December 3, 2023: Winter is Close

By close, I mean geographically.  The snow we received last week is essentially gone from around the lake, but just 20 miles north - as the crow flies - there are a few inches on the ground, and quite a bit more at elevation.

Snow on the ground and rime ice on the trees.

That's from the summit of Mt. Tecumseh, the lowest elevation of the 48 mountains that make the list of New Hampshire's 4000 footers.  At lower elevations, up to about 2500', bare branches let the sun shine through on the fresh pristine snow.  

But as the forest transitioned to spruce, the terrain became shaded, with the snow contrasting against dark green needles and blue sky.

There were mountain ash trees scattered along the trail above 3500' with the red berries either falling off or being plucked off by the birds, as there were bright red spots that looked like drops of blood on the snow.  The berries right at the summit were frozen solid, covered with rime ice.

Rime ice on the mountain ash.

Streams are still flowing well and icicles have started to form where water drips over rocks and ledges.

I saw absolutely no birds on this hike, not even a gray jay or a boreal chickadee like I saw when I was here about this same time last December.  The only wildlife was a brave chipmunk still out collecting food for the winter.  

Back at the lake, winter is starting to take shape; our cove had its first full skim of ice form on Thursday.  On Monday morning the cove was still open water as the moon set to the west.

By Thursday morning, ice had crept out about half way across the cove.

Thursday, November 30th.

And by Friday the entire cove was skimmed over.

Friday, December 1st.

On Saturday there was even a skim of ice growing up the main part of the lake from the southern end.

A warm, foggy Saturday morning.

You can barely make out a path where what was probably the last boat on the lake made its way through the ice to the boat ramp.

Warm weather yesterday melted much of the ice away, but with snow forecast for today it will probably fill up with slush and ice and be ready to freeze solid with one good cold snap.  The possibility of ice on the lake and snow on the ground means winter may be about to creep down those 20 miles as the crow flies south from the mountains to the lakes.

We're ready for winter!

October 29, 2023: Red October

Late October is treating us well this year.  I spent one of those fabulous warm days this week in the Ossipee mountains on a trek up Mt. Roberts.  As expected on a warm humid day, the distant views were hazy, but other sights were brilliant, and the color of the day was red with the mountain ash at the summit of Roberts stealing the show.

The White Mountains languish in the haze behind a red ribbon of mountain ash.

American Mountain Ash (Sorbus americana) is a northern species, though it does grow as far south as Georgia at high elevation in the Appalachian Mountains.  I remember first seeing them on the Appalachian Trail in North Carolina.  Their abundant bright red berries last well into winter, providing high calorie food to animals that inhabit the alpine zone such as grouse; moose browse on their winter twigs and sweet bark.  

I've seen both grouse and moose on Mount Roberts and the High Ridge Trail leading over to Mt Shaw.  Mt. Roberts is a moderate but highly rewarding 5.5 mile hike with great views of mountains and lakes from the many open ledges.  You can pick up a trail map describing the many hiking trails from the Lakes Region Conservation Trust which stewards over 5000 acres of land in the Ossipee Mountains.

Views along the Mt. Roberts Trail are nice even on a hazy October day.

On the hike up, well before I reached the summit and the mountain ash, another red flash had already caught my eye.

Three-toothed Cinquefoil (Sibbaldiopsis tridentata)

Three-toothed cinquefoil is an evergreen plant, keeping its leaves throughout the winter; the red leaves are last year's growth.  I don't know what happens in the third year, but there are dead, gray leaves on the ground so my guess is they are shed after two years.  It's a resilient alpine plant that thrives in the harsh environment by rooting itself in the tiniest cracks in the granite, and growing low to the ground under the winter snow.  On the bare ledges leading to the summit there was an abundance of these hardy plants.

Finding life in a crack in the granite.

At lower elevations the colors slanted higher in the color spectrum with yellow and burnt orange predominating.

Beech trees along the Settlement Trail.

The beech stands formed a tunnel through which the trail passes.  

Back down at lake-level there's still some red to see:  a few late maples and the deep red of huckleberry bushes along the shore.

Huckleberry might hang on to their leaves well into November.

Things were very quiet on my long, lazy paddle around the lake, trying to make the late summer moment last.  No more kip-kip call of the osprey, no loons pestering their parents (I saw only one lone loon - no sign of LuLu or Checkers), no turtles sunning themselves on a log on that sunny, 70 degree day.  

Looking for excuses to dawdle on the lake.

Yes, things are starting to wind down as the days become shorter and the water cooler, though some locals are still hanging around.

Having just landed, a great blue heron walks to one of its favorite fishing spots.

Did you see the full October moon on Friday night?  I caught it as it was setting on Saturday morning, with Venus watching over from above.

It was a near-monochromatic scene, but just a few minutes later came the real show, in full technicolor, courtesy of Neil Crimins.

Thanks for sharing Neil!

Can we please have a few more days like this?

October 30, 2016

We returned from our trip last night, and I was pleased to find some trees still parading their colors in the Lakes Region.  All along the thousand mile drive through the Appalachian mountains, over hills and through valleys, watching the trees vary from full green leaves to bare branches and everything in between, I wondered what we would find back in New Hampshire.  Even on this dreary Sunday there was enough color to brighten the day. 

Oak, beech, and blueberry dominate the colors in late October

The bright reds and yellows of the maples are mostly gone, laying on the ground in various stages of decline;  now is the time for the oaks, the beech, and the aspen to take center stage.

Beech trees glow in the lower levels of the forest

Aspen leaves preparing to make next summers fertilizer

The trees weren't alone in making changes while we were away.  The beaver were also busy constructing large piles of debris along the shore of the lake. 

Multiple piles of beaver debris along the shoreline

These piles are large enough that I wonder if someone is staking out this territory for a new lodge.  After a year or two in their parents dwelling, the young are banished from the lodge and must find a home for themselves. 

Last week I mentioned hickory trees we saw in Tennessee.  On our last few days in North Carolina we saw another interesting tree that I haven't seen in New England, though it it does grow in this region:  the Mountain Ash. They had large bunches of beautiful red berries that stood out against the bare branches and blue sky.

Mountain Ash in the Smoky Mountains

In the southern Appalachian mountains they grow only above 5000' elevation, sometime alone among the spruce as above, sometimes in large homogeneous stands.

A stand of Mountain Ash above 5000' on Mt. Mitchell, North Carlolina

As pretty as they are, I still think the red maples of New England are the most stunning of the eastern trees

It's time to enjoy the last vestiges of autumn;  the drab gray of November will be here soon.