Ice out is when the ice on a pond or lake melts or breaks up enough in spring to make the water navigable by boat again. I took this photo of Half-Moon Pond in Hancock on our first 70 degree day of the season, which was March 9th. In spite of the extremely warm temperatures there was still a lot of ice on the pond.
March 10th brought rain but it was a warm rain on a 60 degree day, and it made mist form wherever there was ice.
On March 11th the pond was completely ice free and I was surprised that it could happen that fast. Ice out dates on Lake Winnipesaukee, which is New Hampshire’s largest lake, have been recorded since 1887. The earliest ice out date for the big lake was March 23 in 2012 until yesterday at 11:30 am. Now the earliest ice out for Lake Winnipesaukee is March 17, nearly a full week earlier than the previous record. The latest ice out was May 12 in 1888. On average ice out has been happening earlier in the season each year throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.
Though most of the ice fell to our warmer than average temperatures there is still ice to be seen if you care to search for it. Most don’t care to.
Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) are the third flower I’ve seen this season, coming right on the heels of skunk cabbage and vernal witch hazels. Their common name is a good one; there was a plowed snowbank just feet from where these grew. The first part of this plant’s scientific name comes from the Greek gala, meaning “milk,” and anthos, meaning “flower.” The second part nivalis means “of the snow,” and it all makes perfect sense. Snowdrops contain a substance called galantamine which has been shown to be helpful in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. It’s not a cure but any help is always welcome.
I was surprised to see quite a few crocuses blossoming. It’s easy to forget that it’s still winter when you see such sights. At least it’s still winter astronomically for one more day. Meteorological winter ended on March first. I didn’t realize it when I was taking this photo but every crocus was tilted towards the sun.
One crocus blossom had an upside down bee in it. That was another surprise.
The buds of red maples (Acer rubrum) have just opened so sugar maples won’t be far behind, and that means an end to this year’s maple sugaring season. Once the night temperatures stay above freezing and the trees begin to flower the sap becomes bitter, so sap collection ends. This photo is of the tree’s male (staminate) flowers just poking out of the buds.
These are the female (pistillate) flowers of the red maple, just emerging. They are tiny little things; each bud is hardly bigger than a pea and each crimson stigma not much bigger than an uncooked piece of spaghetti. Once the female flowers have been dusted by wind carried pollen from the male flowers they will begin the process of becoming the beautiful red seeds (samaras) that this tree is so well known for. If you’re lucky you can often find male and female flowers on the same tree.
Each year the hills that surround town come alive with the red haze caused by millions of red maple flowers opening at once. Each year I try to catch it in a photo but never have much luck.
Squirrels eat the seeds, buds and sap of red maples. They bite the trunk to let the sap run and then when it dries they come back and lick up the sugar. Red maples are one of the trees that squirrels nest in as well. I once read that squirrels can get enough moisture from trees to never have to come down out of them for a drink. I’m not sure what the squirrel in the photo was looking for but it probably wasn’t water.
I thought I’d see some beautiful yellow willow flowers but they’re holding back and are still in the silvery gray catkin stage. I’d guess by today they’ll be blooming profusely so I’m going to have to go and see.
Though these might look like pussy willow catkins they’re really quaking aspen catkins (Populus tremuloides.) Quaking aspen is the only poplar with catkins like these that doesn’t also have sticky bud scales. Balsam poplar catkins (Populus balsamifera) look much the same but their brown bud scales are very sticky to the touch.
Among all the beautiful things to see in the early spring woods one of the most beautiful are alder catkins (Alnus.) They hang from the shrubs all winter long but it is only when they are ready to release pollen that they become purple and golden striped jewels. They will stay this way for just a short time before becoming more gold than purple, and that’s when the shrub’s very tiny crimson female flowers will appear. Look for alders near streams and ponds.
The warmth and sunshine were great while they lasted but we’ve had rain almost every day for the last five and they say that tomorrow night and through Monday we might see a nor’easter which might leave more snow than any storm this winter. It would be just like New England weather to drop over a half foot of snow on the first full day of spring. Oh well, if it comes it’ll melt quickly and the flowers will still bloom; there’s no stopping spring now.
She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbor:
“Winter is dead.”
~ A.A. Milne
Thanks for stopping in. Tomorrow the first day of spring is also the first day of the 6th year of this blog. I’d like to thank you for all your thoughtful comments and helpful input over the years.
The misty water photo was lovely and it’s good to see your flowers blooming and your bees waking up, even if they seem a bit sleepy and use a crocus as a bed. I wonder if the squirrel was looking for a nut he buried. Ours do that a lot, they don’t seem all that good at remembering where they hid them. Fingers crossed your storm didn’t stay too long.
Thank you. Spring has come but it’s in no hurry and everything is coming along slowly. I guess I shouldn’t complain because everything is blooming a little early this year.
No, that storm didn’t amount to anything. A couple of inches of snow at best.
Nice to see the snowdrops; do you have the other varieties in the US?
Thank you Philip. To be honest I don’t know if we do or not. They certainly aren’t common in this area. I think this is probably only the 3rd or 4th time I’ve seen them and I really don’t know why more people don’t grow them.
Thanks for a terrific blog and congratulations for keeping up with it for five years. I find it to be a great resource.
You’re welcome, and thank you. I’m glad that you like it!
The signs of spring as so welcome even though I enjoy all the seasons. I have been watching the skunk cabbage emerge like you but I was surprised to see lovely yellow coltsfoot blooming on the south bank of the Grand River last week. Taking advantage of the warming sun I guess. Congrats on your 6th year!
Thanks very much Cathy. I saw some coltsfoot blooming too, and it was great to see! It’ll be in an upcoming post.
A belated happy anniversary and many thanks for helping me to see things in new ways. I always look forward to your photographs, observations combined with humor, and well chosen quotations.
Thanks very much Daphne, I’m glad you’re seeing things in a new way. It really only takes slowing down a little to do so.
I’m also glad that you’re enjoying the blog!
Looks like spring is there to stay. The Crocuses and catkins are truly beautiful.
Thank you. All of spring is beautiful and I think we’re all hoping it’s here to stay.
Lovely pictures, Allen. Happy spring!
Thanks very much Cynthia, and the same to you!
Allen, Let me add my congratulations to you on this anniversary of “New Hampshire Garden Solutions.” What started as an on-line consultation for home gardeners has turned into a sensitive, observant, beautiful documentation of the natural environs of this corner of central New England. As a fellow “local” (relatively speaking), I appreciate your keen eye for the phenomena — from slime molds to raptors — of our landscape, and your ability to capture their beauty and/or uniqueness. Commendable, too, is your persistence — twice weekly posts through ALL kinds of weather. Simple math suggests a corpus of more than 500 posts, without interruption! I can understand your desire for new sites to document, but you of all people exemplify the insight of a wise man: “You cannot step into the same river twice, for the waters have changed and you have changed” (Heraclitus). I am comfortable with your return trips to Tippin’ Rock, to Walpole’s hills, to the 150-year-old railroad cuts and culverts, and to the Ashuelot River and its tributaries. Congratulations, and best wishes for many additional trips to the “wilds” outside your door.
Thank you Richard. I certainly couldn’t ask for a better review than that!
I had to check to see how many posts I had done and it turns out to be 527. And you’re right; I haven’t missed one in 5 years. That’s surprising to me because a lady I used to work for always told me that I should write a weekly newspaper gardening column and I always argued that I’d never see it through and I’d run out of things to write about after a few months. It looks like she knew me better than I knew myself.
Heraclitus was a wise man, and I’m glad that you aren’t tired of seeing the same places. I promise to find at least two new ones this summer.
Thanks again.
Six years is a long time on a blog – congratulations. I’ve been reading for the last two years or so, and never fail to learn something new.Thanks for your sharp observations and beautiful photos.
You’re welcome Judy, and thank you. I’m glad to hear you’ve learned a few things by reading this blog. I’ve certainly learned a lot by writing it! Thanks again.
I had no idea that squirrels ate maple sap. Ingenious little buggers. Our pussy willows seem to be farther along than yours, but your maples are budding out earlier. Interesting. Happy Spring and Happy Blog Anniversary. Please keep the posts coming, you provide a wonderful combination of information, beautiful photos, and excellent writing. Good quotes, too, although I’m not sure that winter is dead just yet.
Thanks very much. I doubt winter is dead either, but the quote fit the calendar.
I went all around yesterday looking for willow flowers and didn’t see a one. Skunk cabbages are behaving strangely this year too. It’s odd that your maples aren’t flowering though. They’re our earliest tree, I think.
Every time I research squirrels I end up being surprised! They certainly are ingenious.
It is odd about the maples. My crocuses are far behind yours too, but our poplars are just exploding and our alder catkins look about like yours.
There must be microclimates involved. I worked in a hilly town once where the difference in frost dates were sometimes as much as two weeks between the tops of the hills and the land below, and the hills weren’t that high.
Congratulations of five full years of great blogging, I’m looking forward to what you find in year six as always!
I really liked how you shot the series at Half Moon Pond to mark the progress of the retreat of the ice, and how you captured the mood of the days when you were there.
The snowdrops are beautiful and another sure sign that spring is just around the corner, this year seems to be two steps forward, one step back as far as spring getting here.
Thanks Jerry! It’s hard to believe that it’s been 5 years.
I was surprised to see so much ice on the pond on such a hot day, and that’s what started the ice out series. I wondered how long it would take to melt a pond full of ice, and it didn’t take long.
Yes, spring seems to be teasing us this year. It has really been a roller coaster ride so far!
Congratulations on your 5 years of blogging Allen! I look forward to all your posts and hope you keep them coming for a while longer! This post is as interesting and beautiful to look at as always. I love all the flowers you’ve found (so great to hear of some help from Snowdrops for sufferers from Alzheimer’s)and the ice-out statistics make telling reading.
Thank you Clare. I’m hoping for a few more years but I’ve got to find some new places to visit, I think.
The snowdrop / Alzheimer’s connection makes me wonder what other plants have health benefits. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were plants to help with every disease known.
I am sure you are right – the old folk remedies are still proving to be useful.
Yes, and think of all the plants we haven’t even tested yet.
Yes!
Congratulations on your 6th year blogging anniversary. I always enjoy reading your nature commentary and beautiful photos.
Thank you Emily. I’m happy to hear that!
I enjoy seeing spring in your part of the country! I think now you are getting ahead of us!
Thanks Montucky! We keep going up and down like a roller coaster. We’re supposed to see 14 degrees tonight so that’ll slow spring down a bit!
A warm winter here too. Ice out was really early here, beating the median date for ice out by a full month. I love that shot of the fog over the ice!
Thank you Sue. It sounds like you were even warmer than we were. I think I heard them say it was the warmest winter ever, even though I do remember at least one warmer one.
Much ado about nothing – the weather service no longer is scaring up a storm. Why do we even listen to them? 😉
Congrats on your 6th blogiversary and Happy Spring!
Thank you Eliza. I was wishing I hadn’t listened to them when the weather finally came on this morning. I don’t know why they can’t wait until they know something definite before telling us. Oh well, happy news anyway! Happy spring to you too!
You have a great eye, your pics are well composed and the lighting and colors are poetic! I’m in Chicago and your pics and attention to the details of the life around you inspires me to appreciate and explore my own surroundings more, even in my urban jungle. Great work!
Thanks very much Rick. You don’t know how glad I am to hear that because that’s really what this blog is all about! I’m glad you’re getting out and visiting nature. There’s a lot to see, even in the city!
Another nice post, Allen….and it’s been a pleasure visiting with you for almost all of those six years…congratulations on your very productive tenure.
Thank you Scott. It’s been a pleasure for me as well, getting to see the beauty and vastness of our American deserts.
You are most welcome….and I’m glad to be able to share the desert with you. 🙂
Happy 6th Blogday, Allen! So many great photos in this post. One of my favorites is the residual ice in the woods. I can feel the coolness, smell the woods, and hear the water while looking at it.
Thank you Paula. It’s hard to believe I’ve been doing this for 5 years. I didn’t think I’d last 5 months.
That stream in the woods was a nice quiet spot and pretty much exactly as you’ve described it.
Well, I’m glad you’ve lasted this long, and keep going for many more years!
Thanks again Paula. Sometimes it feels like I’m showing the same things again and again, but then I see something I’ve never seen and it’s all new again. I hope I can find enough new things to keep going for a few more years at least!
Your photography is breathtaking. Besides your skill, what camera do you use? I have so enjoyed learning about NH through your blog, since relocating here a few months ago from PA. Congratulations on your inspiring work/avocation.
Thank you and welcome to New Hampshire and this blog. I use a Canon Powershot SX40 HS for landscapes and a Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ7 for macros. I also sometimes use my Samsung Galaxy S4 when I’m not carrying a camera. I’m glad you’re enjoying the blog!
We have plenty of croci here. But a couple of years since I saw a bee close up.
I was surprised to see that one so early! It looks like spring is a good 2 weeks ahead of schedule here.
It’s hard to believe it is ice out already, but with all the wonderful spring-like weather we’ve been having it’s not so much of a surprise. It seems every day there is another sign of spring to be found. The snowdrops are lovely!
Thank you Laura. Yes, ice out seems to come a little earlier each year, but this year the ice never really that thick anyway, so I’m not surprised that it was early.
Spring is definitely on the way according to the snowdrops!
It has been a pleasure, as always, to read this post and see all those signs of Spring.
Thanks very much Susan. I’m glad that you enjoyed it.