MaineNatureDiary

Springtime temps are here: Yowzer, the next four days are going to be warm. The daytime temps will...

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 05:38:03 -0500

Springtime temps are here: Yowzer, the next four days are going to be warm. The daytime temps will all be 40F or above, with nighttime temps. in the 20s to mid 30s…

Lone Ice Shack: We don’t often get an actual fishing shack...

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 06:51:00 -0500

Lone Ice Shack: We don’t often get an actual fishing shack on Caesar Pond (this is the first time in the 12 years we’ve lived here). Usually people haul out a sled and fish only for a few hours. We’ll see how long this shack stays.

Walk in the woods: We went for a 3.92 mile walk across the pond...

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:09:00 -0500

Walk in the woods: We went for a 3.92 mile walk across the pond this afternoon. It was rather a rough walk as we went on part of the trail that doesn’t have much snowmobile traffic. (Click on picture for a larger view.)

Hunting Blind: We took a side trail into the woods toward Cedar...

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:00:00 -0500

Hunting Blind: We took a side trail into the woods toward Cedar Bog and came upon a camouflaged hunting blind.

Bait: The blind had a straight line of sight to some cow...

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:59:00 -0500

Bait: The blind had a straight line of sight to some cow carcasses that were put out as bait. There were lots of tracks (mostly bird) all through the snow. If this was the wildlife manager, he was probably doing another eagle count, or maybe a coyote count (although we didn’t see canine tracks).

Weather Update: It was a dreary, cold, and damp day with the high temp. of 32 in the morning. The...

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 20:53:00 -0500

Weather Update: It was a dreary, cold, and damp day with the high temp. of 32 in the morning. The temperature stayed at around 30F most of the day, and is rapidly falling as I write this post at 8:50 pm. There is a cold wind blowing, and the sky is now clear with lots of stars sparkling in the darkness. The temp. is supposed to drop to 9F (with a wind chill of -5F) by 6am tomorrow. We are scheduled for a frigidly cold Sunday with a high of 17F and the wind chill at around 0F all day long. Brrr…..

Snow on Pond: We have been noticing interesting patterns of when slush occurs or not…There is...

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:51:00 -0500

Snow on Pond: We have been noticing interesting patterns of when slush occurs or not…There is only about 1 inch of snow covering the pond ice (even after warm days this week; yesterday was 42F.) The snow on the pond was dry and absolutely perfect for walking on even after the sun had been beating down on it all day long. When there are many inches of snow, say a foot, a day like today would have yielded the typical snow/slush/ice layering which would have been awful to walk through…Just an observation…

Turkey Trot: Drew happened upon a small flock of turkeys while...

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:53:00 -0500

Turkey Trot: Drew happened upon a small flock of turkeys while out on a walk. Funny thing about turkeys, they have no fear of automobiles, but seeing a person on foot sends them running.

North end of Caesar Pond: We decided to take advantage of the...

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:45:00 -0500

North end of Caesar Pond: We decided to take advantage of the hour of sunlight left, upon our arrival home from school, to walk to the north end of the pond. The afternoon was brilliantly sunny and warm. The high temp. for the day was 42.6F. WOW! (Click on the photo for a larger view.)

Springs at north end of Caesar Pond: There are several springs...

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:30:00 -0500

Springs at north end of Caesar Pond: There are several springs at the north end of the pond, and we were surprised to see how pithy the ice was covering them. Usually, by this time of year, we can walk over the springs without a care. That is not the case this year. (Click on the photo for a larger view.)

Melting along shoreline: Check out the melting of the ice under...

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:00:00 -0500

Melting along shoreline: Check out the melting of the ice under the white pines along the shoreline. You can also see yet another spring just to the right of the snowmobile tracks. (Click on the photo for a larger view.)

Snow mobile tracks on Caesar Pond: The pond is perfect for snow...

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 17:25:00 -0500

Snow mobile tracks on Caesar Pond: The pond is perfect for snow mobiles at the moment. There is about one inch of snow covering smooth ice…Nice…The ice is about 9” inches thick in the middle, and about 10.5” thick near shore (as of our measurement on Sat. Feb. 4th.)

I’m hoping to walk the perimeter of the pond after school tomorrow, to check on the beaver lodges. The temp. should get up to 42F, and hopefully the snow won’t be too slushy by the time I get home…we’ll see…I also want to photograph some animal tracks. My point and shoot camera bit the dust, and we should get a replacement for it tomorrow afternoon, maybe in time for my walk!

Another great walk in the woods: We almost repeated the mileage...

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 16:41:00 -0500

Another great walk in the woods: We almost repeated the mileage from yesterday by walking a slightly different route. This time we made it to W Road and back. Great trail! (Click on map for larger view)

Self-Portrait at Cedar Bog: We made it to the bog! The...

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:05:00 -0500

Self-Portrait at Cedar Bog: We made it to the bog! The temperature was about 30F with a 10 mph breeze under clear skies…Ahhh…just the way Maine should be this time of year. (Click on the photo for a larger view.)

Oh Happy Day: Yeah…snowmobiles have finally had a chance...

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:59:00 -0500

Oh Happy Day: Yeah…snowmobiles have finally had a chance to tamp down the snow on the trail, and it is picture perfect. The slushy pond mess all melted and refroze to a smooth surface, and is now covered with a few inches of snow. And, to top it all off, the snow is nice and dry, just perfect for walking on. I haven’t been this happy in a long time. To celebrate these most excellent conditions, we strapped on our YakTrax and went for a 4 mile round trip walk across Caesar Pond, down the snow mobile trail to Cedar Bog, and back. Perfection…(Click on the map for a larger view.)

Weather: We had a bit of freezing drizzle today, and the expected high temp. did not occur. We...

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:04:49 -0500

Weather: We had a bit of freezing drizzle today, and the expected high temp. did not occur. We barely got above 32F.

Snow: We got 2” of snow yesterday, and today’s high temp. should reach 41F (with a few...

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 06:16:51 -0500

Snow: We got 2” of snow yesterday, and today’s high temp. should reach 41F (with a few rain showers thrown in for good measure.) I guess it’s still treadmill time as the forest is even worse for walking…I think we’ll go back to the beach again this weekend. Too bad it is almost an hour’s drive away…I am starting to wish we could afford to move closer to the shore…

Popham Beach Walk: Well, the forest trails and the pond are...

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:07:00 -0500

Popham Beach Walk: Well, the forest trails and the pond are absolutely horrible for walking, so we headed to the beach again. This time, we walked from Popham Beach State Park toward where the Morse River enters the ocean. Wow, what a walk. I was absolutely exhausted when all was said and done. We spent a lot of time battling an intense headwind and it was quite a resistance workout! We arrived just after low tide so there were great expanses of exposed sand as opposed to the high tide Google Earth photo you see here. What I like about this May, 2010 Google Earth photo is that you can still see the old Morse River channel along the beach. (Click on the photo for a larger view.)

Big expanse of Popham Beach: We finally got to the ocean side of...

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:04:00 -0500

Big expanse of Popham Beach: We finally got to the ocean side of the beach after walking all along the shoreline and around along the Morse River. There is lots of beach to traverse and it was windy as all get out! The outdoor temp. was around 30F with a stiff 16mph wind. You can see the sand skittering by me. There wasn’t much in the way of wave action on this part of the beach, but it was soooo invigorating to be out there with a few other hardy Mainers! (Click on the photo for a larger view.)

Morse River: Here is a view of the Morse River looking toward...

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:01:00 -0500

Morse River: Here is a view of the Morse River looking toward the Morse Mountain side of the beach. We’ll walk that land in a few weeks and hopefully have some good views from there. The Morse River channel has finally straightened out and is moving more directly to the ocean instead of winding around along Popham Beach. Hopefully, this will allow the dunes to build back up again over the next 10 years or more, if all goes well. Who knows what the future will bring as the Morse River seems to change its path after big coastal hurricane type storms…(Click on the photo for a larger view.)