Last Sunday morning there was ice on the puddles and I thought that it must have been cold enough over the last few nights to make snow at the ski areas so off I went to the High Blue trail in Walpole, which is north of Keene and higher in elevation. From there you can see the ski trails on Stratton Mountain in Vermont. The trek starts by following an old logging road to the trail head.
With a sign like this one to guide you, you can’t miss it.
Soon you come to the meadow, which is cut each summer for hay. As I was taking this photo I saw something small and dark moving out there, and it was heading straight for me. I’ve been here enough times to know that there shouldn’t be anything moving in this meadow, but if there was it would most likely be a deer.
It certainly wasn’t a deer; it was a porcupine and it seemed to be eating its way through the meadow. It would walk a few feet and then stop and munch some clover or whatever it was finding. What was odd about this encounter is that porcupines are supposedly mostly nocturnal creatures and spend much of their time in trees.
He came right over to me and sat up on his haunches for a better look. I asked him to please hold still for a photo or two and smile if he liked, and he was very obliging. He was also quite cute and looked like he had just had his hair done. If he was a pet I think I’d call him Yoda. Now I know why Leslie asked me if I ever posted porcupine photos a few posts ago. She said they were one of her favorites, so this one is for you Leslie. It’s easy to love such a gentle, friendly animal isn’t it? I’ve heard that they will play with toys like a ball of string for hours, just like a cat would.
For those who don’t know porcupines, they’re a rodent that can weigh up to 35 pounds, and large ones can be almost 4 feet long, including their tail. They are herbivores with large front teeth that they use to eat wood, bark and stems. They also eat fruit, clover, leaves, and fresh young springtime growth.
After giving me the once over he seemed to remember that he was on a mission and gazed out over the meadow with his beautiful, sparkling eyes. I realized that I was between him and an old apple tree and I wondered if that was where he was going. If so I didn’t want to stand in his way, even though he looked well fed.
As he slowly moved on I got a good look at the quills on and near his tail. Though their hair is soft porcupines carry sharp, barbed quills that can anchor themselves in flesh, so you don’t want to cuddle them. Many a dog has had to have quills removed from their noses in a painful procedure that often involves pliers. When attacked a porcupine curls into a bristly ball to protect its vulnerable stomach and then there is no way in except through the quills. The porcupine’s Latin name Erethizon dorsatum means “quill pig.”
Later when I was leaving I stopped at the old apple tree and saw a single, half eaten apple on it. These branches were too small to support the weight of a porcupine though, so I’m guessing that birds are eating it. Maybe the rest of the fruit had fallen and was easier for the porcupine to get to. Or maybe he wasn’t interested in apples at all; I didn’t see him on the way back.
I keep hoping to see a deer here but I never have. All I see are the game trails they follow and twigs they’ve browsed on.
Hunters know they’re here too, as this reflector tacked to a tree shows. I first saw these last year but didn’t know what they were until several helpful readers said they were used by hunters when it’s dark enough to have to use a flashlight to find their way. I was glad I was wearing a bright orange hat and hunting vest. This isn’t the time of year to be wearing my deer colored coat.
After the meadow there is more old road to walk for a shot while.
Then the road narrows to trail, which was covered with dry, crackly beech and oak leaves. The noisy leaves would make sneaking up on a deer just about impossible I would think. Better to sit and wait for them to happen by.
But it was a little cool to be sitting around waiting for deer, as the ice on the far side of the small hilltop pond shows. I was very surprised to see no duckweed on it; when I was here in September it was almost completely covered with it, so where could it all have gone so fast? It’s usually almost impossible to get rid of once it’s on a pond so its disappearance is a mystery to me. Maybe the wood ducks ate it all.
Being a once upon a time dry stone wall builder myself I always have to stop and admire the old walls that run through these woods. There are many miles of them, crisscrossing in a way that once made perfect sense when this land was pasture, but which now seems quite random.
Living up here might not have been easy but the outcrops break naturally into large flat slabs an inch or two thick, and that meant that wall building was probably easier than it would have been otherwise. The stones that come from ledge like this are every wall builders dream. I was able to build a wall with it once and it went up faster than any other wall I’ve ever built.
Yellow-fuzz cone slime mold (Hemitrichia clavata) grew on a fallen birch log. In this photo you can see the fruiting bodies that open into tiny cups filled with yellow fuzzy threads that make the mass look and feel a lot like felt. I first saw this slime mold at about this time last year at Porcupine Falls in Gilsum, so it has taken me just about a year to identify it. The cups are small enough to give me trouble seeing them without a lens, so I have to quite literally shoot blind and hope for the best.
The view from the top was hazy as it often is. Stratton Mountain, off across the Connecticut River valley in Vermont, looked like a blueish blur and its peak was cloud covered.
Zooming in didn’t help much but I can see a white line or two and that means snow on the ski trails. If they’re making snow up there in the mountains it won’t be long before it falls naturally down here. Maybe I came here subconsciously hoping that seeing snow would prepare me for winter and maybe it has, but nothing could prepare me for all of the other surprising things that I saw. That’s one of the things I love about being out in nature; there’s always a surprise waiting just around the next bend.
To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else. ~ Emily Dickinson
Thanks for coming by.
I’ve never seen a porcupine before as we don’t have them here. What a cute little fellow he was, despite the prickles.
They are cute but also shy so I don’t see them very often, especially so close.
The porcupine is adorable, thanks for these photos. I hope it has a safe and happy life.
You’re welcome and thank you Emily. The land I saw the porcupine on is right next to a farm where hunting isn’t allowed so I think he’ll be okay.
Pleasant and invigorating! It’s nice to see things we don’t have.
I agree. That’s one of the best things about blogging.
I’d be lost without blogging! It is rewarding.
Porcupines may be cute, but I imagine you don’t want to pet one. He did pose nicely, though that didn’t look like a smile. Love those views at the end of the post.
Thanks! No, I wouldn’t pet one-not unless you want to have a handful of quills.
I agree with the smile. It looks more like a grimace.
I thought porcupines were covered with prickles like hedgehogs! I never knew they were such delightful animals. Your photographs are great. Amelia
Thank you Amelia. Porcupine do have quills and the longest ones are on their back and tail. I think other shorter ones might be hidden by this one’s hair, but I’ve also read that if they shake like a wet dog they can actually shake out their quills so they have to grow them again.
In all my years of hiking in the forests and mountains I have never come across a porcupine, your post was fascinating…I love the view from the top.
Thank you Charlie. I’ve seen 2 or 3 over the years but never so close. This one was very friendly!
I loved seeing the porky! Haven’t seen one her in a long time, which is sad because they used to be common.
Thank Montucky! It’s odd that they’d disappear like that. They seem to be doing well here.
Unfortunately, for years Montana has had a large number of beer drinking, pickup hunters who will shoot just about anything that moves and porcupines haven’t stood a chance.
That’s too bad!
Charming photos of the porcupine. They are cute, but you don’t want your dog around when they are! Our last dog was good about listening when I saw one. Our newest wouldn’t listen most likely, that’s why she stays leashed!
Thank you Eliza. I agree. I’ve heard some horror stories about dogs and porcupines. The porcupines always win!
Indeed, they and the veterinarians! 😉
I loved this climb! I would be interested to know where that pond weed got to! The reflection and ice on the pond were nice to see. I too liked the porcupine story – how exciting to get so close to one!
Thank you Clare. I’d like to know where that duckweed went too. I can’t imagine ducks eating all of it but I suppose it’s possible. We can thank them for the reflections!
It was exciting to get so close to a wild animal and even more so since it was his choice to come and sit at my feet. He was a very likeable little animal and I hated to say goodbye!
I can imagine it was very difficult to leave him!
Yes, and hard to stop taking photos too!
😀
Fellow New Englander here. I just want to say thanks so much for your great blog, writing, and photography. Your posts are always super informative and full of ecological curiosities. I admire the way you observe things so closely wherever you go.
You’ve inspired me to do some ecological blogging as well, down in Massachusetts. I hope you get a chance to read sometime!: https://willitlive.wordpress.com
Thanks again, and looking forward to seeing your next adventures.
Dan
You’re welcome, and thank you Dan. I’m glad you’re enjoying the blog.
I liked your recent post about the Mt. Auburn Cemetery too. It looks like I’m going to have to visit it someday soon!
A real bonus for you when the ultimate view was so cloudy.
Yes. The views from our hilltops are often disappointing and that’s why I don’t usually climb for just the view.
This was a beautiful walk and happy to have joined you. The photographs are great, especially the close-ups of the porcupine, although I did enjoy seeing the New England landscape in late Fall.
Thank you Mary, it’s always nice to have you along. I’ve been thinking of doing a post about late fall in New England so you might see more of that soon.
What a great trail. Your account is so involving I feel like I was there too. Cute porcupine and remarkably unfazed by meeting you. Doesn’t duckweed sink for the winter?
Thanks very much, I’m glad you could come along! That porcupine was a real sweetheart. I’ve never seen one so unafraid. Jerry in his previous comment says he thinks it was a juvenile, which would explain a lot.
I don’t know if duckweed sinks in the winter but I do know of another pond that’s still covered with it. I’m really surprised that it was all gone.
Loved the porcupine photos, they are very cute. I think that this one was a younger one, probably born this summer. I also loved the views from the top of the mountain, that would make it worth the climb for me.
I’ve only worked on a few stone walls, but I know that it’s backbreaking work for sure. They do hold up well though, and I do appreciate the work that goes into them, so I like that you show them when you find them.
Squirrels will eat apples too, so maybe it was one of them that ate half of the one that you saw, or if it was in reach,, possibly a deer. They usually pull the apples off the trees though. All in all, another great post, I’m really glad that you started this series and have continued it.
Thanks Jerry! Maybe that’s why the porcupine seemed to have no fear-he was too young to know better.
The views from up there aren’t bad but they’re often hazy. They’re much better in the winter but wow does it get cold up there!
We have enough stone walls here so I could show a different one in each post and never show them all. It’s really amazing how much stone was moved by hand!
The apple was within reach of a deer if it stood on its hind legs, which I guess they do. I should’ve looked on the ground under the tree. They were probably everywhere.
Reblogged this on Dawn of Divine Rays and commented:
Thank you, Allen .. the porcupine did its ‘hair’ nicely .. just for you … lol … the groundhogs here in PA …. seems very well fed too. A racoon came into our yard once a few years ago … got scared when I walked closer .. it climbed up our tree and I asked it to come down .. it wouldn’t .. till I went back into the house .. it climbed down soon enough and ran away as fast as its feet can go. I was watching it from the window. Have not seen it since then. I’ve probably scared the life out of it. Thank you for sharing your walks with us. Happy Wednesday, Allen. Namaste
You’re welcome, and thank you Agnes. Have you ever seen an animal with such perfect hair? There wasn’t a single one out of place!
I wouldn’t be surprised if your raccoon paid you a visit every night. I’m glad you got to see him when it was light enough.
Happy Wednesday to you too! Have a great week!
lol … that’s right .. the hair is perfect .. better looking than mine .. lol…
nah … racoon doesn’t like my garden ‘cos it’s usually quite clean .. no trash for them to hijack .. no leftovers … besides…. our cat, Wu-Fu, is usually out and about. Have a beautiful rest of the week, Allen. Namaste
Yes, I’m sure Wu-Fu makes the raccoons think twice about visiting!
What a nice encounter you had with the porcupine, fun to read about!
Thanks Sue. It was fun to see him!
I’ve never seen a live porcupine before; how wonderful. I love that he posed for you. The slime mold was awesome, too. I find myself looking at old logs far more often these days, hoping for something like that. But the reflection in the pond was my favorite.
Thank you Sara. The porcupine was the highlight of that day, for sure. He didn’t seem to have any fear at all and I was glad of that.
I find slime molds by looking for white or colored “smudges” on logs and stumps. To me that’s what a slime mold colony looks like. Some colonies get quite big, and they’ll almost always be on the side that gets no sunlight. The individual fruiting bodies are very small, so you’ll most likely need a loupe or macro lens.
I’m glad you liked the reflection. I thought the pond would be covered by duckweed, so that was a pleasant surprise.
Don’t usually think of porcupines as being cute but that one certainly was!
I thought so too! Kind of cuddly, but I resisted.
How fortunate to come across this porcupine. 🙂 Nice photos too.
Thank you Ben. Yes, the porcupine was a great surprise. I love mingling with the locals when I go out.
Since I can’t hike in the woods anymore, your post was so great-just like being there! I ran into a porcupine years ago on a hike and was amazed at how big he was! Thanks for the hike.
You’re welcome and thank you Susan. People like you who can’t get out anymore are a large part of what this blog is about and I’m happy to hear that you enjoy it.
This porcupine wasn’t terribly big. About the size of a small dog I’d guess. He certainly wasn’t bashful either!
I’ve had the pleasure of crossing paths with several porcupines over the years. I agree, they are darn cute. I’ve seen lots of ledge walls and foundations in my travels. Still a lot of work, no matter how you look at it.
Thanks Laura. I’ve seen porcupines but I’ve never had one come over to me and sit down like this one did.
Building a stone wall is a lot of work but nice flat stones remove all the head work involved so you can just lay up the wall without puzzling over which stone goes where, and that makes it much easier and quicker.
The porcupine was an unexpected treat for us all, Allen, and you were able to get some great shots of it. I am always intrigued when you show the stone walls that give indications of the past usage of the land and probably would have interesting stories to tell if they could talk.
Thanks Mike. What struck me most about the porcupine was how trusting it was. It really did walk right up to me and sat at my feet as if it didn’t have a care in the world. I guess when you’re that well armed you don’t have much to worry about.
If these old stone walls could talk I’d be very happy! They’d have some very interesting stories to tell, I’m sure. As it is they tell me about the geology of a place and that people once lived here.
A wonderful walk …so exhilarating…even if it is virtual…. Thank you it’s set me up for the day.
You’re welcome Sue. I hope you’ll have as good a day as I had that day!
What an interesting walk. I loved your pictures of the porcupine, what a dear little creature. Thanks for the reflection picture too, I always enjoy them.
You’re welcome and thank you Susan, the porcupine added some time to the hike!