Water Turtles Of NH

New Hampshire has a chilly climate in general. Because of this, our state contains mostly water turtles (the one exception being the rare Box Turtle of which at last count, there were only a whopping TEN in the state!). Above is the most common - the Eastern Painted Turtle. Painted turtles are very intelligent, and in captivity are the grand moochers - meaning they beg for any food you can give them as if they've never been fed before. Anyone who walks in the door of my house is confronted with two turtles in an aquarium begging for food with hyper paddling and snapping mouths. :)


My favorite aspect of painted turtles is the coloration of the underneath of their carapace and their plastron. Red and black tribal stripes with vibrant yellow or cream.





To the left is an old 1.5 foot long snapping turtle. Growing up, I used to refer to these as dinosaur turtles. These turtles can live well over a hundred years. This particular girl is at the very least 30 years old. Snapping turtles get their name from their formidable turtle beak which is attached to a surprisingly long neck. The turtle can whip its neck out to half its shell length and bite hard! When these turtles bite, they don't let go.



In my hands is a young snapping turtle. Tiny dinosaurs with spiky shells and tails! At this age, their shells are so incredibly soft, that I'm always careful in holding them. Because their biting power is very weak, their musking power overtakes their defenses - its like holding a cute bundle of rotten eggs because of the stench.





But the baby snappers are the tiniest I've found. Speaking of stinky turtles, the little guy to the left is a Musk Turtle aka "stinkpot turtle". This one was by far the tiniest turtle I've ever found. My sister and I came across him while catching fish for my painted turtles out at Hartshorn Pond in Milford. He easily fit on the Nickel and I took many amusing photos thanks to his size.




The next photo is more for the turtle than the quality of the composition. :) This is a rarer for me to find; the Blandings Turtle. These guys have high domed, smooth shells. They spend their lives travelling from forest pool to forest pool, from pond to pond, from hill to hill. They are nature's wandering turtles.

The only turtle I'm missing for this blog today is the Wood Turtle. I do have photographs of this state threatened species that I took last year - but the poor little turtle I found was dead. I didn't think you would appreciate that image. You're welcome. As soon as I find a live one, you can bet I'll be posting oodles of images of this rare species in its own blog page! :D

And just because I wanted to add it...

Isn't nature wonderful? :D

A motley mix of spring things

My Potted Pumpkin. I have a tiny pumpkin now in place of this flower.

I have a mish-mosh of photos today. This is mainly because I'm going to be overhauling my computer and want to get these up before I'm down for a few days.

First up! Those so-ugly-they're-cute mystery baby birds. I took the picture to the left on Saturday. There are really 5 birds there, but you'd never know it! The 5th bird has one bulgy, closed eye at the bottom of the photo.








To the right, you'll see the same birds as of yesterday. I really thought their eyes would be open by now. Instead, I found a show of prickly pinfeathers. All 5 managed to face the same direction, toward the rock wall.



On a completely random topic:

I felt inspired to post two photos here of a couple of my favorite herbs. To the left is Catmint aka Catnip. This is a healthy shrub from the wonderful Maple Hill Gardens in Hollis. Catmint makes a very delicate tincture and is great for mild headaches and relaxation.

To the left is my very own, home grown peppermint plant! Peppermint is one of my all-time faves. Any mint herb is really. It's calming for your stomach, relaxing and great for clearing your head. I need to drink it pretty often.

Mix these two wonderful herbs and you get a refreshing mint tea that is even better cold. And what inspired me to post these pics?

Thanks Charly! :D

A little blog on little birds

Out in the depths of Beaver Brook there is a trail that runs through the craggiest, hilliest portion of an otherwise tame forest. Here, boulders the size of small cottages are strewn on hill tops thanks to the receding glaciers eons ago. As I was making my sweltering way along these boulders (It was around 90 so a bit too hot for me) I noticed a mud ball against the crevice of such a boulder.


It doesn't look it, but it is about 6 feet up from the ground. So last week, I took my camera, reached up and took a blind snap.

And then again yesterday....

Aren't they so ugly that they're cute? I have no idea the kind of bird. Last year I followed the growth of a different nest and was lucky enough to spot the parents. This nest is atop a hill and the parents have ample warning that a huffing, puffing hiker is coming. :)

Fight of the Bumblebees

I have a tale to tell today that happened to me last week. It is of my quest to get decent shots of apple trees in full blossom. I face quite a few problems every year I try to get lovely pictures. The first being that the trees are only in bloom for about a week and a half; a very small window to work with. The second snag is they always bloom in the midst of the rainy season so sun shots are elusive! So, on a partially cloudy day and with all these odds in mind, I made my way out to Woodmont Orchard in Hollis, NH.

Woodmont Orchard grows apples for the Veryfine Juice company and have donated their working orchard roads as hiking trails to the town. On the particular day I ventured out, a pack of unleashed dogs ran at me, mud flying, drool abundant and full of the desire to jump up on me a few times. Two middle aged women with more dogs on leashes and pocket sized dogs in their arms followed the dogs and casually said hi as they walked by, ignoring the mud and slobber their dogs endowed upon me. As I hurried away, I was so focussed on the dogs, I missed the "do not pass this point" sign...

And that's how I met the bees. I passed the first set of boxes without a problem, they were too intent on the trees. The second set of boxes was larger and I passed in a wide arc. Apparently, this wasn't enough because soon I had bees in my hair and strafing my arms and legs! I ran, hitting my head and trying to shake the bees from my hair. I flung my sunglasses from their perch on my head and it didn't help. They were tangled and their buzzing wings were getting higher pitched as I angered them more. In a panic, I recalled some useless trivia that if a black bear chases you, you fling your backpack and hope he chases that before you - so in my distressed mental state, I flung my camera. Yea... it made sense at the time. You try being there and do better!

In the end, I was lucky to not my stung on my head, but those bees did get my hands as I whapped at them. Only 3 stings - I consider myself rather lucky considering. But they did win in the end because although I easily found my camera, my sunglasses were lost forever in battle. I went back out there a couple of times, gingerly searching the grounds, and they are gone.

RIP:
3 Honey Bees who died valiantly whilst trying to defend their hive - even if they were insane
&
UVA/UVB Polarized Sunglasses 2009-2009

A Few Spring Flowers

The lovely tree above was taken last week at the gardens of Maple Farm; Beaver Brook, Hollis. This is one of my favorite haunts. I'm not sure what this tree is really. It's aroma was absolutely heavenly however and reached to the back of the gardens. The scent reminded me of gardenias.


To the left you'll see the current winner of the garden popularity contest; the 'Bleeding Heart'. I saw these once in a greenhouse a few years back, but not in any garden. Now, I see them everywhere. Let's face it, anything mildly dramatic in name or nature always makes it big. This shot was taken from the Maple Hill Gardens.

Of course, I can't mention spring flowers without another glimpse of my favorite, the trillium. I saw my first trillium about 4 years ago - all white and solitary in the forest. Something enchanted me about it and I've been obsessed with them ever since. From my research on trying to cultivate a wild one, I've learned they are the official provincial flower of Quebec and are illegal to pick there. Considering my ancestry is from Quebec (both native and french immigrant) I found it suspiciously coincidental that it should speak to me so loudly. :) This is a painted trillium from the Heald Tract - where I've had most of my wildlife adventures.

And lastly, the New Hampshire state flower; the Purple Lilac. Trilliums may be my favorite, but these still top the list of the most enticing scent! You can't really drive down any street in Milford without seeing a big bush of these purple air fresheners in someone's yard.

The American Toad

We get a great deal of these amazing toads in NH throughout the warm months. The american toad can range from the size of a thumbtack head to an obese sumo-like toad that surpasses your palm in girth. For the most part they are calm and this makes them great for photographs.

This little troll was trying her best to hide under a stick half her size on the Heald Tract Conservation Land in Wilton. She had just finished laying her eggs in an unseen vernal pool and was returning to her terrestrial life in the forest.




And I can't end my tiny tribute to the American Toad without sharing this image I took of my best friend Janna from the same trail taken last year.




No, it didn't work.