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Saturday, March 12, 2011

Winter is Broken - or, Spring is Here!

Spring has finally broken here! Four days ago, it actually rained when it went up to 33 degrees, but then it dropped to 15 degrees over night and we had a terrible ice storm. Our farm generators ran for twenty hours before power was restored. Stepping outside, all you could hear were the huge pines snapping and crashing all through the hills. Villages ten miles north of here were out of power until yesterday. BUT, today it actually went up to 38 degrees, and the snow is melting fast. The pictures below show deer coming out into our North pastures which face steeply South, and have a thin line of bare ground. I broke my own rule, and put out a game cam before April 1st. Since it isn't below zero much any more, the batteries will last. Twelve different does you can see here, along with a few raccoons. More will follow!






Muuuuahhh!

                                  Our trails are trashed from the ice storm. There are huge trees across many places and it will take some time in the spring when the snow pack is gone to clear them all out again. Below you can see where the brooks are eating away at the twenty four inches of packed snow on the trail...
                                    
Below is the water hole the deer use all winter. After the rain it really opened up!
Ice is heavy on these trees. If it does not melt soon, we will lose even more of them.
             Below is an icy scene near the Far Stand. This is a dead Hemlock, so beautiful in the light.


Walking the trails is like going through a tunnel. Everywhere, trees bowed way over, and many of them could snap any moment. I walk with a great deal of caution when I hear trees going down around me.
But, with all the ice, and wind, and fickle temperatures, it IS March, and daylight savings, and sun to come. The snowmobile trails are closed now and a new season opens! Let the snow go! Our trees are all tapped, and the sap is being boiled. A NEAT time of the year!
                                                            jackzeller@myfairpoint.net

2 comments:

  1. What an ice storm! Those are crazy pics of the trees all bent over. Amazing what Ma Nature can throw down when she wants to!

    I'm jealous of you having your game cams out already. Ours are still packed away waiting for the woods... Soon though, very soon ;-)

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  2. I don't have such a thing as a game cam, nor the land you've got. But, I do get to see things out of the usual in our garden. I was making my lunch time sandwich this morning and looked out of the kitchen window to see what movement had caught my eye. It was a woodcock. We've also got a sparrow hawk that makes the occasional kill in the garden too. Like the photos Jack.

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