It's the time of year to harvest and store the fruits of summer, and these busy little rascals are hard at it, playing their own version of Pine Cone Pinball.
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| A Red Squirrel comes to see who's in its forest. |
If you look high up in the pine trees you'll find this year's crop of White Pine cones are large and healthy - certainly the squirrels have found them.
Over time these cones will open up and drop their thousand of tiny seeds all over the forest floor which works well for the trees in spreading their seeds, but it makes it tough for the squirrels to collect them. So rather than wait for them to fall, these guys climb way up to the top of the trees and cut off the cones while the seeds are still inside. When they drop the cones they bounce off branch after branch, ricocheting throughout the tree like a ball in a pinball machine. On a quiet morning it can sound like an arcade with a continuous banging of pine cones off resonant dead pine branches before making the final "thunk" as it hits the ground like the silver ball draining out the bottom of the machine. Game Over. It's nature's version of Funspot. (And yes, I tried, but I wasn't able to capture the sound on a recording, so you'll just have to experience it live!)
After the squirrels cut the cones off a tree they'll scurry down and store them away in one of their many secret hordes, saving them for a cold winter day when food is scarce.
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| A cache of pine cones squirreled away under a fallen tree. |
Which explains why, even in the middle of winter there are piles of pine cones on top of the snow.
Other food is becoming available in the forest too. A few weeks ago after a rare rain event there was a short surge of mushroom growth, but then it slowed down again and there haven't been that many around. There may not be an annual mushroom post in the journal this year, we'll have to see what emerges. But I did see one splendid crop of new growth on an old decaying birch tree.
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| New Fungus growth on birch tree. |
I think this is a variety of pholiota, perhaps Pholiota squarrosa, which has the common name, "shaggy scalycap" (squarrosa means "scabby").
If you've been in the lakes lately you know the shorter days and cool nights are taking a toll on the water temperate. I won't dwell on the couple of weak trees that are turning color (it's too early for that!) but how about the lily pads that are starting to shut down for summer?
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| A few lily pads are turning yellow. |
Whether you're out in the early morning woods listening to pine cones drop, or on the water watching the mist rise, it's a great time to be in New Hampshire, with one of the best seasons about to arrive.
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| Mist rises from the forest as the morning sun lights up clouds and water. |
Finally, I'm putting this in the journal not only because it's a beautiful boat, but also because I love the name: N.H. Dreamin'.
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