OUR
COMMENTS - JUNE, 2000
A New Summer and a New House
The rain gods blessed us this spring, providing almost two weeks of nearly steady rains just after I planted the 350 seedlings mentioned in my previous column. The planting took four days of continuous work, the most difficult being the day I ranged over the entire parcel planting mountain ash individually in sunny open spots, including the back of the mountain. I abandoned the idea of a mini Christmas tree farm in the power line easement because clearing the line would have been too time consuming. I hope to find time this fall to clear the downed birch there and create our firewood for the coming winter. I planted the balsam in a few separate groves and on short sections of trail, including along a brand new short trail connecting the cottage to the west boundary trail. I am hoping for nearly 100% success with the new seedlings, due to the very favorable weather conditions.
New England has returned to a more traditional weather pattern this year and the spring was very cool, which was a pleasant surprise after the warm March spell I wrote about. The woods filled with Canada Mayflower and Eastern Star Flower in May and I discovered two pink Lady Slippers on Harry's Trail near the cottage in June. Ferns are filling in everywhere, some quite huge, standing almost shoulder height. The abundant growing season has started to close in our newly created trails and I have only had time to keep the close-in main trails bushwhacked.
Mosquitoes started becoming pesky around the first of June, but I took a break from interior work to close in the screen porch, which now provides a pleasant respite from the bugs. Walking the trails without mosquito netting has been fine so far, as long as you don't stop in one spot too long and draw the swarms. I spent the middle week of June applying polyurethane to the new wide pine floors in the cottage and Willie was permanently banned to the screen porch for the whole stay. It was actually quite pleasant out there and he was happy as long as I walked him every few hours and made my presence known periodically. I slept out on the porch with him all of that week on one of our newly purchased Swedish folding cots. The first night was the last night of spring and I had two blankets and was cold enough for a third. The following first night of summer was fine with just the two blankets and the next night was a one blanket night. I believe that most of our summer sleeping will now be on the screen porch instead of the master bedroom.
We have seen a lot of wildlife this spring. I saw a moose and her yearling calf in the swampy area across the road one evening. I had been seeing their tracks through the cottage landing for several days. A large milk snake has gotten into the habit of sunning itself on the landing on bright sunny days. I was able to hear the male grouse drumming on the drumming log high above the cottage and began encountering hens in several locations along the trails as they tried to draw Willie and I from their nests. Ginger saw a number of the chicks around one nest along the central stream above the wetland. We are also watching a hermit thrush nest with four blue eggs in a ground nest not far from the cottage. Veerys and hermit thrushes have been filling the nearby woods with their haunting calls and warblers and a humming bird entertain us around the cottage.
Not all is bucolic however, as I found a freshly killed grouse hen with feathers scattered at the top of the skid trail beside the cottage at the end of one loop hike. I must have disturbed the predator, as the kill was extremely fresh and only the head and a few bites of breast meat were gone. Willie was fascinated by the killing site and I placed the victim in a paper bag to keep Willie away from it. Later that evening, after Willie had his last walk, I returned the grouse to the site, not wanting to disturb nature's way. I believe the grouse was killed by a short tailed weasel (ermine) from the damage observed, but all evidence except the feathers was gone the next morning.
The most exciting wildlife sighting occurred at mid-day this week right outside the cottage window. I was staining trim boards when I thought I heard someone outside and looked out the back window. A very large black bear was walking along the stone wall just fifteen feet away. He evidently didn't notice me or Willie, who was lying on the screen porch in the corner with a clear view. Strangely, Willie didn't bark, because he was either sleeping or had enough sense to feign sleep, which is unusual for Willie. I was worried about an encounter between the two, so I yelled at the bear instead of watching his activities as I would have preferred. The bear gave a startled look, then turned around and bolted back up the skid road into the forest. I later examined his track and was able to place my whole hand with fingers splayed into the impression. I believe that we encountered him a short time later as we walked through the woods and I heard a large crashing sound to my right. Willie came bounding and growling from far off to the left but halted some ten feet off the trail at my command, which he usually does. However, I am not sure that he would pursue a chase even if I didn't call him off.
The cottage work is progressing slower than I envisioned, but I am now hoping to complete the interior work by the end of July. That should leave enough time to finish the exterior work before snowfall and hopefully have time to do trail maintenance and some additional clearing. I'm still having a good time. I am hoping to prepare an Owner's Comments page about Shelburne again in the near future, with photos of the primary features. Stay tuned.
Larry
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