Weekly Notes ~ January 2014

Thanks to Steve Yenco of Mainly Maine Photography for sharing this photo of a Snowy Owl taken in Biddeford Pool.

A quick look at Webster’s Dictionary confirms the definition of the word weather as being “the state of the atmosphere with respect to heat or cold, wetness or dryness, calm or storm, clearness or cloudiness.  Yup, all those things sum it up pretty good for the month of January 2014.  The weather brought a continual mix that felt like a roller coaster of rain, ice, snow and wind gone astray than an idyllic Currier and Ives sleigh ride across the winter landscape.

We gained 50 minutes of daylight in January; most of the gain was in the morning but that 5:00 pm sunset sure is encouraging.

While the southern and coastal areas received the most snow in January, the north and west still boast the greatest amount on the ground.  Click here for  the current Snow Depth Chart for Maine ……

The promise of a beautiful day was captured in this photo from the Ruth Eileen III as it headed down the Back Channel of the Piscataqua River in Kittery on January 17th.

An hour and a half later she found herself in a shroud of fog with breaking seas.

Click here to learn about the difference between fog and sea smoke.….

There will be a new moon on January 30th giving way for winter star gazing save the weather holds clear.  Click here for Bernie Reim’s February astronomy report.….

Winter on Maine’s inland lakes and ponds brings folks out for ice-fishing and that means its derby time.  Many communities hold ice fishing derbies and are coordinating with local IF&W game wardens to support Hunters for the Hungry…..  A quote from Hunters for the Hungry on this past weekend at Crystal Lake “Great success on Saturday, met a lot of generous people….. We collected enough fish (and 2 eels) to feed 100 people through Wayside Food Programs in Cumberland County. Thank you to all who made the derby a success, and thank you for letting us be a part of it.”

Maine’s Forest Rangers do far more than fight forest fires and patrol the back country for illegal camp fires.  They now cover the protection of timber resources and landowner property, however in this role, Forest Rangers are prohibited from carrying firearms.  LD 297 addresses the need to train and provide firearms to Forest Rangers in their daily work as law enforcement authorities.  Read more about this Public Policy issue here….

The Maine Forest Service is also charged with overseeing Invasive Insects that threaten the health of Maine’s forests.  The Maine Cooperative Extension is providing a training for Invasive Pests in Dover-Foxcroft on February 8 …….

The Center for Wildlife in Cape Neddick is now accepting Wildlife Intern Applications…..  If you live near the center and have an extra room, you may want to consider housing an intern.  For more information, contact the Intern Coordinator at the CFW.

Joan in Skowhegan looked through some of her summer photos this past month and is asking readers if they can identify the dragonfly in this photo.

She also submitted a comical picture of a squirrel chasing a turkey away from the feeder.

I took the photo below from the Golden Road at Compass Pond.  The clouds were starting to break allowing the afternoon sun to highlight the fresh snow atop Mount Katahdin.