New Hampshire Nature Notes
by Eric Orff

Skim ice, no ice, skim ice, no ice, skim ice...no ice... a vicious cycle.

Wednesday 12/07/2011

Last week I asked "Where's winter?" And this week with a similar refrain " Got Ice?" Nope. Over the last month we have had several cycles of our local farm ponds skimmed with ice one day only to have it all melted within a few days. I drive by a couple of these small ponds every day and always cock an eye for ice conditions. It's hard to believe we are going into the second week of December without any ice at all on our ponds and marshes. According to the TV weathermen we have been running 10 to 20 degrees above average. My home thermometer flicked above 60 degrees again yesterday. T-shirt weather for much of the last month. Even the huge plowed bankings from the Halloween snow storm have all disappeared this past week.

And what lush green vegetation is still all about. Lots of sunshine, above normal temps and at least a rain event a week has kept the local farm fields greener than most summers. This is great feed for the deer and turkeys in preparation for a winter that is sure to come. Right? And how the deer have stripped the leaves and greenery off the brussel sprout plants in my garden. I am still seeing chipmunks active and smell skunks somewhere nearly every day still. Our NH Seven Sleepers (see the right hand column on my web site) all still are pretty much wide awake, save for the bats. And last evening the bugs were still flying about the overhead lights on my neighbor's porch as we sat outside in short sleeved shirts enjoying a warm evening. Even the bugs have not gone to bed for the winter.

Last Friday I attended a Fish and game Department sponsored NH Coastal Climate Summit on Great Bay. There were over 100 folks in attendance including the Fish and Game Director. The focus of the summit was on how communities need to plan for Climate Change. Interestingly enough the city of Keene has already included the affects of climate change impacts in their planning documents. The town of Seabrook is doing one now to include the impacts of a sea level rise. And how it will, according to one of the speakers from UNH. He was talking 6 to 10 feet by century end. And severe weather events such as the more frequent 100-year floods. Since there have been three in the last five year on the Suncook River right out my home office window I am familiar with that aspect. One of the speakers mentioned how no matter the doubting Thomases among our presidential candidates, all but Huntsman are deniers, the fact is people are already being impacted by climate change and are preparing for it. For instance how many folks do you know who now have a generator because we have been loosing power much more frequently the last decade from ice storms, wind storms or extremely heavy snow events? I've got one and most of my family and neighbors now have them. None of us did a decade ago. It's hard to believe the politicians can be so out of step with us folks living and dealing with climate change here in NH.