Wildlife on the Sugarloaf Trail

A couple weeks ago I checked off a New Hampshire "52 With A View" climb with my sons and daughter-in-law. The Sugarloaf Trail in Twin Mountain offers a lot of variety with boulders and a ladder and provides fantastic views for a relatively short hike.

Admiring the view from Middle Sugarloaf

The hike proved even more interesting as I saw my first Milk Snake.

I find snakes fascinating and was thrilled when Aaron spotted this one since the only snakes I typically see are garter snakes. This one was a little agitated when we walked by, and if I did not know that New Hampshire does not have poisonous snakes up north, I might have mistaken it for a rattlesnake. I looked it up after we got home and identified ir as a perfectly harmless Eastern Milk Snake.

At the summit there was plenty of vegetation including, Mountain Laurel, blueberries and junipers.

Juniper cones

Also at the summit I added a Wood Thrush to my birding life list.

Wood Thrush posing with a  berry

On the way down, we took the approximate .3 mile split to the ledge view of North Sugarloaf.

On ledge of North Sugarloaf

For all that it offers I would definitey recommend this hike.

Blueberry and Lavender Banana Bread

A great way to use blueberries and lavender. Both just finishing up their season.

1 stick butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon dried lavender buds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ripe bananas
1 1/4 cups blueberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs and beat until fluffy. Mash and mix in bananas along with vanilla. A food processor helps speed this up. Sift dry ingredients. Add ground lavender buds. If you have a spice grinder you can use that. Ours was broken, so I added them whole.  Mix dry ingredients into banana mixture. Fold in nuts and blueberries. Pour into greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hour. Cool for ten minutes then remove from pan.

Great Spangled Fritillary

I was very excited the other day when I saw an orange butterfly in flying around the milkweed. I was disappointed that it wasn't a monarch, but was still impressed by its color and design. After looking in my identification guide book, I found that it is a Great Spangled Fritillary and learned that, not surprisingly, the adults favor milkweed plants.

A Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele) Feeding on Milkweed

This butterfly is a member of the family Nymphalidae, think Greek nymphs living in the woods. The family is also known as "brush-footed" butterflies since their two front legs are stunted and covered with brush-like hairs. I would need a better camera to capture this feature.

These butterflies will be around throughout the summer, seeking mates and laying eggs in late August to early September. The eggs will be laid on or near violets, which are the larvae's food source.

Mating pair of fritillaries on Common Ninebark

Once the larvae have hatched, it will eat part of its shell and will then immediately seek shelter under dead leaves for the winter. Sometime in May, when violets are out, it will emerge and begin feeding. In early June it will pupate under  tree bark, a rock, or log. The male butterfly will emerge first toward the end of the month, followed by the female in early July. Knowing the entire life cycle of a butterfly identifies the importance of providing habit for all stages of its life. Although planting the right plants to feed the butterfly stage is important, it is also necessary to leave certain areas of yards undisturbed by not mowing, raking leaves, or picking up brush. 

Resources; Butterflies and Moths, a Golden Guide, Robert Mitchell amd Herbert Zim, 1987;
North American Butterfly Association; New Hampshire Wildlife Journal Junior; http://www.sierrapotomac.org/W_Needham/GreatSpangledFritillaryButterfly_060807.htm

Blueberry Cobbler Bars

It's berry season which means I will be picking almost every day, enjoying fresh fruit on cereal or ice cream, and, if we are lucky, there will be enough to freeze. In the yard now are black raspberries and blueberries. These berry bars can be enjoyed for breakfast, as a snack or dessert.

Berry assortment from around the yard

Bottom Layer and Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold butter
1 egg
Filling:
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon corn starch



Mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Add brown sugar and mix. Then with a pastry blender cut in butter and egg and mix until pea size. Spread half of topping in greased 13 x 9 inch pan and bake at 375 degrees for 5 minutes. Mix together blueberries, sugar and cornstarch and spread over bottom layer. Sprinkle remaining mixture over berries. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 more minutes or until lightly brown. Cool completely before cutting. 

Taking a Closer Look - Frog and Daddy Longlegs

I try to remember to bring my camera with me whenever I'm outside even if it's just for a short while, because I never know when I'll see something interesting. Yesterday, while picking blackberries, this little guy hopped across the leaves on the ground. If I didn't catch the movement, I probably wouldn't even have seen him as his color blended in with the dried leaves.

Spring Peeper

 If you live in New Hampshire and want to identify a frog, New Hampshire Fish and Game have a great page at http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/nongame/frogs.html with photos and descriptions. I was surprised that there are only ten species of frogs and toads native to New Hampshire. This made the identification of this spring peeper (with distinctive X on its back) easy.

I don't know if it's because we have had a lot of rain recently, but the Oriental Bittersweet has really taken off in our yard, so I try to pull or cut some vines for a few minutes every day. It is very discouraging and I know I'm not winning the battle, but hopefully keeping it somewhat contained.

While picking berries, and pulling bittersweet at the same time, I stopped to take a snapshot of this Daddy Longlegs on a Oriental Bittersweet vine.

Daddy Longlegs on Bittersweet

Daddy Longlegs are not true spiders, but are of the order Opiliones and are also referred to as harvestman. An easy way to identify the difference is that the Harvestman has only one body segment and not two like spiders. Also, unlike spiders, Daddy Longlegs cannot spin webs. They can be beneficial to the garden as they eat other insects, including pests such as aphids, slugs and mites. I'm sorry to say that the resting perch of this arachnid had to go. I am confident that he safely moved elsewhere in the woods.

Wheatberry Salad

Besides the cooking time for the wheatberries, this was a quick to prepare salad, packed with nutrients and a meal in itself when served with crusty bread. The dried wheatberries were purchased from a local farmers market and there are mixed greens are plentiful now in the garden.

1 cup dried wheatberries
2 bay leaves
several sprigs of fresh thyme
1 cup cooked rice
1/2 orange peeled and chopped small
1/2 cup steamed carrots (or small can)
Arugula and kale
Maple balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup raisins
fresh sprouts and Parmesan cheese

• Cover wheatberries with water, bring to a boil and simmer with bay leaves and thyme for 1 - 1/2 hours until soft ( they will still be chewy), drain.
• Stir in rice, orange and carrots. Add balsamic vinegar and a little olive oil to taste.
• Serve over bed of arugula and kale, sprinkle with raisins, sprouts and cheese.

Long Trail Codding Hollow to Route 15

This was my first hike of the season, and it felt great to be back on the trail. My youngest son, Lee, and I are hiking the Long Trail together. Although he would prefer to thru hike the entire 272 miles at once, this is currently not a feasible option for me, so we knock off a section when we can and hopefully will have it completed over the next decade. Having finished the New Hampshire 4000 footers and currently working on the same for New England, I find that I am more motivated to go climbing if I am checking of a list.

This past Saturday was a perfect day for a hike. The weather wasn't too hot, and even though the past week or so had been quite wet, the trail was in good condition. On this day we were the only car in the parking area, but a woman walking her dog pointed us in the right direction to go south.

The beginning of the trail near Codding Hollow

By late June, most Spring flowers are gone, but there were still a few things in bloom on the trail.

As well as some fungi.

Although the only wildlife we saw was this toad.

I've never come across this while hiking in the "wilderness." A clear sign that we were in Vermont.

Tubing system for tapping maple trees

Although the portion of the trail that we hiked was only 6.8 miles, it offered some interesting variety and some nice views.

View from behind the Roundtop shelter

Nearing the end of our hike we climbed over Prospect Rock. It is a mere 1040 feet, but offers a fantastic view. The number of people hiking up the other side was a testament to its popularity. This part of the trail was a little tricky because it wraps around the top of Prospect Rock before doing a switchback to continue south. It took us retracing our steps a couple times to figure this out.

View from Prospect Rock, also a popular rock climbing location

We finished the section in a little over 3 hours. The parking area off route 15 is only a short distance past the suspension bridge over the Lamoille River where we met our ride.

We had time to grab some freshly made sandwiches and a bowl of Gazpacho soup at Thompson's Flour Shop in Morrisville, before Heading over to Rock Art Brewery for a sampling and tour. 
It was a great way to replenish after a morning hike.

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

Bananas quickly over-ripen in the summer and this makes them perfect for baking. My go-to solution is to make banana bread, but this cookie recipe is a nice alternative.

1 1/2 to 2 ripe bananas
1 egg
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder 
1/3 cup butter softened
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Lightly grease cookie sheets. Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Cream butter, sugars, and vanilla. Add egg and beat until fluffy. Mash banana and add to butter mixture. Gradually mix in dry ingredients until well blended. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by teaspoon onto lightly greased cookie sheet, two inches apart. Bake at 375 degrees until edges are golden brown, about 10 to 12 minutes.