Elizabeth Howard is an author and journalist. Her books include: Ned O’Gorman: A Glance Back, a book she edited (Easton Studio Press, 2015), A Day with Bonefish Joe (David R. Godine, 2015), Queen Anne’s Lace and Wild Blackberry Pie, (Thornwillow Press, 2011). You can send her a note at: Elizabeth@laconiadailysun.com