NNE Warm Season Thread 2021

[eyewall]

7 minutes ago, powderfreak said:

Damn, 40s in Raleigh in the daytime in May... that’s what the valleys were up here yesterday. 

It is the CAD wedge we needed in January LOL.

[bwt3650]

5 hours ago, powderfreak said:

A couple inches on the Snow Cam last night.

God, it feels so good to talk about snow again...I feel so dirty after leaving the banter thread.

[mreaves]

2 hours ago, eyewall said:

Got to love the warmer half of the year ;). Anyway it is snowing today in the NC mountains and 47F in Raleigh NC midday which is very cold here for May.

It sucks here in May too. 

[powderfreak]

4 hours ago, bwt3650 said:

God, it feels so good to talk about snow again...I feel so dirty after leaving the banter thread.

We need more snow in our lives for sure.

[wxeyeNH]

72/43   My perfect temp and humidity.   Big leafout day in my hood.  Leaves are about 50% of total size.  When that happens I call it mid spring vs early spring.

Any "bear" experts out there.  Frickin bears are becoming so numerous in these parts.  Caught one of the suckers on my weather cam at 11pm.  Evidently he went over to one of the apple saplings and destroyed it.  Obviously no fruit, not even open blossoms yet.  Why would he do this?  

[PhineasC]

Yeah, looks like a quick green-up now based on my cam.

 

[tamarack]

Not a bear expert, but bears coming out of hibernation will sometimes tear into trees to get at the high-nutrient cambium layer.  However, they've probably been out of their dens for a month or more - seems odd they would still be breaking trees now for that reason.  Unless there was some critter in the tree that the bear was trying to catch, I don't know why the it did that.

About the halfway point of leaf-out.  Maple leaves are nearly full size, oaks approaching half and ash/basswood buds are open and shoots elongating.  On another subject, sun is back out after about 2 minutes of RA+.  More little pop-ups upstream.

[J.Spin]

On 5/7/2021 at 6:06 PM, powderfreak said:

Nice afternoon overall to duck out of work early and go wander around with the dog.

Definitely a chill but I love hiking in these temps. Can feel the chill when you get near the glaciers too.  This time of year we use work roads as the state doesn’t like the hiking trails used until they dry out later in the month.  Wandering up the Spruce Road ran into like 15 feet of snow going across the road .

 

On 5/12/2021 at 7:10 PM, powderfreak said:

We need more snow in our lives for sure.

I saw your Spruce post and headed up on Sunday for a hike and some skiing when I had time to get out for exercise.  I probably wouldn’t have even had Spruce Peak in the mix of top spots to head for turns if I hadn’t seen how much snow was still there, but it was obvious from your report that there was plenty.  It’s certainly not continuous top-to-bottom of course, but there’s several hundred verts worth of nice turns with deep base as you showed.  The snowpack there is starting to get a bit sun cupped, but it’s nothing that really hurts the experience yet at this point, unless perhaps you were to stray the extreme edges where the snow has taken a bigger hit and there’s been no skier traffic.

Even if natural snowpack on Mansfield is still below average for this time of year, I have to think the coverage there on south-facing Spruce had got be at least typical for this far into May.  From the view across the resort, I could see that the usual spots like Nosedive and some of those areas around the Mountain Triple still have some decent coverage, so it would be fun to mix it up with something over there next.  That Main Street snow has some very deep areas, but it’s just getting a bit too broken up into segments that one eventually has to make the call to go with something with a bit more continuity for efficiency and longer flow of turns on the descent.

It is always fun this time of year getting to see which parts of the resort are holding the snow best for those late season turns.  It’s different each season depending on the combination of where Mother Nature deposited snow and where the guns were blowing when temperatures were optimal as you noted earlier.

A few shots from my Spruce outing:

[powderfreak]

46 minutes ago, wxeyeNH said:

72/43   My perfect temp and humidity.   Big leafout day in my hood.  Leaves are about 50% of total size.  When that happens I call it mid spring vs early spring.

Any "bear" experts out there.  Frickin bears are becoming so numerous in these parts.  Caught one of the suckers on my weather cam at 11pm.  Evidently he went over to one of the apple saplings and destroyed it.  Obviously no fruit, not even open blossoms yet.  Why would he do this?  

 

The only time I've seen that is if they thought or smelled some type of flower or bud in the tree.

The bears broke every single tree about that size that was in the Spruce Peak base area (they lined the driveway) trying to get to flowers or something tasty just off the ground.  There was even video of him doing it... he'd try to climb on it (obviously wouldn't support him) until it would snap, sending him to the ground so he could get a better sniff at the crown.  It was pretty hilarious, the bear didn't give a sh*t... thing would land on it's back, side, head, whatever.  He'd barely get off the ground, the saplings would break in half and he would drop like a sack of bricks onto the ground, roll himself upright, and then start sniffing the downed flowers.

The other question is, that wouldn't be a bird feeder next to it right?  Just a bird house? 

[dendrite]

8 minutes ago, powderfreak said:

The only time I've seen that is if they thought or smelled some type of flower or bud in the tree.

The bears broke every single tree about that size that was in the Spruce Peak base area (they lined the driveway) trying to get to flowers or something tasty just off the ground.  There was even video of him doing it... he'd try to climb on it (obviously wouldn't support him) until it would snap, sending him to the ground so he could get a better sniff at the crown.  It was pretty hilarious, the bear didn't give a sh*t... thing would land on it's back, side, head, whatever.  He'd barely get off the ground, the saplings would break in half and he would drop like a sack of bricks onto the ground, roll himself upright, and then start sniffing the downed flowers.

The other question is, that wouldn't be a bird feeder next to it right?  Just a bird house? 

Yeah I thought that at first…climbing the tree to get the bird feeder. But yeah, looks like a house only. Unless it could smell some eggs? 
 

Maybe it just hated the variety from last year and wants Gene to plant something else. 

[powderfreak]

19 minutes ago, J.Spin said:

 

I saw your Spruce post and headed up on Sunday for a hike and some skiing when I had time to get out for exercise.  I probably wouldn’t have even had Spruce Peak in the mix of top spots to head for turns if I hadn’t seen how much snow was still there, but it was obvious from your report that there was plenty.  It’s certainly not continuous top-to-bottom of course, but there’s several hundred verts worth of nice turns with deep base as you showed. 

Nice J.  I've stopped skiing for the season, mostly because I love wandering with the dog and she's a pain in the ass to ski with.  Just barks and tries to get in front of me.  So I'm just wandering around on foot with her.

We were up there on Main Street last night. 

[wxeyeNH]

3 hours ago, powderfreak said:

The only time I've seen that is if they thought or smelled some type of flower or bud in the tree.

The bears broke every single tree about that size that was in the Spruce Peak base area (they lined the driveway) trying to get to flowers or something tasty just off the ground.  There was even video of him doing it... he'd try to climb on it (obviously wouldn't support him) until it would snap, sending him to the ground so he could get a better sniff at the crown.  It was pretty hilarious, the bear didn't give a sh*t... thing would land on it's back, side, head, whatever.  He'd barely get off the ground, the saplings would break in half and he would drop like a sack of bricks onto the ground, roll himself upright, and then start sniffing the downed flowers.

The other question is, that wouldn't be a bird feeder next to it right?  Just a bird house? 

Scott, Brian, thanks for the responses.  That is just a bird house next to the feeder.  Tree swallows or blue birds usually nest in it but it has not been in use so far this spring.  The apple blossoms just came out today on my apple trees so maybe he smelled something.  It did look like he tried to climb the tree.  The tree was pretty much split in half but I carefully cut away the broken part and used that tree pruning black stuff to seal the exposed trunk.  It doesn't look as nice now but I think the tree will make it.

[dendrite]

Looks like a good spot for a germinated american chestnut seed.

[backedgeapproaching]

72F/35F with a few Cu.  Yep, this will do.

[tamarack]

2 hours ago, backedgeapproaching said:

72F/35F with a few Cu.  Yep, this will do.

About the same here, though the blackflies are at peak and mosquitos also out in force.  Wore a chamois shirt while jacking up the toolshed and getting the cedar logs beneath it.  Kept the skeeters from slipping their straw thru a t-shirt.  Way too much clothing, lots of sweat, but I despise bug dope (though I always carry it when in the woods at work - can tolerate a lot more bugs if the antidote is in my pocket..)

[backedgeapproaching]

1 hour ago, tamarack said:

About the same here, though the blackflies are at peak and mosquitos also out in force.  Wore a chamois shirt while jacking up the toolshed and getting the cedar logs beneath it.  Kept the skeeters from slipping their straw thru a t-shirt.  Way too much clothing, lots of sweat, but I despise bug dope (though I always carry it when in the woods at work - can tolerate a lot more bugs if the antidote is in my pocket..)

Were on the back 9 of black fly season here. I noticed them pretty early, maybe a month ago or so.  Was out most of the day in backyard with minimal black fly interference. I did however notice my first few baby sized deer fly, only a matter of time before they grow and become more vicious.

[powderfreak]

3 hours ago, backedgeapproaching said:

Were on the back 9 of black fly season here. I noticed them pretty early, maybe a month ago or so.  Was out most of the day in backyard with minimal black fly interference. I did however notice my first few baby sized deer fly, only a matter of time before they grow and become more vicious.

Just the other day I started noticing black flies in the 1,300-2,500ft band, in the calmer hardwood forests... the slow side trails on Mansfield.  It's a spring light green in the valley bottom, with flowering color peaking it seems.  Green is starting to spread up the mountains, into the mid-slopes.  Bugs are only going to be building in this transition.  Spiders increasing in numbers too, in the eaves.

[mreaves]

20 minutes ago, powderfreak said:

Just the other day I started noticing black flies in the 1,300-2,500ft band, in the calmer hardwood forests... the slow side trails on Mansfield.  It's a spring light green in the valley bottom, with flowering color peaking it seems.  Green is starting to spread up the mountains, into the mid-slopes.  Bugs are only going to be building in this transition.  Spiders increasing in numbers too, in the eaves.

Yeah, we were getting a little swarmed working in the yard today.  It’s been worse but definitely an uptick from the beginning of the week. 

[Whineminster]

Why do people call black flys may flys?  Makes me mad. 

[dendrite]

The black flies are horrible right now. I step outside and get annihilated. If I want to do anything out there I need the full bug-free clothing. 

[tamarack]

7 hours ago, Whineminster said:

Why do people call black flys may flys?  Makes me mad. 

I've never heard anyone say that (yet), but maybe it's because the blackflies are generally at their worst.  (In the north part of NNE, they would then be "Juneflies.)

[wxeyeNH]

8 hours ago, dendrite said:

The black flies are horrible right now. I step outside and get annihilated. If I want to do anything out there I need the full bug-free clothing. 

I have the full bug outfit and just cut the lawn.  Just swarms of them.  I'm guessing they are peaking in Central NH.

Radar looks good for lots of showers but it's just a tease.  Mostly virga.  Top soil is drying out quickly,  wouldn't mind some rain for the lawn.  Some people (like me) always have to be whining about something.  Just can't be satisfied with a partly sunny 70F spring day.

[powderfreak]

Been hearing thunder for an hour or two while hiking on Mansfield... just a wall of dark clouds and weather on the other side of the Worcester Range.  The cells just keep bubbling up but seem pretty stationary staying on a firm line east of RT 100 corridor.

[J.Spin]

12 minutes ago, powderfreak said:

Been hearing thunder for an hour or two while hiking on Mansfield... just a wall of dark clouds and weather on the other side of the Worcester Range.  The cells just keep bubbling up but seem pretty stationary staying on a firm line east of RT 100 corridor.

We had a few sprinkles here at the house about an hour ago, but the main moisture definitely seems to be off to east as your radar image shows.

[tamarack]

As we left church in Farmington the whole western sky was inky dark.  Over the next 4 hours the skies stayed fairly dark and I heard a couple of distant rumbles, or at least thought I did.  Not a drop and the echoes are all east of here or hundreds of miles west.

[powderfreak]

We had pretty consistent thunder around this afternoon.  A couple downpours that were short lived.  Looks like 0.22” in the Stratus.

[Froude]

Watched a few slow moving showers up against the Greens this afternoon.  Late day sun made for one of the brightest and longest lasting rainbows i've seen. Popped the drone up for the tail end of it.

 

[powderfreak]

Damn dude.  A double visible. The size of the scene is awesome.

[Patriot21]

Had a pretty steady light to about moderate rain for a couple hours today.  Some thunder and lightning, I'd say just under 1/4" precipitation 

[tamarack]

Only time we've seen a near-full semicircle was at sunset, the bow over Casco Bay as we drove thru PWM on I-295.  
Of the 3 consistent cocorahs observers in Franklin Co., 2 had about 0.1" yesterday and we saw nary a drop.  Broke a string of 5 consecutive days with some RA, total of 0.18".  We survived the flooding.