A worthwhile experiment.
I realized some time ago that my Tesla Model Y might offer new opportunities (and challenges) for car camping. So I was determined to give it a go! I camped one night at the Lobster Buoy Campsites (described in the prior post) and, overall, it was a worthwhile experience – and I learned some lessons for the future. Read on.
Today is Independence Day, a holiday here in the U.S., and I decided to take the week off to do a little camping, a little hiking, a little travel, and a lot of photography. One of Brenda Petrella’s podcasts from her Outdoor Photography School inspired me to return to Acadia National Park – which I had last visited nearly thirty years ago. So I booked a hotel there in Bar Harbor, Maine, but wanted to break up the drive by camping along the way. Needless to say, finding an available campsite on Sunday of a three-day summer holiday weekend was nigh impossible, at the last minute, but a Google search led me to a few options along the coastal portion of my drive from home to Acadia. I found a spot – and a whole lot more. Read on.
I should know better.
It was 4:00am and, it being a lovely summer’s night, the bedroom windows were wide open. In a few minutes, as the dusk softened, the birds would start to chatter and sing, waking me for a new day. Instead, I awoke to hear a clattering out on the deck, like the sound of a hanger being tossed around on a clothes rack. I knew what was happening even before I got up to investigate.
We are fortunate to live in a rural area with nearly every sort of wildlife – bear, moose, deer, fox, coyote, bobcat, fisher, mink, groundhog, beaver, not to mention birds and countless small critters. I’ve had even greater good fortune to see each of those, and to photograph a few. We know bears are hungry in the spring, and it is well known that bears will seek out birdfeeders, as birdseed is rich in fat and nutrients. I failed to bring the birdfeeders inside last night, as our black-bear neighbor discovered on his morning rounds.
It was still rather dark, and although I could see well, the iPhone XR doesn’t quite have sufficient dynamic range. After the bear polished off one birdfeeder, and headed for the second, I turned on the outdoor lights. That didn’t faze the bear at all, but allowed me to capture the final four minutes of his visit on video. At the end, you can see our cat, watching intently, growling softly.
This behavior is not good for the bear, or for us. Or for the birdfeeders 😉. It’s my responsibility to remember to bring in those birdfeeders every night… or to delay using birdfeeders until later in the summer.
A favorite summer ritual.
I love strawberries, and I especially love strawberry season. I have long enjoyed the opportunity to visit pick-your-own strawberry fields, fill many quart boxes, and then return home to eat some now, and freeze most for eating later. Indeed, I’ve just about finished my frozen bags of 2021 berries, so I was eager to get out there today before the season ends (likely next week, if not sooner).
Today I picked eight heaping quarts of the ripest, juiciest berries I’ve seen in a long time, at Edgewater Farms in Plainfield NH. The sun was warm, the breeze pleasant, the berries plentiful, and I could hear the buzz of many happy families nearby in the field. I spent about an hour picking, and (back home) another hour washing, sorting, trimming, cutting, and freezing most of them. You caught me red-handed!
After dinner I enjoyed the ultimate treat… vanilla ice cream with strawberries!
I spent the weekend at Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, for a DOC event. As part of the program, several groups hiked various routes up the mountain, converging on the summit. It was a glorious warm day!
Sunny days!
As I noted, yesterday (June 21) was the summer solstice, and I was hopeful we might have a banner day for solar power at home. Unfortunately, it was a mostly cloudy day and we only generated 28kWh.
The day before (June 20), however, was fantastic – over 56 kWh!
Return of the Osprey!
We spent a long weekend at Kiawah, to join some family celebrations in nearby Charleston. I took the opportunity to do some photography, as I often do here, out on the beach and along the winding roads of the island neighborhoods. Indeed, I just switched to a new camera, the Canon R5 – about which I’ll write later – so this was a great chance to learn how to use it.
The full gallery includes a variety of photos, but the highlight was a visit to an osprey nest (the same one we photographed last June). Mama Osprey and two fledglings peered out from the nest, while Papa Osprey watched closely from a nearby tree.
Longest day of the year?
Today is the summer solstice (in the northern hemisphere). More precisely, the solstice occurred at 5:15am here in the Eastern timezone. The summer solstice is the moment at which the sun has ‘traveled’ to its northernmost latitude, in its annual cycle of apparent movement to the north in summer and to the south in winter. (It’s a great day for those of us with solar panels, because it means we’re getting hours of sunlight!) Read on.
Continue reading “Summer solstice”A 252-year tradition.
I had the honor of leading the academic procession – and acting as master of ceremonies – at the Commencement ceremony at Dartmouth College this weekend.
See the official photo gallery, the YouTube playlist with three speaker videos, and video of the full ceremony.
Congratulations to the graduates!
A day of clearing blowdowns and water bars.
I had the opportunity to spend this weekend at Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, for a celebration of the 100th anniversary of a subset of the Dartmouth Outing Club known as Cabin & Trail. Although the celebratory aspect of the weekend was muted – by virtue of being postponed two years due to the pandemic – the real purpose of the gathering was in full swing. A couple dozen hardy alums gathered on Saturday morning for a day of trailwork, sweeping the trails of Mount Moosilauke to remove the winter’s debris of blown-down trees and sediment-filled waterbars (stones and logs used for diverting water from the trails). Although Friday night’s weather involved heavy rain, Saturday morning woke clear with only light clouds.
Saturday morning view from Moosilauke Ravine Lodge.
My group was assigned to hike up the Ridge Trail to the junction with the Beaver Brook Trail, where an illegal campsite had emerged over recent years – we needed to erase that campsite by filling it with debris that would discourage anyone from camping. Here’s the happy crew, after cluttering the campsite behind us.
We then returned via the same route, chopping trees that had fallen across the trail, sawing off branches that overhung the trail, and shoveling out sediment-filled waterbars.
We finished the day, dirty and tired, but satisfied by a good day’s work.
Sunday broke even clearer, and sunnier, but sadly I had to depart. I’ll be back soon!
See the photo gallery – including some photos from one of the weekend’s organizers.
David Kotz 