April 8, 2018 - The Early Goose Gets the Nest

The Canada Geese always arrive at the lakes long before I think they should, well before the ice is out.  But this year, unless they get a sudden change in the weather pattern, they are going to have a particularly long wait to get their feet wet.

It looks cold, but at least it's soft

I can only imagine they arrive early in order to stake out their nesting location.  One pair always nests in the marsh near here, and these two are probably just hanging out to keep any intruders from taking their spot.  And yes, that's fresh snow all around, about 3" worth that fell on Friday night.

And just when we starting to see signs of progress towards spring, including the first bright yellow gold finch of the year.

My first "gold" finch

And then, the very next day:

Sitting in snow, looking for spring

Strips of liquid water were starting to open up along the shore lines, but when the temperature fell below freezing overnight, they iced over again - the water must still be only 32 degrees.  At least the strong April sun melts things away quickly at this time of year.

That black ice was water the day before

But fresh snow followed by blue skies is always a great reason to get outside and enjoy the sights.  I'd heard about a new hiking area managed by Squam Lakes Association in Ashland called Whitten Woods, so I took a drive up there to explore.  It's an easy loop of about 4 miles including a spur to a second summit.

Whitten Woods

There have been views cleared from the south summit and along a ridge approaching the north summit, both of which provide nice views of the mountains and lakes to the east.

View from the south peak

The trailhead is on Highland Road, one mile north of Ashland center, and they have trail maps at the trailhead and posted along the trails at each junction.

Finally, on a run through Meredith Center this week I saw someone doing spring cleanup at an old family cemetery so I stopped to thank him.  He wasn't doing it for any group, or because he has any relationship to the family buried there;  he was just being a good neighbor and citizen, and he's been maintaining it for several years.  Volunteers truly are what makes New Hampshire such a great place to live.

Cemetery on Meredith Center Road at the intersection with Chemung Road