October 19, 2025: Witch Hazel

Late fall is when Witch Hazel puts on its highly unusual show, and it's an appropriate time with Halloween just around the corner.  Witch hazel is the only shrub or tree I can think of that blooms in October, and it has really interesting flowers.

The twisted, filament-like flowers of Witch Hazel.

The seeds are maturing now as well.

The woody capsule which typically contains two seeds.

But these are the pods from last autumns flowers.  They will soon burst open in halves and shoot their seeds far and wide - up to 20 feet away.  I cut one open (it wasn't easy) and this was its contents:

The two large black seeds in the seed pod of the witch hazel.

Staying with the Wicwas witch theme, how about this cute little orb-weaver spider, the kind that weave beautiful geometric webs using those dexterous legs and all the different types of silk it creates:

An Orb-weaver spider, probably a Cross Orb-weaver

It's most likely a female, and on its final days as they don't survive the winter.  I gave it a little nudge with my finger and it curled right up to protect itself with all those legs.

Another classic October sight is flocks of turkeys that have gathered up together, traveling the land in search of food to fatten up for winter.  You frequently see them along roadsides, especially near fields, and though they usually run off the road and disappear into the woods, sometimes they are reluctant to do so.  I've seen them recently along local roads, at Oakland Cemetery, and yesterday morning, at the end of our road.

While I was enjoying the bright foliage of maple trees during a paddle this week, I came upon yet another hornets' nest, this one hanging over the lake from Sheep Island. 

This nest was about the size of a large melon - quite a bit smaller than the one I found two weeks ago. 

 

Next up on my paddle was a Great Blue Heron stalking fish or frogs beside a marsh. 

I expect our herons will be heading south soon, or perhaps to the coast or large rivers where there's open water all winter.  I didn't see our young loon on my paddles this week, but it's still a little early for a juvenile to leave the lake.

The fall foliage is past peak now but there are still plenty of bright red and orange maples and a few yellow aspen dotting the landscape.  

Finally, we took one last ride on the Cannon Tramway before they shut it down for replacement.  It will take two years to get the new one installed.  Built in 1980 to replace the original tram built in 1938 (the first in all of North America), this old friend served us well for 45 years.  If you want to take one last ride, do it before October 26th - that will be the end.    😞

September 7, 2025: Quieter Days on the Lakes

Welcome to September, a time when things graciously slow down around all the lakes.  I took advantage of a calm day to paddle the big lake; it's a peaceful place on a September morning.

Lake Winnipesaukee in September.

I paddled around several of Meredith's Islands to the east of Meredith Neck: Beaver, Hawk's Nest, Three Mile, and Pine.  I had the lake to myself until almost 11:00, affording opportunities to see several birds including this eagle having its breakfast on Three Mile Island.

I will surmise this is an immature Bald Eagle that has not yet earned its white head and tail feathers.

A little farther along, a Double-crested Cormorant was biding its time off the eastern point of Hawk's Nest Island.

A cormorant surveys the big lake.

I discovered an interesting find deep in a secluded cove in the cut between the Beaver Islands:  a stand of Black Gum (aka Black Tupelo) trees which were starting to turn red.

There used to be several large black gum trees on Wicwas too, but most of them have been taken down by beavers, though there are still a few smaller trees around.  You can find them most easily in the fall when their thick, glossy leaves turn a deep crimson color.

Look for these dark-red black gum leaves in early to mid October.

After paddling past Pine Island I followed the shoreline of Meredith Neck north back to Leavitt Beach, and along the way I rounded a point and flushed a Great Blue Heron off its resting point on a shoreline bounder.

Here are few manmade sights you might recognize from this part of the lake.

Stone marker at the north entrance to the channel behind Pine Island

That's Red Hill directly behind, with 4043' Mt. Passaconaway the high peak off in the distance.

AMC Camp on Three Mile Island

Y-Landing on Meredith Neck

Back on Lake Wicwas, our most famous residents, the loons and our juvenile Spangle, continue to do well even while constantly fending off intruders.  I found mom and spangle fishing in the middle of the lake one bright day.

Stopping to watch - at a safe distance of course - after one dive Spangle came up right next to me!  She did her best to hide, keeping a low profile before she dove again.

Heading north after this I found what I presume to be Spangle's father right at the line defining the north and south nesting territories guarding his domain against four other loons.  Even as a nearly full-size juvenile, spangle is still vulnerable to attack by other loons and protected fiercely by her parents.  

Spangle has shed all her baby feathers and is now fully clothed in juvenile plumage.

The feeble amount of rain we received this week did little to help the drought situation.  The lake is now down about seven inches, and almost all the streams are bone-dry (this was prior to yesterday when we did get some first appreciable rain, the first since July 13th, with more on tap for today).

Not a drop of water in these streams.

The only exception are ones that have beaver dams upstream which store enough water to keep the stream running slowly all summer as water leaks through the dam.  

This stream is supplied with water from the upstream beaver pond shown below.

The pond level is down, but that's what's keeping the stream alive.

The dry summer has been great for tourism and outside activities, but hard on plants and wildlife.  Water in both beaver ponds and flowing streams are incredibly valuable resources to animals in drought years.

I'm hearing lots of reports of ground hornet nests this fall - perhaps due to the dry summer?  I have personal experience with two already.  One I found in the Hamlin forest at the intersection of the Blue and Yellow trails heading up to Crockett's Ledge.  There was a large boulder turned over beside the trail and I wondered why.  Looking around I found the hole where it came from and realized a bear had excavated a bee nest to access the eggs and larvae.  

An excavated yellow-jacket nest.

Hornets that had survived the attack, perhaps because they were away from the nest at the time, were working like a construction crew after a tornado to recover what they could from the remains.  

I still can't image how a bear can endure the dozens, maybe hundreds, of stings it sustains while it feeds on a nest.  My advice to hikers is to simply keep a steady pace as you hike.  As long as you keep moving, even if you stomp right on top of a nest, by the time the hornets come out to investigate, they won't bother you if you've gone past them.  They're only likely to be a problem if you happen sit down right next to one - so be aware of where you stop for a break on your hikes.  If you see bees, move on quickly.

I wanted to mention all the wild fruit that's ripening now but that will have to wait.  I'll share just this fun moment of watching a young robin collecting cherries from a Black Cherry tree.

It's an important time of  year for animals to start stocking up on calories for winter, whether for hibernation or migration.