Chilly and dry

While we have had mostly sunny weather, there's been just enough rain here and there to keep the fire danger LOW (we do check, and know that the sign hasn't changed in months!). Not having a rainy fall thus far, though, means that we do not have a Cascade so much as a pile of rocks. It's lovely to walk through the woods in the fall; just don't expect a waterfall right now!

At 9 am, it is 51.5 degrees and rising. (That's a ten degree rise since dawn.)
The humidity is at 94% and steady (thus, the fire danger continues LOW).
The barometer is at 29.32 inches of mercury and steady, under clear blue skies.

Yesterday traditionally was celebrated as the feast of Michaelmas, recognized as when you'd really want to buckle down and get ready for the winter. We've seen our birch and beech trees start to turn yellow; most of our maples haven't done much more than start their color change yet. The squirrels and chipmunks have picked up their tempo. The woodland aster is well in bloom and starting to fade. Our apple tree has been busy for weeks (green very tart apples).
Enjoy the fall!

Heading into fall

The fire danger remains low and the brook is still running, as it's starting to get chillier at night and stay cooler during the day. Currently, the brook is running at about 2 inches.
The squirrels and chipmunks have been busy here lately, as the shagbark hickory nuts are ripening. You can sit outside and hear what sounds like rain, as the squirrels high up in the trees shell the nuts.
At 9:30 am, it is 72 degrees and rising under clear blue skies.
The barometer is 29.21 and steady.

And I have a squirrel scolding me through the window as I post this!


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Note that this weekend marks the start of our fall festival season: please look for us at Worcester's Canalfest, which you might have seen covered in yesterday's paper.
And be sure to check out the video!

Visitors

Nothing like a squirrel landing on the windowsill to give you brief heart failure.

Squirrel

And in loading this up, I missed a photo, straight outside the window, of a groundhog. He's up!

Brrr...

It's back to work and school today (and here's hoping the sidewalks were shoveled!), and it's a cold day for it. Pretty out there, though.
At 9:45 am it is 25 degrees and rising slowly
Sunny with a barometer reading of 28.73 inches
The brook is at 4.4 inches and running.

Much of the Cascades are frozen (very pretty!), but it is running under the ice.
The resident squirrels are very busy this morning.

Juncos are here!

I don't know if they were waiting on snow or what, but those flocks of busy little gray birds are out there this morning. And, tipped off by the squirrels, they've found the birdfeeder.

The stream is at 5.6; down a bit, as the snow really isn't melting.
The temperature is 36 and slowly rising, as of 9am
The barometer is 29.47 inches and steady under overcast skies

Heads up!

It is NUT season in the forest (insert your own hiker joke here), so heads up! If you here something coming down fast through the trees, you're probably under a hickory nut tree and one has just broken loose. Heads up! They hurt if they hit you!
If, on the other hand, you hear more of a pattering noise (like rain), you're under a squirrel who is unshelling a hickory nut. Little pieces come pelting down through the leaves as the squirrel has a snack. Good fun!

At nine am, it is 68 degrees under cloudy skies.
29.41 inches of mercury (rain and possible thunderstorms moving in)
The stream is still at 1/2 inch

The animals think it's spring

I came back from the bus stop today to find a little red squirrel on the side of a maple tree, lapping up sap! I guess that isn't just a legend.
We also saw, just walking down a block or two, a very happily singing cardinal, a quacking duck, and a hopping robin.

At 9 am, it is 43 degrees and rising.
49% humidity and falling
Pressure is 30.00 inches and steady
Stream is still running at 4.4 inches
The sun is shining and the sky is clear
The fire level has been lowered to MODERATE as we are expected to get some rain this afternoon.

Nothing new

I'm really trying to come up with new ways of letting you know it's snowing, but I have to say that I'm running out. But there it is. Started around 10:30 here.
We had a flock of mourning doves come in this morning; there were ten or more of them. It looked as though they were getting some eating in before the storm came in. We occasionally will see a pair, but rarely in winter, and never so many at once. We also had a neighborhood cat wander through; the doves were quickly warned off the ground by a chattering squirrel, and they headed up. We had them around for much of the morning, however. We also saw a few of our white-throated sparrows this morning.

At 10 am, it is 31 degrees and steady
61% humidity and steady
29.71 inches of mercury and falling
Fire danger remains NONE
All here is snow covered, and it looks to remain so!

Continuing clear

Another bright sunny day out there. If you're looking for a workout, go take a walk where the trail hasn't been broken yet!

At 10 am, it is 23 degrees and steady
58% humidity and falling (as I watch, in fact; it's down to 57% now)
Barometer stands at 29.74 inches and steady
Clear skies, sun is out and shining

The Cascades are starting to clear a bit. It's really something how they can just look like a rocky hill in the snow.
The squirrels are very busy this morning, and we're also seeing some junkos at the feeder.

For those of you following the plague of the ALB, we've received word from the USDA that cutting will start at Bovenzi Conservation Park this week. You will probably most easily be able to see it heading north or south on Route 190. Bovenzi is the wooded hillside across the highway from Sainte Gobain. Those trees are mostly maples.

More feeders= more birds

We invested in a few more birdfeeders yesterday, feeling sorry for those who live outside in such brutal weather, and we've been rewarded! Over the past twenty-four hours, we've seen juncos, chickadees, our resident cardinal pair, a pair of goldfinches, nuthatches, and our black-and-white warblers. On those, we've heard back from central Mass birders that they are rare, but not unheard of in the wintertime.

(And we put out peanuts for the squirrels)

At 9 am, it is 12 degrees and rising (that's up from -2.6 at 7 am, incidentally)
The humidity is 48% and steady
Barometer is 30.27 inches and steady
Fire danger is LOW
Stream continues frozen
NO activity on the trail; even the dog walkers are staying close to home these days.

Stay warm!

Falling in the brook day

One of the junior rangers just fell in the brook in the midst of checking the stream depth. We go to all lengths around here...!

at 9: 10 am, it is 41 degrees and steady with a breeze
57% humidity and falling
29.85 inches of mercury and steady under clear skies
the brook, we have confirmed, is at 5 1/2 inches

We are continuing our battle with the squirrels over the birdfeeder in the front of the Lodge. They've now chewed through the rope not once, but twice, and now there is nothing but wire holding it up; we'll see how long that works! We've seen nuthatches and chickadees, plus, this morning, a small brown friendly little bird about the size of a chickadee that sat in a tree and talked to us for awhile. We'll look it up!

Busy birdfeeder

Sure enough, the squirrels were out there investigating this morning.
This one found the pot of frost-struck pansies.

They can't quite reach the birdfeeder...So far, business seems to be mostly nuthatches.

At 9 am, it is 54 degrees and rising
39% humidity and steady
Barometer at 30.21 inches and steady, but overcast
The stream level is at 4 1/2 inches deep
We've had no rain, 'though there appears to be a storm moving up the coast.
Fire danger is LOW

Junior Ranger reports

A junior ranger's trek to the mailbox gives us the following report:
"It's cold and sunny. The brook is running fast. The trail is very frozen. I saw squirrels."
She would also recommend wearing a coat!

At 10 am, it's 33 degrees
Clear and sunny
47% humidity and very windy
Unless conditions have changed, fire danger is LOW

Temperature, conditions, and brook update

A clear and cold morning. Very busy squirrels.
Current temperature is 23 degrees and rising. The brook is running under the ice.
The forecast calls for increasing clouds this afternoon, so this morning would be a chance to get in a hike before a rainy day tomorrow.