Fall is in the Air!
Karen and Jay share the excitement of autumn from a football field in New Hampshire.
Such an exciting time of the year. Fall is on the way – as we are about to enter into a new chapter, filled with possibilities.
Fall is approaching and there's nowhere else I'd rather be during what is undoubtedly my favorite season than right here in New Hampshire – Beautiful fall in New England. With the leaves soon changing over into brilliant oranges, reds, and yellows and crisp fall air moving in, it's arguably the very best time of the year. The time that keeps me grateful for what this place I call home has to offer. Oh, and let’s not forget it means the return of another one of my favorite things – Football is coming back!
As school gets back into session and businesses begin to get back into full swing, we’re almost three quarters the way through a year that has tested all of us in unimaginable ways. Yet with the arrival of a new season like fall, it’s once again another opportunity for us to take the perspective we’ve gained from the past few months and apply it to how we want to move forward for the rest of the year. With 2021 on the horizon, the transition into fall and all it has to offer isn’t just a transition into a new season, it’s an opportunity to start building for a new year, complete with renewed ambitions and aspirations.
Farmers Market in a Small Town – Newport in the Fall
Newport is one of the many small towns in New Hampshire that enjoy a boom in tourist traffic this time of year. And for good reason. The foliage, the pumpkins, the crisp air, the excitement – and in the case of Newport – the spectacular Farmers Market on Friday afternoons.
Through the last Friday in September, dozens of farmers, bakers, and crafters gather on the Town Common in Historic Downtown Newport. Starting in the 1990s, the market launched with only a handful of vendors and has grown to be one of the longest-running farmers’ markets in New Hampshire. Vendors come from 50 miles around the Newport area to sell their locally grown and raised food. This includes everything from produce and maple syrup to baked goods and crafts. In addition, they host nonprofit organizations that provide information about their groups and the wonderful work that they do in Newport and the surrounding communities. Many of them also sell raffle tickets or baked goods to help raise funds for their organizations. The Newport Farmer’s Market is a great start to any weekend and has something for everyone. I encourage you to spend an afternoon in Newport strolling around the farmers market and seeing what the best small town (in my opinion) in New England has to offer this fall. We hope to see you there!
Moreover, beyond Newport, autumn is the most scenic time of year throughout all of New England as well. Travelers from around the world come to our great state to enjoy these breathtaking attractions. From fall foliage to pick-your-own apples, there’s something for everybody. Mountain ranges and scenic drives provide quintessential sight-seeing opportunities throughout New Hampshire. Our state is known throughout the world for its historic grand hotels like the Mount Washington Hotel and the Mountain View Grand. It’s no wonder why tourism is the state’s 2nd largest industry.
Seeing the ‘Sunshine’ in our ‘Loss of Tom Brady’
I love football. And, being a New England native, my favorite team is naturally the New England Patriots. And, for many of us our favorite player, of course, has been Tom Brady. So, while we learned earlier this year that we were ‘losing’ Tom Brady, we had a choice to make. Either feel dejected – or try to find the ‘Sunshine.’
I decided to try to find the Sunshine. And I found it! We didn’t ‘lose’ Tom Brady. Instead of just one game to watch we now have two! We can cheer for our beloved Patriots – now reenergized with a dynamic ‘super-fun-to-watch’ new quarterback, Cam Newton. And, we can also cheer for TB12, GOAT, Tom Brady – in a different uniform, playing for our newly adopted NFC entry, the Tampa Bay Bucs. True Sunshine!
Sports often provides lessons that parallel much of what we experience in life. When we're faced with uncertain moments similar to what the Patriots faced, we have to make tough decisions that can cause disruptions or unexpected changes in our lives. Yet, it's up to us to decide how we face those challenges and how we use the resources at our disposal to persevere and overcome them. As we saw with the Patriots, they ended up signing a talented quarterback in Cam Newton at a price that helped the team sign players that will help support him, setting the stage for a possible "reload", not a rebuild, though time will tell. It's a powerful lesson in the virtue of patience over panic. In football as in life, being able to practice patience, get a clear and objective perspective of our own playing fields, and then execute can help us achieve that which we hope to, one play at a time.
Positive Profile of the Week: Bill Belichick
This week we’re pleased to profile a man who is universally known and respected throughout New England – Bill Belichick, head coach of the New England Patriots. Known for a simple, but powerful philosophy that can be summed up in three words, ‘Do your job.’
Belichick is one the winningest coaches of all time. He has the most Super Bowl victories of any coach, more Super Bowl appearances, and the most playoffs wins. And, while these are remarkable achievements, it is Belichick’s forward looking, ‘never rest on past achievements’ approach – that really makes him special – and worthy of such special admiration.
After each game, win or lose, his response is always the same – ‘On to [next opponent’s city name].’ This mentality of always looking forward and never backward is one of the many reasons that he is considered by many to be the greatest head coach of all time. It is this ‘can-do’ mentality taken to a high level, combined with a laser-like focus on the task ahead and how to accomplish it, that produces consistent success. It’s his direct straight forward approach to the task at hand.
To be sure, Coach Belichick demands a lot from his players and by doing this he brings out the best in them. "Do your job" is something Belichick says constantly to refocus his team's efforts on the field. It means complete your assignments, execute to the best of your ability and trust that your teammates will do the same.
Belichick’s ‘Do your job’ philosophy – executed to near perfection by his coaches and players – has helped him achieve the highest levels of success in his chosen profession and sport. There is much we can learn from Bill Belichick, his philosophy, his work ethic and his proven track record of success. And, as Patriot fans, he has given us an incredible experience over the past twenty years.
I expect that even with the Patriots losing Tom Brady as our quarterback, that Belichick will find a path towards success anyways because he is the type of person who will look at the transition as not a rebuilding year, but a reloading year.
Quotes of the Week: Autumn
"Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall."
- F. Scott Fitzgerald
By all these lovely tokens September days are here, With summer's best of weather And autumn's best of cheer.
-Helen Hunt Jackson
Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.
-George Eliot
My favourite season is autumn, and I love walking through woods.
-Lucy Davis
"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all."
- Stanley Horowitz