May 24, 2026: Woodland Flower Exhibition

It's the time of year when the elegance of woodland flowers, those ephemeral wonders of evolution, draw me into the forest each spring.  Last week the trilliums were blooming.  This week the Eastern Starflower, Fringed Polygala, and even an early Pink Lady's Slipper burst onto the scene.

A Lady's Slipper in a sunny spot makes an early appearance.

The lady's slipper is one of our more ancient woodland flowers, having evolved when the last dinosaurs roamed the earth some 70 million years ago.  They can be long-lived, up to 50 years, but are slow growers, requiring over a decade before they form their first flower.  The starflower and trillium are more recent arrivals.

Eastern Starflower

 

Painted Trillium

High above these small plants, the pale-green color of the forest canopy shows the deciduous trees are about to pull the shades on the forest floor, dimming the light that granted these flowers their chance to shine. 

Pale green leaves as chlorophyll starts to develop in them.

Maples are fast growers and already have leaves and even seeds well formed.

Red Maple with many "helicopter" seeds

The slower-developing oaks are farther behind.  But with long days and warm temperatures, they're coming on strong now, and are dumping copious amounts of pollen from their abundant flowers.

Those long dangling flowers are full of pollen to torment allergy sufferers

Perhaps you noticed the hummingbirds in last week's blog were all female ruby-throated hummingbirds which lack the ruby throat of the male.  This week, I saw both male and females at our feeder. 

Mr. Ruby comes in for a drink, landing gear deployed.

Here is Mrs. Ruby-throat, waiting patiently for her turn.

Mrs. Ruby - lacking a ruby throat.

I'll end today with nature's sky show from the week.  Venus has been bright in the western sky all week (and still is, along with Jupiter). 

Venus hugging the moon with Jupiter above to the left.

On Monday evening it was in close proximity to the crescent moon. 

Venus and Moon were alright that night.  (With apologies to Sir Paul McCartney.)

There was probably some astrological meaning there!

January 19, 2025: Tracks are Back

Cold weather and a touch of snow has all the creatures of the north out and active this week - including humans.

Ice fishermen and bob houses appeared on Lake Wicwas during this beautiful winter week, and the skaters were enjoying the ice, skating right through the thin layer of snow.  It was busy at the boat ramp!

Lots of people out enjoying winter fun on Lake Wicwas.

The local motorcycle gang was out in force too.

With metal studs screwed into their tires they were ripping up and down the beautifully smooth ice hidden by the sheer layer of fluffy snow.  

A lot of effort is put into homemade studded tires.

A thin layer of fresh snow provides a perfect substrate for animals tracks.  On a run along the trails at Whitten Woods in Ashland I found tracks of many animals, including one I always enjoy finding:  Snowshoe Hare.

The unmistakable track of a rabbit or hare.

There were a lot of these tracks all around the more remote section of the North Peak Trail where there had been few human visitors.  Lagomorphs (hares and rabbits) have very distinctive tracks that makes them easy to identify from other animals, but determining hare versus rabbit is more difficult.  Based on the size of the prints and length and width of the track, I believe these are Snowshoe Hare tracks.

This hare was travelling from right to left.

The side-by-side prints on the left are from the larger hind feet, while the smaller prints, one in front of the other, are the front feet.  Lagomorphs land on their front feet, then pull their hind legs forward, planting them ahead of their front feet, pushing off with their powerful hind legs.  Here's a slow motion video of the process.

Birds tracks are also not easily differentiated.  

About nine inches between tracks.

I don't know what bird made these tracks.  The print is small, but there's a long distance between them which hints that it's a long-legged bird rather than my first thought of a grouse.   The prints are too small for a turkey.  Maybe a pheasant?

Those are two gloved fingers.

These tracks wound all around the trails, again at the northern reaches of Whitten Woods, and there's a lot of toe-drag in the snow.  Any ideas?  

Whitten Woods is a nearby place to visit for a two to five mile hike on well maintained trails, and the best view is from the short walk to the South Peak.

Squam Lake and the Ossipee Mountains from South Peak.

I'll bet it's a great spot to watch the sun rise.  

All the upcoming ice events are still looking good.  We're also following the Alton Bay Ice Runway.  The runway has over 10 inches of ice now and with cold weather in the forecast, the runway may be FAA certified next weekend - I'll keep you posted.

Did you happen to see the full moon on Monday?

The Wolf Moon sets over Wicwas.

It was spectacular!

February 22, 2015

This week I took another off-lake excursion, this time up to Franconia notch.  The snow is so deep around the lake that we thought we might find easier going on a well traveled trail.  Plus, it was an absolutely beautiful day, so we thought a trip up to the higher mountains would be well rewarded - and we were right!

Artists Bluff Trail

We hiked the Artists Bluff and Bald Mountain loop trail right in Franconia notch.  It's an easy 1.5 mile loop with some beautiful views of Canon, Lafayette, and the Franconia range.

Mt. Lafayette

Canon Mountain

The trail was packed out and the snow soft but firm so we only needed yaktrax on our feet.  If you're interested in trying it, just be warned that the sign for the trail head is hidden by the huge snowbanks - we almost didn't find it.  Here is a link:  Bald Mtn - Artist Bluff

Of course, one need not drive to the White Mountains to see that gorgeous cobalt blue sky.  Anyone can see that right here at Lake Wicwas as well!

A ledge on the shore of Lake Wicwas

I did take a trip out around the lake to see if any wildlife was moving about in the deep snow, and there were very few sign of activity.  Lots of mice were active, as they don't sink into the snow.  

Mouse Activity on top of Four Feet of Snow

I wonder if they know the fox aren't as much of a threat with the deep snow cover.  I didn't see a single fresh fox track, though there were some left from before the most recent snow.

There were a few squirrel tracks also, but not many.  It appears they are using the snow to provide cover from their predators as well, traveling under the snow in tunnels, and popping up only here and there.

They are fun to watch:

I saw no deer tracks.  They are probably keeping very close quarters in their deer yards where they pack down the snow.  It will be a hard year for the deer;  they will quickly consume the available food in their yard, and then will have to venture out farther.  Between the deep snow, scarcity of food, and vulnerability - increased by weakness from lack of nutrition - there are likely to be a lot casualties.  This is where hunters, thinning out the herd in the fall, provide an important aspect of wildlife management.

The largest animal tracks I saw were from a mink, and even the mink was traveling on a plowed roadway, taking advantage of easier transit.  A thin layer of blown snow left nice tracks.

Mink Tracks

We were able to experience a rare astronomical event on Friday night, with three objects, venus, mars, and the crescent moon, all lined up together.  
I'm always amazed that the portion of the moon facing away from the sun is illuminated enough by light reflected back from earth to make it visible back on earth again.

At the other end of the day was a beautiful sunrise after new snow overnight. 

Sunrise

Day or night, it's a beautiful place.

August 10, 2014: Bald Eagle!

Our son with good eyes spotted an extremely large bird fly into a white pine along the shore line, and after some searching with binoculars we were able to find it, but it was too well hidden behind branches to be able to identify it;  we assumed it was an opsrey, or perhaps an eagle.  But when it took flight across the cove to another pine there was no doubt - this was a Bald Eagle. It perched in the absolute tallest tree along the cove - the cove some call The Emerald Cove, and others call Eagle Cove!  The lighting was difficult, with a bright sky and the sun behind it, but I managed to get a few pictures from pretty far away.

Bald Eagle

I'm no expert, but this bird seemed to be very large, and perhaps somewhat old, as it appeared a little ragged.

But what an impressive bird!

This was the best look I have gotten of an eagle on Lake Wicwas, and it just sat there enjoying its dominion for a long time - enough time to show a few other people where it was.  And there were no loons anywhere to be seen!

There were a couple of other interesting sights around Lake Wicwas, but they pale in comparison to this, and will just have to wait.  I hope you got to see the super moon tonight.  This picture was taken by JB during a moonlight ride on Lake Wicwas on Saturday night after the great Paddle Regatta!

Almost-full Moon on August 9th

October 20, 2013

As fall deepens its grasp on Lake Wicwas there are fewer and fewer boats on the lake, though several are still in the water eking out the last days of Indian Summer.

Every week there are a few fishermen and paddlers enjoying the above average temperatures. 

We have yet to have a hard frost, at least at our part of the lake, and we are well past the average first frost date of September 21 (according to the Farmer's Almanac).  Areas close to the lake will tend to be warmer in the fall due to the moderating affects of the warm water, but almost a month beyond average is pretty nice.

The foliage in the Lakes Region has moved from the bright reds and oranges of the maples, to the yellow and burnt oranges of the beech and oaks.  Their colors are not as vivid, but they still warm the soul with reminders of summer's warmth, especially when the late afternoon and early morning sun shines on them.

On a trip up Old Stanton Road I found a stand of beech trees forming a glowing tunnel with the October sun illuminating them from above.

Old Stanton Road

The beech, like the oaks, turn later and keep their leaves longer than most trees, some of them right through the winter.  These trees also both produce nuts which mature later in the season that the seeds of the maples;  perhaps that's why they need a somewhat longer growing season.

In the wind today the leaves were falling off the trees in droves, so the end is coming - in some areas they are already mostly on the ground.

As the leaves drop, we have have the benefit of greater visibility through the woods, exposing things not seen all summer.  Here a beaver lodge that has grown this summer has been revealed. 

Beaver Lodge

You can see the fresh cuts on the branches on top.  And some fungi growing on a fallen birch tree can now be seen.

Birch Polypore (Piptoporus betulinu)

There was also a bright Hunter's Moon visible on Thursday, here setting on Saturday morning.

 By the time we seen the next full moon, things will have changed a lot around Lake Wicwas.