The weather this afternoon is as pretty as you can have on a late winter day. Perfect blue sky a little wind and warm. OK it is relative; the temperature is 52 degrees Fahrenheit; in the summer we would all be reaching for a coat. But since it is April I was outside this morning enjoying the sunshine with only a fleece vest and a cup of coffee for warmth. In fact as I write this newsletter I have the office door open and am enjoying the breeze. The snow storm last week left us with over a foot of new snow. In April you would assume that the strong spring sun and warm daytime temperatures would make short work of turning it into melt water.
Not this April, we have had cool days and nights well below freezing so we still have more than half of last weeks snowfall on the ground. The dirt road in front of the house is under constant patrol all day by a flock of robins searching for a worm silly enough to surface. In the evening and early morning there are any number of woodcock searching same bare ground for those same worms. In fact this afternoon when I went to get the mail there was a woodcock in the road by the mailbox. I assume that he had gotten hungry enough to chance being out in the open during daylight. At least during the day the ground is not frozen solid which I am sure it must be at night. I also saw a few killdeers at the dairy farm below the house the day after the storm. I hope that they can all hold on for a while longer until a real thaw sets in.
I talked with someone this weekend who keeps a good diary and she mentioned that a year ago we had the first spring peepers. Not for a while yet this year. I know that it will turn all of a sudden and spring will pop right out but boy am I eager for it to come this year. I think partly because I have spent too much time in the office this winter and need to get outside to have some fun. Maybe even catch a fish or two. Of course today we are waiting for the other shoe to drop, tomorrows forecast calls for up to a foot of fresh snow. Like the storm last week the amount of warm air will make all the difference. I am hoping for rain and warmer weather but I am not optimistic.
The ice is starting to break up on Seven Tree Pond and Round Pond with large areas of open water showing especially where the river current helps to erode it. On my last stop at Ayer Park, to see about possibly launching a canoe for a paddle, I saw the first loon of the spring. On my walk this morning the hairy woodpeckers were drumming to mark their territories and because it was so still you could hear drumming from up close to far in the distance in all directions.
This will be one of the last newsletters that I will send to you in this format; the web page redesign is proceeding and part of the redesign will include switching to Constant Contact for newsletter delivery. I hope that the spring is a little warmer where you are and if you are making summer plans please give me a call or send me an e-mail. I would love to talk about a warm afternoon canoe trip.
Best regards,
Don Kleiner
Master Maine Guide
