As the wren is singing...

A little cooler than yesterday, but another lovely morning! More and more leaves are coming out, more flowers are coming into bloom, and our resident wren is quite pleased about it all!

At 7:30 am, it is 56.5 degrees and rising.
The humidity is 46% and steady.
The barometer is 30.15 inches of mercury and steady under clearing skies.
Due to the low humidity and some expectations of light winds, the fire danger remains HIGH.

NWS Boston's forecast: Cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing, with a high near 78. Northeast wind around 6 mph becoming light and variable.

The Cascades are still running, but they're slowing down, so if you want to enjoy the waterfall, come by soon!

We've certainly been seeing plenty of activity out on the trails, including what looked like new babies out on early hikes. The  Mayflies are out (particularly when there is no wind), but otherwise, conditions are great for being out! Enjoy!

Wetter today

Yesterday's red flag warning certainly bore out here in central Mass, with a brush fire over by Quinsigamond Community College that spread to a house, and several others around the county.
We're off the red flag warning today, though it continues in northern New England.

At 7:30, it is 61 degrees and rising.
The humidity is 66% and steady; it's been raining for the past half hour.
The barometer is 30.03 inches of mercury and steady under cloudy skies.
Despite the rain (which won't amount to much) today's fire danger remains HIGH.

We're lucky enough to have a pair of wrens that are building a nest here by the Lodge, so we're enjoying their songs each morning.

Today's National Weather Service forecast is Scattered showers, mainly before 9am. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 77. West wind 7 to 9 mph becoming north in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

The bears are waking up!

Quick reminder that the black bears that we have in Massachusetts are waking up and they're hungry. If you have not done so already, bring in your birdfeeders! The birds no longer need supplemental feeding at this point, and the bears are looking for easy snacks.
A few other Eastern black bear pointers:

• secure your trash outside and be sure your recycling is rinsed well (as well as secured).
• keep your dogs leased (yes, even and especially in the woods; bears like trails, too!).
• don't leave pet food out overnight.

We have had, and will continue to have, black bears in Worcester. It's fairly easy for them to get here by following rail lines or the series of forests that come down from the New Hampshire border. Generally speaking, Eastern black bears are shy of humans and will avoid them (note: this is NOT the case of bears in other parts of the country!). Make noise while walking in the woods; leave them alone if you see them in your neighborhood.
More tips on bears from Mass Fisheries and Wildlife here. 

Happy April!

The Cascades are running, the bulbs are coming up, the birds are singing in the morning now: we may have spring here!
The brook is leaping to as high as 6 inches this morning, and the Cascades are pouring down the hill (if you haven't seen them in action, this is a good chance!). The rain really made a difference overnight!
At 8 am, it is 41.9 degrees and rising.
Humidity is 88% and steady.
The barometer is at 28.85 Hg and steady under clearing skies.
We are currently not measuring any wind.

The day before

I'm just back in from refilling all of our birdfeeders, as people aren't the only ones getting ready for the incoming blizzard! It is very cold out; we've just hit 20 degrees now.
The humidity is 49%.
The barometer is at 29.91 and rising still.
Clear blue skies.
The falls right now are frozen, 'though there is still water flowing under the ice.

And should you wish to get a bit of woodwork in before the snows, we have our stalwart group of volunteers outside right now, working on signs. They'll be here til noon (and we have the coffee on), so do come by for a bit if you can!

Baby hawks

We awoke this morning to the cries of hungry baby hawks, who apparently still have not been sufficiently fed, as we are still hearing from them. As best as we can tell, they are nesting by the brook (surprisingly close to the house), and their somewhat harried looking parent went so far as to perch for a time in the shagbark hickory not far from our back door in the search for food. The shrieks really sound like something in distress!
At 8 am, it is 72 degrees and steady
The barometer is at 29.23 inches and steady under clear, sunny skies.
The fire danger is rising to MODERATE today.
The brook continues to be dry.

At 8:30, we'll have sign and timber work happening here at the Lodge. Stop by if you have some time and want to do some work with adz and bow saw!

Springtime!

I found a red eft on our porch this morning, 'though he was gone when I went back out to take his picture.
On Monday, traffic stopped in both directions for a gigantic snapping turtle going back across Olean, having laid her eggs on the Cascading Waters property.
We also have a pair of robins frantically flying back and forth from one of the big evergreens by the Lodge, keeping their brand new hungry chicks fed.
Springtime is here!
__________________________________
At 8:45, it is 67.3 degrees and steady
95% humidity (though not currently raining)
29 inches of mercury and steady under cloudy skies
We've gotten half an inch of rain since last night.

At 8:02 the
TEMPERATURE is 70%F and steady,
HUMIDITY is 98 and steady,
PRESSURE is 29.00 and steady.
It is a nice sunny day and the birds are singing.
The fire danger is LOW.

Warmer and thus busy

It's warmer today (at (9:30, we're breaking 35 already), and thus we're seeing lots of animals out. We woke up to a flock of robins (no, they don't all go south), the squirrels have been raiding the birdfeeder, and we threw some seed out for the chickadees, nuthatches, and such.
The big excitement of the morning, though, was a spotting of the local piliated woodpecker. Big guy (about the size of a crow) over on the entrance to the Cascades trail!
Expect all this sun to soften up the snow, so it will be tough slogging on the trails.

Busy

Just as I headed out now with a basket of laundry,* the resident red-tailed hawk swooped low over the house. I suspect he's keeping an eye on the birdfeeders.
And a little woodpecker (a downy, I think) cheeped away at me, between banging on a tree, the whole time I was outside.

*for you skeptics out there: yes, it's entirely possible to dry laundry outside when it's (just) 32. The trick is that there's wind.