March 22, 2020: Fox Are Still On The Ice

I may be done on the ice for the winter but the fox still trust the ice enough to use it for a short cut to the other side of the lake.  One morning after a cool night, this healthy looking red fox came trotting across the lake and stopped at the shoreline.

Hmmm, do I want to go up here?

It seemed to know the ice at the shore is treacherous, as it decided not to go up on land there, but work its way along the shoreline.

It soon found an area where the gap from ice to land was small, and due to the cold overnight, the open water had a light skim of ice over it.

This looks better.

The fox studied the situation carefully.

Appearing solid, it carefully tiptoed over it, quickly bounding up onto dry land without so much as getting a toe wet.

One small step for foxkind

And soon it was on its way, probably back to its den to sleep the day away, hopefully with belly full of mice.

Most foxes have mated by now, so if this was a female she may need enough food to develop up to 12 pups - though more typically half that number, depending on food availability and other factors.  With a 50 day gestation period, the young are typically born in the April to May time frame.  Friends who live on the north end of Lake Wicwas had a fox den near their yard a couple of years ago and enjoyed watching the young pups play together in the early summer.  I've never had the opportunity to experience that, as foxes like warm, south facing slopes to build their dens, and we don't have that exposure near by.

In addition to cool nights we had a few light snowfalls, one that provided some tracks including this nice gray squirrel sample.

Gray squirrels are another fox delicacy.

Farther north the snow accumulated enough to refresh the mountains' coat of white.

The Lafayette Range is white again, as seen from the summit of Mt. Flume.

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And the fast track of storms blowing through have made for dynamic atmosphere conditions with interesting clouds and sunsets forming as warm and cold air masses bump into each other.

Three different layers of clouds formed as the temperature rose 20 degrees in a few hours. 

Fog on the ice, low clouds above the trees, high clouds on top.

The cool weather and snow slowed, but didn't stop, the process of the lakes returning to liquid form.  Cracks are opening in the ice with ice flows starting to break away.

Meredith Bay is opening up more each day, but it still has a ways to go.

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We enjoyed fine waterside dining with take-out lunch in our car overlooking the bay, and then went for a walk to a waterfall we haven't visited before in Plymouth.

Rainbow Falls in the Walter-Newton ConservatConserion Area in Plymouth.

With so many things closed down we're spending even more time outside with nature - it's nice that the forest is still open for business.

The Sky is still open too.

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If I see you on the trails, I promise I'll keep my distance.

September 30, 2018: Rubin Whitten Saved the Town of Ashland

The best season for hiking has arrived - cool temperatures, clear blue skies, and no bugs!  It's the perfect stage to explore all the bounty autumn has to offer, whether it's in your back yard, on a lake, or in the mountains.

Squam Lake and the Ossipee Mountains from Whitten Woods' north view point

Linda and I took a walk at Whitten Woods, a new conservation area opened by the New England Forestry Foundation and the Squam Lakes Association.  Located in Ashland at the site of a historic farm owned by Rubin Whitten who saved the residents of Ashland by sharing his wheat crop from this hill, the only crop that survived the "Year Without a Summer".

In 1816 Mount Tambora in Indonesia erupted, affecting weather across the world.  In New Hampshire there was frost, snow, and ice throughout the summer, with killing frosts every month.  Most of the crops failed, leaving the settlers without a winter food source.  But up on this high, south facing hill, Whitten had planted wheat - an unusual crop in these parts, but more tolerant of cold weather.  His was one of the only crops which survived; the elevation may have helped, as cold airs sinks down into the valleys.  He offered his crop to the townspeople, becoming a local legend and hero.  [Ref:  Eric Werme, Old Farmer's Almanac, WMUR]

It's a pleasant hike on good trails with two nice view points.

Whiteface (left) and Chocorua (right) from Whitten Woods' south view point

Starting up from the trail head on Highland Street just outside of downtown Ashland we enjoyed some early color in the leaves and plenty of fall flowers.

Calico Aster (Aster lateriflorus)

There is a lot of blue in flowers right now, including this dark-blue bud I didn't recognize and can't identify - any ideas?   (Update:  Paula Wanzer identified this for me - it is a Closed Gentian, an interesting flower. I'll try to provide more information on it next week.)

Closed Gentian (Gentiana andrewsii)

As we walked along the old roads of Whitten's farm, signs of human activity were evident, including fruit trees such as this crab apple.

Humans may not be harvesting produce here anymore, but the animals continue to take advantage of what the settlers left behind.  Seeing motion in the branches led us to a red squirrel fattening up for winter on the small fruit.

Most of the property has long since been taken over by forest, which has clearly been logged in the recent past based on the size of the trees.  But as we walked we came across some large areas that have been kept open over the years, though we couldn't determine why.

A long, wide slope running up the south hill has been continually mowed, with only ferns growing in it

Why was this stretch of gentle terrain kept open all these years?  It looked like a ski slope.

Whitten Woods is a great, nearby place to visit, and a good skiing and snowshoeing option in the winter.


Earlier in the week on a hike at higher terrain, a small visitor came to say hello to me.

White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)

This is the famous singer of "Old-Sam-Peabody-Peabody-Peabody" that frequents the boreal forests in the highest elevations of the White Mountains.

This pretty bird hopped out of the scrub, right up to my feet as soon as I sat myself down on the summit of 4327' high Mt. Flume at the southern end of the Franconia Range.  It was clearly looking for a handout (which it didn't get).

Mt. Flume, where this sparrow lives - probably knowing that's where hikers drop bits of food as they enjoy the view

It's a pretty harsh environment to survive;  they must put up with it in order to live in such a beautiful place.

A birds-eye view of Mt. Lincoln, Mt. Lafayette, and Mt. Garfield from the summit of Flume

Back down at lake level, the water has been cooling off, but it's still plenty warm to form morning mist on the lakes.

On Saturday the fisherman were out for perhaps the last bass tournament of the year.  As they roared down the lake in the morning a loon hid in the mist, watching them go by.

Our mating pair is still on the lake, though their brilliant contrasting black and white plumage is starting to fade into the drab gray clothing they will wear through the winter.

It may be the best season for hiking, but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of days left on the water to watch for loons, sunsets, and coming shortly, brilliant fall leaves.  Whether at elevation or sea level, there's autumn beauty everywhere you look in New Hampshire.