I’m delighted to be back in the Upper Valley region of NH & VT in time for strawberry season. We are fortunate to have an excellent organic farm nearby, Cedar Circle Farm, just up the river on the Vermont side. So yesterday morning you could find me out in their U-pick field before the sweltering summer weather arrived – quickly filling a six-quart tray with the best, ripest strawberries. I filled one tray with Jewel berries, suitable for freezing, and another quart with AC Valley Sunset berries, with plans to eat them within one or two days 🙂
The result was delish – strawberry shortcake for dinner dessert.
Today is the summer solstice in North America, so I was especially interested to see how our solar tracker managed on the longest day of the year. A few weeks ago we doubled our battery storage so we could extend our independence from the grid. Given the extended daylight (15 hours and 27 minutes, from 0507–2034), and the extra battery, the batteries can now last through until sunrise. Although today’s weather was not purely sunny, the system produced over 50 kWh.
In the graph below, the green line shows the battery level declining in the early hours, and climbing after sunrise. The dark blue region shows the house consumption, and the gold region shows the excess solar production… used first to replenish the batteries, and then, after 2pm, to feed back to the grid.
Today was a good day… but not the best day yet. Two days ago was more sunny, and we set a personal record for solar production: 58.58 kWh:
Last month I wrote a short note about the spring phenomenon of vernal pools, which can often be found in pretty, magical glens in the midst of the forest. Since then I have made repeated visits to that same small, shallow vernal pool located just a ways up the hill behind our house. I’ve photographed it from the same vantage point just to see how it evolves over time. Although these photos were taken at different times of the day, in different lighting, and not on a regular schedule, it’s interesting to see the succession of plant life as the pool dries.
Last fall, two stems of a large basswood tree finally gave up their desperate attempt to cling to our riverbank, and fell into the river. This massive four-stemmed tree was rotting at the base, and the steep riverbank provided little support. The two river-side stems fell toward the river, laying down at a steep angle reflected the depth of the river along our banks. We asked two tree services about removal, but it would have involved heavy equipment and a large fee. We left the trees for the winter ice and spring floods to remove.
Unfortunately, they remained unimpressed by the spring currents, and yet some of their branches impeded boat traffic along our shoreline. So, a few weeks ago, I scrambled out along their trunks and sawed off whatever I could reach, while the others tied ropes and pulled the debris away from the mess, away from our docks, and out to sea. I inspected the two remaining stems, and the now-exposed rot near their base, and forecast that they would follow soon, perhaps within two years.
Trees fallen into the river along our bank.
One only lasted two weeks (above). So this week I was scrambling out along a new trunk, sawing off what I could, while Andy swam around to pull the debris, new and old, out to the stronger current. I don’t have any photos of the action, but the photo below shows what remains.
Trees fallen into the river along our bank.
The fourth and final stem leans inland… right onto the shed. Hmm.
Every year, as the snow melts, the birds return, and we get a few warm days, people who are new to New England think winter is over. As some old-timers recently told me, with a knowing look, don’t be fooled by mother nature. Spring may have decided to arrive, sure; but winter usually hasn’t quite yet agreed. April is a time of surprises – it can be 70º one day and then snow six inches the next. So it was no particular surprise to me that yesterday, April Fool’s day, it snowed several times. Just briefly. At the end of the day, though, as it became colder, a bit of snow decided to stick. Now, at 7am, it’s snowing hard!
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.
A fresh quart of liquid gold – maple syrup from Sunrise Farm.
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.
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!
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.
ice-out on the Connecticut River, in front of our house
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…
Happy pi day! March 14 is known as “pi day” because its date (written in US format) is 3/14 and the mathematical constant π 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!
David Kotz 