New Hampshire Nature Notes
by Eric Orff

The sounds of fall fills the air here.

Saturday 09/20/2014

I noted one of the sure signs of fall by the sound that permeated the air here starting yesterday and into today. No it was not the honking of geese heading south or some other bird call. It is the sound of my local farmer shopping his corn. Most of the time it is a distant whirring sound unless he happens to be shopping the fields down back. But none-the-less a sound that reminds me each year that fall is at hand. I guess by calendar fall is still a couple days away.

Last night had frost at hand, although I don't think I had one at my house. I heard from some that there were frost covered windshields not far away. Oh how the fall colors have blossomed this past week. Many single maples have pretty well turned in places especially the wetland ones.

One thing I have noticed the last couple of nights in my travels is the road toads of two weeks ago are gone. I suppose a warm fall rain might have a few frogs on the move, but I think for the most part 2014 is a wrap for many amphibians. I can hardly wait for the spring peepers to come out in the spring. Not that the fall calling peepers won't be appreciated.

I had a two day meeting in mid Vermont this week. What a wonderful pleasure to see all the small dairy farms painted as landscapes along my travels. Quaint farms sporting 20 or 30 cows grazing with a colorful sprinkle of fall trees as backdrops as I moved along VT 14 on my way up to Brookfield. Certainly a drive back in time for me remembering how similar farms were sprinkled along the roads in Maine and New Hampshire of my youth. Now I sure many folks would at least have a wrinkled nose on passing the farms. Not me. At one time I was sure I could tell what kind of cows were in the barn, ie. Holsteins, Guernseys or Ashires by the fragrance as I drove by. Yes I was an expert on cow shit. Not so much so any more.