MaineNatureDiary

Spring has almost sprung: Each day, upon arriving home from school, I scoot over to the pond to check on the state of the ice. Yesterday, I spent several minutes kicking at the ice and moving some of it away from the dock. I was hoping that some more of it had melted today, but with the below freezing temps last night, there was a very thin film of ice on the water surface that I had cleared yesterday. Darn! I can’t wait to get the kayak in the water…soon…There is hope though, as you can see in the third photo of the little island with some water showing nearby…very soon…And then, there is the lack of snow. Check out our house with just a few piles of snow left. We usually have several feet of snow at this time of year…My flower stump is ready to be cleaned up in preparation for the daffodils to bloom. We have lots of raking to do as there is so much gravel and sand all over the yard. All will be so pretty in a few weeks…

Afternoon Walk: I went on a walk on the snowmobile trail (aka the old county road) to check out the stability of the ground. I’d say that about 90% of the trail is still snow covered and fairly well packed, yet the woods have lost most of their snow due to the high day time temperatures we’ve been having (42F today). The snow is getting soft with large icy crystals making for a snowcone-ish texture. I did a bit of slipping as my foot would sink into the snow and slip back a bit, and there are only a few tiny patches of ice scattered about. On the few patches of clear ground, I sank into mud where water was saturating the soil. There are frost heaves here and there, but not as many as I was expecting, although the trail is plenty rough and a bit jarring in spots. The road is partially washed out past Hix-Small cemetery, although it held bit better having had the larger rock gravel put down as a base since the last big rain event. Lastly, I had to race back down the trail, as the sun was setting, to catch a bit of the evening light before darkness fell across the pond.

‘Tis the last day of February…and we finally have snow! We just received 6 inches of super heavy, wet snow overnight (after spending 45 power-free hours while running the generator periodically). We really appreciate power, and heat, and hot water…AND…we truly appreciate snow! It was gorgeous outside this morning as the snow was covering the trees under a cloudy, calm sky with the temperature hovering at 34F. I have waited for these specific conditions for 7 years, and I spent an hour over at the pond photographing the scenery. Usually, I am on my way to school and do not have the opportunity to photograph the snow as it is stuck to the trees. I had to get outside early, before any wind came up, in order to catch the trees before they shed their snow load. As it was, on my last outing, the trees were dropping lots of snow on me and my camera, which I had to cover with a cloth to keep dry.

When looking at the photo of the north end of the pond (picture 3), you can see what looks like fog…not so…that is snow on the branches of large stand of deciduous trees that are not as tall as the conifers in the background. There are so many different levels of trees, and the conifers carry their snow load differently than the deciduous trees. It makes for a gorgeous, breathtaking scene.

As for the three tree limb photos…I found these trees particularly eye-catching with their snow load distributed on all the tiny branches. I was continually oohing and ahing as I tried to find just the right location to point my camera skyward. The neighborhood was quiet, the air was still, and it was just me and the trees…..Finally, the sun peeked out from behind the clouds to give a bit of a nacreous coloring to the moisture droplets still in the air. As always, I feel so blessed to have found such a beautiful location to live in. Maine sure is a special state, and there is so much stunning scenery everywhere you look…you just have to get outside and commune with Mama Nature…she never disappoints.

Unsafe Ice: Caesar Pond has become unsafe to walk on with holes through the ice sprinkled hither and yon all over the pond surface. We have been having uncharacteristically warm days with temperatures approaching the mid to upper 40’s. Yikes! I might just be kayaking on on the pond in a few weeks if this keeps up!