April 15, 2012

New Hampshire continues to have little rain, and Lake Wicwas is even lower than it was two weeks ago. There are rocks poking their heads above the surface where I haven’t seen them before, and underwater surprises are lurking for the unwary. I have only seen a few fishing boats out so far, but the beautiful weather this weekend brought out lots of kayaks and canoes.

I’m currently anchored close to home, recovering from some foot surgery, so I’m not able to get out and photograph what’s happening around the lake this spring.  I’ll be missing one of my favorite times of the year, seeing life return with animals and tiny wildflowers emerging.  I was able to find some blueberry buds swelling up, and red maples bursting out their early flowers.

Blueberry Buds

Red Maple

Fortunately my partner-in-crime captured a few sights for me. One recent event she found was the work of the pileated woodpeckers we saw earlier – a pine with several fresh holes tracking the path the ants had burrowed in the tree and made their nest.

She also found the first flowers blooming – the tiny, fragrant, trailing arbutus.

Trailing Arbutus (Mayflower)

There continues to be a steady parade of water fowl passing through the cove. Mergansers, wood ducks, mallards, even a pair of buffleheads glided past this week (not to mention the geese).

Buffleheads

Early one morning, with the sun just lighting up the hills, I saw a single otter swim across the cove, bounding up on land to take a short-cut across a peninsula back to the water on the other side.  It's rejuvenating to see beautiful summer mornings return.

At one point this afternoon, flying low overhead, were three hawks - finding the thermals driven up by the warm southwesterly breeze - when a fourth, even lower, came by with a tasty red squirrel dangling from its claws.   I’ll bet it didn’t share.

There is also a regular procession of beavers going by every evening just at sunset.  I did manage to drag myself over to the nearest beaver harvest, and found a lot more cutting has occurred in the past few weeks. The NH DES wouldn’t like what’s going on within the shoreline protection area!  At least the beavers don’t disturb the shrubs or soil.

To stave off the cabin fever, we took a drive up north and found there’s still some winter left in the notches. There’s snow on the Franconia and Presidential ranges, and one could still ski on the upper two-thirds of canon.

Presidential Range

Canon Mountain

Child's Park

Back closer to home, the work on the new playground at Child’s Park is nearly complete, just in time for summer. The equipment is in and they were grading the new ball field.

 A couple of early customers were already scoping it out.















And, as another indicator of the approaching summer, the sun has now moved far enough around in the sky to bring back summer sunsets!

December 4, 2011

Winter is approaching slowly at Lake Wicwas, after a couple of false starts with early snow storms.  Two cold nights in a row brought a bit of ice to the edges of some protected coves, but that is about all.

Ice around the edges of Lake Wicwas

The ducks continue to come and go, traveling in groups of several pairs, though we did not see the remaining loon this week.

Three pairs of Mallards

The beavers, however, are very much visible, or at least their handy-work is.  We found  a low section of the shore line where they had taken well over a dozen trees in the last two weeks.  The area is getting thinned out.

They have worn themselves quite a pathway where they come out of the water, and then drag their harvest back down to the lake.  This entire shore used to be thick with two to three foot high shrubs.

Beaver Path to their Bounty

They were mostly taking the birch, with some as large as four inches in diameter.  This one they cut down, but left the tree. 

Birch tree cut, but not taken away

They leave behind wood chips of surprising size;  the grooves left where their two incisors cut into the tree are visible in the chunks of wood.  The strength of their jaws and teeth must be tremendous.

Another update on Child's Park:  Sturdy wood benches have been installed, and the base of playground is being delivered and spread around the equipment.

Child's Park

The fruit of the winterberry contrasting against the drab backdrop of December is a bright reminder of the season that is upon us.  They raise the caloric intake of the birds that feed on them, as well as the spirits of those who see them. 

Winterberry

November 20, 2011

Yesterday morning around 8:00 I was treated to an amazing experience:  A family of four River Otters taking a tour of Lake Wicwas.  I first noticed some ripples emanating from the shore, but they were larger and more numerous than the ducks usually make along the shoreline.  Looking for the source though, I saw nothing.  Then a head poked up out of the lake about 25 yards from the shore, and I assumed it was a beaver even though they don't usually dive, but rather swim on the surface.  But suddenly three other heads appeared, started romping around with the first, and it was clear they were otters.

River Otters

The four of them then proceeded to swim across the cove, diving for a stretch, then surfacing again to play.  They would raise their heads high above the water to look around, and then lunge at one another, diving up and down with their backs arched as they dove, and their long, tapered tails following along behind.

Otters seem to be the polar opposite of beavers.  Beavers are very focused on their work, always swimming purposely in a straight line, knowing exactly where they intend to go.  Otters on the other hand are very playful, spending a lot time just seeming to enjoy themselves.  Maybe it's the difference between being an herbivore where one must store up a whole winter's worth of food when it's available, versus being a carnivore, where fish are available year 'round.  Otters are extrememly capable fishers, leaving them lots of time to play.

I was too mesmerized watching through binoculars to pick up the camera until they were almost around the point.  One of them started to run up on terre firma, but then came back down and they all disappeared around the corner into the next cove to continue their morning escapades.

Otters often have four offspring, so it's possible they were siblings - I don't know if parents stay with their mom this long into the season or not.  It was another of those wonderful nature moments we are so fortunate to be able to experience in this unique habitat. 

We also had the first sighting of northern birds migrating south through New Hampshire, with a pair of hooded mergansers stopping by Lake Wicwas for a rest and a food stop.

Hooded Merganser

Other than that one pair or mergansers, we saw two pairs of mallards.  Also, the forest birds were more visible, with chick-a-dees, nut hatches and woodpeckers more active than in recent weeks.

We again found more fresh beaver cuts near the lake, including one witch hazel tree which was cut so recently that its sap was still flowing.  Closer inspection revealed a swarm of small flying insects feasting on the readily-available source of high-sugar content fluid.  I have no idea what species of insect it is, but they appear to be vegetarians, which is good by me!

Insects Feeding on Fresh Beaver Stump

This afternoon we checked on the status of the work at Child's Park, and found the building fully enclosed, the water fountains installed, and the playground being constructed! 

 The playground is really neat, with good sturdy structures representing key landmarks of Meredith Center:  The Meredith Center Fire Station and the Meredith Center Store.  The kids will love it!

Child's Park's New Playground

October 30, 2011

Thursday night's snow was just a prelude to what Lake Wicwas and the rest of the northeast received on Saturday night.  A strong nor'easter coming up the coast dumped from 10 to 20 inches of October snow on New Hampshire, with amounts of around 15 inches in the lakes region.  The amount collecting varied greatly over a very short distance depending on the surface temperature of the ground.  On our road it ranged from 1" of wet snow where the ground was still warm, to 12" of dry snow where it was more open and cold. 

It was a very disorienting sight, with deep snow covering yellow leaves around open water, and the flowers still blooming.

The storm set records just about everywhere, and allowed my first-ever skiing in the month of October.  I was able to complete my favorite short loop with no problem at all.  (Although I did have to use my special cyan wax that works on leaves!)

Skiing in October!

On my circuit I found fresh animal tracks everywhere - a sign that the wildlife is still very active and working to build up their winter stores.  There were deer tracks all over the fields and the woods, fox tracks in the denser woods, and even some otter tracks near the water.  The new snow also provided an unusual background for the bright maple leaves that continued to fall on top of the fresh blanket.

The only animals I actually saw were ducks on the lake, including a group of eight, which I think are ringed neck ducks.

On our walk up to see what's new at Child's Park, we saw an interesting phenomenon on the front yard of the Meredith Center Fire Station:  dark leaves soaking up the heat of sun and melting their way down to find their proper resting place on the ground.

Meredith Center Fire Station

At the part itself, the new building is now completely sided and the electricity and plumbing are coming along.

Child's Parl

The best news of the day, however, is that we, unlike about half of the people in the state of New Hampshire, didn't lose our power.  High scores to the Electric Coop!

October 30, 2011