April 5, 2014

Oh where art thou, Lake Wicwas?  Buried deep under that layer of ice and snow, I know you are there, waiting to be freed from the shackles of the polar vortex. 

April 5, 2014

It has been four weeks since we were last here, and I'm sad to say it doesn't look much different than when we left back on March 8th, with a heavy snow pack still in place.

North-facing slopes still have plenty of snow

The ice is still solid, but there is a foot of water and slush on top of it, so I don't know how much ice is actually present.  There are small openings around the edges of the lake where the runoff from the recent rains eroded the ice, and it indicates the ice isn't safe for travel.  Even the openings at the inlet and the outlet have only small slices of open water. 

But there are signs that provide hope.  I saw the first chipmunk yesterday, and I heard the call of the geese somewhere on the lake.

There are also a few green shoots of plants pushing their way up right through the snow;  they are not inclined to wait any longer.

Lilly Shoots

A flock of four turkeys took a stroll through the yard yesterday, enjoying the dropped seeds from the bird feeders.

When they became aware of our presence they fanned out their tail feathers - probably to make themselves look larger to any attacking predators.

These were pretty large birds anyways - I wouldn't be surprised if they were well over 20 pounds.  They aren't enjoying the deep snow at all, as heavy birds on tiny feet broke through the soft crust repeatedly, crashing down until their bodies hit the snow. 

By this evening, with another warm, sunny day to strengthen its resolve, Lake Wicwas had taken a little more ground from its nemesis, but it still has a long battle ahead.

April 6, 2014

2014 has been a long winter.

March 30, 2014

We are back from Colorado, but I'm afraid I didn't make it up to Lake Wicwas, so I can't report on the current state of winter.  By all accounts, old man winter is not ready to give up his hold yet.  Since we left there has been more snow, and the radar this morning indicates sleet, freezing rain, and other wintery weather is in our future. 

One of our local nature observers did send me this picture of a bone that was uncovered during a recent show shoe venture on the hills west of Lake Wicwas.  Their trusty canine found it buried in the snow and was kind enough to retrieve it and offer it as a gift.  Their research indicates it may be from a deer, but if anyone has any insight, we'd love to hear it.

Can you identify this bone?

Think spring!  It's time for at least some nice spring skiing!

March 16, 2014

I wasn't at Lake Wicwas this weekend, but was certainly enjoying some fabulous natural surroundings elsewhere.  It might be a while before I get back to the lake, but I'll post an update as soon as I can.  In the meantime, here are some other beautiful winter scenes.

March 8, 2014

More signs that spring is coming, albeit slowly:  Wide temperature variations.  On Friday the morning low was a cool 6.5 degrees below zero.  And the afternoon high was 41.7 - a 48 degree difference.  That's what happens when March sunshine on cloudless day collides with another arctic air mass.  It was a spectacular day;  I wasn't at Lake Wicwas, but was in the White Mountains, where we were treated to stunning views all day long. 

Presidential Range

The Rock Pile

Saturday was almost as nice, though the clouds were filling in as the day went on.  It was warm enough to soften the snow on the lake for some nice skiing, so I took a trek around the lake.  Once again I saw few signs of wildlife, but plenty of people enjoying the day.  The Lake Wicwas Turnpike continues to be heavily traveled with a well-worn path down the lake.
 

The Wicwas Turnpike

Entrance Ramp from Chemung Rd.

I didn't check the ice depth, but with another cold week it has surely only gotten thicker, so the route may be in service for quite some time.

No wildlife spotted this week, but here are some late-winter scenes from around the lake.

Crockett's Ledge and the Western Shore

Smith's Landing and the Northern Shore

March 2, 2014

Yesterday was the first day of meteorological spring and it was anything but spring-like:  the morning low was 5 degrees below zero!  At least the winds let up a bit, and it did warm up during the day so it wasn't too frigid as the day went on.  The news reported that Concord had three feet of snow in the month of February alone, and it isn't going away soon, as the forecast is for another cold snap to assault us this week with lows in the negative numbers and highs not getting above freezing. 

At least the polar vortex can't alter the planet in its orbit.  Weather can't change the fact that the sun is higher in the sky and setting farther to the west.  There was a whisper of spring in the sunset on the first day of March.

Sunset over Wicwas on March 1

The second day of March was much better than the first, and a Red Fox was enjoying the warmer temperatures and brighter morning.  At 7:30am a fox came off one shore of the cove, but then stoped and stared at the house, as it quickly detected our presence.  It immediately bolted across the cove at a high-speed gallop, stopping about 3/4 of the way to glance back at us.  It then took a somewhat more leisurely trot to the far shore, stopping to look again upon reaching the shoreline.  It hopped up the bank and sat down under a hemlock branch to rest and watch some more.  After a short respite it wound its way up the hill, checking out all the holes around the trees, looking for a warm breakfast of squirrel or mouse. 

Photo from a Previous Fox Sighting on Lake Wicwas

The weekend's adventures included an excursion on Arbutus Hill, complete with good friends and knowledgeable tour guides! 

Photo courtesy of Mary K.

From the high point-of-land we enjoyed good views to the north and east thanks to the hard work of the foresters.

Red Hill, the Squam Range, and the white tip of Chocorua (if you look hard) from the Arbutus Hill Trail

The crusty snow precluded much tracking, but we did see the signs of a Pileated Woodpecker working on ridding a white pine of carpenter ants in its wood.

It had been working on the tree for a while, including a little excavating since the most recent snow.

I checked the ice thickness on Lake Wicwas today - 22 inches thick in our part of the lake.  Boating looks to be a long ways off....

February 23, 2014

All I can say this week is, wow - there is a lot of snow.  Two more storms this week, and even after a day of rain and two days in mid 40's, the snow pack is still incredibly deep.  There was too much time spent clearing it away to do much trekking around in the woods, but here's one picture that gives the idea.

This marsh has bushes that are probably two to three feet high in the summer, and they are completely covered.  Only the tallest saplings show now.  Here's the same marsh, from almost the same location in the late summer.

And that was when the water was high - at this point the water level is a good 12 inches lower.

Another couple of weeks like this and we'll have to shovel just to look out the windows!

February 16, 2014

The Wicwas Olympics are here.

Another serious dump of snow gifted us with over a foot on Thursday, making for a sweet Valentine's Day with some epic New England skiing on Friday, and will serve the region well for the upcoming vacation week.  2014 is looking like a good year for the ski industry. 

Spear Peak at Ragged Mountain

Unfortunately a bit of sleet mixed in at the elevation of Lake Wicwas which put a little crust in the middle of the snow pack.  This made for some noisy snow shoeing, and difficult skiing in the woods, but the skiing on the lake was great.  We took a snow shoe trip in the Hamlin-Eames-Smyth area on Saturday, and were happy to follow a snowmobile track for a good ways.  The sticky snow made for beautiful winter scenes even though it was an overcast day with flurries in the air.

Old Stanton Road

Along the way we discovered that the otters were partaking in the winter olympics, competing in the bobsled events.  We saw some olymipic-length otter slides, going right across the Blue Trail around the Beaver Ponds.

Otter Slides

We followed them a bit, as they wound under trees and around stumps, forming a pretty nice bobsled run.

They would slide a good 30 yards along a downhill grade without a foot print to be seen.  Then on the flats, a few pushes with their feet kept them moving while still sliding on their bellies.

We crossed their path again, this time where they were heading back up towards the upper beaver pond, now having to climb.  Maybe rather than the bobsled, it is more like the Otter Winter Wild - up hill and down!

Back closer to home I saw the bobcat had visited again.  It came through the yard looking for tasty morsels around the birdfeeder, and then ran all the way across the cove in the wide-open to Sheep Island.  A dusting of snow Saturday night covered up all the tracks, so we now have a fresh canvas to go out and see what happens next.

A few more snow storms and there won't be any place left to put the snow - the piles are already getting high!  (Happy B-day, DP)