New Hampshire Nature Notes
by Eric Orff
In the grips of winter, but a glimpse of spring.
Thursday 01/29/2015
Spent a good part of the late morning dealing with the foot to 15 inches of new snow in my yard. I slept in late hoping that the snow piled high against the breezeway door was but a dream. Twas not. How fluffy it is with my snow blower snorting it in by the arms full and shooting out the blow hole some distance. My wife and I managed to clear the driveway and decks in an hour and a half.
I settled in by one of my stoves to dry my pant legs and warm my limbs. It was my heart soon to be warmed as a flock of robins showed up and began feasting on the high bush cranberry berries along my north stone wall. How pleasing it is to watch these birds feed on the berries of a shrub I planted to attract birds a couple decades ago. I have had robins about off and on this winter feasting on the berries about. The big barberry bush that was here when I moved in has flourished and is loaded with berries this winter and I have seen days that it has been full of robins. Too bad some of these "invasive" shrubs have gotten a bad rap in recent years. The fact is they do produce great winter food for our birds and are hard to replace by native shrubs.
I have seen some turkeys around this winter as well. Not so much for deer sign though. Up until this big storm we have had bare ground showing here and there. Looks like this snow and one to come Friday may keep the winters clutch on things for a while.
The Duncook River was frozen over tightly when I got back from a 12 day trip to Florida on the 17th. It was running with lots of open water when I left on the 6th. My son was home last weekend so we got some ice fishing in. Plenty of ice on our local ponds as well.
My bird feeder is brimming with a huge flock of blue jays. Close to 20 arrive each morning as well as a bunch of cardinals and various other birds.Lots of action to watch and enjoy the view in a nice warm house. Yes it does seem like as I age watching from the inside is more enjoyable.
