The Frog Voices have returned - April 17th

Today it was ice out on Beatitude Pond. The frogs have returned in full voice. The sound is delightfully deafening. Welcome back!

Welcoming back the beavers

The male beaver is now out and about much more. The last couple of evenings we have gone down to the ponds after dinner and called him. He comes right over and gives us a quick look with his poor eyesight...and lingers for a minute...as if to wait for a fresh branch. We have greeted each other like old friends.

Other creatures who have made a return:

two wood ducks
male mallard duck
assorted phoebes

Easter weekend 2013

Traveled up to the White Mountains for the weekend. About as much snow left as here in Western NH. The pond is full of thaw and open spots. Can spot some beaver activity here and there. I saw the beaver out chipping away and something off in the distance.

Last Day of Winter - Nor'Easter

We had yet another Nor'Easter this past week...the day before the official start of spring. Stayed warm inside as the snow swirled and fell throughout the day and evening...some 12 inches of new snow fell here. Today finally there is bright sunlight and the winds have died down. The snow is starting to melt. I snow shoed over a portion of the pond in search of animal tracks of which I found many nearby the beaver den and the rock Lindley called Rock of Ages. Some kind of cat prints (I assume bobcat) and perhaps prints made by the mink we saw on Tuesday in the middle of the snowstorm.
One of the animals had made little tunnels through the snow into the running water below. Climate scientists say the warmer air has been blocked from getting to us, prolonging our winter here. Meanwhile the arctic continues to be warmer than normal and the ice melting faster where it shouldn't.

March Thaw - Finally

We are full swing into March and finally up in the Lake Sunapee area we are getting a late winter thaw. It has been raining all day this Town Meeting Day 2013. The critters outside devoured two-thirds of the seed I put a couple of days ago. The driveways and dirt roads around town are deeply rutted and slippery with mud. The sugar houses have begun to process maple sugar.
Our last snowstorm on March 7 brought us about 8 inches of weight snow, but the day after the skies cleared, the temperatures rose and the snow began to quickly melt. Still lots to go before the woods and backyard are clear, but I can feel the spring coming.

The rest of February was quite snowy. We had at least three other big storms. The snowbank at the end of the driveway is piled high over our heads. Since the last storm, on Wednesday of last week, I haven't seen any animal tracks in the forest. Perhaps they are waiting for a thaw, hunkered down somewhere.
Only the chickadees and gray and red squirrels have ventured out.
Lots of tree have come down this winter.

Nemo Has Come and Gone

It began snowing here at approximately 7 a.m. Friday, Feb. 8th and stopped today, Saturday, at around 12:50 p.m. It was light at first, but during the evening and overnight hours it was snowing 1-2 inches per hour. The storm stretched from New Jersey to Maine and went inland as far as Vermont and New York State. Connecticut received the brunt of the snow...and along the coastal areas it turned into a blizzard because of high sustained winds.
We have about 20 inches by us...fluffy, bluish white snow, etched by the bruising winds.
I read an article in Think Progress, which suggests that climate change could have made the right conditions for such a rare heavy snowfall to occur.