August 17, 2025: A Leap of Leopards

A group of leopards is called a leap, which seems appropriate for this species of leopard:

Northern Leopard Frog (I think)

It seems everywhere we go around the yard these days we're seeing streaks of motion deep in the vegetation.  It takes a bit of searching because these small leopards blend in well with diverse backgrounds, but as one gets close they jump again, revealing their hiding spot.

I have a hard time telling the difference between the Northern Leopard Frog and the Pickerel Frog.  I tend not to pick them up to study the inside of their thighs where the difference in color can clearly identify them (the pickerel frog has bright yellow thighs which the leopard frog lacks).  But the poorly-shaped and haphazardly arranged splotches on its back are indicative of the leopard frog; the pickerel frog has better defined spots.  Here's a mature pickerel frog I saw last June:

And a Pickerel Frog (I think!)

All the ones I'm seeing now are small, indicating they are newly emerged this year.  Both of these frog species hatch from eggs laid in the spring in ponds.  They develop through a tadpole phase and if they escape predators, they emerge onto land in mid-summer and start to spread out, which we are seeing now.  The pickerel frog is widespread in New Hampshire and not a species of concern, whereas the northern leopard frog is a Species of Special Concern and listed in the NH Wildlife Action Plan as a Species in Greatest Need of Conservation.  Seeing a lot of leopard frogs is a good sign of a healthy habitat.

As quick as they are, frogs are not safe from predators.  They're one of the favorite foods of the Great Blue Heron which are often seen standing like statues on the shoreline waiting for a frog to come within striking distance of their long neck.  But this week on a morning paddle I found a heron in another common, though surprising venue.

Great Blue Heron perched in a White Pine tree.

Whether in water where it's legs imitate lily pad stalks or up in a pine tree, they are well hidden.

Where's the heron?

Spending more of their life away from water, toads are less likely to be taken by a heron, but of course they will be snatched up if found.  Toads are getting large and plump this time of year after feasting on various insects and grubs all summer.

Toads, though amphibians, are found in drier climates than frogs, even at the top of mountains like this one near the summit of Red Hill.

And it sure is dry out there.  At the White Mountain Ledge in the Hamlin Town Forest the blueberry bushes and maple trees at the exposed ledge are curling up and turning brown.

Shriveling blueberries

and brown maple leaves.

It doesn't help that the soil there on top of the granite ledge is very thin and doesn't hold much moisture.  Some areas of the Lakes Region have had cloudbursts lately, but locally, the Lake Wicwas weather station has recorded only a total of half an inch of rain since July 14th.  It a good thing we have beavers.  Many streams are bone dry, but those downstream from beaver ponds - which store water and leak some continuously through the dam - are still flowing, if slowly.

A slowly-flowing stream below a beaver pond.

And Lake Wicwas, fed by two beaver-dammed ponds (as well as springs) is only down about an inch from full lake level.  

Measured at the Wicwas outlet yesterday.

Nature has a way of taking care of itself, if allowed.

The colors of late summer are starting to fully develop; it's a beautiful time to be in the woods or on the water.  But this entry is long enough, so I'll add just one scene of what's to come next to lure us out into nature in the coming weeks.

The colors of late summer at the lake.

P.S.  Regarding the loons, Star hasn't been seen for a couple of days, so we are concerned - stay tuned.

August 10, 2025: Shelburne, Vermont

We took a trip to northern Vermont this week to explore the Shelburne area along Lake Champlain's eastern shore.  Little did we know we’d be heading right into the worst part of the smoke blowing in from the wildfires in Canada. We didn’t have any big hiking excursions in our plans, so the smoke didn’t impact our activities but it did reduce visibility and paint the sky a dull gray all week. One of the highlights of the trip was a day at the Shelburne Farm, and right there at the first field we entered was an osprey nest.

Osprey on a man-made platform at Shelburne Farms.

There didn’t appear to be any juveniles in the nest, and several times a second osprey tried to land on the nest but the inhabitant refused their approach every time. There wasn’t any physical altercation between them, just a lot of squawking at each other.  Eventually the nest-sitter flew off to harass the intruder. 

Off on the attack.

And then returned to its place as king of the roost.

Returning Home

This made me aware that I haven’t seen or heard as many osprey on Lake Wicwas this summer as in recent years. They must have found some other primary fishing spot.

 
The Shelburne Farm and its opulent house and barns were built by Lila Vanderbilt Webb, the youngest daughter of William Vanderbilt, and her husband William Webb. Her inheritance allowed the couple to purchase 33 farms covering 4000 acres along Lake Champlain in the late 1800’s.

That's just the barn.

The farm is now “an education nonprofit on a mission to inspire and cultivate learning for a sustainable future.” [Ref: Shelburne Farms]  It’s a beautiful property, open to the public with no admission fee.

The Shelburne Inn overlooking Lake Champlain.

With a view across the lake to the Adirondack Mountains in New York.

We also spent a day at the Shelburne Museum which is a huge outdoor museum with more than 40 structures covering everything from farming to the history of the circus in America. 

There’s an up-and-down sawmill like the one that cut timber at the Page Pond mill dam on Meredith Neck.

Up and down Sawmill originally powered by the White River.

This sawmill was built in 1873 and operated in South Royalton Vermont, probably until the mid 1800s when it would have been upgraded to a circular saw which continued to operate into the early 1900s.  I loved the juxtaposition of the 1873 sawmill with a truck load of saw logs heading off to a 2025 sawmill.

There’s also a two-lane covered bridge that was moved to the museum from Cambridge Vermont where it spanned the Lamoille River for over 100 years.

I don’t think I’ve seen a two-lane covered bridge before.


Nestled in between Shelburne Farm and Shelburne Museum is Shelburne Bay Park which extends about a mile along Lake Champlain.  One of the park's trails goes up and over a steep hill – too steep in places for logging to have taken place, and that's where I found quite few very old trees that escaped the sawmills.  Most impressive was this White Oak which I knew was something special when I saw the incredibly thick and deeply furrowed bark.

Other ancient trees there were Shagbark Hickory, Red Pine, and Eastern Cedar.

Cedar

Shagbark Hickory

References I found estimate the oldest trees in the park to be 200 years old, perhaps older. This means they survived the clear cutting of New England during the mid-1800’s Sheep Craze when much of New England was put into pasture land, and again around the turn of the century when, after the forest had regrown for 50-80 years, most of New England was deforested for the second time for lumber, charcoal, and paper.  Lime production was an important Vermont industry and it required a huge amount of wood. A lime kiln operated in South Burlington from 1825 until 1971. [Ref: MyChamplainValley]

While we were away I received multiple reports and pictures that show all is well with our loon family even though there were a number of rogue loons visiting the lake. 

Spangle is molting her baby fluff, revealing bits of her juvenile chevron pattern underneath.

The family is becoming more independent now.    

One loon and one chick.

Thank you all for keeping us updated while we were away!

August 3, 2025: Skunking through the Flowers

We've had the cutest little young skunk slinking through the yard all week.

It's been here almost every day, snuffling around amidst the flowers, foraging for grasshoppers, beetles, grubs, and caterpillars which it quickly gobbles up.  

Skunks are a real asset to gardens, keeping down the population of garden pests, but we're not so sure we want a skunk living close by once it grows up.  Skunks are like porcupines in that their defenses are so strong that they have almost no predators and don't feel a need to flee.  They are more likely than most animals to stand their ground and deploy their defense mechanism if needed.  

Juvenile skunks are often out during daylight when they're learning how to find food, and this one was not one bit fazed by our presence.  It would walk right up to the door where I was standing.

Mature skunks are primarily nocturnal and we definitely don't want to step outside at night and startle a skunk that might give us a spray!  Living amongst nature is rewarding, but his situation is something we'll have to figure out. 

Here's one tasty little tidbit our young skunk would be happy to find, but hopefully not up on our deck.

A Geometer

Inch worms are the larvae of moths in the family Geometridae.  The name comes from the Greek geometer which means earth-measure - an apt term for a caterpillar that measures out it travels across the planet one inch at a time.  Sometimes this one has a hard time deciding just where it wanted to go next.

On an early morning paddle this week I came across a thick mat of a newly flowering, tiny aquatic plant.

I think this one is a Conespur Bladderpod. 

Conespur Bladderpod

It's similar to the flower of the Floating Bladderwort, but this one grows in a thick tangled mat rather than a single free-floating plant. 

I also saw Spangle and Star fishing for breakfast with mom - and enjoying the sunrise.

They are growing nicely but they still have along way to go before they're ready to fly.

Photo by Ken Buckley

Spangle is already demonstration her independence by spending time away from the rest of the family.  It's nice to watch the nesting season progressing smoothly, at least in the southern half of the lake.  

That morning was one of several warm and calm mornings this week - it's the most beautiful time of day.

Sunrise on Lake Wicwas.