Summer Break in NH

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I would be in New Hampshire visiting family and now I'm back! I thought I'd share some pictures from my trip. Please excuse the quality. I didn't think to bring a proper camera and only had my phone.
Lake Winnipesaukee
I've lived  the majority of my life in NH. Living in Southern California can be a challenge sometimes because I really miss the peace and quiet of being surrounded by trees and nature. Sometimes I just want to get away from the people, noise and all the things about living in a city. 
I want distance from my neighbors, windy back roads, deer randomly appearing out of no where and a proper summer thunderstorm! 
Two weeks away was a much needed break and NH was just perfect. I got the  proper thunderstorm I've been craving since I moved to California 3 or 4 years ago. The weather was perfect summer weather for NH. I saw squirrels and deer and got a chance to check daily on these baby robins that hatched just after I arrived.
I was also there just long enough to see the Tiger Lilies bloom in my grandfather's yard. These are my absolute favorite flowers. I saw them all over as we drove here, there and everywhere, but it was nice to see them up close.
I also got to meet all my grandfathers chickens and guinea hens. Unfortunately just in time for the chicken massacre of 2014 =/ About a week into my trip we went to close the chickens in their coop for the night, 5 chickens and 6 guinea hens. Only 3 of the guinea hens turned up. We searched the yard and quickly had our answer to why they weren't turning up...
Feathers everywhere! You could follow the trail from the driveway into the woods. The following day 2 of the chickens and 1 of the guinea hens finally re-appeared. The rest were dinner for some wild animal. One of the definite down sides of living in the middle of the woods. They've since lost free range of the yard during the day and have a fenced in area with easy coop access. They're safer, but they don't like it. They broke out of their new chicken jail the first day and another one had an unfortunate run in with a predator =/
Not all was bad news though! My grandfather's koi are doing beautifully! Here are just a few at feeding time. I think he has close to 40 fish now and at least 5 of the koi are over a foot long. In the center of the picture you can see one of his best fish, the grey one with beautiful fins.
The day before I left the waterfall for the giant koi pond was finally ready to run! Once my grandfather finished his first koi pond, he wanted a giant one so his fish could grow even more. He's been working on his giant pond with my sister that lives locally for years.  During my trip, the big pond was finally deemed safe enough to move some of the big fish too and the waterfall was turned on. I helped move a lot of rocks on the last day of my NH get away.
  
Here's shot of the big pond from one end to the other You can see some of the big fish that now live in it. I couldn't fit the full width in the photo. The little pond is tucked between this one and the green house in the top right.
It wasn't a super exciting trip. I didn't do much but hang out at my grandfather's house, help with various projects around the house and yard, read, knit, a little sewing and enjoying some quality time in the middle of no where. It was exactly the kind of break I needed.
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