The List

I like to make lists.

Just ask my husband. He loves it when I leave lists of things for him to do around the house.

What I like more than making a list is crossing things off the list.

Over the past ten years, I’ve created several lists. The first was renovating every one of the ten rooms in our home on The Hill. When we bought the house in 2012, the decor in our new house was a mixture of 1960s paneling meets 1980s matching wall and carpet color palettes. Combine that with the filth and destruction left behind by the previous owner and it was quite a sight. The front room featured purple walls and a purple carpet, complete with a giant oil stain in the middle. At least I think it was oil. Today we have one room left to finish.

I also keep a list of birds I see. We have eight bird feeders on our back deck and after years of feeding and observing, I can identify most birds not only by sight but by sound. I have a soft spot for my Eastern Bluebirds who stick around most of the year. We have become a sort of truck stop for a lone Indigo Bunting. He comes one day a year, eats a lot of seed, and disappears for the rest of the season.

Another list I have is to climb all the 4,000 footers in New Hampshire. My husband has done all 48. Five times. As of today, I have summited ten – Bondcliff, Moosilauke, Tecumseh, Moriah, Jackson, Pierce, Flume, Wildcat A, Garfield, and Hale. I’m almost a quarter finished!

With this last list, I have been much more successful. I set out to photograph every covered bridge in New Hampshire. In 2013 I found a list of 54 of them. I promptly jettisoned around and took photos of about 15. Then, I got busy doing other things (clearly not hiking) and the list took a back seat. Until March 2020.

With the world out of control, I took control of my bridge list. There was no shaming in photographing covered bridges outside in the fresh air. So off we went. Turns out, there are 61 historic covered bridges in New Hampshire. As of today, I have visited all but one.

Not only did I cross them off the list, but I have photographic evidence. Take a look.