Jun
6th
2007
Wed
6th
2007
FLOWER GARDENS: I planted some annuals (dahlias, lobelia, meadow sage, gaillardia) to fill in bare spots between perennials. The blue flag iris is in bloom in the north shrub garden. There are developing flower stalks on the lupine next to the north stump in the front yard and next to the backyard stump. The phlox are blooming behind the shed near the rock wall. I have begun a flower garden there and hope to have turtlehead chelone plants, tick seed, phlox, bee balm, and astilbe.
APPLE TREES: The red crab apple tree in the front yard is nearly done blooming. It was beautiful this year. I get such a thrill when looking up through its leaves to the sky, as the leaves take on a orangish glow next to its deep maroon flowers. I wish it would bloom at the same time as the crab apple in the back yard, but their bloom times are offset by a week. Drew dug out large circles around the apple trees and covered the earth with hemlock bark mulch. This should help the tree roots gather the proper amounts of moisture.
VEGETABLE GARDENING: I planted the rest of the tomato plants (now there are 13 plants total), and lettuce seeds. The lettuce varieties are planted in pots on the front deck where they should receive plenty of sunshine. There is one large pot of “Pine Tree Lettuce Mix”, one large pot of “Winter Density Romaine Lettuce:, one medium pot of “Red Sails Lettuce:, one small pot of “Red Deer’s Tongue Lettuce”, two small pots of “Pine Tree Lettuce Mix”. I also planted two bell pepper plants that Drew bought for me yesterday as the seeds I planted did not sprout. I need new pepper seeds for next year.
June 2, 2007
VEGETABLE GARDENING: I planted half the tomatoes in the vegetable garden today, and two bell peppers in pots that are now on the front porch. I started the tomatoes in the downstairs bathtub in February, and they turned out to be the best I’ve ever grown from seed in the years I’ve been gardening. I think this will be a wonderful summer for veggies.
May 31, 2007
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER: A Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker is feeding on the orange we put out for the orioles as I write this entry. This bird was quite aggressive and he chased off a chipmunk who was munching on the orange first. That was a fun interaction to watch as the woodpecker would creep closer and closer to chippy and peck at him. Chippy would lunge back and continue munching as the woodpecker circled around for another sneak attack. The woodpecker was victorious in the end.
LOON: I saw the loon just off Ernie’s dock this morning. It was so pretty paddling around in the early morning mist. Ernie told me that a mallard nest is on “Kasha’s Island” just off the dock.
CAROLUS LINNAEUS: Linnaeus had his 300th birthday on May 23rd. He is known as the “father of modern taxonomy” and was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist. I will be traveling to Sweden in July of 2008 with my good friend Amanda. While on this trip we will be visiting the Linnaeus Garden and Museum in Uppsala, Sweden. “The Linnaeus Garden is the first botanical garden in Sweden founded in 1655. Today, approximately 1,300 species are grown here, all known to have been cultivated by Linnaeus and arranged according to his own system.” (http://www.linnaeus.uu.se/LTeng.html).
May 28, 2007
LOON: I was awakened at 5:30 am to my favorite summer sound…that of our lone loon. It has such a hauntling, yet lovely call. I think Caesar pond could support two loons, but this is the only one that graces its waters on a regular basis. Drew first saw it diving on Thursday, and I had thought that I had heard a partial loon call late Wednesday night. It was missing from our environs last year, so we hope it sticks around all summer.
THE GREAT OUTDOORS: Trying to grade papers… cannot concentrate… the outdoors is calling to me… beautiful, cool, sunshiny day…birds chirping…breeze blowing…people fishing…Aughhhh… two more hours of drudgery, and then I can go out and plant flowers…
Flowers: Have I mentioned how beautiful the combination of sweet woodruff and ajuga is? They are both spreading along the ground at the same rate and the contrast of the tiny white woodruff flowers to the bright purple ajuga stalks is stunning in the partly shaded area under our large maple tree. I have planted sweet woodruff in a number of areas and it seems to like partial shade the best. My, oh my, such a pretty little flower on top of deep green foliage.
Pest Deterrent Herbs: I planted Nasturtium (repels aphids) and Tansy (repels Japanese beetles, ants, flying insects, and flies) around the apple trees, and also planted one of the tansies amidst my roses. Next year, I’ll plant garlic (repels Japanese beetles and aphids) with the roses and raspberries.
May 27, 2007
Apple Trees: Today, Drew planted the McIntosh apple tree. It is next to the 4-in-1 apple tree (Cortland, McIntosh, Yellow Delicious, Empire). The McIntosh is supposedly self-fertile, but it can’t hurt to have it next to the 4-in-1. It flowers mid-season and the fruits ripen in late September. I am hoping we get some good crops of apples in about 4 years.
May 26, 2007
Trees and shrubs: We went to Provencher’s Nursery today to buy a Macintosh apple tree and a beautiful weigela, along with some gorgeous dahlias. Provencher’s has lots of trees and shrubs.
Transplants: We transplanted a huge bleeding heart from the north side yard to the front sun garden bed. The bleeding heart did not fare well so we shall see if it survives. Quite a few pieces of it broke off, so I stuck those with tiny roots into the ground. I had Drew transplant a spirea and a hydrangea.
Flowering plants: The azalea are in full bloom and are absolutely lovely. A phlox is also in full bloom as are the bleeding hearts. We put some rocks over the roots of the clematis as it is wilting. Clematis plants need shade on their roots to keep them cool. The columbine are looking great and have flower buds on them. The mums (from last fall) are leafing out. The arctic hibiscus plant is sending up tiny shoots. The peony plants are just putting tiny buds on. Last year at this time, I was photographing the peony buds which were quite large (see May 29, 2006 photos).
Ground cover: The ajuga, sweet woodruff, lamium, and violets are in bloom. Good neighbor Carla has two gorgeous beds of violets bursting with color.
Bulbs: The daffodils are all but done blooming. There are two grape hyacinths in bloom in my shade garden next to the shed.
Stump garden: The stump garden is surrounded by foxglove that will hopefully bloom this year as they took last year off! I planted my favorite orange symphony today.
Shed window boxes: I planted brilliant red salvia in the shed planters to match the shutters.
Dragonflies: Dragonfly nymphs are busy climbing up the pond plant stems and are molting in great numbers. The dragonflies have arrived! Let’s hope they devour tons of blackflies.
Mosquitoes: I got bitten by my first mosquito of the year today! The blackflies should be disappearing in a few weeks.
Tendinitis update: I started taking a double dose of Flexicose (glucosamine / chondroitin/ boswellin mix) and it seems to be helping my tendinitis. The boswellin is an anti-inflammatory that is easier on my gut than taking Advil. Hmmm…I might be back to my old self sooner than I thought.
May 18, 2007
Suspension of Web Entries: I will no longer be making contributions to the web site for the foreseeable future. I have severe tendinitis which makes it uncomfortable for me to hold a camera, garden, kayak, and type on the computer. The camera has been packed away so as not to tempt me into using it. I will be trying a few more things in an attempt to heal my elbow of the tendinitis and will resume normal activities as soon as possible, hopefully within the next 6 months. Oh… it is so difficult not to run and grab the camera when seeing something of interest in nature. ~Laurie
May 16, 2007
Summer Tanager: Our summer tanager has arrived for the summer. He will stick around our orange feeder for the next few weeks before going off to wherever he hangs out for the rest of the summer. I saw him over at the west end of the pond in July of last year.
May 13, 2007
Odd Couple: Our odd couple bird pair is back again this year. A male purple finch and a female grosbeak have been visiting the feeder together for the last couple of years. The female is easily 3x larger than the male, and is larger than any of the purple finch females that also visit the feeder. I know…I know… female purple finches and female grosbeaks look a lot alike, but we do know the difference…
Baltimore Orioles: There is a pair of baltimore orioles visiting the orange Drew put out this morning.
Red-Breasted Grosbeak: We have three male red-breasted grosbeaks visiting the seed feeder. They seem to come in with the orioles.
May 12, 2007
Baltimore Oriole: Drew put out half an orange earlier in the week and the first oriole of the season was chowing down on it this morning!
May 11, 2007
Hummingbird: We observed the first ruby-throated hummingbird at our feeder today. Drew put the feeder up on Tuesday in the off chance that the hummers would arrive early this year. Summer is not far off!
Crab Apple Tree: We planted a crab apple tree in the back yard in 2002. Last spring it bloomed for the first time with blossoms on the upper reaches of the tree. This year the tree is stunning with blossoms filling every branch. Wow!
Daffodils: My daffies are in full bloom. I have them in clumps on all sides of the property.
Tulips: One tulip bloomed and any others that thought of growing have been eaten by deer. I don’t plant them any more as they are just deer food. Ahhh….well…
Azaleas: The deer ate the blossoms on my azalea plants! I must remember to put cages around them next spring. Right now I have the cages around the rhododendron which only has 2 flower buds on it.
Other Flowers: The bleeding hearts are blooming and violets are smiling up at me from several locations. The bloodroot blooms have disappeared as they only last for a week.
May 7, 2007
Black flies: The black flies are beginning to bite, and boy do they hurt and itch. I prefer mosquito bites because the itching from them is gone in a day or so. The following web site gives more information about black flies in Maine: http://www.mainenature.org/blackfly.html
May 2, 2007
Red Squirrel: We observed a red squirrel eating the blossoms off a red maple tree. He pulled the entire blossom off and munched on it.
Ducks: We haven’t seen very many ducks on our side of the pond this spring. I have not had any opportunity to photograph ducks as it has been extraordinarily windy. Any ducks on the pond have been congregating in a protected cove at the northeast end of the pond.
April 29, 2007
Trees: The red maple trees are in bloom and many other trees are beginning to leaf out. When viewing the landscape we now see faint shades of red and green (no leaves yet, just leaf buds). It is very pleasing to the eye and gives us hope for a colorful summer as we have been in a leaf-free zone for the last 7 months.
Fruit Trees: The crab apple trees are leafing out while the 4-in-1 apple tree in the front yard has tiny leaf buds on it. We are hoping for some apples this year.
Shrubs: The magnolia in the back yard has flowers that should open in the next few days. The forsythia is in full bloom. The lilac has a few leaf buds on it.
Flowers: Lots of daffodils are in full bloom and the bloodroot flowers should open in the next day or two (last year they were in bloom by April 20th). The bleeding heart plants are growing by several inches per day, and the daylily plants are several inches above the soil.
Squirrel: I saw a red squirrel in last year’s pileated woodpecker nest hole. Could the squirrel be using it as a nest hole this year? I’ll have to keep an eye on it.
Woodpeckers: I wonder where the pileated woodpeckers are nesting this year? I haven’t seen them excavating a nest hole on our property, so they must have found a more suitable tree elsewhere. Oh, hang on…I just peered at their favorite nest tree and found some fresh excavation marks on the north side of the tree. I hope it becomes a nest cavity.
April 22, 2007
Garden: The first daffodil of spring opened on the north side of the back yard today. Gorgeous!
Pond: Jane and I went on our first paddle of the season today. The air was calm, the water was glassy, and the temp. was about 60F. We saw a bald eagle, many ducks (bufflehead and merganser), and a Canada goose.
April 20, 2007
Peepers: The peepers are peeping… the peepers are peeping! I went outside this evening to gaze upon the moon, Venus, and the stars twinkling in a stunningly clear night sky. The first peepers of the season serenaded me with their sweet songs. This truly means that summer is not far away.
Pond: Oh well…I am not the first person to paddle on the pond this year. But, that’s O.K. because our good neighbors Philip and Lorinda are worth losing the race to. There was also a nice young man out in a kayak who found one of Kasha’s tennis balls and returned it to her, much to her delight.
Kasha’s first swim: Kasha went swimming for the first time this season in 46F water. She was rather cautious about going in, but she really wanted that tennis ball that was just out of her reach!
April 19, 2007
Pond: The ice has melted from around the dock, and I can get out on the pond. But, I have decided to wait until Friday so that my sister will be able to be part of the yearly tradition of becoming the first boater on Caesar Pond for the 2007 season!
April 18, 2007
Pond: Ooohhh, the pond is thawing rapidly. The only iced-in areas are the southeast and southwest coves. I am hoping these will be ice free by Friday morning. I will be kayaking by Friday afternoon! Yippeeeeee!!!!!
April 17, 2007
Snow Total thus Far: Thus far this winter, we have had a total of 74 inches of snow in Bowdoin, Maine.
Snow: We got about 0.5 inch of extremely wet snow this morning.
Pond: A large portion of the center of the pond is open. Now… if only the shoreline would thaw so I could get the kayak in! The first mergansers are on the pond as of this afternoon.
Birds: You know spring is in full swing (even though it doesn’t seem like it because it is snowing again!) when the red-winged blackbirds arrive. I just saw one at the bird feeder this morning. Soon, they will be nesting on the pond and will be regaling us with their flute-like calls. These are some of my favorite birds of summer.
April 16, 2007
Nor’easter: We currently have had about 4 inches of rain that has fallen in the last 24 hours with another day of rain to come. We are so fortunate to have a dry basement and to live where we do. We have not had any water problems in or around our home. Many others in the state have not been so lucky. This nor’easter is a doozy of a storm. The winds are gusting up to 60 mph, and in Cape Elizabeth the highest wind gust was 81 mph. The seas are running with 25 ft waves that are crashing over sea walls and inundating the coastal towns with flood water. The rivers in Maine are absolutely wild with snow melt combined with the heavy rainfall and are washing out lots of roadways. Many towns are without power and may be so for the next 4 days. Again, we are lucky here in Bowdoin, knock on wood, as we still have power; hopefully our luck will last.
April 15, 2007
Snow Total thus Far: Thus far this winter, we have had a total of 73.5 inches of snow in Bowdoin, Maine.
Nor’easter and Snow: The snow began at 2:30 pm and is still falling steadily. We only got about 1.5 inches of snow before the rain began. Winds gusting to 60 mph with driving rain.
Pond: At 12:30 pm, Kasha and I went over to the pond in a light drizzle, and guess what…we saw the first pair of bufflehead ducks on the small patch of open water! I photographed them as best I could, but didn’t get very clear photos as the ducks were just a bit too far out for my telephoto to reach. But, at least I have evidence of the first ducks on the pond for spring.
Pond: At 7 am, I dragged myself out of bed and took a peek out at the pond. Lo and behold, to my surprise, a small portion of the middle section of the pond was sparkling and ice free! Ice-out has begun! It won’t be long before that kayak of ours is floating in water again. We are supposed to get hard-driving rain and high winds (50 mph) from a major nor’easter this afternoon into tomorrow.
April 14, 2007
Woods: Drew is on vacation in Florida and I am on Spring Break from school. Today, Kasha and I ventured out into the forest for her daily walk. It was rough going as the snow underfoot is now extremely unstable. One wrong step (and there are plenty of them) plunges us down through a thin sheet of ice into wet water below. Turkeys and deer have taken to using the path Drew has tramped out as their main walkway through the woods. The turkey tracks were enormous and plentiful all down the trail until we reached the snow mobile trail. There was a lot of water flowing down the main trail in the ruts caused by those darned 4-wheelers (boy, do they ever cause some major erosion in their quest for fun). The first creek was flowing rapidly, but there are still several inches of clearance under the board we use to cross the creek. The vernal pool just over the first hill still has a thin layer of slushy ice on it, but will be melted by tomorrow. It was snowball heaven for Kasha as the snow was very wet and packable. She was a crazy girl.
Pond: After playing in the woods, we went over to the pond where I let Kasha roam to her heart’s delight. How do I know she was a happy camper? Well, her little stump of a tail was wagging a mile a minute! And, while all that tail wagging was going on, she was mouth breathing to take in more scents to supplement her sensitive schnoz. The edge of the pond was still the only place that was thawed out, although there was a patch of ice in the middle that looked much darker and thinner than the rest of the ice. I suspect it will thaw out in the next few days. While Kasha was snuffling around, I took the opportunity to sit on the edge of the dock with my feet propped up on the ice which was still several inches thick at the end of the dock, although I wouldn’t expect it to hold my weight. What a gorgeous scene the pond and its surroundings presented to me. The sky was a brilliant blue with some billowy clouds building to the west, which matched the off-white color of the ice, and all this was edged with green from the pines that predominate the western shore. Ahhhh….spring….
April 13, 2007
Snow Total thus Far: Thus far this winter, we have had a total of 72 inches of snow in Bowdoin, Maine.
Snow: We got about 8 inches of extremely wet and heavy snow overnight.
April 5, 2007
Snow Total thus Far: Thus far this winter, we have had a total of 64 inches of snow in Bowdoin, Maine.
Snow: SNOW DAY # 3 in my school district. Yippeeee!!! We had 12 inches of snow accumulation overnight. Drew just calculated that he has shoveled 450 cubic feet of snow off our front deck ! That’s a lot of snow. Now, he has to snow throw the driveway and rake the roof. Ugh.. I wish I could help him because shoveling snow is one of my absolute favorite things to do (really!), but my tendinitis is still raging in my right arm and I have been forbidden to shovel by my physical therapist. Ugh…
Daffodils: As much as I wanted the snow to fall, I am sad to say that my daffodils (2 of which had some nice flower buds on them) are now covered with a foot of snow. Ah well… such is life. You can’t have everything…
Pond in retrospect: Gee… by this time last year I was paddling on the pond! We had already seen bufflehead & ringnecked ducks, mergansers, Canada geese, and mallards cavorting / doing mating dances / quacking from end to end on the pond. That’s not the case this year. Hmmm…I am going to predict that ice out will take place on April 20.
April 4, 2007
Drew’s new blog: Drew has a new supplement to KDoggy.com. This blog is a place where Drew puts up information and links to interesting, way cool, and uber exciting tech products, YouTube videos, and more. See a review of the QX5 USB microscope on Drew’s new blog: KDoggy.tumblr.com. Remember that there are lots of places from which to purchase the microscope. Academic Superstore is a good place to look if you are a student or teacher. And then… there is always Ebay… The microscope comes as MAC compatible or PC, so make sure you order the right one! Have fun with science because SCIENCE RULES. ;-)
April 3, 2007
Pond Ice: We measured the pond ice thickness just offshore from Ernie’s dock. The ice went all the way to the bottom of the pond and was 2 feet thick. The water temp. is 36F (2.1C) at the bottom of the hole in the ice while the outdoor temp. is 37F. The ice in many areas of the pond is getting quite thin and there are some small open water areas next to the shore. We are also seeing a large area in the middle of the pond that looks very thin and may have a small open area as well. The pond is no longer safe to walk on.
Neat Science Toys: I went to a science seminar today and was introduced to some way cool science toys! My favorite was a QX5 USB Microscope. It is great for kids and adults too! It is a microscope that you can hook up to your computer and use to look at tiny little magical bits of nature. It comes with software that allows you to “view, edit, animate, and even measure sample, then create slideshows and videos.” (http://www.compuvisor.com/qx5diblmicom.html) I think I am going to have to purchase one of these. Neat, neat, neat!!!!!
Idea for Summer: Find world map to plot sand samples latitude and longitude (keep meaning to do it but find other things to do); Photograph sand samples and try to determine composition of the samples; Put sand map on the web site.
March 31, 2007
Snow Melt, Moles and Voles: Now that the snow is melting at a rapid rate, we are able to see evidence of moles and voles. Wow! This is a record year for these critters and their trails and hills are all over our yard. What a mess!
Birds: The birds are all atwitter now that warmer weather and the mating season are here. Such a joyful sound… And, robins have arrived and are turning the leaves over in search of food. Did you know that robins eat a large variety of foods beside earthworms? Well… their diet may also consist of caterpillars, beetles, true bugs, snails, spiders, termites, butterflies, small snakes, a wide variety of berries, and fruits like grapes and cherries. Yummm…
More Birds: Huge flocks of Canada geese are being seen in fields and on open water areas. It won’t be long before we see them on Caesar Pond (as soon as ice out occurs).
Pond Ice: We still have to drill into the ice to measure its depth. We were over at the pond this afternoon and managed to push our boots down about 5 inches through slush until we hit solid ice, so it is thinning quite rapidly. We are thinking that there are about 5 inches of ice still intact. It can be rather disconcerting to be walking on the pond and have your foot drop down suddenly.
March 27, 2007
Pond: The surface of the pond is rather slushy. As I walked along I came across a stick poking out of the snow/slush/ice. I peered under the stick and saw a puddle of water which had hundreds of tiny insects swimming around. Tomorrow, I will attempt to photograph them, although I might not be too successful as they are extremely small (in the range of 2 mm long, I guess). I am thinking of using the wide angle lens along with a 20 mm extension tube to get maximum macro capability. Of course, this will mean that I will have to set the camera on a tiny tripod and lay down in the slush to accomplish my goal. Darn…I left my bathing suit in Florida. I might try laying a tarp down to position myself on (what a novel idea). It will be a tad chilly with a temp. of around 42F and a 22 mph wind. We’ll see how it goes. OR… another novel idea has just popped into my head…I could do something intelligent like use a pipette and slurp a few of the insects up, put them in a petrie dish, and photograph them indoors. Ooohhh, that feels like cheating, but it would be so much simpler. And, David Jones would do that and more… he’d put them on a microscope slide and photograph them under a microscope. I don’t have that technology at home, so I will just try my luck with the macro lens and the petrie dish.
If you really want to see some good macro work, please visit the web site of David Jones at http://www.mybitoftheplanet.com. David lives in England and has a lovely garden space which he has outfitted with a couple of ponds, and lots of bird feeders and bird houses. He has web cams in the bird houses, and he keeps a daily diary of the happenings in his environs. He is an inspiration to many photographers, including yours truly.
March 25, 2007
Daffodils: I planted some daffodils on the north side of the back yard where the snow tends to melt first in the spring, and the daffys have popped up through the soil! I’m so excited. This will extend my flower season quite a bit as most of the other spring bulbs are under 5 feet of snow below the front deck, as well as under 2 feet of snow next to the north side of the driveway.
Maple Sugaring: I fear that the maple sugar season will be very abbreviated this year as our temps. are just a bit too warm at night. The trees need warm daytime temps. and below freezing nighttime temps. That pattern just isn’t happening very often this spring.
Snow Melt: The snow has receded rapidly today with the temp. reaching 49F under a brilliantly sunny sky.
Snow Total thus Far: Thus far this winter, we have had a total of 52 inches of snow in Bowdoin, Maine.
Snow: We had one inch of snow accumulation overnight. The snow is very heavy and wet. Kasha had a great snowball play day!
March 22, 2007
Weather: Simply Gorgeous!!!!! There is a nice breeze (12-22 mph) blowing, the sun is shining, and the temp. is a balmy 52F.
Ice: I went walking / slushing on the pond this afternoon. The ice is getting rather pithy and there is a lot of standing water ( just a thin film) on wide areas of the ice. My boots broke through the top inch and a half of ice onto a solid surface below. There is open water along a few parts of the eastern edge of the pond where the afternoon sun beats down on it…I am tempted to drag the kayak out onto the ice for a photo op. I am sooooo ready to paddle again.
March 21, 2007
Photo contest: I entered a spring photo contest through the State of Maine’s official website http://www.maine.gov and had three of my photos chosen for display on the web site from March 21, 2007 through June 20, 2007. I got 2nd place for “Paper Wasp on Peony Bud” and honorable mention for both “Doggy Spring Swim” and “Female Mallard”. The photo section is below the banner “Vacationland”. If you are like me, and I know I am, you would just keep clicking on the refresh button until one of my photos is shown. Or… you can cheat and click on “More photos” to see all the winning photos. Or, if you are too lazy to do that, just click on this link to go directly to the winners’ page:
http://www.maine.gov/portal/photo_contest/winners.php
March 20, 2007
Happy Spring!: ) Spring began at 8:07 pm and it is currently 23F with winds gusting to 30 mph. The temp. is supposed to get down to 13F by 6 am tomorrow. Brrr…..On the bright side (literally), Drew will be removing the trendy pink insulating panels from our front doors tomorrow and we will be letting the sun shine through for the rest of the year until next January. Yippee!! The inside of our home will now be bright and sunshiny. Drew can do this because the daytime and nighttime temps will be near, or above, freezing from now on. In fact, the forecast for the next 10 days show daytime temps. from 45F up to 50F. Ahhhh….spring….It won’t be long before the pond ice melts and I’ll be hunkered down in my portable blind photographing ducks.
March 17, 2007
Snow Total thus Far: Thus far this winter, we have had a total of 51 inches of snow in Bowdoin, Maine.
Snow: A Happy St. Pat’s Day Snow Storm is in the works. We received about 8 inches of snow and it has now turned to sleet. Soon, the sleet will turn to rain and the temp. will get up to around 40F. What a yucky day.
Tweety Birds: We have a huge flock of goldfinches, a few purple finches, white breasted nuthatches, a brown creeper, some slate-colored juncos, and chickadees at the feeders today. The birds are chowing down during the worst of the weather.
March 11, 2007
Weather: Ahhh…warmth…it got up to 42F today. The snow is softening and melting, the pond has puddles of water over the ice, and the mud is muddy.
March 10, 2007
Pond: I took a walk around the perimeter of the pond today. It is just over a mile and is tough going in the soft snow due to a few warm days. The hunter’s shack is gone as is the carcass bait in the middle of the pond. Thus, no eagles. I did find a slide on the west side of the pond just north of the snow mobile trail. I also found lots of tracks there, but could not identify them as the softened snow had caused them to become mishappened. I also followed lots of beaver tracks all over the north end of the pond. Fun! Of course, I did receive my blind in the mail on Friday afternoon. It is too late to view the eagles, but will be useful when the ducks arrive in April.
Wood Duck Boxes: The warden put up three new wood duck boxes on the pond this winter. The boxes are attached to tree snags. The snags are encased with bands of metal which keep predators from climbing the poles and keep those darned beavers from chewing the wood.
Eagles: The eagles have flown off to other territory to feed as the bait has been taken from the pond. Some eagles may be sitting on nests incubating eggs now, as well. Nesting season should be in full swing by the end of March. Did you know that eagles stay in Maine all year long because, even though their preferred food is fish, they can feed on all types of carrion and other animals? They aren’t too choosy.
Osprey: Osprey migrate south for the winter because they are fish eaters. And, even though some water areas do not freeze over, fish tend to head for deeper water in winter so they are not accessible to the osprey. Did you know that osprey are the only bird of prey that actually plunges into the water for fish? The osprey should return to our area in April. I am hoping that an osprey will nest over at the pond. There was one nest in a dead tree at the north end of the pond, but it blew off the tree sometime this winter.
March 9, 2007
Weather: You know you have lived in Maine for awhile when you walk outside in the afternoon and think that 20F feels downright balmy. It certainly helps that the sun’s rays are higher in the sky and feel warm when they hit us now that spring is just a few weeks away.
March 6, 2007
Weather: What a difference in the weather today versus the weekend. The wind is howling at around 40 mph, the outside temp is 4F with a wind chill of around -19F. Augh… winter has hit us hard again! The pond is like a wind tunnel and our next door neighbors get the brunt of the full force of the wind in their front yard.
March 5, 2007
Sapcicles: The outside temp. is 29F and the sap is freezing in long sapsicles as it drips from the maple tree limbs. I photographed the sap today. I don’t ever remember seeing this in past years, but the tree is dying and the squirrels are constantly chewing at the branches. The birds crack their seeds here as well. All of this activity leaves gouges in the bark for the sap to leave through.
March 4, 2007
Maple Sap: The sap has begun to drip from the red maple tree outside our kitchen window. I photographed a red squirrel biting at a tree limb and licking the sap from all around the limb while having a good sweet meal. I looked at the temperatures for next week and we’ll be back in a deep freeze from Monday evening through Friday morning. So, it is a good thing that “Red” got his meal today because he won’t find any sap flowing again until next Saturday.
Lunar Eclipse: It was too cloudy for us to see the total lunar eclipse last night. Our next chance at seeing a total eclipse is August 28th.
March 3, 2007
Fog: There is fog over Caesar Pond. It is cloudy and the air temp. is 34F. Drew is outside snow throwing the driveway.
Lunar Eclipse: There is going to be a lunar eclipse tonight. We’ll try to get some photos if the skies are clear enough. Unfortunately, the cloud cover might be too heavy to allow us to see the moon.
March 2, 2007
Snow Total thus Far: Thus far this winter, we have had a total of 43 inches of snow in Bowdoin, Maine.
Snow: We have a nice snow storm in the works today. SNOW DAY # 2 in my school district, as well as every other school district in the state. We are in the 6-10 inch range for snow, so we are hoping for at least 10” from this storm. Yippee! Snowfall is at a rate of 1” per hour. 10:30 am = 3.5” snow; 11:00 am = 4” snow; 11:30 am = 4.5” snow; 12:00 pm = 5” snow; 12:30 pm = 5.5” snow; 1:00 pm = 5.75” snow; 1:30 pm = 6” snow; 2:30 pm = 7” snow; 6:30 pm and sleet now falling as temp. has reached 32F; 7:00 pm it is now raining and the temp. has reached 33F.
Birds: We have a flock of around 40 goldfinches that is swarming the feeder and chowing down on the food. When the food level falls halfway down the feeding tube, Drew goes out and fills it up again as the birds seem to think the food is gone. This occurs because there is a copper band around the tube at the halfway point to support the toe holds and feeding holes. The birds are insatiable today.
Maple Sap: Well… the sap probably won’t start flowing for a few weeks as our night time temps. are colder than I thought they would be. In fact, next Tuesday we are looking at a daytime high temp. of 14F. Ugh… Come on Mother Nature, I want some fresh maple syrup!
February 26, 2007
Weather and Sap: The daytime temps. are in the mid-30s all week and the nighttime temps. are in the high teens and 20s, so the sap should start running and the sugar houses will be gearing up for a month of boiling and bottling. Oh… the sweet sound of sap dripping into metal buckets. One of my favorite sounds leading to one of my favorite flavors of the year… maple syrup…sigh…. there is nothing like Jillson’s popcorn coated in maple syrup…and hot buckwheat cakes with syrup…and maple syrup ice cream… ahh… Spring has almost arrived….
February 23, 2007
Photo Blind: I ordered a photography “pocket blind” from L.L. Rue. This blind is like a tent of fabric that I put over my head. It has a velcro back, a velcro opening for my lens, and eye holes. I should be able to sit in a chair behind my tripod and be camouflaged. It is cheaper than buying a longer lens, and more convenient than me trying to sew something from store bought fabric. My previous experiences with sewing have not created favorable memories. The words “Laurie” and “domestic homemaker” do not go well together.
February 22, 2007
Eagles in the am: Well, I was going to go out early today to try and capture photos of the eagles, but it is 7F out and that is just too darned cold for me to stand stock still behind a tripod for several hours. So… I’ll wait until noon when the temp. is supposed to climb to a balmy 30F. If I don’t go out then, I’ll lose my opportunity for the day because it is supposed to begin snow showering around 3 pm.
Eagles in the pm: I finally got outside to photograph the eagles at 2 pm. The temp. was 34F with bright sunshine. I brought a chair with me this time and set up next to the hunter’s shack. On the walk to the shack I took a few photos of the eagles before they got completely frightened off (some snow mobiles raced to the north end of the pond while we were walking down there). Today, there was one adult and four juveniles. My first photo was of the adult and three of the juvies in a tree. The fourth juvie was at the bait. All the eagles flew away before I got to the shack. It took 45 minutes before the adult returned to perch on a tree, in the boggy area, at the north end of the pond. The adult settled on a branch for about 30 minutes until one of the juvenile birds flew over and displaced the adult who flew off and did not return. The juvie perched on the same branch, that the adult had been on, for about 30 minutes before it flew off to perch on another tree on the west edge of the pond. Unfortunately again, the shots were at the maximum distance for my lens. The eagles did not come down to the bait. Aughhhh….. But, at least I was able to snap a few more fuzzy photos. As for motion blur, I sacrificed a fast shutter speed for picture quality. I shot the photos at ISO 200 with a shutter speed of 1/400 sec. Had I gone with ISO 400, I would have gotten a faster shutter speed, but would have introduced some grain into the photos. Such is the dilemma of the photographer. Excuses….. Excuses… Excuses… I hope to one day get some crisp bird photos again. I either need to get a longer lens ($$$) or wrap myself up in a portable blind. I guess it will be less expensive if I buy some camo fabric, throw it over my head and cut out some eye holes and a hole for the camera lens. Gotta go to the fabric store…
February 21, 2007
No Eagles: It is a gorgeous day with the temp. reaching a truly balmy 36F with a light breeze. Unfortunately, there is a family of ice fisher folk on the pond so the eagles are not in evidence near the bait today. I’ll give photography a try tomorrow morning.
Woods: We went for a family walk in the woods across the pond today. The snow was perfect for revealing animal tracks. We saw an abundant number of awesome snowshoe hare and eastern cottontail tracks, as well as the tracks of deer, beaver, and squirrel. With the temperature so high, the snow was perfect for packing and Kasha had a marvelous time digging and chasing snowballs. Fun! What a great way to spend Winter Break!
February 18, 2007
Eagles: There is a section of deer carcass on the ice of the north side of the pond, within sight of a hunter’s shack on the eastern edge of the shore. This carcass is attracting bald eagles. I saw 4 adult bald eagles and at least one juvenile bald eagle feeding at the carcass this afternoon. I set up my camera next to the hunter’s shack and hung out for about 2.5 hours in the hopes that the eagles would come back after being scared off by my setting up. After standing still in the same place for about 45 minutes, I felt the need to move around a bit (it was cold and slightly breezy), so I walked into the woods to investigate a woodpecker. I was gone from my post for about 1.5 minutes and upon my return I saw that one of the adult bald eagles had landed about 30 feet away from the carcass. I scared it away as I approached the tripod. Aughhhhh…….It never did return. Had I only stayed where I’d been I would have gotten a good photo! After waiting 15 minutes more, a juvenile bald eagle (in its second year, I think) flew to a tree directly across the pond from me. He sat in the top of that tree for about 1.5 frigid hours. I took lots of photos of him hoping that he’d eventually fly toward the carcass. No luck. By this time the sun was getting lower, the temp. was dropping, and the wind was picking up, and I was shivering. So, I decided to pack up the camera and tripod and walk down the pond to a snowmobile track to the south end. That darned juvenile bald eagle chose that time to take off and fly directly overhead. I didn’t have time to drop the tripod and focus the camera, so no photo got taken. Ughhh…I think he was just toying with me. At least I got to see him in flight. Beautiful…….
February 16, 2007
Birds: On the February 15 entry of the web site there are two woodpecker photos. I took those photos through the kitchen window, hence the fuzziness of the photos. Hairy and Downy woodpeckers are difficult to identify, so I don’t know if I’ve labeled them correctly. The Hairy woodpeckers are quite a bit larger than the Downy woodpeckers. The Hairy woodpeckers also have beaks as long as their heads, whereas the Downy woodpeckers have beaks 1/2 as long as their heads. I must also remember that the male woodpeckers are larger than female woodpeckers.
February 15, 2007
Snow Total Thus Far: Thus far this winter, we have had a total of 36 inches of snow.
Snow: Well… the snow storm is over and we got an additional 5 inches of snow over yesterday. The snow is very dense and heavily packed. There are lots of drifts. Today will continue to be very blustery with gusts up to 40 mph. The high will be around 17F. This means that wind chills could dip as low as -27F. Brrrrr……We are making up for the warmth of January with these colder than average temps. in February.
February 14, 2007
Snow: 12:30 pm: 4 inches of snow thus far. We have a nor’easter today. Blizzard conditions are in effect. The temp. is 8F. The wind chill is -8F. We are hoping for a foot of the pretty white flakes, but we may not get that lucky.
Snow: 5:01 pm: 8 inches of snow thus far.
February 3, 2007
Snow Total Thus Far: Thus far this winter, we have had a total of 21 inches of snow.
Weather: It is absolutely gorgeous outside with a brilliant blue sky against the glaring white snow. The temperature is 24F, and the wind is gusting up to 30 mph, especially over at the pond. Vertical squalls of snow are flying along the length of the pond. Gotta go out and take some photos!
February 2, 2007
Walk in the woods on Groundhog Day: Upon arriving home from school, Drew, Kasha and I went for a lovely walk in the woods. The temp. was about 27F and it was snowing ever so lightly. The snow is about 6 inches deep and is a wonderful powder. Our neighbors have been skiing and sledding as evidenced by their tracks on the snow mobile trail. We crossed the creek, walked up to the T, and took a left. About 1/4 mile down the trail toward the pipeline Drew saw a mink race across the trail into the woods. In the same vicinity of the mink tracks we saw numerous snowshoe hare tracks and some lovely, big moose tracks going off into the woods. There were many deer and squirrel tracks everywhere as well. Fun!
Snow: It began snowing at 8 pm. We are supposed to get somewhere between 2 and 4 inches of snow overnight.
January 28, 2007
Caesar Pond: The ice thickness is about 10”, and there is approximately 2 inches of snow cover on the pond ice. The surface of the pond is perfect for skating. I found part of a deer carcass on the north end of the pond, and saw an osprey circling overhead. There were many tracks on the northwest end of the pond. The snow was all churned up with tracks going every which way. I saw lots of what I think were muskrat tracks with a tail impression dragging behind them. The outlet of the pond, at the far north end, is still open water. I had to tread with care when traversing that section of the pond ice. I made sure to keep a good margin of room between me and the little bog islands because there is often very thin ice around their perimeters. There were people ice fishing on the pond just out from the public put-in. AND, the first snow mobiles of the season crossed the pond today. Yeah! Hopefully, more will follow their example and pack the snow down on the snow mobile trails. This makes for much easier walking and cross country skiing.
January 27, 2007
Smelt Shacks on the Cathance River: There were numerous shacks in use on the river today. Drew took a few photos. Most of the river is frozen with the exception of the area under the bridge. The current is variable here and freezing may not occur.
January 22, 2007
Snow: It is 20F and snowing again! Yippee! Beautiful, big crystals falling from the sky…We received 3 inches.
Snow Total Thus Far: Thus far this winter, we have had a total of 17 inches of snow.
Weather: This week we are truly into the depths of winter temps. Highs and lows are as follows: 30/5 F, 14/0 F, 8/0 F, 21/15 F, 23/9 F, 22/6 F, 22/15 F. The pond is completely frozen and safe to walk across on. We will go out and measure the ice depth on Wednesday afternoon.
January 19, 2007
Snow: We got another 4 inches of snow today. It is a heavy snow which is great for snowballs. Kasha is in an ecstatic mood, and is dancing and prancing around the yard in anticipation of a snowball being thrown in her direction. We took another family walk in the woods which yielded lots of “laughs” from Kasha as she raced up and down the trail frantically digging for snowballs, diving for snowballs, and catching and eating snowballs.
Skating on the Pond: The neighbors cleared a skating rink, and the kids were skating on the south end of the pond this evening. The ice is finally thick enough to support people. We are still a bit nervous about trying to traverse the width of the pond to get to the snow mobile trail on the west side. We usually wait for snow mobiles to cross before we do.
Ice Shack on the Cathance River: We saw the first ice shack out on the Cathance River this morning. If the temps. stay low each night, we should see more of them next weekend. We’ll try to get over there to take some photos.
Snow Total Thus Far: Thus far this winter, we have had a total of 14 inches of snow.
January 16, 2007
Snow: We got about 3 inches of snow yesterday. Today, truly felt like a winter day. We went for a family walk in the woods just before sunset. The sky was clear, the temp. hovered around 16F, and the snow was nice and fluffy. Lovely…
Snow Total Thus Far: Thus far this winter, we have had a total of 10 inches of snow.
January 15, 2007
SNOW: Yes, we have snow today. It is so lovely outside with a temp. hovering around 22F, the wind is calm.
January 14, 2007
Weather Update & 1st anniversary of my nature diary: Today is the one year anniversary of my Nature Diary. If you look back to January 14, 2006, you will see that we had a daytime temp. of 53F with lots of rain. Hmmm…deja vu with the weather we’ve been having? At least today is more seasonal with a dusting of snow and a daytime high of around 28F. This next week promises to be quite cold with a mixed bag of weather.
January 5, 2007
Winter? Today’s temp. got up to 64F. WOW! It rained on and off all morning, and then got sunny at around 2:30pm. I went out on the dock and caught some bright, warm rays from the sun. Lovely…
January 1, 2007
Mergansers: Yesterday, we visited the waterfront park in Bowdoinham to photograph some Common Mergansers. The daytime temp. was 34F, the wind was calm, and the sun was shining brightly. It was a perfect day for me to set up the camera along the Cathance River for a few hours of birding. Unfortunately, the mergansers were at the limit of the 400mm lens’ range, even with the 1.4 teleconverter attached. So…the photos are a bit fuzzy, but they are the best merganser photos I’ve ever been able to take. There were 7 mergansers in this flock and they were very busy diving for fish. They seemed to prefer shallow areas of free flowing water near shore amongst the ice on the river. They spent much of their time congregating around a tiny island upon which they took turns snoozing in the sunshine. I snapped 1,261 photos of them over a 2 hour time period and plan on going back next weekend if the weather cooperates. I hope they’ll swim upriver toward me next time so I can take some sharper photos of them. Time really flies when watching the antics of ducks! I have to admit that these ducks truly reminded me of comedienne Phyllis Diller.
Smelt Shacks: Ice fishing season has begun, and there was a pair of smelt shacks on pontoons, on the Cathance River in Bowdoinham. Unfortunately, there is very little ice on the river. With the warm temperatures we’ve been having, I doubt the ice fishermen will get many chances to drop their lines through holes in the ice this season.
