New Hampshire Nature Notes
by Eric Orff

Chilin Out again today

Friday 05/10/2019

Gee. Seems like we just can't break this cold dank spring spell. Well except Wednesday and Thursday. But seems like we have been running ten to fifteen degrees below average for most of the spring.

But spring is slowly moving along. The leaves are kind of out on the forest understory but the canopy has yet to fill out. Normally most years based on my memory May tenth we usually have leaf out. So I'm saying we are running at least a week behind "normal". I bet the tree ring laid down this year is going to be a narrow one. The sun is pretty high in the sky and the lack of sun just has to be keeping the growth rate down.

The birds are back in abundance. I did hear a rose breasted grosbeak here a couple days ago. And just yesterday I heard my first tree frog with a bit of a call from the oaks across the road. Years ago when the Buck Street Dam was still in place and we had lots of water backed up in the meadow down below there would be a wave of tree frogs sweep through the trees across the road, then to the trees around my house, and then on down to the meadow. Not so much any more.

Everything sure is lush green though with all this rain. My plum tree is just now blossoming and the crab apples in my yard have yet to bloom. I'm hoping to turn some dirt in my garden this weekend as my daughter has promised to come down to help till and plant some things this weekend. Sure hope the rain lets up enough to do it.