Weekly Notes
Weekly Notes ~ Twilight
Despite it being the ‘dead of winter’, the evening skies of this past week hint of the lengthening days ahead. A cold and blowing nor’easter it was, for the better part of two days. The old fashioned kind that folks would talk about round the kitchen table in years to come, ended with a sunset that lingered, forever, it seemed. The sun itself somewhere between yellow and orange but could not be described as either. I watched out the window, lost in the deep purple drifts with pink under-clouds that floated against the darkening sky, wondering, looking west what a person might see looking east, from far away, on the other side of day.
Twilight is that wonderful time between darkness and daylight that often lingers with a beautiful glow. Twilight is defined differently for civil, nautical or astronomical reasons, click here to learn more about twilight…
If you are curious to know the exact times of twilight in your town click here….
Tuesday’s full moon is called the Snow Moon and Bernie Reim tells us about Jupiter at its best in his Astronomical Report for February here…
The season of winter encourages us to pause and reflect on the subtleties of nature’s beauty in the face of its fierceness. Snow brings an opportunity to see the natural world against a stark and barren landscape and notice things we may not have seen before.
The National Weather Service has a new Snow Information Page with snow depth and other maps…
Looking Ahead:
Bryant Pond 4-H Conservation Camps Summer 2015 registrations are open….
Friends of Baxter State Park are accepting applications for the summer 2015 Youth Wilderness Leadership Program ….
I have read several reports that the winter will not be cold enough to completely kill invasive insect pests such as the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) and others such as the Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) and Emerald Ash Borer (EAB). The Maine Forest Service will be offering several Outreach Volunteer Trainings for Invasive Forest Insects…
Quoddy Nature Notes
Quoddy Nature Notes ~ White footed Mouse
Mice are fun things to study, especially during this time of year. It seems like in the attic or garage one can sometimes bump into a mouse or two.
Quoddy Nature Notes ~ Owls in Maine
While the Snowy Owl might be the most talked about, there are eleven different species of owl that use habitat areas in Maine.
Maine Nature Muse
Black Bears Among Us
Black bears are often near but a glimpse might be all we get or if we’re lucky a track. They are adapted to survive and thrive in Maine.
Tracks or Tricks in Mud Season
Wild creatures are usually on the sly and the only way to know what creature was there is from the tracks, but really, who was there?
Tracks in the old log yard
March is my favorite month, the warm days hint of spring but the nights are still cold enough to hold the snow cover just a bit longer.
