New Hampshire Nature Notes
by Eric Orff

Cool, cool, cool NH and the moose watch is on.

Thursday 10/26/2006

No more shirt-sleeve weather it seems. We have had a false fall so far,
temperature wise, as we've hardly had a really cooling down this fall. Since
the cold front pushed through Friday night that has all changed it seems.
Although the last few days have been mostly sunny, the air is back to fall
along with a steady wind, really quite chilly. Good hunting weather.

But not for this state's moose hunters it seems. I have been checking moose
at the Region 3 office in Durham for a decade. From 2000 through 2004 the
average number I have checked is 23 for the season and 15 by this date. I'm
only on number 9, this puts me down 40 percent. As of this morning our moose
biologist told me the statewide kill is down about 10 percent. This is
despite having added another 120 permit tees to the woods this year. So I am
wondering why it is down in this region. The one hunter that rough a nice
moose in from WMU-M, which is the most southeastern area of the state,
claims he had plenty of moose to hunt. Of coarse he and his partner had
scouted about 80 hours each before the season. They could rattle off spots
around this area with moose. In southern NH it really is a "moose hunt".

The moose station duty has me ensconced in my office for a week. It gives me
a great chance to catch-up on office work and piles of papers setting here
and there. The UNH dairy barns, 500 yards away, appear to be the brightest
objects left to view. The cattail marsh in front of my window has turned a
light brown still surrounded by the lush green lawn. The pasture beyond the
marsh and road is framed by a white fence, which leaves my view rolling up
the green pasture to the barns, and now muted oak forest at the edge of my
view. The oaks have even lost their luste,r looking more brownish each day
with a mix of dark green of the white pines nestled in the back. The sky
above this tree line is trimmed with subtle white clouds which then draws
one's eyes back to the top of my window. A single bright red maple leaf is
tumbling across the law swept by a strong west wind.

Days are quickly becoming more subtle. Of coarse this will all change with a
dusting of snow that will kindle our Christmas spirit and send us into the
season's rush to years end.