The stonework remnants of the old Grover Grist Mill on Little Gillespie Brook

On our walk up Wagg Road we happened upon a woodsy trail just past Little Gillespie Brook. On a whim, we decided to see where it led to as there weren't any No Trespassing signs nearby. The trail was quite short. As I was doing a bit of trail clearing, Drew and Toby were far ahead. I heard Drew exclaim that he found the fantastic stonework of an old mill that was at least as awesome as Tarr's Mill, if not more so, as this mill's stonework is much more complete.

And, I have to agree that this was indeed a phenomenal find. This was my first view of the stonework across the top of the dam through Little Gillespie Brook.

I walked along the trail a bit further to see the side of the dam downstream. It is massive! There is one opening to let water through and you can see it in the lower right portion of the photo. There is a slot at the upper left of the photo with an unknown function to us. I couldn't get down the slope, so Drew did the exploring (lucky duck!)

Drew walked down to the brook level and shot this panorama. We were in awe!

Then, he walked up to the dam to get a closer look at the vertical water flow slot.

Here he is at water level looking into the vertical water flow slot.

And, here is the inside of the stonework as water flows through it. These dams are a marvel to us as they are so incredibly solid and have lasted for at least 140 years or more. We are assuming that there must have been a much higher water flow rate back when the mill was in use.

Lastly, here is a panorama that Drew took while facing downstream away from the dam. Check out the stonework on either side of the brook. Amazing! We had a chat with the woman who owns the land. Her house sits on the original homestead of the Grover family and she owns the land and the mill.

The millstone was stolen from the mill several years ago, but was found and placed in front of our town's historical society building for safe-keeping.

It is so cool looking with the radiating grooves and all the lichen from so many years of sitting unused.

Here is a side view to show the thickness of the stone.

And, the lichens are gorgeous on this chunk of granite. Here you see what I think is a type of Rock Shield Lichen.

Bluebirds of Happiness visited briefly

A flock of bluebirds, along with a few goldfinches, did a quick fly-through of our yard! It is always such a pleasure when they visit.

First Snow of the season!

We got a bit of snow overnight into this morning. About 1.5" of fluffiness fell from the sky. Cool shot of a snowflake speeding by. You can actually see part of its crystalline shape and of course a rainbow of color!

I need to figure out where to put my snow table (a white plastic cutting board) for measurement as our deck now has a roof over it. I am thinking that...ugh...I will have to put the snow table on the well and shovel a path to it for each measurement.

Papermill Trail in Autumn

Each year we walk on the Papermill Trail, along the Androscoggin River, to take in the brilliant colors of autumn. Part of the trail runs parallel to a discontinued railroad track. Here you see the track crossing the Sabattus River where it enters into the Androscoggin River.  

There are so many colorful trees along the trail, and the leaves were incredible on this sunshiny day.

As we walked along, I found a small stand of horsetail plants. These are ancient, spore-bearing plants from over 350 million years ago where they were as tall as trees back then!

The scenery across the river is what we really came for, and it was quite the sight! There was no wind and the surface of the water was as reflective as glass.

There is an island up river that always attracts my eye. It has some gorgeous trees around its perimeter.

Drew also took a panorama that included me in the photo. Fun! He does a great job with this technique and cell phones make it so easy to do! Go to this link to see photos of Toby on the Androscoggin River. He is such a photogenic pup!

September Rain thus far

Even though we still have 10 days to go in the month of September, I am excited to update our rain total.

Sept. 5-6 = 1.62"  + Sept. 18 = 0.44"  + Sept. 20 = 1.87"  for a total of  3.93".  

The historical average monthly precipitation for September is 4.20". That means that we still need 0.27" more rain to meet the historical average. Now, the hope is that we can exceed that average so that we can make up for the huge loss that we have had through the winter, spring, and summer.

More Rain...Yay!!!

Today, we received 0.78" of rain. That gives us a grand total of 3" of rain. 

On August 26th, we received  0.43"  of rain.

Note: The August monthly average is 3.27", so we were just shy of about a 1/4 of an inch. If only we could get several inches more than needed to make up for our drought...one can only wish...

Loon Chick on Caesar Pond - 10th Week of Life

Here is a short video showing the loon chick and cormorants who are also frequenting the pond.

Here we are at Day 69 in the 10th week of the Loon Chick's life. The chick now has all of its juvenile feathers and looks pretty spiffy, if I do say so...I love the brown coloring and the feather patterns. 

It still hangs around with one parent and will beg for food. It should be capturing between 90-100% of its own food by now.

Such a handsome chick...

Here it is preening. Gotta keep those gorgeous feathers waterproofed!

Rain: Just a bit to dampen the soil

 Last night we got 0.22" of rain to just moisten the soil surface. So far we have gotten the following rain this month:

August 7th = 0.21" + August 9th = 0.41" + August 17th = 0.85" + August 18th = 0.1"  + August 23 = 0.22"

Total by Aug. 23 = 1.79" of rain  (We have 8 more days to add 1.48" to hit the monthly average.) We have the potential for more rain tonight and next Tuesday and Wednesday. I am crossing my fingers and toes for more rain! 

Loon Chick on Caesar Pond - 9th Week of Life

Day 59 of the loon chick's life isn't too exciting. But the parents are starting to get the itch to migrate out to sea. They are exploring the fish population of other lakes and ponds nearby, while one always keeps an eye on the chick who cannot fly yet. Enjoy this little snippet of Week 9!

Loon Chick on Caesar Pond - 8th Week of Life

Whooo Hoooo! The loon chick is really feeling its oats on day 55 of life. He is bathing and I think engaging in some pre-flight training. Enjoy this little snapshot into his invigorating antics on Caesar Pond! Be prepared to chuckle.

Loon Chick on Caesar Pond - 7th Week of Life

Week 7, Day 46 of the loon chick's life: shows us a chick who has replaced most of its downy feathers with wicked beautiful juvenile contour feathers. He is so sleek looking! I am thinking that this is a male due to how big he is and is still growing...

Sunfinity Sunflowers

Oh my goodness, I do love sunflowers. I've never been successful in growing any in the flower gardens as they do require a lot of light and space, which is something our backyard does not have. So, this year we purchased a large planter with a Sunfinity Sunflower and put it on the deck so that the deer wouldn't eat it.

It was love at first sight! The plant has lots of flower buds just waiting to open, all season long!

I enjoy seeing the buds gradually open. It is kind of like Christmas in a flower every time! The petals are such a deep and vibrant yellow and unfurl a few at a time over several days.

As the flower matures, the tiny disk flowers attract bees who love to sup on the nectar. I love the symmetry and patterns of flowers. They bring me such incredible joy.

In researching these particular sunflowers, I found that they do not produce sunflower seeds like those that we eat. I found a few flowers that some birds decided to dismantle looking for seeds, but never did seem to find anything to their liking. I left all the mature flower heads on the stems, just in case some bird wanted to eat them, but I think I'll cut them off to allow the plant to produce more flowers! 

By the way...this post is dedicated to my sweet niece of a pup, Cherise, who brings me a bit of sunshine when I see her each day. She is in surgery right now having work done on her tail. Poor girl. I hope her spirits will lift soon, although she will have to wear the dratted cone for awhile!

So Much Heat!

Here we go again. Yesterday, the feel-like temp got up to 98 F. Today will be the same or higher! At 1pm, we currently have a feel-like temperature of 100F. NOTE: We did get 0.21" of rain in a cloud burst of a light thunderstorm today. It cooled the air just a bit.

Loon Chick on Caesar Pond - 6th Week of Life

The 6th week of life was pretty much like the 5th week. No real exciting episodes, just the chick continuing to add its juvenile feathers and growing overall. So, in this installment I simply focus on a couple of behavioral aspects of the birds. Enjoy!

Loon Chick on Caesar Pond - 5th Week of Life

Week 5 brings the development of juvenile contour feathers. The chick is really growing fast as it is the apple of its parents' eyes and the feeding frenzy continues. This video concentrates on the chick preening. So many downy feathers sticking out everywhere and the chick thinking that it is looking rather chic and grown up with its big, new feathers! Enjoy...

Loon Chick at 35 days old (5 weeks)

This photo allows you to compare its size of the chick to an adult.

Wow, what a wonderful morning photographing the loons on Caesar Pond! The loons spent a lot of time in the middle of the pond directly opposite from our dock at about 600' away. This afforded me much better photos.

The poor chick looks so ragged as it is developing juvenile contour and primary feathers.

You can see so many bald patches on its wings!

When the chick finished a preening session, it flapped it wings. You can really see the new primary feathers and their patterning, as well as all the down in patches.

Here you can see the underside of a wing. In another week or so, the juvenile plumage will fill in the bald spots!

Finally, one of my favorite photos from today...

Loon Chick on Caesar Pond - 4th Week of Life

In the 4th week of life, there is more physical growth and the chick becomes a bit more independent. Lots of eating and diving underwater!

Rain, glorious rain!

 Whoo Hooo! We got 0.93" of rain. That brings us up to 1.52" for the month of July, thus far. On average, we should get around 3.5" of rain. We have been in such a drought that I can't see that happening, but we'll see! At least our rain barrels are full again and I can water a few flowers in each garden for a few weeks until we get more rain.

This week and next will be in the mid-80s to 90F each day, and that is above average in temperature as we should average around 79F. So hot and dry...

Loon Chick on Caesar Pond - 3rd Week of Life

Yay! It is week 3 of the loon chick's life and it is thriving! I think the parents are oh, so proud! Enjoy this little video from the last week.

Retired life moves at a snail's pace

We were walking down Starbird Corner Road when Drew spied this snail crossing the road. It got me thinking...

In retirement, we are moving at a snail's pace at the moment. We aren't racing from place to place as so many other folks are. 

We are simply trying to enjoy the beauty of nature in all its glory one day at a time. We revel in the patterns, colors, textures, sounds, and scents of the world around us.

We follow trails where they lead us, taking in the landscape as it changes through the summer season. That's where life is at this moment in time. I am content...

Loon Chicks on Caesar Pond-2nd Week of Life

Loon Chicks grew a bit bigger this week. Look at the amount of feathers, the body length, and even bill length. And, don't forget about their huge webbed feet! Because they no longer ride on their parents' backs, they are more vulnerable than ever to predation.

Loon Chick Update

 

Whew! Friday night into Saturday morning was rough. There was so much loon cacophony on the pond that I was sleepless wondering if a chick was killed. Unfortunately, my fears came true. There is only one chick left.

Let's hope this chick makes it through week 2 of life and thereafter! I shot some video this morning and both parents are feeding this chick almost continuously, and the chick is growing fast because of all this attention.

Loon Chicks on Caesar Pond-1st week of life

I shot video of the loon chicks through their first week of life. Did you know that for the first two days, the chicks can actually walk on land as their bodies are short enough to place their feet more directly under their bodies? Cool! As they grow longer they lose that ability. And, check out their big feet! It was so much fun to see these chicks zipping around in the water.

When chicks are so young, they cannot regulate their body temperature very well and thus have to ride on their parents' backs periodically. They can swim immediately, but are prey to all kinds of animals. You will see a dramatic scene of a snapping turtle pulling one of the chicks underwater. I did not think it had survived, but Mama bird was somehow able to free it from the turtle. In subsequent photos, I did see a few markings on the chick's chest, but it did not seem to be seriously hurt and acted like nothing had happened.

As chicks near one week of age, they can regulate their body temperature better and stay in the water for longer periods of time. They practice diving and are so cute when they pop back up to the surface!

As always, here is a map of my location from the loons. I used a tripod on land for the entire week. This way, I could be assured of somewhat steady photography without bothering the loons whatsoever. Letter A represents video from when the chicks were 2 days old and for the action scene of 4 days old. Letter B represents video from when the chicks were 4 days old and had been hanging out in the middle of the pond. Letter C represents video from when the chicks were 7 days old (hence the very blurry video.) Anytime the birds were farthest away, the auto focus had difficulty keeping the chicks in focus as they were so small in the distance.

Loon Chicks are 4 days old

At 4 days old, chicks ride on their parents' backs as they cannot regulate their temperature that well yet. 

Their wings are still little stubs, their bodies are covered with down, and they are dark brown above with cute little white bellies.

They swim enthusiastically, dive underwater periodically, and then climb up under a parent's wing to hop on board.

The chicks are entirely dependent on their parents for food.

The food consists of tiny minnows, leeches, and tiny aquatic insects.

Chicks are very enthusiastic about their food and seem to be fed constantly! For more information about loon development, check out the Loon Preservation Committee website.