What a week of wet weather this has been. Yesterday it snowed a couple of inches and then turned back to rain. It was quite the wet soggy day. I went for a ride in the morning to check out some of the roads. The Telos road has a large washout at the Harrington culvert. There is a big whirlpool on the side of the road that is not washed out. I even took videos of it.
(It does not take much to entertain a guy up here) I watched 7 Goldeneyes out on the pond last night. I was standing down by the dock fishing and they kept flying back and forth. They were having quite the time. I figured that the males were competing for the ladies. I did catch a nice 14 inch Brook Trout while I was there. Most of the ice went out, although there is still some floating around and the shore has some that does not get the wind. If we get some good weather that will go out fast. (the wind will shift to the opposite direction) The moose are starting to come out in numbers. I saw 3 or 4 the other night when I went out to check some smelt runs. You can always tell how good the smelts are running by how many moose that you see on the way to the smelt brook. Below are a few pictures of what things looked like up here on Friday and Today.
GT

     

     

From left to right:  Ripogenus Gorge below Dam, Snow on the 29th of April, Water coming out of the deep gate at Rip Dam, the washout on the Telos road today, washout on Telos road on Friday, From Telos bridge

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April 26th, 2005

Well now, I want to tell ya that we received some rain here.  It rained Sunday night and most all day Monday.  I pretty much laid low yesterday and last night when I went out to check the mail, one section of my road was gone!  It must have been quite a sight to see all of that water going over the road.  I managed to fix it back to "almost" normal today.  I spent some time around the yard today and it was nice out, the temps were in the middle 50's.  Only problem with that was I got bit!  Yep, I got my first mosquito bite today.  Sure sign that winter is almost over.  The weather report is calling for some snow the last part of the week, but it will not amount to much, I hope!  Now why is it that those mosquitoes would want to come out this early?  I reckon that they must be hungry after the long winter.  There were a couple of Barred owls hooting at each other this afternoon.  I hooted back to see if they would answer.  (being as I was the only one here and no one would think I was, well, you know) One of them answered, but I am not sure if it was answering me or the other owl.  I went down to sit on the shore of the pond for a bit and watched the Loon.  Now there is only about 6 or 8 feet of ice out on one edge of the pond, but that Loon was out there swimming around. I do not know if it will stay for the year or if it is just passing through.  I am curious to see if it calls tonight.  (or should I say "hear" instead of "see")  While sitting there on a rock I noticed these little things jumping all over the open water.  They were so small that they did not even make a ripple when they landed.  Some of them did make a shadow on the rock just under the surface though.  I figure that they were snow fleas that were coming off the ice on the pond.  They must have been going to shore to look for a new snow bank.  Beats me what they were thinking, should have not been out on the pond anyway.  The water is up as high as I have ever seen it here on the pond.  It is up over the edge of the log down next to the dock.  As soon as the ice goes out it will drop back down to where it is supposed to be. Ripogenus is now only down 7 feet.  I talked with a guy today who works up around Comstock and he said that most of the snow is gone from the woods up there now.  He is not using snowshoes any more.  It will be good if the lake gets to the full mark this year.  With all of the rain we had it will come up fast for the next couple of days.  More rain coming tomorrow afternoon so I have to get all of outdoor stuff done that I can in the morning.
GT

April 25th, 2005

Well, the spring rain has finally arrived.  Of course it started out as a couple of inches of snow on Saturday, but that soon melted with the rain.  I have been getting inquires about the ice from folks who use the phone instead of the internet.  We are still "iced" in up here.  I am sure that with this rain the ice will be out by the 4th of July!  It has started to get black in places, and that means that it will go out within the next 10 days, (usually) depending upon the temps and the wind.  The spring run off is filling up the lakes behind Ripogenus dam.  I would guess that it has come up around 14 to 18 feet so far this spring.  It looks like it is still down about 6 to 8 feet.  It has been quite a few years since that lake has been completely full and they had to open the deep gates.  Who knows, perhaps this will be the year.  The smelts were running the other night down at the West Branch and at Ragged stream.  Just remember, Ragged is closed to smelting, as well as all other tributaries to Chesuncook, Caribou and Ripogenus.  I now have to find a new place to go smelting up in this neck of the woods.  My son Jed was just a little upset that he could not go over to Ragged to dip smelts while he was up over vacation.  I saw a couple of Loons in the open water down at Rip Dam yesterday.  There is a little open water out in front of the dam and sure enough, they found it.  I could hear the Loons the other night when I went out to check smelts.  Sure does sound good to hear them again.  I am sure that they will return here as soon as we have some open water.  It does not take much open water to attract them, just enough to take off, land and do a little swimming around.  It is almost time to drag out the fish rod and get ready to go fishing.  The Moose have started to hang out on the roads again, so be very careful when driving around up this way, especially at night.  They sure do look bedraggled at this time of year, as they are shedding.  We saw a cow and a calf the other day that showed just this look.  In another month they will look a whole lot better.  It is a good thing too, cause a moose has to be one of the homeliest animals on earth.  They cannot afford to look that homely all year long!
GT

April 14th, 2005

I received a report last night that the Loons were now in their new feathers for the summer.  Maureen said that in the last week they have changed back to what Loons are supposed to look like!  They must be getting ready for the trip up to Frost Pond.  After they migrate to the ocean they loose their flight feathers and cannot fly, they just paddle around in the ocean all winter.  Loons are just barley able to fly.  In fact, if they happen to land on land, they cannot take off as they have to paddle with their feet in the water to become airborne. Their bones are not hollow like other birds and they are quite heavy.  They are a very prehistoric like bird.  If a Loon looses a single flight feather they cannot fly.  It is quite amazing how Mother Nature can have things in such delicate balance.

I had a visitor for the evening a couple of nights ago.  I was sitting here working and I heard this fluttering noise at the front window.  I looked and saw a Junco trying to get in.  It was dark out and it must have seen the light in the house and tried to get to it.  I opened the window and let it in.  (Maureen questioned me on that move)  I could not let the thing stay outside in a place where it had not chosen to spend the night.  I figured that if I let it in I could put it out in the morning.  Well, the cat went crazy and was running back and forth watching the bird.  The bird was flying all around the house from light to light.  I figured that the way to catch the bird was to turn off lights, which I did.  I put the cat outside to avoid him having a "late night snack" and had just one light left on in the bathroom.  The bird went in and so did I. I shut the door and proceeded to try to catch the bird.  It would land on my head and when I would reach for it, off it would go.  Finally I just turned the light off when it was sitting on top of my head, and reached up and caught it.  Now me being the sort of guy who likes to take pictures of things, decided that I should have a picture of the bird in my hand.  Needless to say, every time I tried to take a picture and opened my hand, off the bird would go.  After several tries, I gave up on the picture idea and put the little thing to bed.  I put it under the fruit basket and covered it up.  The next morning I opened the window and off it flew, "happy as a Lark",  ahhhh...."Junco"  The cat was totally disgusted  with me for spending the night outside.  I wonder what drove the bird from it's roosting place that night?    And you folks thought that I would be bored up here all winter!
GT

April 12th, 2005

Well winter is back!  At least is would appear to be so with as much snow as we have received today.  We have about 8 inches that has fallen today.  Of course this will help melt the remaining snow that is on the ground.  After the nice days that we had earlier, today seems like, well, not so nice a day.  All was not lost as I turned it into a go-to-town day as there was not much that I wanted to do in a snowstorm.  Only a few more cool days and on Saturday it is supposed to reach a temperature of close to 60 degrees. (and that folks is above 0, gotta love it)  This snow will help hurry the ice out, as it will soften the ice still on the pond.
GT
                                 

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April 10th, 2005

The level in Ripogenus Lake is coming up.  With all of the snow melt going on it has to happen.  It remains to be seen if the lake will fill completely this year.  If we get some rain I am sure that it will come close, especially with all of the snow that we have.  I made a trip to put a boat in a remote pond.  The water and slush caused the boat to fill up with water while towing it across the pond On the last pond I tied it up short so that could not happen.  The area where we were going to put the boat on shore had a small brook running in on top of the ice from all of the snow melt.  (Figures that the one place I wanted it to be would be the worst place to get off the ice)  This is where the most water was lying on top of the ice.  (Of course)  We left the snowmobiles on the pond and walked to shore.  I did not have snowshoes with me but my partner did.  He went to shore and then threw a rope for me to tie on the boat.  I was walking the boat in when I hit a deep spot.  I was wet up over my knees and I just jumped into the boat!  He pulled me in and we placed the boat where we wanted it.  Getting back to the snowmobiles proved to be a challenge.  I found a place that was not too deep and walked and ran to the sleds.  My partner broke through the top layer of ice with the snowshoes on and made me wish for a video camera!  Why is it that you never have one with you when the good stuff happens?  It was a wet but satisfying job, well done.  The trip home was uneventful except for getting whacked in the head by low lying trees across the trails.  I noticed a couple of Robins have returned to the area.  This must be a sign that spring will in fact return.  There was even a Red Winged Black Bird out to the dam yesterday.  The Eagles are making a regular appearance out on the pond.  I have seen up to four at one time out there.  The ice on the lakes is still white so it will be some time before it goes out.  I will let you know when it starts getting close to departing for the season. 
GT
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April 6th, 2005

Today it is sunny and 53 degrees up here.  The snow is melting and the water is running everywhere.  After a day in the city it sure seems nice to be back home! I know that folks wonder how a person stays up here all winter, but I wonder if I could survive a winter in the city!  The traffic and all the people would test me to my limits.  I am used to listening to the wind blow through the trees and when the wind is not blowing, the sound of silence.  I was down to the coast this past weekend as well and the noise from the ocean sounded like they had all four "deep gates" open at Rip Dam, (something that has not happened for a few years) when I am standing on the dam.  I am headed out to take a boat into a remote pond today.  I will use the snowmobile and drag it in behind me.  It is a little soft, but I should be able to get there.  (And probably get stuck as well) There are reports of a few folks catching fish in the river.  I have not seen any yet, but many people are practicing catch and release these days.  Well, off on my next excursion!
GT

April 1st, 2005

Man what a night!! Did you feel the earth shake at about 2:00am this morning? It was trembling and booming. I went outside and could hear the ice on the pond buckling and popping. I stayed up until it got daylight to see what the damages might be. The only thing that I could see was that the ice was completely gone from the pond! Some of it is piled up on the shore and I have no idea where the rest of it is. The up side of this is that I can go fishing in the pond now! Mother nature must want me to take time to go fishing, that is the only reason that I can think of. Now I have to go to town to get new line for the fish pole and some bait and ice flies. (there will not be any hatches for a month or so) The ice flies work well when something like this happens as the fish are expecting to find them in any open spots around brooks and spring holes. So, off to town for me.

Oh, yes today is April Fool's Day is it not!!!
GT
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