Category: Mainely Phenology

Mainely Phenology 3/17/18

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn

Skunk Cabbage

Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at mainelyphenology.wordpress.com

Differences between cold-blooded and warm-blooded animals seem pretty clear: there are those rely on their surroundings to keep them warm enough whereas there are those, like ourselves, that are able to create their own heat through metabolic processes. But what about the living things that aren’t animals? Do they, can they, will they create their own heat? In the case of skunk cabbages, the answer is yes. Not only do they flower early, but also they are so eager to bloom that the tip of their curled shoot can be found melting its way through the last of our slushy hard-packed snow.

Mainely Phenology 3/10/18

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn

Snow Fleas

Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at mainelyphenology.wordpress.com

Don’t get too disdainful of snow yet, because this is a prime time of year to keep an eye out for the silent surprising appearance of hopping pepper-like specks: snow fleas. I’m sure you’ve seen them, but if you haven’t seen them, they’ve definitely seen you.

Mainely Phenology 3/3/18

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn

Maple Sugar

Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at mainelyphenology.wordpress.com

There has always been something special about maple snow. The delicate wild flavor of the maple syrup is not masked by a toasty pancake, nor hidden by a pasty pile of oats. Snow adds almost no flavor to compete with the maple—assuming you stick with the fresh pure white stuff. Although our changing climate has complicated the timing of the harvest from year to year, late February and early March is typically the season for tapping maple trees, boiling down sap, and making perfection by the jugful.

Mainely Phenology 2/24/18

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn

Coyotes

Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at mainelyphenology.wordpress.com

Coyote pups are born in late spring following a 2-month gestation period, which begins during a very narrow window—only 2-5 days—when females are in estrus and able to mate. That particular window varies from female to female, but their breeding season is peaking right around now. You may be hearing and seeing more signs of them now—from howling to scent-marking to leaving evidence of their increased movement in search of their mate.

Mainely Phenology 2/17/18

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn

Highbush Cranberries

Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at mainelyphenology.wordpress.com

Highbush cranberries sit aloft on twiggy heights through the icy rains of November, the first deep freezes of December, and the thaws and squalls of January until now, February, when winter desperation finally gets the best of our feathered friends and they turn to this reliable, albeit bitter and sour, winter food source.

Mainely Phenology 2/10/18

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn

Winter Survival Strategies: Hibernation and Torpor

Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at mainelyphenology.wordpress.com

All our wildlife falls somewhere along a spectrum of energy expenditures: on one extreme end are the true hibernators, who slow all their body’s processes way down and stay still all winter; on the other end are the ones that stay alert and moving in order to find food to fuel their biological furnaces. Today, we’ll explore just a couple of these adaptations for dealing with winter: hibernation and torpor.

Mainely Phenology 2/3/18

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn

Survival Under the Snow

Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at mainelyphenology.wordpress.com

February always conjures up images in my mind of blowing snow, frigid nights, and warm daytime sun. The landscape this winter has seen deep arctic freezes, torrential rain, springy thaws, and punishing nor’easters. Despite being two and half months beyond the winter solstice—the minimum day length for the year—early February is often marked by the maximum depth of snow cover across Northern New England.

Mainely Phenology 1/27/18

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn

Frost Cracks

Photos, a complete transcript, references, and more information available at mainelyphenology.wordpress.com

The last week of January—in most years, by now we have seen the January thaw come and go, though these days it tends to linger—freezing and thawing, raining and snowing—a season of two minds. But by now, cold days turn into colder nights. Snow squalls thicken the blanket on the Maine woods. In today’s episode, we will be focusing on the crystal clear deathly cold nights of deep winter in Maine and the gunshot-like explosions the quiet observer can often hear echoing off rocks, trees, and snowy hillside: frost cracks.