December 25, 2021: Winter Solstice, Cold Moon

Merry Christmas!

Posting earlier than usual in order to send Christmas greetings to all! 

We have now passed the winter solstice and thus, spring is on the way!  Well, that may be a bit of optimistic thinking, but at least the days are now getting longer.  This year the solstice found me once again at the top of Red Hill in Moultonborough, one of my favorite quick hikes with a great view, though I will warn you if you head in that direction, access to the fire tower is closed for the winter.  But you can still enjoy that bright blue New Hampshire winter sky.

The Red Hill fire tower on a blue sky day.

There is no view to the north without climbing the tower, and with the sun at the lowest rise the sky - not even 23 degrees above the horizon at high noon on the solstice - there is a lot of glare looking south even on a clear day.

This was taken at noon, just an hour after the solstice.

On December 18th, three days before the solstice, the December full moon arrived; I was able to catch it just 32 hours later during a beautiful pink sunrise on December 20th.

The December moon is called the Cold Moon according to the Old Farmer's Almanac, though the native peoples of North America, whom lived here for at least 12,000 years before Europeans arrived, had first given it other names according to their heritage.  

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The snow that fell last weekend was enough to allow for some great winter activities through mid-winter scenes.  I took a ski over at Page Pond in Meredith on the multi-use trail and around the fields at Barnard Ridge Road.

Crossing Bickford Brook on the multi-use trail.

The Belknap Range from the top of the upper Page Pond field.

Unfortunately we later had a little sleet and mixed precipitation which put a slushy, icy end to the skiing, but when the sun came out afterwards there were some pretty sights to be had.

Sun glistens through the ice coating the trees.

The slush didn't stop the animals from going out - the trails and the lake are covered with frozen otter and fox tracks.  

Animal tracks wind all over the lake.

The animals don't mind walking in the slush.  These frozen tracks will be here a while.

I took my own first steps out on the lake on Thursday and was surprised to find six inches of ice, four inches of solid black ice under an inch or two of that frozen slush.  Yesterday, after a night of 10 degree temperatures thickened it further we were able to get some skating in after all before today's snow ended that.  

But now, skiing and snowshoeing are back on the agenda!

As the days get imperceptibly long over the coming days, the moon will head in other direction.  By the morning of the equinox it was already showing a shaded edge. 

Our daughter has a few words of wisdom posted in her kitchen, courtesy of the moon: 

            Advice from the Moon:

                    Live life to the fullest
                    Be someone to look up to
                    Don't be phased by difficulties
                    Take time to reflect
                    Light up the night!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

December 10, 2017 - First Snow

The first real snow of the season fell yesterday, and it immediately transformed the world into a winter wonder land.

It's nice to have winter arrive, but why does the snow always seem to come just as the ice is almost ready for skating?  The calm weather this week had allowed the lake to spread a perfect layer of smooth ice just before the snow fell.

The Full Cold Moon reflects off newly formed ice on December fourth

Ice working its way slowly across Lake Wicwas under the setting moon

But we'll take the snow (is there a choice?) and it sure does make everything look pristine.

Hemlocks are still holding onto their cones

Snow-covered pines on Sheep Island

A tunnel of snow

With the snow the bird feeders came out, both because the birds can use it with much of their food supply covered up, and because we'll be able to see if the bear is still active.  It didn't take long....

A goldfinch scratches its chin

A Tufted Titmouse waits its turn on a snowy branch

I can't wait to get out after the first snow to see what's been out and about in the world, and sure enough, even coming home from the concert last night there was already the trail of a fox trotting down the road in the still-falling snow.  This morning there were mouse prints in the snow by the stone wall where it has its nest.

Mouse prints, with the tail imprint barely visible

And right next to them, the landing mark of an ermine where it dropped down looking for a meal, but there was no sign of a capture, at least at that location.

Ermine landing mark above the mouse trail - about 4 inches long

I found the track of a coyote as well.

Coyote tracks this morning

And saw where it ventured to a small stream for a drink.

So, we may have missed the skating window again this year, but I'm looking forward to the season of observing animal tracks, and at least we should be able to get out on the skis soon!

Some trails will be ski-able with one more good storm

January 27, 2013

One word describes Lake Wicwas this week:  Cold.  Not quite record making cold, but it has been as low as negative 7, and over the past six days the thermometer hasn't risen out of the teens.  The northwest wind has been doing its part as well, with 20 mile per hours winds common, often gusting over 30 mph, bringing wind-chills far below zero.  We've also had some of the driest air we get - dew points at negative 20 degrees Fahrenheit just suck the moisture out of your skin!

There is however, a bright side (pun intended) to the cold, dry weather:  the sun, sky, and moonlight are spectacular when one is brave enough to venture outside.  And we were fortunate enough to have a full moon align with the cold weather on Saturday night, making night walks look like daytime.

A Moonlit Lake Wicwas at 10:00 pm

The full moon rises much higher in the winter sky than the sun does because it's in the same plane as the sun, and at full moon, it is opposite from the sun.  The moon was up for almost 14 hours versus less than ten hours for the sun.  Compare the length of the shadows above to those from the sun posted on December 26.

The Full Moon Dropping into the Tree Tops

Cold, clear mornings also make for stunning sun rises in an unusual direction - looking west.

Sunrise Looking Northwest

We braved the cold to investigate the WOW Trail (Winnisquam, Opechee, Winnipesaukee) that currently runs from Lakeport to downtown Laconia.  It's a nice trail, an interesting variation from many of the rail trails in the area, and extensions in both directions are planned for the future.  Parking is available near the Laconia Library and the Lakeport dam.  There are plenty of gorgeous winter scenes along the shore of Lake Opechee.

Lake Opechee from the WOW Trail

The Lakeport Dam is at the far right

And there were even some ducks where the currents are keeping the water open.

I wouldn't be here if I could fly

Back at Lake Wicwas, the cold has frozen up the streams feeding into the lake, with different colors locked into the ice.  I'm guessing the tan color is either from iron or decaying organic material in the water.

Frozen Streams are still trying to Fill Lake Wicwas

The Cherokee name for the January moon of "Cold Moon" is certainly appropriate this year!

Moon set on January 27, 2013

December 11, 2011

Winter creeps ever closer towards New Hampshire and Lake Wicwas.  There have been one or two glimpses of snow in the area, and an occasional skim of ice along the shores of the lake, but it is looking like we'll have a late ice-in for the start of the 2011-2012 winter.  People up north are trying to make up for what nature is lacking, and the product of snow guns can be seen forming a white arc on Mount Tecumseh from the north-facing hills around the lake.

Snow Making at Waterville Valley Ski Area

Back closer to home, the full Cold Moon could be seen setting late in the morning behind a thin ribbon of ice.

Cold Full Moon

It is quite strange to see the full moon hanging so high in the sky late in the evening - well above the trees, much higher than the sun rises at its zenith.  The full moon has a trajectory opposite of the sun, so near the solstice, when the sun is low, the moon rises high in counterbalance.

I mentioned in November that the November full moon was known as the Trading Moon.  It is also called the Beaver Moon, and this year, that certainly is fitting.  Since last week, the beaver have been back to the same area, clearing more and more of the trees.  But if you want your trees back you know where to find them - they have used them to construct a second story on their lodge for an in-law apartment!

Fresh Timber on the Beaver Loddge

The heavy rain this week has brought the lake back up near flood level again, at almost a foot above normal level even with the dam allowing a very large flow.  I saw one pair of common mergansers near the south end of the lake, and still more pairs of ducks.

Hunting season ended this week, and some of the local deer have eluded the hunter's sights, as we found fresh hoof prints after the heavy rains.  We also found evidence of an animal strategically marking its territory in a highly visible - and olfactory - location. It is most likely a fox, as this is their characteristic mark, and it's on a trail where I often see fox, but it's large enough that it could have been a coyote.