New Hampshire Nature Notes
by Eric Orff

Leaves are raining down into the Suncook River.

Saturday 10/16/2004

Heavy rain both Thursday and Friday overnight have stripped many of the beautiful red and orange leaves from the maples. Actually the leaves started pouring down like confetti during the high winds of Wednesday. Once they turn to their brilliant peak of color it doesn't take much wind or rain to shake them loose from their lofty perches.

Although there is still plenty of color, this morning was the first of the gray cast of the fall sky. The rain departed by early morning taking with it the glory of the last week. Even the Suncook River has aged to an ashen gray by mid day today. The water by this late in the year turns a grayish hue. I suppose because of the low slant of the sun's rays all day. Our lakes too develop the gray cast of fall. The sentinel branches of the maples, and oaks that too will soon enough be stripped of their leaves, will transform November into the grayest month of the year. Lakes, rivers and sky blend into a background of gray tones as life ebbs from the landscape.

I did see a frog or two last evening scampering across the highway as I drove north on route 28 in the rain. I try to dodge any apparent living thing but this time of year the road is strewn with leaves making the task so much more difficult. At least I am trying to respect life and dodge the living things.

I expected more geese to be moving the last few days although I have not seen a single high V in the sky. I'll probably go outside in a bit to listen for night travelers. Some nights the heavens are full of honking unseen V's.

I suspect winter will be closing in on us all too soon. Although I have a list of outside projects yet to be complete, I'm thinking tomorrow I should batten down and get ready for winter. Especially because I'll be working for nearly three weeks straight starting Monday. I'll have 8 or 9 days in a row of moose check station at the Region 3 office; then muzzle loader deer checking the next weekend. I'll head to Maine deer camp on November 3rd and be up there the next weekend followed by the deer check station the first few days of the regular gun season starting the 10th. I probably won't have much time to work on the projects until Thanksgiving weekend. We very likely we will have frozen ground and snow by then. So my fencing that lays along the back side of my lawn will need to be put under the deck until ground-thaw next spring. Likely sometime in April. Where does time go? Tomorrow must be a "get ready for winter" day.