nature trips

Right before Christmas we were on our way to the grocery store in Rockland and drove past Chickawaukie Pond. Being close to the coast it is one of the last ponds in the area to get a winter coat of ice. This morning it was partly skimmed with ice with several open holes along route 17. The other unusual thing about Chickie is that for some reason a flock of American coots gathers there in the late fall each year. Coots are not unusual in most of the country but that is the only place I have ever seen them in our area.

As fall progresses the amount of color in the leaves changes almost daily and peak foliage is a fleeting moment at best. Over the last week the color has come steadily and we have gone from a red tree here and there to maybe a quarter of the trees in bright color. This picture was taken at the beginning of the week from the boat launch on Seven Tree pond in Union.

We have gotten into a very wet weather pattern for August. We are having showers or thunderstorms on a regular basis. Not our usual bone dry August, in fact it seems amazing that only a month ago we were watering the garden almost every day and talking about how  dry it was getting.  This is after all New England and if you don’t like the weather just wait a minute and it will change.