New Hampshire Nature Notes
by Eric Orff
The calm after the storm
Wednesday 06/07/2017
A glance out my window at my rain gauge show we got two inches of cold rain over the last 48 hours. That was bad luck for many of the fledgling birds around her I am sure. And the cold pelting rain yesterday morning had temperature only in the 40's. That spells disaster for many of the newly hatched chicks in the nest or turkey polts on the ground. Just the other day as I sat on my front deck a mother hen and her polts walked across my neighbors lawn across the road. I'm worried that they have perished in the cold driven rain.
Deer fawns are coming to life right now too but as far as I know they are not at such a risk from the cold rain. Still you have to wonder how anything living and warm blooded can survive in June with a hard rain in the 40's.
The good news is we've had plenty of rain compared to the last two springs of droughts. But my garden has been on hold for a while now. The few cucumber plants that have survived since I planted them in late April have not sprouted a new leaf. My daughter and I actually put cucumber plants in the ground three times now. Most have died and those that haven't, haven't grown an inch. So much for getting some early pickling done. My April potatoes finally came up and are doing well. And the corn I planted then finally came up after a month and is growing slowly. Its just been another tough year to have a garden it seems.
The hat fields about are towering with grass. There just has been no good weather for the Yeatons to chop it. It finally looks like starting the weekend we will be in for some more typical June weather. The last two weeks the temps have been running way below average for this time of year. We sure need a turn around with some sunny day to get my garden back to where it should be by now.
At least the local brooks are finally running again. Last summer was such a disaster for our local native brook trout. I don't see how any survived in most of the smaller brooks.
I'm looking forward to a long and warm summer in any case. Maybe throw in a cooling shower to wet the ground now and then. Life is good.
