Somehow, this tiny four-leaf clover, on the pavement, caught my attention as I was out for a walk on our quiet country lane. It had been run over, repeatedly no doubt. A roadkill clover. 🙂
Unlucky
Dripping with irony.
Month: March 2021
Maple season
That golden harvest of spring.
Other people call it Spring. Here in northern New England, however, this season always goes by one of two other names: mud season or sugaring season.
Sugaring is the process of boiling maple sap – gallons and gallons of it – down to maple syrup or, even further, to maple sugar. One of our favorite annual outings is to visit a local sugarhouse, often tucked into the woods beside a nearby farm, to experience the sights and smells of the boiling sap, and to purchase some of this precious sweet commodity. Last week I was pleased to stop by Sunrise Farm, where my friend Chuck had just concluded a successful boil, and bought four quarts of the good stuff. Just in time, too, because I’d used the last drop of our supply earlier that morning!
Oh, and mud season? More than once I have been stuck in the deep mud along a back road heading to a sugarhouse. The strong spring sunshine and warm daytime temperatures heat the surface of frozen dirt roads, while the underlying soil remains frozen; the melting snow and rainwater cannot drain into the frozen ground, so it turns the surface soil into a a muddy quagmire. Two years ago my car enjoyed this lovely experience, just a mile down our street. Eventually, the deep frost thaws, the soil drains, and the town ‘highway crew’ makes the rounds to grade the dirt roads smooth again.
Ah yes, the two rites of spring in New England.
Retroblog – Ellora and Ajanta
Worth a return visit!
Two of the most stunning historic sites I’ve visited, anywhere in the world, are Ellora and Ajanta. About two thousand years ago, ancient Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu cultures carved and painted elaborate caves and entire temples from the basalt cliffs in western India. The results, preserved as UNESCO World Heritage sites, are nothing short of stunning. Take a return visit with me to that blog post, Ellora photo album, and Ajanta photos album.
Vax and more
Turning a corner.
I feel like a new man. Today I was able to get a haircut, wear a short-sleeved shirt (high temp of 70ºF, wow) and get vaccinated against COVID-19! The vaccination center even gave me a sticker :-). I lucked into the J&J vaccine so, after a two-week waiting period, I’m good to go!
We’ll see how I feel tomorrow, however. 🙂
Moosilauke
Spring conditions!
Although I’d already been up Moosilauke twice this winter, in late November and early January, I could not wait to get up there again before the season ends. I always enjoy visiting in late winter when the snowpack is incredibly deep, yet the valleys are starting to experience spring. So I’ve been watching the weather for the past two weeks and, finally, today offered me fantastic weather and an open calendar. I jumped at the chance. Read on, and check out the gallery.
Spring equinox
Spring is here in the valley.
Today is the vernal equinox – the spring equinox – when the length of day and night are equal (equi = equal, nox = night). Actually, “They are not exactly equal, … due to the angular size of the Sun, atmospheric refraction, and the rapidly changing duration of the length of day that occurs at most latitudes around the equinoxes” [Wikipedia]. Here in New Hampshire, Sunrise was at 6:51am, Sunset at 7:01pm.
For those who welcome the arrival of spring, today is when we are adding more minutes of sun per day than at any other time. We’re on the steep part of the curve! This is great news for our solar tracker, which put in a banner effort today under nearly clear skies, with a total production of 45.57kWh:
Technically, the equinox is “the instant of time when the plane of Earth’s equator passes through the geometric center of the Sun’s disk” [Wikipedia]. This year, that occurred at 0937 UTC, or 5:37am here in Lyme, which happens to be about when I got up this morning.
Interestingly, it has long been noted this is the “day when the Sun rises due east and sets due west, and indeed this happens on the day closest to the astronomically defined event.” [Wikipedia again].
On cue, the Connecticut River decided it is also ice-out day – the day the winter’s ice breaks up and the river begins to visibly flow. I’m pleased to see open water, because it means that bald eagle might be seen more often in our neighborhood once again, now that it has an opportunity to fish.
The forecast shows nothing but clear skies, warm days (50-60º) and cool nights (20-30º). Great weather for sugaring! More on that to come…
Retroblog – Dharamsala
Revisiting an epic trip.
One of the most epic trips of our year in India involved our travels from Delhi to the remote village of Dharamsala in the foothills of the Himalaya, where we met up with old friends for a few days around New Years’ Eve. The travel itself was the most challenging – but the time in Dharamsala, with its visit to a school for Tibetan refugee children, and the headquarters-in-exile of the Dalai Lama, was entrancing. A hike up to snowy Triund Pass on a sunny New Year’s Day offered incredible views. Check out the story of the round-trip journey, of Dharamsala itself, and our hike on New Year’s Day, for the full story. It’s worth a visit!
Pie day
pi, anyone?
Happy pi day! March 14 is known as “pi day” because its date (written in US format) is 3/14 and the mathematical constant Ï€ is, of course, 3.14…
So I decided to make pie. I have been making a lot of yogurt, lately, and the process always leaves me with leftover whey (the yellowish clear liquid that results when you strain the cooked yogurt). So I found a recipe for lemon whey pie (way lemon pie?) and, I must say, it came out pretty well. At least, the meringue looks great!
Snowflakes
Snowflake photography is hard.
It’s snowing lightly this morning, quite a change from the 50-degree sunny weather that has worn hard on the snowbanks this past week. It’s a welcome opportunity to pretty-up the view of the nearby hillsides and to coat the dirty old snow in a fresh coat of white.
I recently read a New York Times article about the amazing snowflake photographs produced as a hobby by Nathan Myhrvold, a retired Microsoft executive, like the one below.
I decided to dash outside and give it a quick try. Needless to say, my attempts – photographed in about five minutes using a handheld Nikon camera and a routine lens, of flakes freshly fallen onto a microfiber cloth – are not even worthwhile saving. Myhrvold’s work has taken years of experimentation, custom-designed equipment, travel to remote locations, and incredible persistence. It’s beautiful work, and I highly recommend a scroll through the photos in the article.
Mount Roberts
What a difference a week makes!
It’s Thursday, and that means it is time for another outing. I was constrained today by a need to be home in time for a meeting at noon, so I selected one of the New Hampshire “52 with a view” peaks that is new to me and yet not too-far of a drive: Mount Roberts. It turns out to be a great destination… and the conditions were radically different than last week. Read on…
David Kotz 