It was such a beautiful day Friday 08/14/20 that we decided to go Shopping For Day Lilies In Sandwich, NH.

There were two specific plants that she had been looking for, and thought Wayside Gardens in Sandwich might have them.

We tossed Beau into the car, and were off at 11:30 after having some of the left over quiche that Sue had made the other day.

We stopped to grab coffee as we drove through Wolfeboro, and of course The Beau Dog did his amped up barking show for the server at the drive through window. "Oh, what a cute dog," she exclaimed as Beau stuffed his head between the edge of the window and my head. "Aussie Shepard, right? I just love him to death! Can he have a treat?" Yeah, not only can he have a treat, but we could leave him off at the back door for you, little barking shit....

We pulled off of Route 109 onto some back roads in Moultonborough as Sue wanted to drop some blackberries she had picked off of our bushes for her Uncle Ronald. As we pulled up, Ronald came out from some bushes he was in the process of trimming and hauling the branches up into the back of his pickup truck. At 84, the guy is iron man, having spent his life in the woods as a logger.

Sue spotted his flower gardens off to the side of the his house, and Ronald showed us back there, pointing out his plans to clean the area up. Then, he led us around the back of the house, and down the road to the barn (he has over 30 acres; mostly wooded other than probably 3).

Off to the side of the barn were the vegetable gardens he had been telling us the turkeys and deer had been tearing up. Being City Boy, I had no idea that turkeys would get into your garden. We have turkeys all over the place where we live, but they usually just trample past us through the woods, and across the road. These guys here were doing some serious vegetable eating.

I think the only thing nothing had touched were all of the potatoes he had planted. Again, City Boy had never seen a potato plant, and had to investigate all of that. I'm not totally stupid here — at least I knew that potatoes grew in the ground and not from trees.... Just had never seen them before in the wild; my experience with potatoes was grabbing them out of the bin at the store....

As thrilling as all of that was, we had to get a move on. Sue directed me over some of the prettiest gravel back roads with just wonderful views of fields through the trees, or just those old farmhouse and barn scenes that are so New England, and rich with history.

Even though Sue didn't find the plants she wanted at Wayside, she did grab a couple of really pretty late blooming day lilies that she said would go out by the back rock wall area at the house. As I'm driving down the road gaping at all of the scenery, Sue brings me up short with a: "Hey! Right turn here!"

I had totally forgotten that Sue's Rule Visiting Wayside was to stop on the way out for ice cream at the Sandwich Creamery. While I stayed with Beau in the car with the air conditioning on because it was so hot out, Sue went in. The ice cream here is just the best. The place is way, way off the beaten track, and you'd really have to know that it was out there somewhere or you'd think you'd end up on a logging road in the woods....

From there, Sue directed me off onto a narrow, gravel road that wound through the woods and up and down gently sloping hills. There were quite a few places where we pulled off to the side of the road to look at the spectacular views of the mountains and valley in the distance.

It was 4:30 by the time we got home. Time for some wine, and backgammon out on the screen porch before heating up a pizza for dinner. What a wonderful day.

Sue and her uncle Ronald, Moultonborough, NH

Wayside Gardens, Sandwich, NH

One of the views from one of the back roads we took home.

Shot of Mount Chocorua all the way over in Conway, NH