New Hampshire Nature Notes
by Eric Orff
Rain soaked NH and a very busy time of year.
Thursday 06/07/2012
88 year old Mary Orff planting potatoes in Epsom NH
Eric Orff and Senator Shaheen in DC
Eric Orff and Senator Ayotte in Manchester
Eric ready to drop in lobster traps in Portsmoth
Well where do I start? I've either been too lazy or too busy to sit here at my computer and get out my regular Nature Notes. Maybe some of both.
Let me start that three weeks ago I did get much of my, I really should say our, as my 88 year old mother plays a big part in what is planted and canned all summer long. But we finally got much of it in and it has flourished so far. My mother did plant the potatoes as I made new furrows and dropped other seeds into the ground. She is some spry for 88. I wish I could keep up with her!
Two weeks ago I made a trip to Washington DC as part of my National Wildlife Federation consulting work. I hadn't been down for them in months. But I did managed to get up on The Hill for a nice chat with senator Shaheen and senator Ayotte's legislative assistant Emily Lynch. There I met Oscar the moose a nice bull moose mount sprouting from one of her office walls. Yes I did check the next room to see if the rest of it was there.No.
While there I serendipitously was able to check off one of the items from my life bucket list. I'll write about that one next time.
Back home I had arranged for a meeting in Manchester with senator Ayotte herself and I brought along four other NH environmental supporters. We had nearly and hour long meeting with her and staff discussing the impacts of mercury on NH fish and wildlife and people. I also talked about the impacts of our too warm winters on our moose her in NH and the fact that the population has dropped some 40 percent in the last six years. All in all a very enjoyable and jovial meeting. I did give her a stack of Brake For Moose bumper stickers to take to DC for Oscar.
And finally yesterday I got back on the sea with long time friend Jean to set 20 lobster traps. I had not been on the sea since we last pulled his traps in September. The water was pretty brown from all our rain and lost of flotsam was about. The sun came out nicely after a brief sprinkle making for an awesome day. It is so nice to reconnect to the sea with all its sights, sounds and smells.
My rain gauge held five inches of rain when I dumped it a couple days ago. It was overflowing. The Suncook River is up, but really not at flood stage. Everything is lush green. In a break in the weather last week the local farmer cut his first crop of haylage in the field across from y house. So spring has moved right along. Yes life just seems to be moving too fast lately. I want spring to last forever. Life is so good right now.
