July 9, 2023: A Paddle Up Blake Brook

I took advantage of the high water level - it's been as much as eight inches above full-pond - to take a summer paddle up Blake Brook to the beaver dam that holds back a good size beaver pond.  Along the way I found a number of interesting plants and animals including this bold Green Frog sitting on a lily pad.

It was another case of only seeing a well camouflaged animal because it hopped from one lily pad to another to get out of my way as I paddled through its domain.  But then it just sat calmly as I went by, posing nicely for an up-close portrait, a great opportunity to see the intricate detail of a frog's eye.

Here's looking at you, kid.

Even with high water the beaver dam had no problem holding back all that weight.  There were two spots along the dam where water was flowing over but it wasn't taking out any of the base structure.

The low point on the dam holding back the pond behind it.

I took some video of the other overflow:

The beavers will repair those low spots soon enough.

Here's an unusual flower I found on the trip that I wasn't familiar with:

Large Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon)

It turns out it's the blossom of the large cranberry.  I learned that the name "cranberry" comes from the fact that the blossom's stamen resembles the beak of a crane (the bird) though I'll admit I'm not sure I see it.  I later noticed that when I took a picture which includes an unopened blossom, someone photo-bombed it:

A little green monster photo-bombing.

This painted turtle was happily sunning itself in the marsh near the entrance to Blake Brook.

I learned several new things from the Nature of Pleasant Lake Newsletter about the important benefits of turtles sunning themselves; it's more than just raising their body temperature.  I'll say more about this in a future post, or you can read their newsletter here.  Another day this week I came upon a murder of crows (that's what a group of crows is called) highly interested in something beside the road.  Examining the source of attraction it was immediately evident they had located a painted turtle nest and had fully excavated the nest and consumed all the eggs, leaving only the leathery shells behind.

An excavated painted turtle nest.

The shells are soft and pliable and feel like thin leather.

It's good to know that painted turtle are plentiful; the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists them in the category of  "species of least concern".

The blueberries are about to ripen; I just hope I get some.  Between the song sparrow and the kingbird (you're a flycatcher - leave my blueberries alone and go catch some bugs!), and the chipmunk, the berries are getting eaten as quickly as they ripen.  

The kingbird flits down to pick off a single berry at a time, but the chipmunk runs from bush to bush to get the choicest berries, stuffs his checks full of them, then sprints off to its den to stash them away for later.

Mr. Puffy Cheeks

He makes quite the acrobatic contortions to get to the berry he wants.

Hanging on by his toenails.

I really don't don't mind sharing - it looks like there will be enough for everyone this year.

And the loon update:  Still no chicks from the second nest, but Checkers and LuLu are doing great, with the parents constantly on guard for intruding loons.

Always on guard.

Watching mom and dad fishing to see how it's done.

The recent hot and humid air augmented with smoke from wildfires in Canada has made for interesting atmospheric scenes at both ends of the day.

Summer humidity makes for morning fog,

and evening sunsets.

It's nice to have summer finally arrive.

And this late breaking news:  We may have a chick from the second nest - I received a report last night (thanks R&J) that both loons were off the nest and there was only one egg visible.  I'll give a mid-week update when we know for sure.  

August 25, 2019: Low Flying Objects

Lake hosting can be a quite interesting endeavor on New Hampshire Lakes.  One morning, frequent Lake Host Marge Thorpe inspected a rather unique vessel launching into the lake.

Perhaps a first for Lake Wicwas.

I've seen amphibious cars launch here before,

A circa 1965 Amphicar launches into Lake Wicwas.

but never an amphibious plane.

Rigging for launch.  Photo by Marge Thorpe.

The business end of an ultralight.  Photo by Marge Thorpe.

But not phased in the least, the host did her inspection for invasive weeds, crustaceans, (and birds?) and helped the sailor/pilot get on his way.

Photo by Marge Thorpe.

The unusual sight caught the eye of others on the lake as well.

Off-duty Lake Host Claranne Bechtler saw him taxing down the lake.  (Photo by Claranne Bechtler.)

If you have ever observed these ultra-lights in flight, you know they aren't quiet, so it was no surprise when Marge heard the vessel return to the lake sometime later.  But she was a bit alarmed to hear the sound of a sputtering engine, and then silence.  Quickly she and Dave went out to see what transpired, and found the pilot half way down the lake, swimming, pushing his plane back towards the boat ramp.  Needless to say, the Thorpes provided a welcome tow back to the ramp.

You can see the pilot in the water behind his aircraft, using a pusher-stroke.  Photo by Claranne Bechtler.

Neil Crimins, another Lake Host also saw the action going down on the lake.  (Photo by Neil Crimins.)

Dave Thorpe provides towing service.  Photo by Marge Thorpe.

The pilot had not allotted quite enough fuel for his entire trip, and had run out of gas on his return flight.  He was able to make a dead stick landing onto the lake which was fortunately close enough for him to glide in to.  The pilot is from Canterbury and brings his ultra-light around the region exploring different lakes.  Keep an eye to the sky and maybe you'll see him flying overhead some time.  Just keep an extra fuel tank handy!


There wasn't much nature that could compete with that excitement this week, but I did find evidence of our friendly bears up in the Hamlin conservation area while I was doing some property monitoring.

A small pile of bear scat, loaded with the fruits of the season.

And hiking with a couple of good friends over in the Page Pond Town Forest, one of them spotted a handsome wood frog sitting right in the middle of trail.

A green frog hangs out near the Page Pond mill dam.

He must have been waiting for a princess to come along.

The new trails on the Barnard Ridge side of the Page Pond are being developed and should be ready by fall.  If you travel in that area you will find white blazes going up to mark the new trail.  One trail will pass along the far side (west shore) of Page Pond, and will provide some gorgeous views of the pond, a beaver lodge, and several beaver dams.

Page Pond from the southwest shoreline.

I'll be sure to let you know when the trails are officially open for use.

There was also a beautiful monarch butterfly chrysalis hanging from a window sill at the Lakes Region Conservation Trusts headquarters building in Center Harbor.  (Thank you Phil P. for pointing it out to me!)

A monarch butterfly chrysalis.

This is the time to find them - look especially near fields of milkweed and goldenrod which are blooming abundantly now.  Milkweed in particular is a special food source for monarchs, as drinking the liquid from the milkweed plant fills their body with toxic cardenolides which makes their bodies poisonous to predators [Ref:  University of Minnesota Monarch Lab].  If you have never been to the LRCT headquarters in Center Harbor, you should stop by and check out the gorgeous views and all the maps and other items they have there.  They always enjoy having visitors!


Lastly, a status on the loon twins:  Harley and Davidson are doing just fine and still spending a lot time with mom and dad.

When they're fishing together and a parent comes up from a dive empty handed the chicks make the strangest little creaking sound, expressing their disappointment, and letting the parent know they are still hungry.  But they must be getting enough nourishment as they continue to grow, looking more and more like juvenile loons every day.

August 21, 2011

This weekend brought in some classic late-summer weather to Lake Wicwas, with foggy mornings, warm, humid afternoons, and even a late day thunderstorm.

Foggy August Mornings

Dawn over Lake Wicwas from Crockett's Ledge

This was after some heavy rains earlier in the week which brought five inches of rain, bringing the lake back up several inches above full level.  Rather nice for this late in the summer.

After not seeing many deer this summer, on one of these foggy mornings I came across a whole herd of them.  I walked right past where they must have bedded down over night without seeing them.  It wasn't until I stopped to look at something on the ground, and then started walking again, that three or four of them sprung up from the low growth in the field and bounded off into the woods back where I just came from.  It was just a flurry of brown rumps and white tails.  If I were a predator, I wouldn't have known what to chase.  And then 50 yards later, entering the woods on the other side of the field, another two or three took off up the hill in the other direction.  Finally, 20 minutes farther down the trail, I spooked another off into the thick woods - who knows how many other animals watched me walk by and never revealed themselves.

On the other end of the animal spectrum, there were lots of frogs enjoying the humid weather.  One pickerel frog has been enteraining Linda all summer in one of her gardens.

Pickerel Frog

Plus I found a green frog sitting half submerged in a small pond.  The green frog has really bright green spot on its nose - this was my first chance to get a picture of one of these amphibians.

Green Frog

Here are a few more fungi to add to last week's collection, including one of my favorites, the Indian Pipe, which popped up this week.

Indian Pipe

And here was a cute yellow caterpillar to brighten up the day:

I also have started to see more ominous signs of late August, and what comes thereafter.  There are only a couple of stray branches on weak trees, but it's a sign....

And the humidity of August continues to bring intense sunsets!