A day in the life of a solar panel…
I made a short timelapse movie using one of my wildlife cameras to photograph our solar panels throughout a solar day: after a foggy start, the solar panels track the sunshine from sunrise to sunset. This movie is from June 25 – less than a week after summer solstice – and at midday you can see the sun is very high in the sky; check out the video!
Watch spring arrive in New Hampshire!
As regular readers know, I have placed several wildlife cameras in a forest near home, and have captured many enjoyable videos of wildlife like deer, bear, fox, coyote, bobcat, turkey, and more. The same cameras can be set to capture photos on a regular schedule, which can later be stitched into a timelapse video. Back in March, a few days before the spring equinox, I placed a camera at the edge of what I knew to be a vernal pool; this month, a few days after the summer solstice, I removed the camera. The camera snapped an image every five minutes from sunrise to sunset, resulting in 14,697 images. Watch the pool evolve from a snowy landscape into a lush fern-filled glade. Watch the heavy snow of March 23 lay its burden on the branches, and then watch those branches relax on March 23 and 25; watch the pool freeze and then re-thaw; watch the April 4th snowstorm bury the pool once again; watch snow melt and the grasses stretch toward the April sun; watch the ferns unfurl into the May sunshine. Below is an abbreviated timelapse, one photo per day at noon. See the full-res noon-time video (1 minute), and the full-length video (10 minutes). If you watch very, very closely, you might see a animal or two.
A favorite time of year!
Every spring I look forward to strawberry season. Around here, that means late June (or, back in the day, the first week of July). The days get long, the weather gets hot, and the strawberries become red and juicy. I go early in the morning, when it’s still cool, and pick a whole tray. At home, the ripest, juiciest berries become an instant snack while I wash, trim, slice, and freeze the rest. They become part of my breakfast parfait for months to come!
Photographing one of the most iconic mountain scenes in North America.
This being my first visit to Aspen, I spent the past few months asking friends and colleagues where I should plan to hike. Although there were many great suggestions, I had only one day I could fully allocate to hiking. From my research, it was eminently clear that the Maroon Bells are a must-see destination. Fortunately, they are easy to reach from Aspen, with a free city bus from Aspen town over to the base lodge of the Aspen Highlands ski area – which in summer serves as the base for the shuttle bus up the Maroon Creek valley to Maroon Lake and its trailhead. Read on and be sure to visit the photo gallery!
A steep climb at high altitude, with outrageous views.
I was in Aspen for a AAA&S workshop for higher-ed leaders; immediately afterward, I pulled together my hiking and photography gear and took the hotel shuttle into the center of town. From there, I walked a kilometer on city streets to reach the trailhead for the Ute Trail, which leads up to Ute Rock and beyond to the summit of 11,270’ Aspen Mountain (3435m). I was fortunate to have arrived in Aspen three days earlier, to give me a little time to acclimatize to Aspen’s 7,980’ elevation (2432m). Still, especially under the afternoon’s strong summer sun, I really felt the altitude as I climbed the incredibly steep trail through eight, nine, ten thousand feet. The first half of the route ascends on steep switchbacks through a forest of aspen and conifers, with wildflowers sprinkling the forest floor; it then follows ski slopes (black diamond and double-black diamond!), some with lingering patches of snow, to the summit. Three thousand feet of gain in under three miles, at this altitude, whew!
My first visit to Aspen – beautiful!
I had the opportunity this week to attend a Forum for Higher Education Leaders, hosted by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences (AAA&S), in Aspen, Colorado. I had never been to Aspen before… but the opportunity to spend a week in the Rocky Mountains, during wildflower season, was too much for a hiker/photographer like me to pass up.
Who knows why, but the osprey have moved on.
It has been 10 days since I last saw the osprey building a nest, just upriver from here. Unfortunately, they seem to have given up and sought a better location. I saw one osprey, in flight, over the weekend – but not near the nest. One day, when I went to investigate, I found this fellow sitting in a nearby tree. I imagine eagles and osprey compete for territory – they both dine primarily on fish, especially when living alongside a river – and so the osprey may have been pushed out.
Notice the small, dark bird above and to his left. They both sat in contented companionship for tens of minutes, while I watched.
Continue reading “Eagle replaces Osprey?”Five cameras in the forest.
As spring turns into summer, my wildlife cameras have been busy. I have five cameras out in the forest – one capturing a timelapse and four using motion triggers to capture passing wildlife. After the exciting encounter with momma bear (and two cubs) early in the month, as noted in my earlier post, I did not see her again for almost three weeks. This month’s video highlights a variety of animals and locations, mostly in chronological order: turkey, deer, raccoon, porcupine, a teeny mouse, … and yes, momma bear, who returns to fiddle with my cameras once again.
A three-fer of four-thousand-footers.
In my continuing effort to re-visit some of New Hampshire’s tallest peaks – those 48 peaks over four thousand feet – I joined two friends today to walk the forested range on the west side of Crawford Notch: Mounts Willey, Field, and Tom. This threesome offers a steep climb, a pleasant up-and-down ridge walk, and a few spectacular views to the east (the southern Presidential Range, including Mount Washington), to the west (the Pemigewasset Wilderness), and to the south (Mount Carrigain and the peaks along the Kancamagus Highway). Check out the photo gallery, and read on!
David Kotz 