September 8, 2013

Lake Wicwas suddenly finds itself feeling like fall, even though it's still summer by the calendar.  The color of the sky and the cool, dry wind on surface of the lake reflecting the lower angle of the sun prove that summer is just about behind us. 

 Even thought the calendar says it's summer, meterologists consider September the start of fall - and one can understand why.

At least the water is still warm - unusually so for this time of year.  But with a few more cold nights, it won't be swimming-temperature for long.

Mist on Lake Wicwas on a Cool September Morning

There was a large bass tournament on the lake this weekend, with lots of serious fisherman.  But sometimes all the fancy equipment can't outdo a row boat and a fly rod!

On the nature front, I found quite a few of these bright green katydids over the past few weeks. 

Katydid

This guy had decided to take up a perch on a sponge right on our door step.  Katydids are are also known as Bush-Crickets.  If you want an easy way to differentiate a cricket from a grasshopper, just remember that crickets have long, thin antennae, while grasshoppers have short, thick ones. 

If you've been outside at all, you've surely noticed all the mushrooms and fungi everywhere - here's a quite large one. 

September 3rd

Just one week earlier this very same mushroom was a bright yellow.

August 14th

It's time to really enjoy these waning days of summer - scenes like this will become increasingly rare now!

Peaceful, Late Summer Evening

July 1, 2012

July is here, the longest day of the year has passed, and summer is in full swing as Lake Wicwas prepares for the big holiday week.  On Saturday the lake was home to a fishing tournament - there were quite a few bass boats on the lake, but the fishermen are quite polite and non-intrusive - great visitors all around. As a study in extremes, look at these two very different approaches to same sport of attempting to outwit a fish:

250 Horsepower

250 Horsefly Power

The loons on Lake Wicwas have had a difficult year so far, but they are still trying to have a successful nesting.  Their first attempt was foiled by the rapid water level changes, which forced them to abandon their egg on the nest, as the receding water left it too far from the waters edge. 


Their current site is highly visible, on an island right in the middle of the lake. 

The loon committee has a tough decision between keeping loon nesting sites hidden, or making them extremely visible as they have done with the current site.  Because so many people visit this island, especially with this second nesting attempt right at the the peak of the summer season, they determined the best approach was to mark it clearly and ask people to stay away. 

I have no idea where the nest is, and I'm not going to look for it.  Any approach near a nest will cause the loon to leave the nest, which leaves the egg vulnerable to predators, as well as temperature changes which can quickly kill an egg by either being too cold or too hot.  When one understands just how many threats there are to a successful nesting, it becomes clear why we must help them every way we can, mostly by leaving them alone, but also by not using lead fishing tackle, which is the number one killer of loons.  If you ever see a loon acting strange, it means you are too close and you should move away quickly. 

There is also a third loon still on the lake, far away from the nesting pair, mostly just floating calmly and not moving around much.

It sometimes pops up quite close to us when we're swimming, and seems to enjoy waving its foot at us.

While the loons struggle to hatch a single chick, the Canada Geese have no such problem.  We counted 37 in this flock, and that's not all of them, as there's at least one other family with much younger chicks.

The weekend concluded with a quick rain storm on Sunday evening, but cleared in time for nice sunset and a nearly full moon rising over the lake.

August 14, 2011

There was a large flock of amphibious mammals out on Lake Wicwas this weekend.  They seemed to congregate in the late afternoon at the south end of the lake, and then travel in a somewhat fragmented group up the lake and around Bryant Island, and then regroup on the eastern shore of the lake.  Yes, the big event this weekend on Lake Wicwas was the 2nd annual paddle regatta!  It was another fabulous event, with lots of people from all around Lake Wicwas participating.  It again started near the boat launch, with kayaks, canoes, and boats of various sizes and shapes paddling around Bryant Island, and returning to our gracious  hosts on the east shore of the lake.  As there was last year, we enjoyed great food and drink, interesting company, and learned lots about what is happening around the lake.  Many thanks go to those who arranged and hosted the event!

Some of the vessels

The Committee Boat

 

There were multiple generations of families, from  young to young-at-heart, and lots of fun.  We even invited the loon family, but they decided to keep to themselves.

Somewhat less known, there was also a wonderful wedding celebration on the lake this weekend, with a fantastic new couple, and friends and family from as far away as Virginia.  The weather for both events was perfect, and eveyone had a great time.

As for quieter things going on around the lake, the mushrooms have the action right now.  Here's just a sample of what you'll find around the lake at the moment.  The speed at which these grow is amazing - they can be just poking out of the ground in then morning, and by afternoon they can be 4 inches high.  That is, of course, if the chipmunks, squirrels, and slugs don't eat them first.

Do you remember the hobblebush viburnum blossoms from May 14th? 

May 14, 2011

Here's what those blossoms have turned into:

Hobblebush Viburnum

Oh - and there were also two fishing tournaments on the lake this weekend;  a large one one on Saturday, and a somewhat smaller one on Sunday.  Good thing Chuck was busy this weekend, so there were some fish left for them!