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Joy of horseback riding

Horseback riding is not just preserved for professional jockeys or wealthy horse owners with a large expanse of ranch land. Anyone can experience the joy of horseback riding, and it can indeed be a fun activity for both adults and children. It can be a great activity for weekends and holidays.

Whether you want to learn the more formal English saddle horse riding, or American style cowboy riding, there are many riding instructors to set you off on enjoying horseback riding as a pastime. With the right gear, a great instructor and enough hours of practice, you could enjoy speeding off into the sunset on horseback.

Horseback riding is a different experience every time you jump on. “Just as with a musical instrument,” says Jim Bolduc NH, “every time you play you discover new notes and can create a different tune every time”.

The same is true for horseback riding. Just as you have different moods from one day to another, each time you jump on that saddle, the horse will behave differently. As you become a better rider, you may also want to experiment with new things. “That is the beauty of horse riding” says Jim Bolduc Stratham NH, “being open to new experiences each time you saddle up. There is always a surprising new experience; even the smallest one does not go unnoticed.”

In the beginning you may fall off several times, but there’s truth to the old saying “when you fall off your horse, get back on and try again”. This too is part of the fun. Each time you fall off, you learn something new about riding as well as how to conquer your fear. Professional riders have fallen off hundreds of times, its part and parcel of the experience.

Horses are marvellous animals and you do not need to be a horse whisperer to appreciate these beautiful animals. Your instructor will probably ask you to do other things like grooming and feeding apart from just riding, so that you can appreciate horses more. It may seem like unnecessary hard work that you did not sign up for, but the rewards of spending time with horses off the saddle are far more than you can imagine. “The bond you create with the horse makes riding so much more fun!” says Jim.

A useful tip to remember if you want your ride to be enjoyable is to not be nervous or anxious. Horses can sense this fear and instead of you being in control of your riding experience, the horse will think it is the boss. When you relax, your horse will relax too and you can be sure to have an enjoyable riding experience. “There’s nothing more gratifying than being on horseback and being in control of this magnificent beast” says Jim

So instead of leaving your kids to sit in front of the TV screen or playing computer games, let them enjoy and appreciate the outdoors, nature and animals. Join in and you will have a fun activity for the whole family on weekends or holidays.

Jim Bolduc NH – Real Estate Developer

Hi, It’s Jim Bolduc of Stratham NH.  I have been a real estate developer for over 25 years. I have developed many different kinds of properties. One of the many things that I like about being a developer is that there is a lot variety in your daily activity.

One minute a developer will be working with their engineer and the next minute with their attorney. I like the diverse backgrounds it takes to make a development happen. A developer must have a skilled team of multi-talented people. A typical team for a developer is an attorney, engineer(s), landscape architect, land planner, traffic consultant, water and sewer specialist and a variety of other professionals depending upon the kind of development.

People often ask me what I do for a living and I have a hard time giving them an answer as a developer has to wear many different hats. I like the fact that I never know who is going to call next. I can be on the phone for a short time or half the day; you really don’t know just how long the calls will be when you are a developer. I always love it when I get a call from one of the field staff and they say everything is ok! You know darn well that things are never just ok! There is always something to attend to when you are developing a property.

There are so many different kinds of developments. That is what makes it so interesting.  You have residential developments, commercial developments as well as industrial developments. This variety keeps a person fresh as you never know when someone is going to call and say that they need their property developed.

I like the fact that on any given day I might be working with a landowner who wants to develop his land. Land developing is much different than say the development of a building. I can’t really say I like one better than the other.

Then you have different zoning regulations you must pay attention to when you are a developer. Every town/city has a different set of regulations. Understanding the regulations is an art and not a science. The regulations are generally written so the layman can read and understand them but sometimes a developer will find that they need their attorney, engineer, etc to look over the zoning regulations. I would like to be able to say that there is a standard set of zoning regulations but that is not the case. The zoning regulations vary by town/city and in some cases by county.

I develop property in the States of New Hampshire, Southern Maine and North Shore, Massachusetts. Although it can be a challenging job I enjoy the variety of challenges you must face as a developer.  You can follow me on facebook by clicking, Jim Bolduc Stratham NH.

The Joy Of Fly Fishing

I am Jim Bolduc from Brentwood, New Hampshire and I find joy in fly fishing, what a sport! Oh the joy of placing your bait “in a stream” just right so the fish are intrigued. Being able to put on your wader’s and get in the water with the fish. Whether it is bone or trout fishing, what a thrill! You grab your fly rod which is your weapon and enter the water confident that you will catch dinner.

You will find the history of the fly rod is very interesting. The fly rod can be handmade or manufactured and made with many different types of materials. Some people have had their skills affected by the way their fly rod is made. How soft or stiff is it, how long is it, will it hold your reel? Some people spend hours and hours of their life studying the fly rod.

Now what do I mean by weapon? Well your fly rod has a myriad of different hooks that can be used. Many different types of bait can be used, whether it is a fly that simulates the real thing or a worm that is the real thing.

The key with this weapon of yours is to control the way you place the bait in the water so the fish are not spooked. Fish are very finicky to say the least. You have to actually sneak up on them if you are fishing in a stream. The stream can be your friend or foe. Is the stream deep with a strong current or mellow with a gentle flow of water?  Is the bottom of the stream rocky or flat and easy to navigate?

You must pay attention to the weather. You have to be aware if there is a hatch going on and what type of insects live in the water’s you are fishing. There are many different theories as to where a certain hatch is or when it will take place. What weather conditions are needed for a hatch to occur? The time of year is important, is it hot out, is it raining? You virtually have to be a specialist in weather on how the weather conditions affect a hatch.

You find yourself getting “hooked” on wanting to learn more by reading the latest magazine or books that tell how people have spent their entire lives studying the ways of fish that you can catch on a fly rod.

I hope you take a chance to have your life affected in the positive way that fly fishing has for me!

Who I Like To Shoot Skeet With

Skeet shooting with anyone is fun but it is special when you can bring along a good friend or family member. It is a bonus if they know how to skeet shoot! I am blessed to have some good friends and a family member who likes to skeet shoot.

My best friend Mike is a good example of the kind of skeet shooter you want to have go with you shooting. Mike knows how to handle a shotgun very well. Mike’s favorite shotgun bounces back and forth between his 20 gauge and his 12 gauge shotguns. I would be the last one to tell him which one to use on any given day. He shoots both shotguns well and hits the clay birds with either shotgun. I have to admit; I get kind of jealous sometimes because Mike is such a good shot. This makes me work even harder to improve my shooting capabilities.

Then there is my son! Wow! I have to say; Jimmy is a great shot. He took lessons when he was only 12 years old. The person who taught Jimmy to shoot said he was a natural shot. As with Mike; this fact also makes me work harder to improve my shooting!

It is a lot of fun to get the three of us out on the skeet range and see who can shoot well.  We have fun contests as to who is going to shoot better on any given day. It does not matter whether it is raining, snowing and or nice as can be; Mike and Jimmy just plain are good with a shotgun.

I have my days when I can shoot well. It seems to come in streaks. One day I am right on the clay birds and the next; oh well not so good! I took lessons from the same person as my son and the instructor told me to forget his suggestions and just shoot by instinct.

We usually take about half of the day when we go skeet shooting. We will normally shoot in the am and stop for lunch at noon. Sometimes we go right back and shoot some more clay’s or just call it a day.

There is never a bad day shooting skeet when you are shooting with your best friend and son. I would recommend to anyone to get their family and good friends involved in the sport of skeet shooting.

 

Skeet Shooting On Private Land

Skeet shooting what a sport! It is a sport I love to write about. There is no end to the subjects we can cover about skeet shooting. So let’s get on with this overview of where to skeet shoot.

I am going to focus on the subject of skeet shooting on “Private Land”. I live in Brentwood, New Hampshire which is part of what we call the Seacoast area of New Hampshire. We have a good road system in New Hampshire, Southern Maine and North Shore Massachusetts so getting there to skeet shoot is going to be easy.

In addition, to the formal clubs that have skeet shooting you can just go out to your nearest gravel pit which is a good example of how easy it is to find a place to shoot. The only thing I have to warn you is that you need to check with your local ordinances and be sure they allow for shooting in places like your local gravel pit. A quick call to the property owner, wherever you decide to shoot, is always a good idea. Permission now can save you a lot of problems later.

There are many things I like about skeet shooting on private property. Some of them include the simple fact that you don’t need a fancy gun, you have no pressure from other shooters who tend to be great shots if they belong to a club. You can just go out at your leisure and shoot.

Since there are no formal rules in this setting you need to make up some rules depending upon whom you are shooting with. Take into consideration whether they are experienced skeet shooters. You may want to ask the friends you invite to skeet shoot with you if they have attended some formal gun training class. You want to be sure that whoever shoots with you knows how to handle a shotgun. Many times if an accident occurs there is no second chance when dealing with a shotgun.

All you need to do in this setting is load up your clay bird thrower. It does not matter whether it is a hand thrower or a fancy one that is mechanical. You will have as much fun with either.

I find that I like using the hand thrower. You can ask the friend you brought with you to easily vary the speed, height and elevation of the throw. The clay reacts similar whether it is thrown from a hand held thrower or a mechanical thrower. You just have to decide which kind of thrower is for you.

Remember this is a sport just like any other in that you want to have fun! Whether you decide to make it into a competition with your friends is your choice. The bottom line is to have fun!

 

The Equipment You Will Need For Skeet Shooting

You only need basic equipment, which consists of a good shotgun, shooting vest, shotgun shells, clay birds, safety glasses, shooting gloves, shooting coat if it is cold out, a thrower for the birds and some basic math skills so you can count how many clay birds you shot.

Of course, modern equipment can help. There is a wide range of equipment available for Skeet Shooting. I find most of mine through speaking with other Skeet Shooters and getting their opinions on what they have found works best. It is amazing to me, but you can purchase whatever you need right over the internet without ever leaving the comfort of your home!

It is also good to have a simple supply box or bag; you will find the manufacturers refer to this piece of shooting equipment in many ways so for this article I will refer to it as a box. A good sturdy box is great for the storage of your equipment. You can get these boxes in all shapes and sizes, made with many different kinds of material. The material could be heavy duty nylon exterior, plastic, metal or canvas. As far as sizes of the supply box I would suggest that you do not go for the smaller boxes, it doesn’t cost much more to get a good sized one. You will be happy if you go with a larger box. It is so nice to have all of your equipment in one place, dry and organize. The one I like is from Allen Shooters and is called “All Range Canvas Bag”. It has a rugged canvas exterior for long life and many days of shooting. You can get it on the internet for around $15.00.

If it is cold out, as it tends to be in the northern part of the country in the wintertime, having a warm shooting coat will be invaluable. I like the Bob Allen Shooting Coat which is insulated and has Suede Panels. The last time I looked on the internet they were selling for around $95.00.

Now on those warmer days when you just need a vest I like the Browning Skeet Trap Sporting Vest. I found the prices for vests can vary greatly, but I found this particular Browning vest on EBay for around $53.00.

Now let’s discuss shooting glasses. If you have the kind of shooting glasses with the multi-colored removable lens’s this can help a skeet shooter a lot. The kind that I like is the Browning Claymaster Shooting Glasses. I have found them on the internet for around $35.00. You can see the clay bird a lot better with multi-colored lens shooting glasses. If it is sunny or cloudy you will find that having the multi colored lens does help you shoot so much better. The clay birds will be easier to see and your success rates will go up.

This is where having that “supply” box/case I mentioned above comes in handy. Your shooting glasses will be with you in your box anytime you are ready to go for a day of skeet shooting.

Why I Like Skeet Shooting

I am Jim Bolduc and I live in the great State of New Hampshire. I have been an avid skeet shooter for about 20 years. I have found that skeet shooting is the most relaxing sports of all the sports I am involved in.

I like Skeet Shooting because you don’t need to go to a range to enjoy it; you can often go to your local gravel pit and skeet shoot. This of course depends on whether your local ordinances allow this in the area in which you live.

Weather can be a factor, especially if you live in the northern part of the country like I do in New Hampshire, with all of the inclement weather in the wintertime. The weather can work in your favor or against you. As an example: on a cloudy day some people see the clay birds better than on other days when the sun is out. If you have snow on the ground, or if it is raining; all of these weather conditions affect how well you will see a clay bird. I find that if it is a warm day I will tend to be more relaxed and shoot better. If it is a cold day I find that I tend to be more uptight and rigid and do not shoot as well.

You know, once you get out on the skeet range and are set up, you find yourself feeling as though you are in another world. It is just you and the clay. Who is going to win the challenge? When the range master (or his designee for the day) pushes the button after you signal him you are ready, you wonder: “Am I going to be able to shoot it when it comes flying out of the clay thrower? Or will it keep flying?”

You are usually out in a natural setting when you are on the range. As most ranges because of the shooting are in rural settings you often get to see nature at its best. I had the experience not long ago while shooting where six Turkey’s walked right across the range. It was so fun to stop shooting and just watch them; they were not bothered by our skeet shooting in the least.

I hope you give Skeet Shooting a try it is a great sport!

Check out more from Jim Bolduc NH by visiting www.jimbolduc.net

“Property Management Is Not For Everyone”

My name is Jim Bolduc and I reside in Brentwood, New Hampshire. I have been involved in the real estate industry for over 30 years. I can tell you first hand that property management is definitely not for everyone! If you are an inflexible person you will not like property management. As a property manager you will find yourself in many unsettling situations. You will have to dig deep within yourself to work out some difficult situations.

I have seen many aspects of residential and commercial property management. You have your tenants that are easy to get along with and then of course you have at least 10% that are difficult. The tenants that follow the rules make the job so much easier. It is one thing to deal with people that you enjoy versus those that can make your job difficult.

It definitely is a people business. If you are a people person this business can be very rewarding. You find yourself becoming close friends with a lot of your tenants. There is nothing more rewarding then to call a tenant a good friend. They will share a lot of their personal information with you and be very open with you. You need to know if they are employed or not or whether they have enough money to make the first month’s rental payment and the security deposit.

Where you locate your office is important. In these days of “virtual” offices you can run businesses from anywhere. However; in the property management business you want to have your office near where you are managing property. Many tenants like to come to your office and drop off their rent. Sub-contractors you deal with like to have you nearby. Some property managers locate their offices in the buildings they are managing, especially for larger apartment or commercial properties.

Just think of the variety of issues that a property manager has to handle. Everything from a small plumbing problem to a large issue like a leaking boiler is the manager’s responsibility. You will get calls from tenants for every kind of maintenance issue you can think of to be sure. From fixing their burner on their electric stove to fixing a loose door handle.

Although property management can be very demanding and challenging, I have found it can be rewarding.

Gove Hill, Kens…

Gove Hill, Kensington Hampshire – A Good Example of “Open Space Planning”

 Gove Hill was developed in the mid 90’s.  The project was named Gove Hill in honor of a family who farmed this land for many years.  The project was developed by James R Bolduc of Fremont, NH who has done a number of projects using open space planning and woring with towns to conserve land.  As an avid outdoorsman, he feels land can and should be impacted as little as possible when constructing a project.

There are 38-single family homes, each home has it’s own well and a modern septic system.

This is an example of modern land planning at it’s best. The project was designed with the latest in drainage control utilizing holding ponds. It has some unique features as it is two parcels seperated by an estuary and farmland.  The estuary is a protected area for wildlife of many kinds.  Moose have been seen as well as deer, nesting birds and enumerable kinds of wildlife that thrive in this kind of protected environment.

The property was recently visited by Mr. Mike Welty of MJ Welty and Associates who is a supporter of open space planning that Jim Bolduc has become known for. Mr. Welty; as a member of NHSEA, New Hampshire Sustainable Energy Association, is sensitive to projects of this type that work to protect the environment.  Mr Wely’s company helps his clients to improve their energy awareness and their impact on the community.  Mr Welty helps his customers find funds to reduct energy consumptin.  As an example; replacing od lighting fixtures which saves his clients moey and helps the environment by reducing a company’s carbon footprint.  Mr Welty is quoted as saying “What a great way to plan a development.  This project satistfies the need for housing while protecting the estuary.”

Mr. Bolduc has a strong belief that this kind of modern land planning needs to be supported by the twon planning boards and other state and federal agencies, which have a say in how a project of this kind get’s developed.  This planning helps conserve land, protects wildlife, maintains water quality, allows for residents to enjoy nature.  Towns gain open space without buying land, saving taxpayers money.

As Mr. Bolduc says “Everyone wins; the environment, the abutters, the town and the wildlife”