A Season of Ice

Pawtuckaway State Park lies less than 20 miles west of our home, and is thus one of our favorite hiking destinations. The 5,500-acre park has an unusual array of rock formations, rare plants, uncommon wildlife, and a feel of wildness that is unique in southeastern New Hampshire. An ancient volcano left behind a circular, low rocky ridge, known as a ring-dike, which forms the Pawtuckaway Mountains. Our visits always take as to Round Pond, past the huge boulder field left behind by glaciers, and on up to the North Peak.

This is a relatively short hike of about 5 miles round trip, yet the trail leads through some rugged terrain. Past Round Pond the trail continues wedged between an active beaver marsh and sheer rock walls that are popular with climbers. Several winters years ago we watched a bobcat hunt for small rodents in the wetland. In summer the rock faces are bustling with climbers. Today the marsh and rock walls were silent.

Much of the snow was gone; mostly ice remained. The trails were frozen or packed hard with a thin veneer of snow. Meltwater flowing over the rock walls on warmer days was frozen in place. The cold blue ice contrasted with the dark rocks and deep shadows below.



As we climbed toward the summit of North Peak, a raven called, alerting its mate to our presence. Their nest site sits precariously on a ledge midway up a sheer rock face. Already they seem to be gathering more sticks for the coming nesting season, still a month away. Bobcats live in these rocks too. We've seen their tracks in years with more plentiful snow, better for seeing the light touch of a bobcat wandering the wilds of Pawtuckaway.

Once we reached the North Peak, we crossed paths with two other solo hikers, one with a friendly, jubilant golden retriever. During the hike up and back to our car we saw no one else, just the wind whistling in our ears.

Slower Days

Aria and I both noticed the sun streaming in through the windows in the late afternoon yesterday. She was lying nearby as I worked on the computer. Aria is still getting used to the change in our home pack, as are we. She is venturing back into rooms and places that Bella was controlling. I still catch her glancing around to see if Bella might come bouncing back in. Although Bella dominated Aria, Bella would instigate play and Aria often joined in as best she could, given her arthritic body. Aria is now more subdued.

It will take time for all of us to adjust to the absence of Bella. Aria sometimes kicked up her heels on our walks, as Bella bounded about. In the last few weeks, without Bella, she has slowed, showing her age of 12+ years. In some ways Bella served as Aria's eyes and ears, since Aria has lost much of those senses.

Aria is still playful. She has always been a night owl. She lazes a bit in the morning, but after dinner and later she wants to play. Her favorite game is searching for her hidden squeaky toy, until she settles down with a moan. The old body aging faster than her mind.

Yesterday we took a walk in the warm, afternoon sun on one of our local trails. Aria sniffs as she walks slowly. She looks and listens as I do, expecting to see a pesky spaniel running across the field.

Icy Trails

While Washington D.C. is buried under several feet of new snow, we could use some fresh powder up this way. Unfortunately the recent storms have moved out to sea before traveling up the coast to New England. The ground is bare in spots and trails are icy.

We spent a few days hiking in the White Mountains over the weekend. Our snowshoes were strapped to the back of our packs as the trails were all packed down from many previous hikers. The flats were as easy as walking on sidewalks. Water that flows down many mountain trails in warmer seasons is now frozen solid. As we got into the steeper pitches, Srini strapped on crampons and I tried on my new microspikes by Kahtoola.

These are light, easy to put on, comfortable to walk in, and offer great traction on packed and icy trails. I am sure they aren't sufficient for high mountaineering, but for my needs so far they are perfect.

The ice climbers were happy about all the ice. We walked up the Champney Trail to Champney Falls, an extremely popular spot for climbers. They started to funnel into this small, narrow canyon by 9:00 in the morning, and by afternoon apparently it gets a little crowded in there.



The day before, we hiked the "UNH Trail" loop up and around Hedgehog Mountain, a nice little, but scenic, 2,352-foot mountain. It was there that we toasted our hot chocolate to Bella as we gazed out at Mt. Chocorua to the east, Mt Passaconaway to the south, and the Tripyramids to the west - all mountains that we have climbed in warmer weather.

Mt Chocorua

Mt. Passaconaway

Mt. Tripyramid - South, Middle, and North Peaks

If the weather holds we may be back up there next weekend to climb to the top of Mt. Chocorua, which offers one of the best views in the White Mountains. We are getting hooked on winter hiking.

One Year

One year ago today I started the Spicebush Log. Several other blogs inspired me, especially Tom and Atticus, who continue to enchant with their hikes, day and night, into the howling winter winds of the White Mountains. I celebrate my one year blog anniversary with a mix of pride and sadness.

During the past year I "met" several new friends -- Ken and Deb and Tom -- through my postings, and as a result maintain a cadre of fellow bloggers that I read regularly. My goal in creating the Spicebush Log was to have a place to write about what I observed as I explored the outdoors and other venues. If I gathered in some regular readers along the way, that was a bonus. I seem to have a few -- thank you. I enjoy the writing, collecting photos to help tell a story, and focusing more clearly on what I see around me. The first year feels good.

A source of many of my stories was Bella, our adopted English springer spaniel. I started the blog a few months after she turned one. She required lots of exercise and was the reason I spent so much time outdoors, walking trails through many different habitats. We had our favorites. Bella liked the places with varied topography with wooded hills and valleys that she could run up and down. If we met other dogs along the way, all the better.

We adopted Bella from the New Hampshire SPCA two years ago, when she was about 14 weeks old. By then she had already been through a traumatic life experience. Bella taught us that springers do not like to be left alone. She went with me everywhere for two years. In her previous life, before winding up at the SPCA, Bella bit into an electrical cord, electrocuting herself. Maybe she had been left alone too long or maybe just briefly. Springers think that three minutes is three hours. Bella's owner surrendered her to a local veterinarian, maybe because he could not afford her care, or he thought she was going to die, or for some other reason. The vet cared for Bella for two weeks, bringing her back from near death. Bella had surgery to remove a burnt tooth and part of her lip, damaged by electrocution. Once healthy again, the vet surrendered her to the SPCA.

Bella arrived at the SPCA a day or two before Sunday, the weekly day that my husband, Srini, volunteers. A friend there suggested he check Bella out. We brought Bella home a few days later on Thursday, February 21, 2008. Bella loved people and other dogs; she was energetic, healthy, and great fun.

For the first year we indulged Bella -- she slept on chairs, sofas, and beds. But something changed when she turned a year old. Unexplained aggressive behavior started to emerge. She guarded food, places and people, at times with great ferocity. This continued throughout 2009, building and receding, but slowly escalating over that time and becoming more unpredictable. Most of the behavior occurred within our home and was directed toward us or Aria, our 12-year old Shepherd that we have had since a 12-week old puppy.

We sought advice from numerous trainers and vets. We implemented all the recommendations, mainly geared toward establishing calm but assertive dominance over Bella. As months wore on we began to adjust our home life. Bella was controlling movements of Aria and acting out against us, almost in jealousy if we showed any affection toward Aria. Our home was becoming stressful. When I was with Bella on one of our daily walks she was carefree and happy. But even outside I started to see signs of aggression. As dogs approached our car or if we stopped for a snack and Bella sensed any competition for food, she acted out against the intruders. During the past year, Bella bit Srini three times, all unprovoked, and she nearly harmed several other people.

Thanks to some friends we found a wonderful kennel last fall, owned by a woman (Nancy) who is quite experienced with dog behavior. She knew about a particular line of springers in which the breeding was messed up. Some breeders were neglecting to select for temperament and continuing to breed springers prone to dominant aggressive behavior. Bella loved this kennel, where she was around other dogs and people all day, in a structured environment. We started boarding her there each time we left on a short vacation.

After an unprovoked bite a few weeks ago, we knew we had to let Bella go. Her aggressive and unpredictable behavior was dangerous. Even so, this was an emotionally difficult decision and in the days that followed we often second-guessed ourselves, wondering if it was the right thing to do. Except for this issue Bella was in perfect health, but this issue loomed large.

In the end, it was our love for Bella that helped us make our decision. Bella was tortured by the need to control resources -- whether me, food, or places. It is better that she had a short, happy life than a long, stressful life for her and those around her. We provided the best home she could have had. Finding another home for Bella was not an option as the issues would have emerged there too. Medicating, muzzling, or confining Bella were options that we never considered, since those choices would benefit no one, especially Bella.

Nancy cared for Bella at the kennel in her final days, as Bella played happily with several other dogs. It was the best ending it could be for Bella's short, full life.

So, I dedicate my first year of blogging to Bella. Despite her issues, she leaves a big hole. The tears still come easily, and only with time will the pain pass. I cherish the two years that we spent together; she stayed close to me on every walk. To see pictures of Bella click here for our Picasa web album of her.

We spent last weekend at a rustic cabin in the White Mountains, where we celebrated Bella's love of the outdoors, away from cell phones, computers, and electricity. We gathered around a wood stove and snuggled in our sleeping bags, and explored miles of trails, and thought of Bella running, with ears flapping and tail wagging. On top of Hedgehog Mountain we toasted our hot chocolate to Bella.

Bella, October 2009, on one of our daily woodland walks

Bella at the beach, running with new friends, February 2009

Cabin Bound

We are off to a rustic cabin in the White Mountains for a few days -- no electricity, phones, computers, or running water. Cold and clear weather is in store for us. The wood stove will be stoked often. Lots of winter hiking is planned. The Spicebush Log will resume on Monday.

Seventy Goldfinches

Yesterday I counted 70 American goldfinches outside my window. They clung to the nyjer and sunflower seed feeders and were scattered across the ground. Their drab olive winter colors blend into the equally drab yard splattered with spent bird seed, making them hard to count. Seventy seems about right though, after they all flushed in unison several times.

Today only 40 are visiting. The goldfinches come for a few hours around midday. They seem to be late risers and leave before late afternoon. Goldfinches are nearly pure vegetarians, or granivores to more precise. They eat seeds, and lots of them given that I filled the tube feeders three times yesterday. Goldfinches are especially well-adapted to eating seeds with their short, conical beak and agile feet and body. They eat seeds by clinging to a plant or feeder right side up or upside down. Rarely do they eat insects. Even their breeding season is tied to the peak production of their wild foods -- particularly the seeds of thistle, but also birches, alders, conifers, and other shrubs, wildflowers and grasses.

Goldfinches molt twice a year, in fall and spring. Soon enough the spring molt will start, and the males will begin to sport more and more patches of bright, lemon-colored feathers. Actually the lemonfinch is probably a better name - gold-colored they are not. Now nyjer seed, that is gold given its cost.

Cedars and Waxwings

Have you ever wondered how waxwings got their name? Two waxwings are found in our area - the common cedar waxwing and the occasional Bohemian waxwing - the Cornell Lab of Ornithology offers a nice visual comparison here (scroll down to "field marks" and click on the picture of the cedar waxwing).

Both species are plump with a long crest, short bill, silky plumage, and yellow band across the tip of the short tail. Waxwings are named for the "waxy" secretions at the tips of modified secondaries. The shaft (or rachis) of these wing feathers have flattened extensions that contain a dense concentration of red pigment.

Waxwings feed almost entirely on sugary fruits. They fly about in flocks in search of berries, stopping in open woods, at field and wetland edges, among ornamental plantings, and under powerline corridors. When young waxwings eat lots of berries from exotic honeysuckle bushes, a reddish pigment forms in the tail band, turning it orange. The appearance of waxwings is clearly intertwined with their diet.

The other part of the cedar waxwing's name comes from its fondness for Eastern red cedar fruits -- waxy bluish fruits that are often covered in white powder. The Eastern red cedar, Juniperus virginiana, is really a juniper and not a cedar. The new leaves of red cedar are pointed and prickly, while the older leaves or needles are short, scaly, and blunt.

The scale-like older leaves of Eastern red cedar

Eastern red cedar grows as a small tree, most notably in abandoned farm fields and pastures. A line of red cedars seen along a field edge or row of fence posts shows how the tree spreads through bird droppings.

A row of Eastern red cedar along a stone wall and field edge

Bluebirds, robins, mockingbirds, among many other birds relish the fruits of this juniper. White-tailed deer browse on the lower branches, leaving a noticeable "browse line," and exposing the grayish brown bark that shreds in long strips. The rot resistant wood is used as fence posts and cedar chests -- the aromatic wood deters moths from eating holes into winter woolens. The heartwood (inner wood) was once the sole source of material for many pencils.

If you come across an Eastern red cedar in the forest, you will know it started growing when the site was still a field, as they do not germinate in shade. If you are near cedars in fields or field edges in the fall or winter, listen for a high-pitched, short, thin whistle and look for a flock of birds, and you are sure to see the beautiful waxwings gorging on red cedar berries.