It’s the time of the season when waterfowl rule the waters, at least in the North Country where ice-out took place on Lake Umbagog less than two weeks ago. It is a precious time, before the black flies, deer flies, and mosquitoes arrive, and we use these few weeks to get the cottage ready for summer, pulling out the deck furniture, erecting the screen house, and redistributing the piles of soil that were plowed up along with the snow during this warmer-than-usual winter just ended.
Spring also brings out the other creatures that remained hidden from sight during the winter. It is not unusual to see a moose standing beside Route 16 in Cambridge, Errol, and Wentworth’s Location, but driving north last Friday afternoon, we saw a pair of moose — possibly siblings born last year — between road and river. Then, a quick glimpse of a creature — likely a beaver — as we made our way along the winding road. While still marveling at having seen a pair of moose as we approached our destination, there, standing proudly in the yard of one of our neighbors, was a full-grown moose, watching the traffic go by. I quickly parked in our yard and grabbed my iPhone to get a photo of the majestic creature, but it already was ambling across the road and, before I could get close enough — but not too close — it slipped into the trees on the other side and disappeared.
Lemon Magnolia, our Leonberger, was very interested in the scent left behind as we walked up the road a short time later, observing the moose tracks on the gravel shoulder and straying onto the neighbor’s lawn. Lemon is one of those dogs that has to sniff each track, and each bush, and the pavement itself, as we walk to the Errol town line, and then back to the cottage, so it takes a while. There also are long pauses as she stops, sniffs the air, jerks her head to the left, then the right, and stares at something unseen until she is satisfied and moves on.
Some of those pauses would follow the honking and flapping of wings of geese, swimming and fighting on the Magalloway River. A pair of geese spent most of the weekend across the river from the cottage, next to two or three ducks who kept plunging their heads under the water and shaking it off. It was mostly Canada geese and ducks on the water, but a loon surprised us by popping up near our deck and then reappearing downstream a few minutes later. At one point, we could hear a pair of loons calling out.
Then there were the eagles, circling overhead and, at one point, diving down near some geese, which raised another ruckus. While the geese were the noisiest of the birds, we also heard several other species giving voice to the season as we worked in the yard.
We also heard both spring peepers and bullfrogs in the distance — and even in a stream making a slow journey through a culvert. The large frog pond up the road still had some ice and snow at one end, and it was silent — for now.
We saw a single squirrel hurrying across the road. I guess the gangs challenging their peers to run across in front of oncoming cars have not gotten together yet this year.
Setting up the screen house is never a pleasant task, but this year, we found that a section of the metal frame had broken off, and the cover has seen too many years of use and began to tear as we fit it over the structure. A little unsightly duct tape — that indispensable product which, along with WD-40, is a requirement for life in New England — covered the rips and holes that appeared, and we admitted that this will be the final year for that particular screen house. Maybe something easier to assemble next year?
If moving dirt from the mounds deposited by the winter plow seemed like a task, it didn’t compare with filling in the holes by our retaining wall. The river had eroded the bank under the wall, creating a few sinkholes on our side, with one especially deep hole that required three trips up the back roads to find enough rocks to fill in the depression — and more will be needed to finally bring it even with the strip of lawn on the river side of our deck. Three loads was enough for one day, however.
Owning a home means there always will be something to do, so on the next trip, in addition to completing the filling-in of the holes, we’ll be replacing the filters for the water system. The cottage draws its water from the river and, while it never becomes pure enough for cooking and drinking — we bring in spring water for that — it has to be filtered enough to serve for washing dishes and showering.
At least we’re done shoveling snow until next winter — or so we hope. There’s always the possibility of another snowfall before summer’s arrival, but any accumulation is unlikely now.
Despite the work, visiting the cottage provides a great getaway, where traffic is sparse and one awakens to the sound of geese.
I had never heard of a Leonberger.. I count myself as some who knows dogs. Guess not. The three breeds of this lovely dog, St, Bernard, Newfoundland, and Great Dane. Who knew? Not me. I will have to ask my German friend if she knows them.
Birds. We still have a number of migrating birds happy to eat up the blocks of feed. Although, not as quickly as earlier in the season.