Wandering Around Wagon Hill

This past Sunday I spent a couple of hours exploring the trails and forest around the Wagon Hill conservation area off Route 4. The conservation area reaches past the hill to the forest and wetlands along Great Bay. I spotted a great blue heron in the stream which cuts through the marsh into the bay.


Nearly all of the red maples have dropped their vibrant red leaves by now, especially the most colorful examples throughout the wetlands. But many of the oaks are very colorful still.
Below is a shot from the point which juts out into great bay.

Portsmouth Patterns

It's been way too long since my last post. While I have been out with my camera, I haven't been out nearly as much as I would like.
Here are a few shots I took in Portsmouth two weeks ago or so, I was interested in the many different patterns along the ground.

Vibrant Green

I took this photo last week during a walk in the woods, the green stood out for me, with the sunlight hitting it, especially among the darker hemlock and other deciduous leaves colors changing and dropping.

Sunlight Spider

I found this spider in college woods a few days ago, it almost seemed as if it was clinging on for dear life as the seasons change and winter begins to slowly creep in.
The image didn't come out as sharp as I hoped, I probably rushed the shot too much as I tried to catch it in the sunlight, while it briefly poked through the thick forest canopy.

Chapman's Landing

My wetland ecology class visited the riverine salt marsh at Chapman's Landing in Stratham NH off 108. It is alongside the Squamscott River, a beautiful spot with all sorts of interesting plants and animals such as ribbed mussels and common glasswort, a vibrant red succulent plant. Below is a view of a portion of the marsh. I have developed a new appreciation for wetlands as I learn more about them. Not only do they provide essential ecosystem services such as water filtration, and can act as a storm buffer on the coast, but they are also beautiful and full of interesting natural wonders.

Fog at Dusk

Over the weekend Jacqui and I drove back from central NH, there seemed to be fog all over the southeastern part of the state, this is off route 155, next to UNH's Kingman Farm.

Red Eft

I was at Harvard Forest, in Petersham Massachusetts, recently for work, I found this eastern newt (in the red eft stage) underneath a basket used for collecting foliage. They can live up to 12-15 years in the wild, and spend a couple of years in the red eft terrestrial juvenile stage before returning to the water in the aquatic adult stage.

Burlington VT

I was in Burlington Vermont for a couple of hours a few weeks ago and had the chance to snap a few photos. It's a really neat city, I look forward to getting back there for a longer visit some time.