Welcome spring with blooms and greenery at the University of New Hampshire’s annual Greenhouse Open House on March 26 and 27. This free event runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, and coincides with the Seacoast Flower, Home and Garden Show at the Whittemore Center.

The open house offers plants for sale, educational lectures and seminars to help turn your thumb green.

The greenhouses are off Main Street on the west end of Durham. Lectures are scheduled for Putnam Hall, which is across the parking lot from the greenhouses.

Saturday also brings the Little Royal Livestock show at the Skoglund Livestock Arena. This also a free event, showcasing students competing against one another for the best turned-out cows or horses.

The Seacoast of New Hampshire is a fun place to be in the winter, partly because of the variety of events that nudge you out into the cold.

If you want to get the blood pumping and extend a little bit of the goodwill of the holiday season, check out the Cocheco Valley Community Skate Days at the Whittemore Center in Durham.

Today and tomorrow, the skates happen from 6-8 p.m. On New Year’s Eve, you can skate from 5-7 p.m. Bringing along pet food for the Cocheco Valley Humane Society gets you a discount to the already reasonable rate. Bring three or more items for $2 off the family rate of $10, or $1 off the adult rate ($5) and the children younger than 12 rate ($3) with a pet food donation each.

The Cocheco Valley Humane Society seeks donations of canned and dry adult cat food; canned and dry adult dog food; hay for small animals (no straw); rabbit hay racks; small litter boxes for rabbits; cat and small animal toys; and non-clumping clay cat litter.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, so the song goes. But it can also be a stressful time, particularly if you’re on a budget.

I know how easy it is to get off track and start adding names to your list, but don’t get carried away. Make like an after-school special and resist the peer pressure.

That’s not to say you can’t have fun this holiday season. Free fun happens to be coming out the wazoo this time of year.

And first up is one of my favorite events: The Nashua Holiday Stroll.

It’s held every year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving in downtown Nashua, and it’s free. First you take a candlelit stroll down to Railroad Square where the city lights its holiday tree. Then the evening gives way to a bevy of free musical and theatrical performances in venues downtown. It’s a wonderful community event that marks its 16th year.

My favorite aspect of the Stroll is its focus on charity. You can bring canned goods, disposable diapers, and new, unwrapped toys for local charitable organizations, and drop them off in front of Citizens Bank.

It is impossible to leave the Stroll without feeling touched by the true spirit of the holiday season. And if this warm weather keeps up, you won’t even have to bundle up to enjoy it.

In many ways, I was a tomboy growing up, but when it came to horses, I was one giant cliche. I wanted my own. Or a pony. Or one of those wild horses from Assateague Island (hee… I said, “Assateague.”) I read My Friend Flicka and Misty of Chincoteague and hung posters of gorgeous, muscled mares on my bedroom wall.

Sadly, I never got a horse of my own, but  years ago, when I was a mercenary Girl Scout Camp counselor (having never been a Girl Scout, but I digress), I finally lived my dream and learned how to ride English. All summer long, every summer I worked there, I found my way down to the stables, where I usually ended up astride a flatulent but otherwise completely awesome Appaloosa named Breezin’.

It’s been >cough< more than a decade since I last cantered Breezin’ around the riding ring, but I have gotten to ride Western a few times since arriving in New Hampshire. There is nothing like it and it pleases the little girl in me to this day.

But it’s not what I’d call a cheap pastime. Which is why I think it’s kind of awesome that Charmingfare Farm in Candia is offering folks a $15 savings on their guided horseback trail rides through Sept. 30. You have to book online and use the promo code rideahorse to take advantage of the savings.

So, if you or someone in your life likes to dream about riding the open range, git along little doggies and book your trail ride today.

Know of any other cheap places to ride? E-mail me with your tip!

This weekend promises to be perfect summer weather (and we’ve certainly waited for it). Not much could beat a day of relaxation on the Androscoggin River, which makes the timing of Saturday’s annual River Day Festival in Berlin juuuuust about perfect.

The day is chock full of canoe and kayak races along the Androscoggin River, log rolling, a Flotilla Parade (consisting or boats or anything else that will float down a river), seminars, workshops, a barbecue and plenty of poutine — a French-Canadian staple.

Other event highlights include water-related activities put on by the AMC Pinkham Notch Visitor’s Center. There will be an aquatic station with invertebrates and water olympics. Amazing Highland Farm will have alpacas and the Roy Family Farm will have llamas and goats for an all-ages petting zoo. There will also be a parade, boat tours, games, crafts and face painting.

River Day Festival events kick off at 10 a.m., which is also the starting time of Wingzilla. Chicken lovers should will enjoy wing cook-offs, a chicken dance, a barbecue, horse shoe tournament and all-you-can-eat chicken wings.

Both the River Day Festival and Wingzilla take place at the Northern Forest Hertiage Park. These family-friendly, free events are put on by the Northern Forest Heritage Park and Berlin Fire Department.

Fair season in New Hampshire is in full swing and continues today with the 57th annual Hebron Fair at (where else?) Hebron Common.

It goes on, rain or shine, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Fairs can be a little dangerous for the budget-minded. Or, at least for this budget-minded chickadee. Many charge admission fees and then of course you need to buy your fried dough and boardwalk-style fries and probably something on a stick because lord knows, you aren’t made of stone now, are you? I thought not. When you add in the cost of trinkets purchased from the ubiquitous crafters, fairs can get pretty pricey pretty quickly.

The Hebron Fair is already ahead of the pack, though, by not charging admission to attend. That doesn’t mean you’re out of the woods of temptation just yet, though, sparky. You’ll still have to navigate the 90 craftspeople, the pony rides, the white elephant sale, the baked goods, the auction and the chicken barbecue.

But I think you can handle it.

My fair strategy is usually to decide on an amount of cash to bring and then when it’s gone, it’s gone. Pretty basic, but so many festivals and fairs now cart in ATMs that a couple rounds of fresh-squeezed lemonade and cotton candy can quickly add up and drain my mad money. And there’s a loooong season of fairs ahead.

So, pace yourself and keep an eye out for the ones like Hebron, which let you in free and offer lower-cost ways to get in your fair fun. I’ve never been to this particular fair, but free is always a good price in my book, and the fact that the schedule includes both a white elephant sale and a rummage sale warms my thrifty heart. You just never know what you’re going to dig up at those things.

For more information on the Hebron Fair, visit hebronchurchnh.org.

But tell me, O bloggy readers — what are your favorite New Hampshire fairs? Why? And what is your strategy for ensuring your entire paycheck doesn’t get lost on the midway rides?

Summertime in New Hampshire means lots of awesome outdoor activities, as we’ve already established. And most of them are free or super cheap, which means this is one of the best times for shoestring living.

If you’ve got a lawn chair and bug spray, the outdoor entertainment opportunities are seriously limitless. (Trust me on the bug spray, though.) Manchester kicks off one of its newest venture with the Downtown Film Festival tonight in Veterans Park. Madagascar 2 opens the free series, followed by Hotel for Dogs on July 23, Journey to the Center of the Earth on July 30 and Kung Fu Panda on Aug. 6. Plan to arrive anytime around 6:30 p.m., although the shows themselves don’t start until 8:30.

Let’s hope the rain stays away. Seriously. Haven’t we suffered enough this summer?

Frederick’s Pastries on Route 101A in Amherst joins forces with Bare Bonz Butcher Shop for a Summer Sampling Party from noon-2 p.m. July 18 and then again on Aug. 15.

Frank FM will be broadcasting live. There will be raffles for gift certificates to both Frederick’s Pastries and Bare Bonz.

Meat and pastries? Have you marked your calendar yet? What are you, made of stone?

Since I landed in New Hampshire almost 10 >cough cough< years ago, I have wanted to try kayaking. Before I came up here, I imagine everyone in New Hampshire kayaked all the time — to get groceries, to go to work, to cruise each other at night. I envisioned this perfectly fit, outdoorsy world up here.

Although it’s not quite the case, lots of folks do engage in some serious paddling. (And not the kinky kind, although probably that, too. I’m not here to judge.)

State parks like Pawtuckaway are a great way to get started. You can rent kayaks or canoes there with a driver’s license and $4 admission per adult, plus $10 per hour in a rental. Or you can mix things up a bit and can trek on up to Saco Bound Outdoors in North Conway with a half-off certificate for a weekday rental here.

So go on. Get your outdoorsy freak on. And do it at a fraction of the cost.

I have a geeky confession to make. I really dug the Gap khakis commercial of the late 1990s. You know, the one where the dancers jumped, jived and wailed in their perfectly press pants, leaping over each other? The one where they made like a tissue, and put a little boogie in it.

Since then, I’ve been a ridiculous sucker for jazzy, swing music, so for me, this Thursday brings a real treat. Rocco and the Stompers is an eight-piece conglomeration of area musicians that plays swing tunes from the 1930s, and they will be doing so at the Nashua library, beginning at 7 p.m. on the plaza. You supply your own blanket or lawn chair. If it rains (and you know that’s a distinct possibility), the music moves inside to the music, art and media wing.

And it’s my favorite price! Free!

That leaves you plenty of money to take dance lessons, rent Swingers or buy a couple pairs of khakis

This Boston-based all-star octet merges traditional 1930s Swing Era sound with contemporary arrangements and compositions. Bring a blanket or chair and kick back to enjoy the tunes. Concerts will be held downstairs in the Music/Art/Media Wing if it rains.