Newsletter

Winter is definitely over now. I heard bluebirds singing this morning and yesterday I heard flickers for the first time since last summer. Our barred owls are back in the woodlot behind the house and calling "who, who, who cooks for you" in the evenings and early mornings. The weather has changed as well, there is still frost at night but the days are warm and sunny. The snow is almost completely melted and I noticed on Monday morning that the ice is almost completely out on Seven Tree and Round Ponds. Every day is a little warmer and it is light a little longer in the morning and evening.

Slowly the snow is starting to recede, first the edges of the fields show through and then gradually I can see the areas of brown grow. Hopefully this slow melting trend continues with all of the snow here and further north the last thing we need is a rapid melt, the resulting flooding would be a big problem. The days are moderating and a sunny day is a real treat. The cold has really lost its bite even though many mornings are still below freezing.

We had lots of wind and a cold rain last weekend which has the snowbanks starting to shrink. There is even some bare ground here and there. Winter is not over for sure but the sun is strong and it wont be long now; even on the cold mornings the sun makes it feel warm if you are out of the wind. As I understand it this is the 5th snowiest winter on record and we still have a month or so to go yet. I also saw that Concord NH has set a record for the snowiest winter since they have been keeping track.