New Hampshire Nature Notes
by Eric Orff

The latest warm up with temps in the mid 70's yesterday has kept a  few frogs active. I thought I had seen the last one three weeks ago at my camp in Maine but saw a couple more wood frogs there last weekend. And still more here in Epsom crossing my road a few nights ago. So maybe we'll see some frogs into November it seems. Can't help but think things are going to change pretty quick to the cool side soon.

 

It has snowed leaves all week long with mostly just the oaks and beeches holding on to the leaves now. Muzzle loader deer season starts tomorrow. I'll hold off until the regular season on the 11th of November to get some hunting in with my son. A drift of my mind back to my early days of deer hunting in the late 1960's reminds me that most years by mid month we had snow on the ground. So maybe we are just a couple of weeks from snow. In fact with that in mind yesterday I brought my snow blower up from under my deck to the garage. While it is a thrill to have snow to hunt deer on I'm not so sure I'm really ready mentally for it.

 

Turkeys, turkeys and more turkeys it seems. Boy have there been flock of them in town lately. I counted 40 in one flock not a mile from my house the other day. And robins galore as well. Except they seem to be coming in waves and all are headed south.. Can't help but think the average robin is smarter than me as my tolerance for winter dwindles with age.

 

We've had just enough rain to refill our summer-long parched brooks. I hope enough native trout survived to refill the brooks with life again. You'd think that the several hard frosts we've had would have put a damper on the tick abundance. But just a few minutes ago I picked three deer ticks off my white cat right after I let him in. He's in and out all day and I pretty much pull some off each time he comes back in. Sounding like a ticky deer season again this year.