Violets

Spring Day on Aziscohos

One of the nice things about having mountains in your backyard is that you can go hike anytime you get the itching for it. So a trip out to Wilsons Mills and up Aziscohos Mt. Elevational differences in Maine's western mountains is wild. At Rangeley, (elevation 1518') it's at least 2 weeks behind Farmington (elevation 480'). Wilsons Mills (at the trailhead for the trail is 1730') and the Hobblebush (Viburnum alnifolium) is in bloom, trout lily (Erythronium americanum) is out and the trilliums are bloomed. In Rangeley we only have trilliums in bloom. Aspens are out in both locales.

Black flies are hideous out to Wilsons Mills, just getting underway in Rangeley.

On top, a stiff breeze kept the blackflies at bay, while it made for some good acrobatics for s couple of mourning cloaks, the commas kept lower. While sitting watching the view,(Mt Washington was very clearly visible and remarkably I believe Katahdin was also spotted. A perfect day.

A trio of bald eagles soared overhead and then in habitat that I didn't expect it, a tiger beetle showed up.No sand, just spruce-fir trees and bare rock, scrub, lichens and moss. He was pretty, green head,thorax and abdomen, and bronzy elytra. Maculations were just dots, 4 I believe.

Snow

Front finally moved through last night. Temps dropped down to 36f (2 C) and snow was on the mountains from 2500 ft and higher.

Toads.

American Toad, (Bufo americanus), joined the chorus last night.

Weekend gone by.

A weekend of activity, a young Sharp-shinned hawk lands on the deck railing, more Peepers calling,unseasonably high temperature and I'm not complaining. After years of putting up with Maine's winters, I can't complain about heat. I'm tired of cold and wet,( getting hypothermic and frost bit changes ones attitudes.)

Saturday evening (4/25), the robins were going nuts, I stared over to where the commotion was, new something was amiss and watched a Barred Owl fly off. Saturday morning I heard my first Hermit Thrush singing. I can still hear some woodcocks peenting. More insects, more butterflies and a daytime flying moth( an underwing). Coltsfoot in bloom on Sunday, and a stop at one of my favorite places yielded tiger beetles, at least 3 species.

This morning I heard a loon calling in flight. Last night I saw a Meadowlark, the first one I've seen in Rangeley.

Spring Arrivals

April 23- Wood frogs (Rana sylvatica)

April 24-Common Loon (Gavia immer)

No flowers seen.

And at 7:44 pm, the first mosquito of the season.

April 24- Spring Peepers (Hyla crucifer)

Spring!

I know winter ended and spring started back on March 20. Last night we had about a half an inch of snow. That melted off by noon, and the temps went up to 55. I put my xc skis on,(yes we still have that much snow,up to 2 feet in the woods), and went out across the field. That degraded into a shuffle, then slog, and finally I took them off walked across the grass and came back up the road.

Later, I went out and saw a butterfly. What?! Wait! What are you? I chased it down and snapped a picture of it. Camera phones suck, but as a record shot, it works. A Milbert's Tortoiseshell (Aglais milberti), and that is the first of spring butterfly for me.

And the birds are heading back too. A Kestrel made a flyby, and the woodcocks were busy peenting this morning. Saturday night, I go out for owl monitoring. The weather looks bad, but at least I can start a post with "It was a dark and stormy night..."

This don't feel like Spring.

While standing in line at the Gifford's Ice Cream Stand in Farmington, the guy in front of me, an older gent, was waiting for his banana split, he turns to me and says "This don't feel like Spring". "No,no it doesn't", I said. It was 5 above this morning in Rangeley, and at noon in Farmington ,there still was a good chill in the air. Breezy too.

Errand done and a strawberry frappe' in hand. I headed back north along the Sandy River to Strong and Phillips, then turning up the mountain towards home. Sap buckets are out, there are bare patches of ground, and the rivers are beginning to break up. Spring in Maine. March in Maine.

Lady slippers

They are past,their flowers are all dried,but the perfect prelude to summer.