Long time readers will recognize this place but for you newer readers who are interested, last summer I did what turned out to be a popular two part post on an old abandoned road that we have here in Keene. Since people seemed to enjoy it I thought they might be interested in seeing what the area looks like in winter. If you missed the original posts or if you’d like to see what the area looks like in summer just click here.
This is the starting point. Rather than break a trail through fresh snow I let the cross country skiers and snowshoers get here first. I was able to walk on nice, packed snow with just hiking boots on.
The road follows Beaver Brook, named for all of the beavers that once lived here. In places the ice had completely covered the brook and in others it was close to doing so.
Down near the water every twig was covered in hoar frost.
Hoar frost grows just about anywhere when there is enough moisture and it is cold enough. Here the delicate, feathery crystals grew at the edge of a puddle. Just a single warm breath is enough to destroy their beauty, so I wrapped all but my eyes up in a scarf before kneeling in the snow to take this photo.
The feathery patterns in the hoar frost were repeated in this delicate fern moss (Thuidium delicatulum.) Though this moss has the word delicate in its name in my experience it is quite tough. Snow and ice don’t seem to bother it at all. It is also one of the prettier mosses, in my opinion.
In places the brook looked like it had flash frozen, with even its small waves captured in the ice. Once again I saw the feather pattern that I had seen in the hoar frost and delicate fern moss. It’s interesting how nature re uses some of the same patterns again and again.
There were plenty of groundwater icicles on the ledges, but there was also still enough rock exposed to allow some lichen hunting.
Smokey eye boulder lichens (Porpidia albocaeralescens) are crustose lichens that grow well here. The gray fruiting pruinose discs surrounded by black borders are very striking. A pruinose surface is one that is covered by white powdery granules and looks as if it has been frosted or dusted with powdered sugar. In this instance the surface reflects light, so these apothecial bodies often appear to be blue instead of gray.
Mosses also grow on these ledges. This example of mountain haircap moss (Polystrichastrum pallidisetum) had open spore capsules (sporophytes). When immature these capsules are covered by a hairy hood that resembles a stocking cap, and that’s how the name haircap moss came about. This moss is very similar to common haircap moss (Polytrichum commune). The chief difference between the two is a disk at the base of the spore capsules. Common haircap moss has this disk and mountain haircap moss does not.
I took this photo to show how close the brook is to the road. I’ve met people up here who have told me that they remembered seeing the water up over the road in spring. Evidence that the brook is slowly eating away at the road can be seen all along it.
Ice dams had blocked the brook and created large pools behind them. This one had the flow down to little more than a trickle.
I’ve spoken with a few people that I’ve met here and I think a lot of them come simply to get a taste of nature. Others though, come to see Beaver Brook Falls, which usually splashes into the pool below with a roar. On this day it was partially frozen and the water was falling behind a curtain of ice, so the roar had been reduced to little more than a splash. This isn’t a great shot of the falls but the steep path down to the brook looked treacherous, so I snapped what photos I could from the road. Even though this area isn’t that far from downtown Keene a twisted ankle out here alone could quickly turn serious, so I decided to play it safe. If you’d like to see and hear the falls in summer, just click the link at the start of this post.
The sole criterion is to walk with the senses, with hands that feel, ears that hear, and eyes that see. ~ Robert Browne
Thanks for coming by.
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Beautiful photos, beautiful place.
Thank you Irene.
Magnificent scenery and a wonderful trail. New England can be quite grand 🙂
Thank you Marilyn, I’m glad you enjoyed it. I do love New England. I’ve lived in other states but the New Hampshire hills kept pulling me right back.
Reblogged this on Writing Out Loud and commented:
Great winter pictures from the Monadnock Region of NH; New Hampshire Gardens, always great!
Thanks for the re-blog!
Quite a stunning and beautiful post. Thanks for visiting my blog and liking my post about the “Undertaking”… I do hope you will return again soon. I like what I see here and I certainly will return.
Thank you. I will certainly revisit your blog. I have it in my favorites folder.
Thank you very much.
It’s good to go back to favourite places, like visiting old friends and it was nice to come for another walk with you, even if only virtually. I walk alone too and I agree it makes sense to be extra carful. Iv’e often thought how easy it would be to get into serious trouble on lonely trails.
I revisit places I know all the time so i can know them better. It’s amazing what you can miss by visiting a place just once or twice.
I took a couple of falls last year and was surprised by how banged up and bruised I got, so I decided I’d better start being more careful before I got into trouble.
How wonderful to have such a nice place to walk. We all have those special places we like to visit. Thanks to Mother Nature, it’s never the same place twice. Beautiful pictures.
That’s true, nature is always changing-sometimes even day to day. I’m glad you’re enjoying the blog.
Interesting!!!! Nice picture!!!
Thanks Rexlin!
Beautiful!
Thanks!
Thank you Rexlin!
That’s a really nice place for a winter walk! Perfect!
Yes it is. There is hardly any elevation gain at all so it’s easy as long as you aren’t the one breaking the trail through fresh snow.
Nice to see this spot again.
I’m glad you like it. I’m sure you’ll see it again!
Hi Alan, I have been meaning to ask you if you are familiar with the Chaga mushroom? Chronicle mentioned they are supposed to film a segment on it and this woman in NH who harvests and sells them…http://www.chagagrove.com/427905/buy-our-chaga/
I’ve never eaten them but I’ve seen them growing on birch trees. They are a strange looking fungus! When it comes to eating them, mushrooms aren’t one of my favorite foods. I sure do like taking photos of them though!
Gorgeous shots on your walk did you get heavy wet stuff like us today?
Thanks! I thought we had escaped it but I just went to the store and we have about 3 inches with more coming down fast. The snowflakes are as big as golf balls and sticking to everything.
Getting ready to show some of the same we have over 8″ 😦
Wow! I thought you always got less on the coast because of the warmer ocean air. Shoveling this one isn’t going to be a picnic.
Take it from me OUCH it was nasty to move now up onto the roof tomorrow 😦 then feet up watching the gorgeous boy Tommy hope he is feeling better.
I always feel so educated after I read one of your posts. I think it’s a great idea to capture the same spot in different seasons…..almost like the person who photographed himself everyday for a year. Your quote is spot on!!
Thank you. I’m always happy to hear that people are getting something useful out of this blog.
I’ve never heard of anyone photographing themselves every day for a year. I wonder how they felt when they compared the beginning and end photos.
Very sensible not to risk injury. You had quite enough lovely pictures to show us already.
Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed them.
Since I hike alone and am often quite far away from any form of medical help, I’m trying to be more careful.
I loved all the photos, but especially the hoar frost and the mosses. Either I haven’t been paying enough attention to mosses, or you have many more species there than we do in Michigan.
That was an interesting observation about how you can see the same patterns in different things in nature, we must find them pleasing, as humans use those same patterns in things that we make.
Thanks Jerry. There are so many species of mosses I think I could go on discovering new ones for quite awhile. I just wish they were a little bigger!
That’s true. It’s amazing how often we copy nature. Those frozen waves made me think of the chevrons used on military uniforms as well.
Please stay safe, NHGS. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
Namaste and Happy weekend.
Agnes
Thank you Agnes, and the same to you.
I agree. I took a few falls last year and have become more careful because of them. Sometimes nature has to teach me things the hard way.
Beautiful images, Allen…I can tell that this would be one of my favorite places if I lived in Keene….I think I would feel very much at home there.
Thanks Scott. I think you’re right, you would feel at home there. I see something different every time I go there.
You’re very welcome…and you see those different things because you’re looking. 🙂
You could hike the same area morning and again later in the day and have 2 interesting blogs. I think certain aspects of nature catch our attention intentionally.
I like the idea of nature catching our attention intentionally. I know that it really does seem that way a lot when I’m in the woods.
It adds so much more to the experience.
I agree! It has also taught me to let nature lead, and to enter the woods with no expectations.
Which is easier said than done.
I know!
Great shot of the Hoar frost!
It’s hard to believe that the brook could flash freeze but I believe it’s possible when water is super cooled (below it’s normal freezing point).
Thanks! I don’t know for cetrain that it did flash freeze, but it has been mighty cold and that’s the only explantation I can come up with for the frozen waves. Water can do some strange things, and so can extreme cold.
What a beautiful area to hike!! Beautiful pictures 🙂
Thanks Michael!
I’ve lived in Virginia for twenty years now, so I tend to forget that snow and ice (and frost) come in so many different and varied forms. You did a great job in capturing some of the beautiful variations–I especially liked the hoar frost.
Thanks Mike. I could get used to the warmth of Virginia too!
The Hoar frost is spectacular. Thank you for capturing and sharing.
You’re welcome Judy. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
It’s so weird… I walk the same sorts of places and take the same sorts of pictures that I would… Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome Jennifer. I guess great minds just think alike!
Wonderful winter view of Beaver Brook. I enjoyed your post last year and enjoyed this winter view as well! Love the hoar frost and the flash frozen brook is incredible!
Thanks Laura. I don’t think I’ve ever seen waves frozen into ice like that. It was great to be out there in the winter again-I just wish I could have gotten down the embankment for a better view of the falls.
i hadn’t realized how much i missed groundwater icicles ’til seeing them again in this post. Gave me a pang of nostalgia remembering my father pointing them out everywhere we went in winter.
This abandoned road is a true treasure!
Thank you. I do like this place, and the icicles are only one reason why. I’m glad they brought back some good memories.
Reblogged this on Oxtapus *beta.
Allan, please don’t be shy of re-visiting places for your posts. Seeing how everything changes across the seasons is just as interesting (for me anyway) as seeing different locations. Somewhere as interesting as this road would make an ideal candidate for a series of posts illustrating the whole year.
I’m glad you don’t mind seeing places for a second time Jim. The places I visit are favorites because of the plants that grow there but also because they’re easily accessible and I don’t have to tresspass to get to them. Doing a four season post is a great idea! It’s amazing how a place can change over the year.
Very interesting walk and I thought your quote was splendid.
Thank you Susan. I thought that quote made a lot of sense.