2014 Spring CLA Newsletter - Chocorua Lake Conservancy

 The Chocorua Lake Association Spring Newsletter 2014 June 2014
In This Issue
1. President's letter
2. CLA and CLCF merger
update
3. Myself Amongst Others: A
Feeder's Tale
4. Goings on around the
basin
5. Chocorua quilt and haiku
6. Wildlife notes
7. Lake water quality
8. CLA calendar of events
9. In memory of
10. Get connected via e-mail
11. CLA dues membership
12. Pay dues on-line!
Visit us on-line at
chocorualakeassociation.com
President’s Letter
Dear CLA Members and friends,
This has been one heck of a winter and although officially spring has arrived, there
are scant signs of it as the temperature is holding around 32 degrees and snow lingers
on the ground! Desperately looking for signs of the new season, I did find
snowdrops struggling to maintain their presence and birds singing despite the
temperature, but that was about it. I look forward to the summer months in Chocorua
as never before!
It has been a busy winter for us on the Merger Task Force. We have met now 6 or 7
times to further plan for our merger of the CLA and the CLCF. There are many
complications and issues that we are ironing out such as the CLCF is a Trust and the
CLA is a non-profit 501(3)(c) Corporation complicating a blending of the two. To
make sure we are following all legal and accounting due process, we have hired a
law firm and an accountant, but most of the work has been done by us with additional
help from Stephen Johnson to save legal fees in writing up the Articles and By-laws
for the new organization. Towards this goal, we have secured a grant from The
Tamworth Foundation for which we are most grateful.
We plan to hold various events during summer months to field comments, questions,
and any recommendations that members might have. Please refer to the Upcoming
CLA spring and summer events on the back page of this newsletter for those dates
and please plan to attend at least one of them so that we can make sure all of our
members are well informed before the final vote at our Annual Meeting on August
16th this year.
The new organization, if passed, will legally take place in 2015. So please pay your
dues this year as you have done over the past years. Remember that your dues help us
to pay for the Patrol, the Grove and Island port-a-potties, community picnics, outside
speakers, postage and other fees when necessary to keep our community strong.
Please see the Membership dues sheet in this newsletter, so you can pay by check or
on-line. All paying members have voting rights. If you do not pay your dues this
year you will not be able to vote. Additionally, any changes of address or email
postings please include.
(c) J. Watkins
Chocorua Lake Association
We on the CLA Board as always, welcome all comments, questions and suggestions.
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Feel free to contact any of us. And we look forward to seeing you this summer.
Cordially,
Harriet P. Hofheinz, President, CLA
CLA Board Members: Penny Wheeler-Abbott, Sec’t; Bob Seston, Treas.; Diana
Bailey; Nomie Cannon Fredericks; Nancy Fryberger, Vice Pres.; Steve Lanou;
Peter Lewis; Tish McIlwraith; Jean McKinney; John Roberts; Townsend Zwart;
David Farley (Advisory) and Larry Nickerson (Advisory).
It is with great sadness that I have to report that CLA Board Member, Charlie
Worcester passed away this early April, 2014.
News Flash!
CLA AND CLCF MERGER PREPARATIONS UPDATE:
Since last August’s CLA Annual meeting when the CLA membership voted to
move ahead with finalizing the merger between our two Organizations, the Merger
Task Force has been hard at work. There are many pieces to put together to form a
new entity combining the function of both the CLA and CLCF. We think we are
almost there, the first draft of the Articles of Agreement and the By-laws for the
new entity will be in place by the end of April. The Task Force will first send
them to our respective Boards and if approved, we will then send this draft format
to the lawyers to finalize.
Over the winter, the Task Force has sorted itself into sub groups to address the
various issues needed for the formulation of a new entity. These subgroups have
dealt with the governance structure of the new organization, membership rights and
responsibilities, our finances and the legal entity of the new Organization, as well
as populating our new Land Trust Tracker with critical information about our land
holdings. This has involved looking at protocols and procedures, for membership,
for fundraising, for archival work, for the database; all to map out a course of
action to prepare for and implement a merger and to build a new organization well
equipped to meet our ongoing responsibilities for stewardship and community
building in the future.
(c) J. Watkins
Chocorua Lake Association
We have all learned a lot, worked hard, and we believe have come up with a viable
set of Articles of Agreement and By-laws for this new merged Organization
conforming to our past procedures and well representing both our covenanted land
holdings and our membership and social responsibilities. We plan to get the Bylaws to you, the CLA members, to read and digest before the CLA Annual meeting
on August 16th, 2014.
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Additionally, we plan to have a number of gatherings this summer where we will
be available for questions, comments, concerns, and additional ideas. Here are
those dates:
•
July 5th at the CLA picnic to be held at the Weld house,
•
August 9th at CLA picnic, Wheeler’s field
•
August (TBD), a wine and cheese gathering if desired and needed.
Please plan to join us for at least one of these dates as we want to make sure
everyone understands and is comfortable with the plan of the CLA - CLCF merger.
During the course of this work, we have in addition received a generous grant from
the Tamworth Foundation that has helped finance this endeavor as well as the
prudent assistance of Stephen Johnson from Sage Advisors Inc. who has been our
wise guide and consultant throughout the past three years.
Legal firm: Ransmeier and Spellman PC, Concord, NH
Accounting firm: Eric Rowley, Rowley Associates, Concord, NH
Myself Among Others: A Feeder’s Tale
by Bob Bradford
Allow me to introduce myself. I’ve been a resident Chocorua birdfeeder for more
years than I’d care to count, and one of an interesting assortment of feeder
experiments and designs that have been brought to these enchanted mountain
valley woods by my owners, Harriet Hofheinz and Bob Bradford.
(c) J. Watkins
Of them all, I guess you could call me the ultimate survivor, because I’m still
around to tell a few tales. The others never made it.
To begin with, you should have seen some of these other feeder cousins they tried
up here. Some had exotic shapes and configurations like the enclosed plexiglass
bubble contraption looking something like a Steven Spielberg “Close Encounters”
flying saucer or a grade schooler’s display model of the planet Saturn. However, it
had a very short-lived tenure in Chocorua. Early one morning, a bear swatted it
down from its mooring as if it was a tether-ball, and crushed it into splinters later
found scattered on the ground. Same thing happened with a long metal-topped
plastic tube with perch bars sticking out of it. Bears got that one, too. It was
crunched beyond recognition within a couple of weeks.
Another one that particularly irritated me was this high-falootin’ snob feeder that
had the appearance of an elegant, fancy-looking redwood chalet, with clear plexipanes beveled into the sides, suet cages at either end, and all kinds of expensive
extra frills. I know Harriet and Bob had spent considerable on it. It had been
crafted by a cabinet-maker and was beautiful to gaze upon, all right, but I didn’t
give it much of a chance up here in rock-ribbed New Hampshire where toughness
is the virtue that really counts.
I’d always felt that this one, in particular, had “an attitude,” was somehow too big
for its britches, too rich for its own blood, too high-heeled for deep woods duty in
an unforgiving wildlife environment. It was just too tame. Like a lot of the others,
it was more a city-slicker feeder from one of those damn bird-lover boutiques that
charge an arm and a leg and have too many pretensions. More blow than show, if
you know what I mean. More like a “people feeder,” really, than a genuine,
reliable, down-to-earth feeding station for feathered friends in honest-to-goodness
God’s Country. And, as it turned out, I was right.
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Not long after its Chocorua debut, it had been gruesomely dismantled by bears.
The remnants were found in chewed-up bits and mangled wire pieces strewn all
over the wooded property here. I admit to having felt just a twinge of compassion
about this violent demise of my high-brow colleague, even though I’d been pretty
sure of the outcome well in advance. And, when it comes to these fragile, delicate
little hummingbird nectar holders, you can forget it. Bears demolish them even
when they’re eight feet above the deck. They get munched up like popcorn.
This has nothing to do with me, however. Let’s get back to me. There’s nothing
fancy about me at all. I’m just about as basic and plain-faced as they come. Fact is,
I’m pretty damn homely to look at. I have a 15-inch vertical rod shaft with an eye
ring at the top for hanging. The bottom end of the shaft screws into a round heavy
plexiglass open seed tray at the base, about 9 inches in diameter. Overhead is a
clear, tough plexiglass dome that resembles one of those cheap, dishwasher-safe,
department store salad bowls. The dome slides up and down the shaft pole and can
be affixed at various heights above the tray by an adjustable sliding screw clamp.
And that’s about it. Very, very simple, I’m proud to say. Functional is the
operative word.
As to my background, I’m a southern New Englander, conceived in the town of
Foster, Rhode Island, by an outfit called Droll Yankees, Inc. “Model X-1 Seed
Saver” is the name they gave me, which might sound a bit hi-techy, although
there’s not a damn Hi-Tech feature in my makeup. However, if it’s fortitude and
survival instincts you’re looking for, well, that’s something else. I’ve got a ton of
all that good stuff. You can call me a product of no-nonsense Yankee Ingenuity.
And the bottom line is that I’m still here, and have survived more bear attacks than
you can count, which I’ll go into a bit more in a moment.
I’m also very attractive where it counts. Birds love me. For as long as I’ve been
hanging around up here, birds of all types and sizes have been flocking to my
bottom seed tray, frequently competing for feeding positions on the rim. By now,
I’ve become intimately acquainted with so many of these deep-woods dwellers.
Some are year-rounders, others are migrants. But they all show up here in the
warmer months, when I’m outside and loaded with Bob’s blend of black and greystriped sunflower seed, plus a little white safflower mixed in.
(c) J. Watkins
Chocorua Lake Association
There are, of course, always the ubiquitous, irrepressibly cheerful and chatty
families of Chickadees and their less frequent Titmouse cousins who bop in and
out in waves, taking one seed at a time, then flying off to some distant tree perch to
crack it open. The White-breasted and Red-breasted nuthatches here do the same
thing. What a waste of gas and energy I’ve always felt. You’d think they’d burn up
more calories doing this carry-out, fly-away feeding thing than any carb-loading
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value derived from eating a single tiny seed. Small and charming russet-capped
Chipping sparrows are also frequent feeders. They don’t hassle anyone and like to
linger on the tray as long as they’re allowed.
But the major hangers-on are the finch family “squatters,” as I call ‘em---real seedcracking stout-beaked fellas---who just come in and squat on my tray, sometimes
getting right into the center and spreading their wings like hoarders, gorging away
like trenchermen. It seems as if they could stay all day, if other birds would let
‘em.
These include the brilliant canary-yellow and black-patched Goldfinches and their
raspberry-sherbet-plumaged relative, the Purple Finch, who is New Hampshire’s
official state bird. Both have lively, lengthy “feel good” song cycles and are
gregarious by nature. As many as five or six of these diners will be present
simultaneously, sometimes maintaining a peaceful co-existence, but more often
squabbling and knocking heads for prime time on the tray.
Once in awhile, a few raucous, loud-mouthed Bluejays will also appear, effectively
dominating the feeding scene for as long as they’re present. But their visits are
always brief, because this species has an especially short-lived, high-strung
attention span in any one location. They’re always behaving like busy, busy, very
busy bees. What an exhausting hyper-way to live, I’ve always felt.
And, in complete contrast, I occasionally get the soothing, cooing company of a
gentle Mourning Dove or two, one of the truly endearing, soft-featured bobblehead characters in the entire bird world.
(c) J. Watkins
But, if you really want to talk about spectacular seed-crackers, you should be here
when the grosbeaks come aboard. I now have a pair of regular Rose-breasted
Grosbeak visitors, particularly the Mister. His song is a little harsh like a husky
robin, but his striking, intricately-dispersed, black-and-white-striped wing design,
his jet black head, and the dazzling rose-vermillion swatch across the top of a
snow-white breast make him the epitome of sartorial splendor, like the ultra-formal
dressage of a Nobel Prize recipient.
Even more decorative, perhaps, are the Evening Grosbeaks. Sometimes as many as
five-at-a-time will drop in, including two married couples, and perhaps an
unattached batchelor brother-in-law. They will materialize suddenly and silently
like spirits from the woods, and nothing quite compares to this dramatic up-staging
entrance of the males for sheer visual impact.
Their color combinations of black-masked yellow heads and bright yellow-gold set
off against sharply-etched white-on-black striations on wings and body, conjure up
images of aboriginal art works. I have no doubt that it’s rare birds like this that
must have inspired so many of the stunning colors and designs you see in
ceremonial tribal costumes and battle dress of early Native Americans.
From where I hang, on a lower branch of an aging Beech, close to a railing of Bob
and Harriet’s front deck, I have a commanding view of other birds and animals of
the forest. In the immediate vicinity are the varieties of summer resident nesting
wood warblers like the Black-throated Blues and Greens, the Pine, the
Blackburnian, the Redstart, the Chestnut-sided, the Yellow-rumps, and Robert
Frost’s most preferred and celebrated Ovenbird. Woodpecker’s are wellrepresented here, too, including Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and Flickers, the Hairy
and the Downy, and that imposing, noisy forest giant, the Pileated, who can knock
off great chunks from a tree with the gusto of a lumberjack, Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
Always, in the vicinity, are ever-nervous, tail-bobbing Phoebes, some who nest
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here on Bob and Harriet’s nearby rafter beams; also, their poignant-calling, sweetvoiced, look-alike relative, the Wood Peewee. Plenty of Ruff Grouse are around
and about, as well, and, in the last few years, I’ve been noticing more and more
gobbling gaggles of Wild Turkey families running about the property.
Broad-winged hawks are also not uncommon. I’ll often hear their shrill, strident
cries, and, on occasions, actually see these deep-woods predators steaming through
this dense tree cover with incredible aeronautical agility. Another arresting bird
presence is the Scarlet Tanager population, who can astound you with intense
iridescent color when a shaft of sunlight hits one resting on an open bough.
Still other members of this remarkable avian community include various species of
flycatchers and vireos, particularly the Red-eyed vireo, who can be heard the
whole-day-long uttering that incessant “cherrup-cherroo” refrain. No surprise that
ornithologists have given it the nickname “Preacher Bird,” since apparently it
sounds off more frequently than any other bird in the world.
And, if, like me, you can be genuinely thrilled by a bird song, nothing quite
compares to the ethereal choruses of the thrush family, including the Hermit, the
Wood thrush, and the Veery, which are all within earshot here. These are the
quintessential minstrels of the Chocorua forest, and produce varied, flowing, lilting
serenades and haunting harmonies that linger in memory beyond anything any
other bird is capable of. The performances are utterly hypnotic.
Liquid magnificence is what I think of when a thrush sings. It’s something that
reaches the inner soul and raises goose-bumps of admiration. And I know that
Harriet, for one, agrees with me.
For 12 years now, she has been devoting weeks of time and countless hours of
energy in the months of May and June, enlisting a team of bird-savvy, trailwalking volunteers like her husband, Bob, her brother Kim, other Chocoruans such
as Jim Bowditch, Johnny Watkins, Dave Farley, Betty Steele, Mary Rubel, Steve
Weld and many accomplished out-of-towner Audubon experts like Ginie Page
from Wellfleet, Mass., to study these supreme songsters of the woodlands,
documenting where they nest, how their habitats are faring, and counting how
many of these precious virtuosi are still surviving in this rare natural Chocorua
Valley oasis. It’s no small commitment.
These thrush survey teams are out hiking miles of carefully-marked listening trail
routes for a couple of hours, starting at dawn, when thrushes particularly like to
sing. Then, they’re back at it again in the twilight thrush-song hours, fighting
swarms of black flies, draped in clothes and screened masks that make em look
like biological warfare inspectors. It’s always a tiring, sweaty workout, and, in the
beginning, I truly thought these folks were all crazy.
(c) J. Watkins
Chocorua Lake Association
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But the effort is all part of a nation-wide grassroots bird census movement, tied in
with Audubon Society guidelines, to which more and more nature lovers are
committing themselves in various ways all across America.
Part of the objective is to intensify environmental protection consciousness and an
appreciation of wildlife. Harriet’s been on the cutting-edge of this initiative from
the very beginning. For this, I applaud her. And the best way I can thank her is
being able to attract all this birdlife, up close and personal, as the one and only
feeder right outside her front door.
Getting back to one last bird on my list, I have to make special mention of my
personal favorite of them all. It’s the Bard owls who live here all year around. In
flight, they’re the definition of grace and stealth, as they glide from point to point
without a sound. Sometimes, you’ll see them flying in the daytime, drifting by,
their monkey-like faces lifted straight up, looking almost comical.
Nothing beats them for antics and personality. Sometimes you’ll hear them, during
daylight hours, hidden in a nearby tree, making contented chuckling sounds. Then,
at night, they really come alive with loud “Who Cooks For You?” signature calls.
They sometimes gather in talkative groups during the midnight hours, which can
sound more like a Congressional filibuster.
(c) J. Watkins
Who was it who first described these nighttime confabulations as a “Parliament of
Owls?” It’s a perfect description. And they especially seem to love this location,
here, for teaching their youngsters about some basic facts of life and learning what
human behavior is all about. Harriet and Bob appear to be prime subjects. After
dark, the owls are never too far away, observing everything that’s going on inside
this glass-walled Bradford-Hofheinz tree house.
One perfect example was just this past June. Night had fallen. Bob was outside
heating up the gas grill for one of his steak-tip country dinners. He tends to be a
very late diner. For him, preparing dinner is always a work in progress, sometimes
even a gourmet happening. There are occasions when it can become a whole
evening’s worth of entertainment and tasting indulgences.
Suddenly, his dinner mood was interrupted by strange, almost menacing cat-like
meeoowing and hissing sounds, coming from different locations close at hand. It
turned out to be an exchange between a Mother owl and three babies, but, for
several moments, Bob was completely mystified and slightly concerned. These
were sounds that neither he nor I, for that matter, had ever heard before.
There have been several intriguing reports of recent mountain lion sightings in the
general Tamworth region for the first time ever. And I saw him go inside to get a
spotlight. When he reappeared, here were three baby owl-lettes, perched on the
edge of the deck roof overhang, not far from the grill location, and peering down
only a few feet above Bob’s head. And in a tree, no more than 20 feet away, the
spotlight beam also revealed a totally calm and vigilant Mama owl, sitting on a low
branch, chaperoning the entire scenario. It was she who had been doing all the
hissing.
Animals are no less inquisitive. There was the time, on another evening, when Bob
was again out on the grilling deck preparing some marinated Greek-style tuna
steaks, and a mother raccoon came up the trunk of the very tree I hang in, not far
away. Climbing right behind her were four young cubs, one directly behind the
other.
When they’d reached a sufficient height to get a clear view of Bob and, more
importantly, perhaps, what was cooking on the grill, the climbing stopped. The
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coon family just stayed there hanging on, watching and savoring the tuna fish cook
smoke, for a good 15 minutes, before returning to the forest. One thing’s for sure.
They certainly weren’t going after me. It’s a good bet they were casing the layout,
scouting for some future gourmet freebies.
The fact is, among all the coons, fisher cats, porcupines, pine martins, moose, deer,
foxes, coyotes, chipmunks, red squirrels, that are all around me here, I really have
only one natural enemy. It’s the bears I was telling you about earlier.
They’ve done just about everything to me you can think of. My seed tray has tooth
punctures all through it, although this actually has improved my performance,
since it provides better drainage for seeds when it rains. But I’ve been gouged,
scratched, clawed, punched, chewed on, chipped, and taken down more often than
an over-the-hill heavyweight boxer.
I’ve been found battered and bruised far down the slope below the deck or all the
way up on top of the steep knoll in the woods beside the house … or even back
behind the house near the stacks of firewood.
Like I said, I’m a tough old bugger, and have been surviving this kind of abuse for
at least five years. Adversity builds character, don’t you know. So bring on the
bears. I can take their best shot. Sooner or later, I always know they’ll be back, and
I’ll be ready.
Actually, the worst times for me, and the hardest to prepare for, are when it’s all
over in the autumn. They clean me out and take me in for all those long, lonely
cold winter months. For all this long while, I’m sitting on a bookcase near the front
picture window on top of an antique collection of games and puzzles that have
been untouched and gathering dust for decades. They’ve been here since the days
Harriet was raising small children in this house that she herself had had a hand in
building nearly 40 years ago.
My personal feeling about game-playing is about the same as what I once heard
Julia Child declare on a PBS radio show. On occasions, they turn on an ancient FM
radio set, up here, and, in this instance, were getting ready to listen to Garrison
Keillor’s “Prairie Home Companion,” a favorite Saturday evening diversion. It’s
one of my favorite broadcasts, as well, because it’s one of the few provocative
“thinking person’s” gems in the vast babble of the air-wave wasteland.
Anyway, in the midst of a lot of chit-chat, this young reporter had had the bad
judgment to ask Queen Julia what games she liked to play on her computer. There
was an awkward pause. Then, came this grand old lady’s terse reply in that
imperious nasal echo-chamber voice style that has become Julia’s trademark the
world over.
“My Dear,” she’d informed the nervous rookie interviewer in a reproving tone, “I
don’t have time to play games.”
However, I’ll admit that young families do have a lot of time to kill up here in the
woods on rainy days. Kids get antsy. Maybe it’s the same with older people, too.
And if it’s games you’re looking for, you should just check out what’s piled up in
this bookcase. It’s like a Smithsonian of old chestnuts.
Monopoly, Scrabble, Chinese Checkers, Chess, and Pick-Up-Sticks sets are the
more familiar classics. But, also, are all these other odd-balls like Perquacky
(“Form As Many Single Words As Time Allows”), Blockhead (“A Party Game For
Ages 3-to-93”), Pun Fun (“Humorous! Challenging! … 5-to-40 players”), Mille
Bornes (“A French Card Game”), and UNO (America’s Favorite Party GetChocorua Lake Association
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Together … The Deluxe Version”). Huh? Ever heard of it?
Here’s one called The Boston Game, and a puzzle called The Boston Scene, and
many other puzzles with names like The Cat and the Butterfly, and one titled Au
Moulin Rouge. There’s also a book called The Complete Book of Puzzles, which I
suspect is a whole bunch of crosswords, although I’ve never looked into it. I mean,
why bother.
Don’t mean to offend, but life is already enough of a puzzle is the way I see it.
There are just too many perplexing things going on in the here-and-now to be
caught up in this kind of inactive long-ago dead zone, moribund for so many years.
For me, it’s like being locked into a time capsule compared to what I’m used to
when I’m alive and feeding the birds outside.
But there is a volume in this bookcase that does have a very real significance for
me. It’s by a local Chocorua author named LeGrand Cannon, Jr., and it’s titled
Look To The Mountain. First published in 1942, it’s an historical novel going
back to the earliest 18th-century settlements in this storied New Hampshire valley.
Just about everyone around here has read it, and, indeed, everyone in Chocorua has
an intimate visual acquaintance with this majestic granite peak which is the central
focus of everyone’s desired view. In reality, the mountain has become more like a
coveted tribal icon than a landmark.
I look upon this mountain constantly from my winter isolation. There’s a
permanence about it and an ever-changing presence of atmospheric moods, deeper
than the soul can comprehend. The truth is that my view of the mountain, from this
silent bookcase location, is really what gets me through these long, long winter
months.
I watch the clouds gather and disperse, the fierce blizzard gales descending down
the valley slopes like avalanches, rattling the house windows, and the ghostly
shimmering displays of Northern Lights above the sharp bare peak. I can even see
it when the rime-ice grows thick on this picture glass, and snow has drifted high
above the deck here, and I am watching all alone, endlessly absorbed by this scenic
communion.
There’s an everlasting comfort about this always-fascinating mountainscape, the
constantly-changing shadows, the rare sense of place. Because I know it will
always be there for me … just like the bears.
Goings on around the Basin…
Jen and her dog Keating
In January 2013, Jen Buchanan and Keating her trained seeing eye dog graduated
from Guiding Eyes Training School. At that graduation, Jen was the class speaker
for the ceremony. Here are her words about her experience with Keating.
“I have always been independent and constantly busy. The loss of vision stopped
my life as I knew it. Now I have learned that life is a lot safer and less scary with a
Guiding Eyes dog, named Keating.
I’ve realized that Keating is not just for my safety, but also for my companionship
in what can be an isolating disability. Keating will bring me freedom and a sense
of connection back to the world.
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I had forgotten that walking could be fun and I keep finding things that I can do
again. I now have a full-time friend who gives me confidence to go anywhere and
do anything. The boundaries are unimaginable.
Keating has given me a chance to be a better Mom, grandmother, spouse, friend,
daughter, sister and all the other roles I may take on during my life. I have become
a leader and liaison for an impaired vision group. I feel safe when I travel with
Keating to meetings, family functions, the local mall to train at Apple Technology,
to doctor’s appointments, to walk with my son, Ryan to school or anywhere else I
need to go. I believe my family feels a great sense of relief knowing that Keating
is guiding me safely and that I can feel productive again.” Jen Buchanan
Please visit http://www.Guidingeyes.org for more information.
Cabin Glory: Amusing Tales of Times Spent at the Family Retreat
by Christy Heitger-Ewing - Published January, 2014
Christy Heitger-Ewing who writes a lot for Cabin Life Magazine asked me to run a
blurb about her new book as she thought it might be of interest to our readers. It is
a book of “light hearted, sentimental, family focused cabin essays, all of which are
based on memories” made at her family cabin. The book won the grand prize in
no-fiction category of Greyden Press Publishing’s annual book competition.
The stories “cover everything from renovation advice, gardening dilemmas, free
spirited fishing expeditions, and lakeside marriage proposals. I share tales of what
it is like to sled with a reluctant toddler, battle an army of aggressive ants, and get
lost in the woods. My stories remind us all of why the cabin is a pooch’s paradise,
a human’s haven, and a nostalgic nirvana for all who step foot on the family
property”.
Best In Snow: Sled Dogs Hitting Stride by T.D. Thornton (from
SnowSports, The Boston Globe)
Tamworth, NH – “The first and most striking sensation is the howling—a primal
cacophony reverberating across frozen Lake Chocorua in the morning chill. But
even a novice quickly picks up on the canine vibe: these are not calls of alarm or
intimidation. The 63 teams of Huskies and mixed breeds gathered for the oldest
continuous sled dog race in the Northeast are creatures clearly relishing a
routine…” This is the beginning of a long article about dog sledding in the Boston
Globe, Feb. 14, 2008 (some time ago), but the first race every year (conditions
willing) comes down Chocorua Lake Rd. and ends crossing over Chocorua Lake to
the other side near Sandy beach.
The Fishing Derby – Don’t forget Ryan Buchanan’s Fishing Derby
Date to be announced, but sometime in early August
Learn about the latest 2013 Chocorua Lake water quality study at chocorualakeassociation.com Chocorua Lake Association
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The Narrows Bridge Quilt and Haiku by Diana M. Bailey
A gently curved bridge
Spanning clear, cold, rippling depths
Canoe bobbing close
Winter Wildlife Notes
by John Watkins, MD
7:00 am, 25 March 2014. 3rd day of spring and 99.2 inches of snow have fallen
during the last five months. The early morning light now fills the front room
reflecting off 4-foot snow banks from the solar panels. This is our first full year in
Chocorua and we have participated in the quotidian journey; from the winter
solstice in December, to the “imbloc” in February, halfway to the spring equinox in
March. The 2013-2014 winter has been ruled by a pesky “polar vortex, ” with twin
low-pressure areas, one over Baffin Island and the other over Siberia. They chose a
southern vacation this year and left us an old fashion winter.
In winter, a wildlife journal is best read from signs and tracks in the snow. I’ve
read a chapter each month with the “Bearcamp Trackers” and a page each day from
Mary Holland’s “Naturally Curious” blog. There are daily walks along Fowlers
Mill Road, and ski and snowshoe trips on the old mail road to heron pond or out on
a frozen Chocorua Lake. I’ve learned that certain animals, often in the same
family, move in a similar pattern. Members of the cat family, bobcat and lynx for
example and the deer and moose are walkers. They all walk on their toes and their
hind feet register where their front feet were placed. The red and gray (artic) fox
and coyote are also in this group but they are often trotting and thus diagonally
move opposite legs simultaneously and the hind feet direct register producing a
straight - line gait. Their tracks are regularly found along the shores of Heron
pond and Chocorua Lake and on trails in the Bolles reserve. A subcategory of”
walkers and trotters” are the flat-footed species who walk on the soles of inward –
turning feet e.g. the porcupine near Toby pages’ barn. The black bear does this as
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well but is inactive in winter but they have emerged in the last few weeks to claim
more than a few birdfeeders. The “hoppers” or “bounders” include red and gray
squirrel whose tracks go and end at a tree or the bird feeder. Their front feet are
side by side and where as the non-climbers: hares, rabbits, one front foot is slightly
ahead of the other.
The “lopers” which include all members of the mustalides family, the ermine, the
short tailed weasel and mink are all regulars “lopers” along Walley Brook. An
otter’s characteristic slide track was found in March on the Smiths driveway near
the brook crossing and by the open water all winter at the edge of the lake. The
otters’ scat contains fish scales as they regularly eat their catch out on the ice. A
fisher again spent the winter under the culvert by Harriet’s driveway.
Our deer population remains plentiful with a browsing pattern, which often brings
a surprise when a single track of direct registering animals diverge to leave two
sets of tracks. The moose left for higher ground in December. We have a new
visitor this March, a bobcat stalking the bird feeder.
The bird visitors have included “ irruptive” species from the north: Bohemian wax
wings, pine siskins and redpolls. The Snowy Owls were reported in great numbers
further south this year due to a lemming explosion and the expansion of brood size.
but not in Tamworth.
(c) J. Watkins
The seasonal changes in daylight each season provide a regular cycle to winter
activities. Around the “imbloc”, the days are noticeably longer. This marks a Celtic
festival midway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. Try “ground
hog day”, and so the courting and mating season begins for many species. Our
local barred owls started their mating rituals with an exchange of calls near’ the
Hallowell’s (AKA Rubels) field. The owls are nesting by March in time for the
rodents trails under the snow to emerge and become a good meal…I heard no great
horned owls calling in January this year.
Insects such as the Bruce spanworm moth appeared in December and mates with
its wingless partner. Snow fleas are plentiful in February, and in March a
Mourning Cloak butterfly, which hibernates during the winter, appeared on the
first really warm day in the last week of April.. Black flies can wait till June.
At the Sled dog races in February Penny Wheeler-Abbott and George reported the
return of the juvenile Bald eagle, probable early third year plumage as it had a
white head but still white under the wings. Most mating pairs rebuild or add on
each year to last years nest by mid march. The races first in two or three years
were fast, with the winner of the 10 dog team timing in over 11.6 miles in 31
minutes, about 20 miles per hour. Many new teams have short-haired European
hounds and husky mixes, perhaps a sign of warmer climes or less snow.
Ice fishing was good Thad Barrier reports with the longest season in years. Ice
houses leave lake April 1st. Ice out was the third week in April. I saw Loons at
White lake on the 24th April. They were heard but not seen in Chocorua on same
day. Finally, the peepers sang last night after an evening call by a Hermit thrush.
We’ve had some warm days but nights are in the mid thirties still too cool for the
garden. Most unplowed driveways by now have shed enough snow to welcome the
return of distant families after a long winter. Welcome back, this is a wonderful
place year round.
Alice Waylett reports a long winter with much cold bringing few reports except the
usual birds to her feeder. But then she emailed me again to say the Loons had
arrived the day after ice was pretty much out of big lake. She caught them
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investigating their nest site so we can look forward to another season, if all goes
well. Additionally Dave Farley reported that unfortunately a Fox Sparrow flew
into one of his windows presumably on its way north and met its demise. Too bad!
A fox sparrow is the biggest of the sparrow family, comes through early in the
migration season, usually around mid April. It is a handsome bird (perhaps you
can tell by the photo), and nests pretty far north in Canada, even Newfoundland.
Send your sightings, [email protected].
Upcoming Events – Spring & Summer, ‘14
June 14th, Merger Task Force, 1 – 4:00, Moot’s cabin
July 5th, Rt. 16 Trash Pick-up, 9:00 at Grove, (volunteers needed)
July 5th, CLA picnic (and merger discussion with members), noon, Weld house
July 6th, CLA/CLCF Joint Board Meeting, 9:00, Runnells H,
August 2nd, CLA Board Meeting, 9:00, Hofheinz
August 9th, CLA Picnic (with merger discussion), noon, Wheeler field
August 10th, CLCF Board Meeting, 9:00
August 16th, CLA Annual Meeting, 3:00 – 5:00 with wine and cheese after.
(CLA/CLCF Merger vote by CLA members – please be there. Note date).
August 30th Chocorua/Tamworth and Beyond Tennis Tournament (contact:
Alex Moot, [email protected] )
August 31st, Chocorua Family Softball Game, 1:00 – ‘till it ends, Wheeler field
August 31st, Grove Picnic & Festival of Lights, at dusk, Grove.
Sept. 1st, Tennis Tournament Finals, 10:00, Helm Court
October 11th, CLA Rt. 16 Trash Pickup, 9:00, Grove (volunteers needed)
October 11th, CLA Board Meeting, 11:00, Red Gables (Robbins)
In Memory of: Bob Magruder and Charlie Worcester
Bob Magruder passed away earlier this year. Bob was a long time resident of
Tamworth and friend of Chocorua tennis.
Charlie Worcester passed away of natural causes in early April of this year. It is
with great sadness that we mourn the untimely and unexpected passing of our close
friend and neighbor. Charlie was an active member of the CLA Board and the
CLA-CLCF Merger Task Force, a long time resident of Chocorua and a dear friend
to many of us.
Get Connected via E-Mail
If you would like to receive this newsletter and other CLA news and
announcements via e-mail, please be sure to send your e-mail address, along with
any other updates to your address and contact information to Bob Seston,
[email protected].
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Pay and Donate On-­‐Line at chocorualakeassociation.com/stewardship Chocorua Lake Association Membership Dues 2014 Family Member -­‐ $80.00* $____________ Individual Member -­‐ $45.00** $____________ Friends of the CLA -­‐ $20.00*** $____________ Gifts are joyfully accepted $____________ Total $____________ * Family m embership constitutes spouses, partners, and children under 25 ** Individual membership constitutes one person ***Friends are those who come irregularly to Chocorua, but want to contribute (We greatly value and appreciate the participation and support of all our community. If you are unable to pay the membership fee, please contact CLA President at hhofheinz38@ gmail.com or 617-­‐868-­‐0294) Name(s) Please include all names in family: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Address______________________________________________________________________________________________(circle here if new) Town_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ State____________________________________ Phone__________________________________________________________________________ Zip Code________________________________E-­‐Mail_____________________________________________________(circle here if new) Summer Address (if different)_________________________________________________________________________________________ Summer Phone__________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Make Checks Payable to: Chocorua Lake Association Robert Seston, Treasurer PO Box 105 Chocorua, NH 03817 Due July 4th, 2014 or before. Thanks so much! CLA Board (Please tear off form and mail in with your dues) Chocorua Lake Association PO Box 105 Chocorua, NH 03817 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED To: Chocorua Lake Association
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