September 20, 2020: California's Trees Come to New Hampshire

Yes, those are California's forests blowing over us at 25,000 feet.  The fires in California, Oregon, and Colorado are making their presence known here in New England via smoke being transported 3000 miles in the jet stream.  The fine particles in the air absorb and reflect the shorter wavelengths of light, leaving only red to penetrate the atmosphere at sunset.

That's the sun on September 16th.  (No filter)

A clear day - evident by long visibility at ground level - should provide us a beautiful blue sky but instead paints a uniformly gray background behind the mountains due to the smoke at higher levels in the atmosphere.

Mount Lafayette, 40 miles away, was clearly visible from the White Mountain Ledge.

Here in New Hampshire we're experiencing a serious drought and our local fire danger is also very high, especially with the strong, dry winds, but it's nothing compared to the diametrically opposed weather problems in the gulf states and the west.

There's a lot going on around the lakes right now as summer transitions over to autumn - the autumnal equinox occurs this Tuesday at 9:30am - and changes are happening quickly.  Almost on cue, we had the first frost just this morning.  I'll cover as much as I can in a rapid fire manner.

It's impressive how well some of our wildflowers can flourish even in a dry summer.  The goldenrod and asters somehow adapt to the conditions and are just as beautiful as ever.

Heath Asters, Calico Asters, and Goldenrod share the stage.

I don't ever remember seeing the stream at the entrance to the Hamlin Trails completely dry.

A bridge over troubled water.

It will be interesting to see how the trees and the fall foliage handle the drought.

Today's frost was limited to open areas with good sky exposure for radiational cooling, and away from the lake, as the warm water kept areas near the lake several degrees warmer than just a few hundred feet distant.

First frost:  September 20, 2020

Even with the drought the mushrooms are fruiting, though not as abundantly as usual.

A trio of Amanita mushrooms.  (Note the green oak gall photo-bombing the picture.)

This is easier to understand when I remember that a mushroom is the fruit of a huge fungus than can spread underground over a very large area so it has a wide domain from which to collect moisture.

With cooler weather the animals seem to be more active.  I've seen several deer in the neighborhood the past couple of weeks, including this one in a field, trying to decide if it needs to worry about me or can just ignore me.  

It did take a few bounds, stop and look again, then repeated the process until it decided it was safe.

Other signs of animals on the move are evident by their scat.  These two calling cards were found on a walk near Rattlesnake Mountain in Sandwich.

A good size pile of bear scat.

And an even larger pile from a moose.

Smaller animals are on the move too, including turkeys.  I've seen large flocks all around the region, including a multi-family unit of 19 crossing Livingstone Road just west of Meredith Center.  On a trip through the town of Hill last week I had to stop for another large flock crossing in front of me, and when I did, some of the poults decided it was a nice place to plop down for a rest.  

Murray Hill Road in Hill.

I might think it was because the road was warm, but this was before 8:00 in the morning, so that wasn't the attraction.

Lots of early-migrating ducks have been paddling around in the lake.

The early morning wake-up call.

I see large groups early in the morning, while later in the day they seem to break up into pairs and smaller groups.

Our loon family, however, hasn't gone anywhere yet.  

Harold or Betty, looking quite mature on a crisp fall day.

Harold and Betty are still here, as are both parents.  If there was only one chick it's likely the male would have left by now, but with two chicks to feed he is still helping out.  But in the next few weeks both parents should be departing, leaving the chicks to fend for themselves into November before they also head to the ocean for the winter.  

I wonder if they notice the changes in the sky.

August 14, 2016

The blueberries are gone now, but a new color has taken over to brighten up the forest on our mid-summer walks around Lake Wicwas.

Red fruit on the Bunchberry

And on the Viburnum

The summer wildflowers also add to nature's rainbow to brighten the day.

Sometimes the palest of colors make a delicate scene on the calm lake.

The oils on bird's feathers keep them from absorbing water

I'm no expert on feathers, but I wouldn't be surprised if this is the soft down from the inner feathers of a loon left behind from preening itself in middle of the lake, as ducks and geese usually do their grooming close to shore. 

On the topic of loons, there are still five on Lake Wicwas, two pairs and one rogue, trying to work things out among themselves.  For years I have always seen these beautiful birds as such quiet and peaceful animals, but the last two years have taught me that they are just as fierce as many other creatures when it comes to protecting their territory and ensuring the propagation of their genes.  The first lesson came last year when another loon killed the chicks of our long-term nesting pair.  And throughout this summer we have watched the behavior of the loons fighting over the lake, preventing either pair from nesting.

They keep a close eye on each other;  one game they play is swimming around in a circle in close formation, staring each other down.  I call it ring-around-the-rosy, but I don't think it's a happy game for them.

Ring around the rosy

Maybe it's the loon equivalent of a staring contest. 

There was another behavior I saw for the first time this week.  When a single loon or a pair are by themselves on the lake I have always seen them just floating calmly or swimming along slowly and sedately.   But one morning, I saw a V-shaped wake far down the cove.  It was moving straight as an arrow with a speed and purpose that made me think it was a beaver - beaver always swim with a mission.  But as it came closer I saw it was a pair of loons.  They steamed straight down the middle of the cove, all the way to very end, where they did an about face and steamed right back out again at the same clip.  I expect they were on a mission to find the other loon pair to reassert their ownership of the lake. 

Loons as well as humans were treated to some beautiful sunsets this week. 

Perhaps you saw on WMUR-TV the unique sunset that appeared over Meredith on Friday.  It was visible from Lake Wicwas as well, looking towards the west;  a thunderhead building with the late-day sun striking it, splaying a dark shadow up a across the sky. 

It's no wonder the loons are fighting over Lake Wicwas. 

February 10, 2013

Well now it's looking like winter around here.  The blizzard of 2013 was kind to Lake Wicwas.  It gifted us with about 15 inches of beautiful, fluffy powder, yet even with the strong winds there weren't any significant power outages - both results of the cold temperatures which kept the snow light and not sticking to the trees.  But the wind sure did blow the snow around.  Here's the view looking out the door on Saturday morning.

Callum and I took a snowshoe excursion as the snow was winding down, but not the wind - we were well prepared with warm clothes and goggles.  In the woods the wind wasn't too bad, but out on the lake it was pretty wild.

Back to reality, the work started.

Sometimes it seemed pretty futile,

But Callum was a great help!

And the wind created impressive sculptures.

By late afternoon the sun was breaking through, allowing the late sun to illuminate the pristine snow with a pink glow.

Followed by a brilliant winter sunset.

The storm stole the headlines from what was supposed to be the event of the weekend:  The Great Meredith Rotary Ice Fishing Derby.  Some hearty soles braved the weather on Saturday, but not us - we waited until Sunday, which brought a beautiful post-Nor'Easter New Hampshire day.  Temperatures were near thirty degrees, the wind was calm, and the sky was clear and blue.  Meredith Bay had turned from a hockey town to a good size village on the lake.

A  Winter  Village on the Ice  (Compare this picture to last week!)

There were bob houses of all sizes, from the elegant and well landscaped,

to the austere (but with a nice front door),

to the large, peaceful, and comfortable - complete with two stories.

We were there around noon time, so there weren't a lot of fish on the board yet, but I'm sure it filled up by the end of the day.  The largest at the time was a 3.8 pound pickerel;  yesterday there was a six pound lake trout.  As a note, all the fish are taken to the Squam Lakes Science Center where they are used to feed the animals there.

Late morning on the Leader Board

There's nothing like a bluebird sky after after a winter storm.

June 24, 2012

Lake Wicwas has certainly been treated to some great weekend weather lately.  Even this past Saturday, when thunder could be heard rumbling close by with storms all around us, we received only a few raindrops, not even enough to get the roads wet.  Taking a bike ride south along lake Winnisquam in the evening it was evident that just a couple of miles away they had much more precipitation. 

My simple curiosity this week was with the water bugs which have hatched out in massive quantity and form giant black swarms on the surface of the water.  From well over a hundred feet away I could see thousands insects no more than quarter of an inch across dancing in formation on the water.  Their behavior is much like schools of fish or flocks of birds that swim or fly in ever changing shapes, something known as swarm behavior.  They would group tightly together, then something would cause them to spread out getting so thin that the swarm almost dissapeared, only to reform again in tens of seconds.  It's also rather fun to swim into their swarm;  as you approach they start hopping up off the water about six inches like miniature pogo sticks.

Waterbugs Swarming

Another insect hatching now is the Mayfly, an insect that clearly hasn't learned how to read a calendar.

Mayflower

A late blooming wildflower is decorating the forest floor - the partridgeberry.  I don't have any good guesses as to why this flower blooms so much later than all the other small, forest ground plants.

Partridge Berry

Several more cormorants have made the lake their home, perching on dead branches of favorite pine trees on a couple of islands.  They are pretty cool looking birds, with webbed feet that can hold onto branches, even if they are rather messy.

Cormorant

The loons have been busy trying to nest, but with the changing water levels, it is not apparent they have been successful, and it's getting late for another attempt.

Common Loon

They are a beautiful bird. 

Another beautiful, and rarer bird visited Lake Wicwas this weekend:  a Bald Eagle!  We saw it Friday afternoon, circling rather high over the south part of the lake.  It flew in from the north, made quite a few large circles over the lake, moving slowly southward until it went over the hill towards Lake Winnisquam.  A fabulous sight to see.

The heavens also added some beauty this weekend, with a nice sunset followed by a bright crescent moon.

The fireflies have also emerged.  After watching the moon pass in out of the clouds, I walked to a field on that dark, warm, humid night, and was treated to a fabulous light show of hundreds of twinkling lights dancing all around me.

October 9, 2011

The color on the trees is starting to get brighter.  It is probably at its peak intensity right along the shores of Lake Wicwas, but it still has a ways to go pretty much everywhere else.  The turn seems to be later than usual this year, perhaps due to lots of rain in the summer and now warm weather in the fall.  Today the temperature hit 77 degrees, with a strong, warm west wind.  We both got in quick swims, but it was pretty chilly.

Sunrise on Lake Wicwas

Maples along the Shore

Not Much Color Away from the Lake  (North from the "White Mountain Ledge")

Even with warm days, it still cools off very quickly as soon as the sun goes down, and by morning the temperatures have been in the 40s, but that didn't stop these fishermen from starting out early.

There were also duck hunters out this weekend, with their shots being heard right at 30 minutes before sunrise when the regulations allow it.  Lots of loud booms, and with all ducks around, I expect they some success.  It's hard enough getting a picture of them, as they are so easily flushed.  I guess that's why the hunters are out in their boats and in position well before daylight.

The booms didn't seem to bother the deer, as I heard one snorting at me as I went by a field, and certainly this red squirrel was more annoyed at my presence than the sound of a shot gun.

Later in the day when Linda was out working in the yard she had another deer snorting at her.  Perhaps they are males staking out their territory;  guarding their mates.

By the time the sun was in full force, there was a swarm of bees all over the fall blossoms - yellow jackets, honey bees, and of course the bumble bees.  This one had a good harvest of pollen attached to its hind legs.

I also came across several of these unidentified beetles in the warm sun, this one hanging onto our window screen.

We received a generous invitation from some new friends who live on Arbutus Hill to come up to enjoy some fresh-made apple cider, beautiful views, and great conversation.  We also came home with an assortment of fabulous apples grown in their own orchard right here between the shores of Lake Pemigewasset and Lake Wicwas!  (We've already sampled some of each!)  We're looking forward a return visit soon!

Just after sunset, a couple of jet liners came overhead on their routes from Europe, leaving an "X" to mark the spot where Lake Wicwas enjoyed a fantastic fall weekend.  I hope everyone got out one of these past few nights to enjoy the bright, near full moon, illuminating perhaps the last warm weather of 2011!

"X"  Marks the Spot