When Elizabeth Gauffreau asked for people who might be interested in helping her launch her book, Simple Pleasures — a book of haiku poetry inspired by Liz’s favorite places in nature — I said yes as quickly as I could. You see, Liz’ favorite places are in my backyard. Technically, my northeast front yard, but I digress.
Lots of other people offered to help Liz launch this wonderful book (I’ve read it, I can say “Wonderful” with authority). so Liz extended the launch and I’m coming up toward the end. Still, I couldn’t have been luckier. As Liz will tell you, the focus of today’s story is the Connecticut River — you know, that thing I share pictures of fairly often.
I’m going to turn this post over to Liz in a few seconds. That’s my one liner for today
One-Liner Wednesday by Linda G. Hill
Thank you, Dan, for hosting me on Day #11 of my blog tour for Simple Pleasures: Haiku from the Place Just Right. Today’s adventure takes us to the Canadian border to hike up to the source of the Connecticut River, which my husband had wanted to do since he was a kid.
On our way to the border, we stopped at the First Connecticut Lake and the Second Connecticut Lake in Pittsburg, New Hampshire. This picture is of the Second Connecticut Lake.
We found the right border crossing easily enough, but we didn’t see any signs for a trailhead or a place to park, so we pulled up to Canadian Customs. The friendly border agent told us we needed to turn around; the trailhead was on the US side. So my husband pulled a U-turn and headed to the parking area.
A man burst from US Customs and ran toward the car yelling and waving his arms. YOU HAVE ENTERED THE UNITED STATES WITHOUT STOPPING AT CUSTOMS! YOU CANNOT ENTER THE UNITED STATES WITHOUT REPORTING TO CUSTOMS!
We tried to explain we hadn’t actually been out of the country, but he wasn’t having any of it. So, we went through US Customs.
At a certain point not long on our hike, we came upon a marker for the Canadian border.
We made it to the source of the Connecticut River and subsequently reentered the United States without going through Customs or getting yelled at.
Here is a view of the Connecticut River from the Vermont side. It was taken about halfway down the state.
‘Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free
‘Tis the gift to come down where I ought to be . . . .
~ Shaker song attributed to Joseph Brackett
The simple pleasures of our favorite places in nature are gifts of the spirit to be shared with others. In this collection of 53 haiku, each paired with a photograph, poet Liz Gauffreau invites readers to come with her to some of her favorite places in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Some places are long-time favorites going back years; others have become favorites by virtue of inspiring poetry.
Author Biography
Elizabeth Gauffreau writes fiction and poetry with a strong connection to family and place. Her work has been widely published in literary magazines, as well as several themed anthologies. Her short story “Henrietta’s Saving Grace” was awarded the 2022 Ben Nyberg prize for fiction by Choeofpleirn Press.
She has published a novel, Telling Sonny, and a collection of photopoetry, Grief Songs: Poems of Love & Remembrance. She is currently working on a novel, The Weight of Snow and Regret, based on the closing of the last poor farm in Vermont in 1968.
Liz’s professional background is in nontraditional higher education, including academic advising, classroom and online teaching, curriculum development, and program administration. She received the Granite State College Distinguished Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2018. Liz lives in Nottingham, New Hampshire with her husband. Find her online at https://lizgauffreau.com.
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