November 1, 2020: Needle Ice

After seeing signs of deer last week, I decided to set my trail camera up in that area to see if they would return so I could see who's out there - and return they did.  In fact, every night the camera was out one or more deer came by.

This buck has a few points on its antlers.

Most often it was late at night, between midnight and 2:00am, but once early in the evening at 6:30pm, and never during daylight hours.  There were does and a buck, and one of the does appears to be particularly well fed!

Look at that belly!

I know there are a lot of deer in New Hampshire, an estimated 100,000 according to NH Fish and Game, but it's still nice to see them in the area and looking healthy.

Saturday morning was the coldest day so far of this fall season, down to 26 degrees, and I was surprised to see the first ice on Lake Wicwas.  It was a calm night so the surface cooled down enough for a thin ice skim to form in sheltered areas.

The marsh right along Chemung Rd.

Morning reflections show how calm it is.

Arriving right after the recent precipitation (we had lots of rain this week, but only got about an inch of snow on the Friday storm) the cold temperature also spawned some of the coolest ice formations in nature, ones that I don't get to see every year:  Needle Ice.

Twisted, twirling ice crystals extruded from the ground.

These tiny, delicate growths occur when the soil is warm and has lots of moisture, but cold night temperatures rapidly chill small stones on the surface which in turn conduct heat out of the ground below them.

Thin and delicate, the slightest touch sends them crumbling to bits.

As heat from the soil is transferred to the stone, the moisture in the soil is cooled to the freezing point, allowing an ice crystal to form.  As more heat is pulled out of the ground the crystal grows, extruding itself skyward, sometimes as much as two or three inches.

A tiny stone or grain of sand sits atop each column of ice.

I'm always fascinated by these and can spend a long time with my nose to the ground studying them.

I wish I had a camera with me rather than my phone.

You can read more about needle ice at the Northern Woodlands website.

There were lots of ducks on the lake during the rainy days that provided the water for those crystals, including this group of mergansers.

A couple of female common mergansers enjoy a good day for ducks.

While they were here an eagle flew in and perched high overhead in a pine tree, watching down on them.

Would an eagle take a merganser?  I wouldn't bet against it.  And they seemed to be keeping an eye on it.

Keeping an eagle watch, even with raindrops falling in her eye.

I also saw Harold and Betty -as recently as Monday - but not in the past few days.

Out for a tour on a rainy day.

As they got closer I got a better look, and one of them gave me a good show of its wings.

We'll have to wait to see if this bit of cold weather has sent them on their way.  I will certainly miss them when they're gone.

One of the twins on a brighter day (Oct 25th).

I'll end this week with what may be one last look at fall.

Winter is closing in on us quickly.