Autumn colors on the way to work

My outdoor time is so limited, due to my incredible school hybrid classroom workload, that I have taken to enjoying the autumn colors as we whiz by in the car. Our bit of the planet is a riot of reds, oranges, and yellows.

Snapping Turtle Hatchlings and False Alarm

Sort of false alarm...This morning, we spied the nest hole opening to the turtle nest and expected to see an exodus of baby snapping turtles during the day. This seemed to be right on schedule at 95 days from being laid. Strangely enough, that did not happen. Drew saw three tinier than usual turtles that had emerged, but when he came back to check a little later, they had disappeared. All I can think is that those three were able to crawl under the fencing and escape. Since then, the fencing has been secured and there has been no activity.

So, Drew put an endoscope into the nest cavity (about 3.5" under the surface) to see what was going on down there. Not much as you can see. There were at least 30 eggs laid, and you can see some of them poking up through the sand, with the rest still completely covered.

Check out the rounded bumps of the eggs under the sand. Cool! I expect lots of activity by the weekend and into next week, but never have I seen just a few hatchlings and then nothing... 

Wood Frog in the back woods

I went on a short walk in the woods behind our house in an area I haven't been able to access for over two years as my knee has been such a mess. As I stepped onto the main trail I saw something brown hop out of my way. It was a gorgeous wood frog. We hear them calling loudly in the springtime, but rarely see them. I love the black masks over their eyes. They are the Zorro of the frog species!

The trail was very nice to walk on and I appreciated the lack of rocks. I have been traversing so many rocky paths of late. Here, I only had to watch out for roots.

I was so happy to soak in the sights and sounds of this part of the forest. It had been brutally cut about 7 years ago and the land is starting to regain its beauty. The ferns are stunning in this open area.

American Toad

It's toad season! They are hoppity hopping all over the forest trails! We have to be careful not to step on them.

Forest Walk and Shrooms

I am finally able to walk in the woods more often (as Drew picks me up from school and takes me to the forest directly from work.) I am loving this relaxation time and am so happy to be outside as the season moves speadily toward autumn. 

We have walked from the Hix Small Cemetery Rd. to the old County Rd. (both wooded, rocky and rooty trails that were main roads 100 years ago.)

With the trail being so rough (lots of rocks to trip over and twist ankles), Drew and Toby walked ahead and cleared the trail of branches so that I would be safe.

Drew's bridge is still standing. He constructed it about 15 years ago so that we could cross the creek at high water times. It is on the right side of the photo in the distance. My knee was complaining as we neared the creek so we had to turn around and head back to the car. Eventually, I'll be able to walk from home to here. Baby steps to health.

As we walked the trail, Drew spotted a puffball fungus ready to open and release its spores. We helped it along a bit!

And, here is a puffball that is not quite as mature.

Nearby, I spotted a type of bracket fungus, Lenzites sp. It grows and gathers its nutrients from dead wood and breaks the wood down.

The underside of this species of Lenzites has gills. Other species have pores, so you really do need to turn the fungus over to look at its underside to identify it.

The patterning reminds me of brain coral. Spores are released from within the gills.

First "longer" walk since knee surgery on June 16th

Wowee! I finally attempted to take a longer walk down the snow mobile trail today. Up until now, I have only attempted a 0.4 mile walk. Whoo! I got so exhausted from this 3/4 mile walk. It consisted of two down slopes and two up slopes, and was quite the challenge to my knee. The ground into the forest, on the old county road, was very rocky and rooty, but I picked my way slowly and carefully. It took an hour from the start to the finish of the walk. I am very satisfied with my progress, although I guess I pushed myself a bit more than I probably should have, but I had to see what my capabilities were.

Thinking of hiking again...

With my knee healing well, I am starting to think about hiking again. No big mountains, just local hikes.  I recently became a member of the Facebook group called "Maine Hiking" and it has been a fantastic resource.  One hiker has just completed 100 hikes in Midcoast Maine. Wow! Here is his list. It is one that we can reference for short hikes that are pet friendly. I'll be ready to tackle a few this autumn!

1-Bradbury Mtn State Park Trails in Durham 4/26/20

2-Crystal Springs Farm Trails in Brunswick 5/2/20

3-Brunswick Commons Trails in Brunswick 4/28/20

4-Chase Preserve Tails in Brunswick 5/9/20

5-Maquoit Bay Trail in Brunswick 4/20/20

6-Cox Pinnacle Trail in Brunswick 5/15/20

7-Devils Back Trails on Orr’s Island 5/17/20

8-Cliff Trails in Harpswell 5/17/20

9-Mast Landing Audubon Sanctuary Trails in Freeport 5/16/20

10-Head of Tide Park Trails in Topsham 5/18/20

11-Skofield Shores Preserve Tails in Harpswell 5/18/20

12-Androscoggin Riverwalk Trail in Brunswick 5/20/20

13-Brunswick/Topsham Androscoggin River Path in Brunswick/Topsham 5/19/20

14-Thorne Head Preserve in Bath 5/20/20

15-Cousins River Trail in Freeport 5/21/20

16-Run Around Pond Trails in Durham5/22/20

17- Pratt Brook Park in Yarmouth 5/24/20

18-Otter Brook Preserve Trails in Harpswell 5/28/20

19-Giant Stairs on Bailey Island 5/25/20

20-Curtis Preserve Trails in Harpswell 5/25/20

21-Wilson’s Cove Trail- Harpswell 5/29/20

22-Widgeon Cove Trail in Harpswell 5/29/20

23-Hedgehog Mtn Trails in Freeport 5/23/20

24-Long Reach Preserve in Harpswell 6/3/20

25-Hackett and Minot Trails in Harpswell 6/5/20

26-Potts Point Preserve in Harpswell 6/5/20

27- Houghton Graves Park Trail on Orr’s Island 6/6/20

28-Little Ponds Preserve in Harpswell 6/8/20

29-Bowdoin Schiller Coastal Studies Center on Orr's Island 6/10/20

30-Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park in Freeport 4/17/20

31-Fels-Groves Farm Preserve in Yarmouth 6/13/20

32-Woodward Point Preserve in Brunswick 6/12/20

33-Chewonki Eaton Farm Trails in Wiscasset 6/12/20

34-Mitchell Field in Harpswell 6/14/20

35-Denny Reed Trail in Phippsburg 6/15/20

36-Gamble Preserve at West Point in Phippsburg 6/15/20

37-Calderwood Preserve in Freeport 6/17/20

38-Royal River Park in Yarmouth 6/18/20

39-Royal River Water Trail in North Yarmouth 6/18/20

40-Richmond Town Forest in Richmond 6/19/20

41-Sprague Pond Preserve in Phippsburg 6/20/20

42-Spirit Pond Preserve in Phippsburg 6/20/20

43-Florida Lake in Freeport 6/23/20

44-Durham River Park in Durham 6/23/20

45-Bliss Woods in Freeport 6/24/20

46-Arnold Family Forest, Blair Addition in Freeport 6/24/20

47-Powell Point in Freeport 6/24/20

48-Tidebrook (Bartol Island) in Freeport 6/25/20

49-Wolfe’s Neck Farm in Freeport 6/25/20

50-Oven Mouth Preserve in Boothbay 6/26/20

51-Perkins Farm Trail to Ft. Baldwin in Phippsburg 6/27/20

52-Wilbur Preserve at Cox’s Head in Phippsburg 6/27/20

53-Bijhouwer Forest in Phippsburg 6/27/20

54-Red Rose Preserve in Bowdoinham 6/28/20

55-Spear Farm Preserve in Yarmouth 6/30/20

56-Pisgah Hill Preserve in New Gloucester 7/01/20

57-Big Falls Preserve in New Gloucester 7/01/20

58-Presumpscot Falls Park in Falmouth 7/3/20

59-Walton Park in Falmouth 7/3/20

60-Cushman Preserve 7/06/20

61-Griggs Preserve in Newcastle 7/06/20

62-Zak Preserve in Boothbay 7/06/20

63-Colby Preserve in Edgecomb 7/06/20

64-Josephine Newman Preserve in Georgetown 7/08/20

65-Round The Cove in Georgetown 7/08/20

66-Ipcar Preserve in Georgetown 7/08/20

67-Weber Kelly Preserve in Georgetown 7/08/20

68-Hamilton Audubon Sanctuary in West Bath 7/09/20

69-Poland Spring Preservation Park in Poland 7/10/20

70-Noble Hill Preserve in Phippsburg 7/11/20

71-Green Point Preserve in West Bath 7/11/20

72-Green Leaf Preserve in Phippsburg 7/11/20

73-Captain Alfred Skofield Trail in Brunswick 7/12/20

74-Whaleback Shell Midden State Historic Site in Damariscotta 7/13/20

75-Great Salt Bay and Hart Family Heritage Trail in Newcastle 7/13/20

76-Ridgewell Preserve in Phippsburg 7/14/20

77-Center Pond Preserve-7/15/20

78-Lilly Pond Preserve-7/15/20

79-Vaughn Woods in Hallowell 7/16/20

80-Augusta Greenway Trail/Fort Western in Augusta 7/16/20

81-Raymond Community Forest in Raymond 7/19/20

82-Butler Head Preserve in Bath 7/18/20

83-Skyline Farms in North Yarmouth 7/20/20

84-Cross River Preserve in Boothbay 7/21/20

85-Hendricks Head in Southport 7/21/20

86-Bonyun Preserve in Westport Island 7/22/20

87-Carl & Barbara Segerstrom Preserve/Squam Creek in Westport 7/22/20

88-Gregory Hiking Trail in Boothbay 7/23/20

89-Porter Preserve in Trevett 7/23/20

90-School House Pond Preserve in Trevett 7/23/20

91-Dodge Point Preserve in Newcastle 7/24/20

92-Marsh River Preserve-in Newcastle 7/24/20

93-Trout Pond Preserve in Alna 7/25/20

94-Bass Falls Preserve in Alna 7/25/20

95-Plummer Point Preserve in South Bristol 7/27/20

96-Seal Cove Preserve in South Bristol 7/27/20

97-Tracy Shore Preserve in South Bristol 7/27/20

98-Augusta Nature Education Center in Augusta 7/28/20

99-Linekin/Burley Preserve in East Boothbay 7/31/20

100-Maiden Cliff Trail in Camden 8/8/20

Loon Family video - Chicks R Go!

We love loons, and to have a successful hatching of loon chicks is just magical! Here is a short video that I shot over at the pond. I think the chicks are about 3 weeks old, and I checked with the Loon Development info page on the Loon Preservation Committee's website.

The wind was blowing a bit and I was at maximum zoom, so it was difficult to keep track of the loons as they swam about. Enjoy!!!! 

UPDATE: A neighbor told me that a bald eagle snagged one of the chicks for breakfast soon after I shot this video.

Loon Family on Caesar Pond (the first in 25 years)

Wowee! This is our first loon family on Caesar Pond in at least 25 years! Of course, I just had knee surgery and am confined to the shore. I had to use my camera with the longest reach to shoot some video as the loons were near the western side of the pond. This is a screen grab from one of the videos I took. At full zoom there is some camera shake and there was a breeze blowing straight at the camera. I had neglected to have Drew bring over the sand bags. But, at least I have documentation of loons!!! If you are interested, here is a link to the Loon Preservation Committee's Loon Chick Development information.

Tomato Hornworm Season

'Tis the season for the dreaded Tomato Hornworm. I found 9 of them on the Centennial Tomato plant, two on the middle tomato plant (Early Girl), and I looked on the northern most Early Girl tomato plant and did not find any, but I could see some destruction so I know there are some there. I'll have to continue my search tomorrow! UPDATE: I pulled a total of 17 tomato hornworms off of the Centennial Tomato plant!