tamarack

I hope it was Whiteface that got some improvement cash. Back in the stone age (early '70s) I read an article about Whiteface in Ski Magazine, presumably compiled by an expert skier. At the upper lift the attendant had to let a few chairs go by before seeing one fit for the writer to climb on. The Ski guy said that the trail (Skyward? It's been a long time) was obviously ungroomed and w/o any manmade snow, with numerous dark things sticking up thru the snow. After several stump/rock near misses in 100 yards, the writer swallowed his pride, sidestepped up to the top and rode down on the lift.

Some forsythia starting to bloom next door in Farmington, but ours are still asleep. Chilly in northern Maine - FVE 24 with WCI 9. Nice day to summit MWN: 5F, wind 53G65, WCI -25.

Not sure whether tomato plants can tell the difference.

Norway maple is native to Europe but is widely planted in urban settings, as it's relatively tolerant of conditions there. It's also brittle and subject to frost cracks in cold climates. It is very shade tolerant and an early-season seed producer, characteristics that give it an advantage over native species. Since silver maples and red maples here have swelled buds, it's no surprise about the Norways being early. The most recent month with BN temps here was November, so phenology is understandably early, which to me is suspect. Somehow my apple trees dodged the killing frost last May 18 but many NNE orchardists were less fortunate. We've had major damage from late frosts in 1999 and especially 2010; that one toasted all the ash and oak shoots and some on the maples, along with frying every apple blossom.

Partridge drumming nearby, using the horizontal fir left after Dec. 18.

I think it's still the greatest vertical in the east. When I saw it way back in 1971 (rode the lift* during our June honeymoon) it was state-owned and suffering from chronic underfunding. It was spiffed up for 1980 but I've no idea what condition it is now. *Only the Little Whiteface lift was running for sightseers, and it was the scariest one I've been on - no footrest, teeny (9") lap "bar", and the final span was the scariest of all: About 2,000 feet between tower and summit so the catenary seemed almost straight up as we approached the top. Also, no trail beneath that span, just a sidehill 40-60 feet down and covered with the criss-crossed spruce cut and left when the lift was built.

Looks seasonal - average temp here on 4/29 is 58/34.

Some SN mix in the forecast for NW Maine, Wednesday night and Thursday. No mention of accumulation and it's 5-6 days out. However, a few late April flakes there isn't really news.

AN precip might mean that the AN temps would be mainly in the minima, 86/75 rather than 93/68.

We were driving our 1971 Beetle from NNJ to northern Maine that day, stopping at my BIL's apartment in Boston for dinner (meat and potatoes - a salad would've been nice.) and that little air-cooled engine was so hot that when we stopped, we could hear the pings as it tried to cool. Outside the apartment a rat ran across in front of us and tried to go into a hole by the steps but was too fat and had to back out and go elsewhere. (We were not impressed.) When we arrived home in Fort Kent, it was 40° and cloudy. After the sweaty marathon 16-hour trip, we loved it. I'll be at Pittston Farm north of Moosehead next Thurs-Sat, in time for the cool down. May see some flurries?

From the Franklin County Sheriff's weekly report on the Daily Bulldog. It took me 2:20 to cover the 22 miles from Flagstaff Lake to Kingfield. Without their work, it might've been more than twice as long. 04/08/2024 1200hrs, all available Sheriff’s Deputies as well as the Sheriff participated in traffic control in the Rangeley area and from Kingfield to Coburn Gore.

Frontline - the tick was on the outside of Buttercup's fur, which is the usual. We tried the 12-week product, Bravecto, and 10 minutes later $60 was on the living room rug.

Nice! Only a trace here from that one, but we had 3.2" three weeks later. On a completely different subject, our dog brought in a deer tick Sunday evening, earliest I can recall.

2010 was the earliest here. Unfortunately, 3 straight mid-20s mornings May 11-13 toasted the ash and oak leaves, along with every blossom on our apple trees. Last year was early, too, and many NNE orchards got hammered by the May 18 freeze.

My numerical system lands in D+ territory, with temps approaching F-land. However, the 22" overperformer in late March and the 13.9" dump earlier this month leave a better taste than the numbers, even though snowpack was BN. Also, the flood/windstorm of December 18, while not wintry, was one of the most notable events of my experience, even if it butchered the fir on our woodlot. C- I've gone thru only 4 notable floods, August 1955 and May 1968 in NNJ, April 1987 when we lived in Gardiner, and last December.

The great New England-wide flood was in March, 1936. The December flood on the Sandy pushed 1936 (38.6k cfs) down to 3rd greatest. Perhaps the most striking debris left by the December event were the hay wraps - 500 pounds of hay wrapped in white plastic - that came floating down the river. Along US Rt 2 there are dozens caught in the brush, and some wraps were ripped apart in the flow, leaving plastic "banners" waving from the trees.

Sneaky flood - only 1.16" RA plus mountain snowmelt. The Sandy River peaked at 20.9k cfs, which would rank 22nd of 96 water years but was a comparative nothingburger after the 42.7k last December.

SNE? Wettest 2-year (calendar) period here was 122.15" in 2008-09. The 2 years ending 3/31/24 is just over 114", more than 15" AN but still in 2nd place. Without parsing all the data, I suspect NNE, especially Maine, would have similar peaks.

6/9/53 in ORH was EF4 and there are arguments (from observed damage) that it was a 5.

Modest 1.16" yesterday but snowmelt and saturated ground allowed the Sandy River to reach 20,900 cfs, a bit under flood flow but in the top quartile of peaks since records began in 1929. Also not quite half the peak on Dec 19 but high enough to further traumatize those suffering damage back then. Wood frogs started "quacking" in the old stock pond last evening, appropriate as I flushed 2 hooded mergansers earlier in the day - first ducks I've ever seen on the small (30 ft diam) puddle.

Spring snow elevated my total from ratter to 110% of average. Snowiest post-equinox years: 2024: 40.9" 1982: 38.6" (Fort Kent) 2007: 37.9" 2001: 35.6" No others approached 30".

I'll soon challenge the snow by turning ash logs to firewood after their 2 winters of adding traction to the Ranger.

It was 6:15 PM before I cleared Kingfield, but south of there it was clear sailing. The road itself is much better than the twisting 142/156 and the latter goes near downtown Wilton, with stop signs, etc. Might've gotten some cars with folks who climbed Tumbledown, too. Of course, I ducked around Farmington and drove thru Industry instead. My wife and friend tried Town Farm Road rather than Main Street as they went back to the friend's house near the Fairbanks Bridge over the Sandy. Neither way was fun, as those coming down Rt 4 from Rangeley were diverted onto Town Farm while the "Loaf traffic went thru town. Decent article describing the event, and traffic, on the local online news: dailybulldog.com . Some nice pics, too, including one taken from the obs platform atop Oquossoc Bald, showing folks on the ground below. The article noted 2,500+ at Saddleback and 10k+ at Sugarloaf, where the access road was closed to additional cars by 8:30 Monday morning. re: aurora. We saw this several times when we lived in Fort Kent, usually when it was about -20.

40.9" after the equinox, most I've measured anywhere. Another 3-day rain incoming here, though next week has more promise.

We were there in August 2017 and never saw full sun. Never felt temps above 60 nor calm winds, and we never got more than 40 miles from Reykjavik. Up at 66 North it's likely to be colder and cloudier.