December 6, 2020: A Quick Transition

The week started out in May and ended in December.  Spring-like rain filled up the lakes and rivers and 60 degree weather was just right for a late-season kayak and running in shorts and shirtsleeves.  But the lake was cold enough that fog formed when the warm humid air brushed up against the water.

One stubborn tree refuses to let go.

It was so calm on Tuesday that the fog just hung there for hours, painting tranquil scenes; I was the only thing out there making ripples on the surface of Lake Wicwas.

It was so quiet that I could hear water running on the far side of the shoreline from where I was paddling, so I followed the sound to the source.  There I found a pretty stream, swollen from the rain, emptying into Lake Wicwas what it had collected from the drainage on the western side of the lake.

A December Waterfall

It was a small stream but it had enough force to push a big pile of leaves downstream and deposit them in the lake.

Farther along I encountered a bald eagle sitting high in a tree watching over the lake for us.  

The Lake Wicwas Sentry.

I didn't see any loons on what was probably my last liquid outing of the year, but a few days earlier Amy Wilson did find the chicks and she took some incredible pictures.  

Harold or Betty?  (Photo by Amy Wilson)

Photo by Amy Wilson

They demonstrated their fishing prowess for Amy, and she is talented enough to capture the immensity of the fish they are catching - and somehow managing to swallow.

Photos by Amy Wilson

Now that's a mouthful!

Amy is a truly accomplished artist and photographer - you can find more of her art work at her website, Amy Wilson Photography.

That was early in the week.  Towards the middle we had a couple colder days, and even received a dusting of snow a bit north and at higher elevations.  I went for a short hike up in the Sandwich range, departing from Sandwich Notch Road, taking the Algonquin Trail up to Black Mountain.

Approaching the summit of Black Mountain.

There was just enough snow on the ground to see there had been snowshoe hares running along the trail, but the snow was so thin the tracks didn't come out in pictures.  Here's what they look like; this was taken in 2018 on Mount Welch, just a couple miles west of Black Mountain.

Snowshoe Hare tracks on Mount Welch just four miles away.

There's always something special about seeing these prints, and knowing these animals live in this harsh terrain above 3000'.  

It's not as much fun to see the lack of snow on the trails at Waterville Valley.

Bare ski trails at Waterville Valley.  (That's Mount Lafayette looming behind.)

They should be open by now, at least on man-made snow.

And that brings us to last night's Nor'easter, which was kind of bust here, but at least it felt a little like December.  We barely got an inch of wet slush, while some locations received close to a foot of snow.  It did make it seem wintery enough to put out the bird feeders - now I just hope those bears really have bedded down for the winter.