Mystery Picture

Do you have any idea of the picture subject? The answer is at the bottom.

On May 13th, the watershed survey was done. The results are at Kristin Feindell's office. Kristin works for the "State o' Maine" and she will analyze the results. The final results will be available this winter, but she promised us to get a preliminary page (that we can distribute) at the beginning of the summer.

I can tell you that we didn't have any huge problems. There are a number of non point phosphorus sources that could be addressed. These are mainly on the shorefront properties. It would help the pond if we could make our driveways so that they do not head straight downhill and they should have a crown or be slanted so that water flows into vegetation (not the pond). If we could make sure that trails and paths (to the water) are not eroded at all, it would help the pond. And if we could increase the vegetative buffers (that area of shorefront properties directly on the pond, which ideally is left undisturbed) are as wide as possible, it would decrease the phosphorus input into Quimby. Although I promised that I would not broadcast individual recommendations on the web, I can tell you that we need to address the boat access area, which is owned by the state. These areas are typically the worst for most ponds, because they head directly downhill and are oftentimes eroded by pushing boats into the pond.

The answer to the mystery picture is: It's a time lapse photograph of those small, white flies that swarm in the sunlight.

May Snow

Just a quick post today. The weather has turned cold again and it has been "spitting snow" (which I've learned means flurries) for about a day. It's too warm for the snow to really "stick", but we got a dusting last night. It's too late in the spring for this! The Watershed Survey
We have been busy preparing for the watershed survey, which will be done on Thursday, May 13th. We have had an amazing response from the questionnaire. According to other associations, there is an average of about 15 percent return of the written survey. Ours is over 70%. We have had an a low number of owners, who don't want us on their property. Only one has given a definite NO (but I had a broaden definition of the watershed and that owner is likely outside of the watershed). And one owner wanted to be home, when the watershed survey was done. This is so low that it is "unheard of".
I am so pleased with the response and my neighbors. You all are wonderful. As I've said before, "I wouldn't want to live anywhere else!"

For those of you with homes here, expect to find a little plastic bag on your doorknob with instructions on its use. It contains a small bottle of septic dye and its use is voluntary.

My hopes for Thursday are:
1. We find a few sources of non point phosphorus (run off) to correct (to help the pond) and none of these are expensive to fix.
2. The owners, who are here, don't object to the team.

Wish us luck.

The Loons are Back

This is the first common loon that I saw. I arrived back at Quimby Pond on April 14th and they were here....most likely the loons arrived before me. Some of the summer folk wonder when the loons arrive. It looks like they arrive within 5 days after "ice out".

This one (below) is a little more "loon like.
And I received a picture (below) from Marcia Baker of her in their canoe on April 10, 2010.

Ice Out ! April 9, 2010

Although these pictures look like they are in reverse order, they are not!

The first one is this morning at 6 AM during some rain.
The ice floated again a few hours later.

I was hoping for a loon, but a seagull was apparently the first to find open water. (You can barely see him.)
Thanks to Sandi Andrews for the photos!

The Snow is Melting

I have a few images of Quimby Brook. The brook is "running high" and just look at how clear the water is in this first photo! This one is taken while looking downstream from Quimby Pond Road. The photos (below) are upstream shots. One appears to be later in the spring, with a lot of green, and the other has snow. All photos were taken yesterday.

Although many Maine lakes have had an early "ice out", Quimby is not even near that stage. People are still able to walk on the ice without any fear of falling in. The recent cold weather has firmed up the ice. If we have an early "ice out", it means that the pond is likely to become warmer this summer. The warm water temperature is likely to contribute to an algal bloom.

I had mentioned in an earlier post that the deer become more bold during the spring. Perhaps they are hungry, but they pose nicely.

Friends of Quimby Pond

We had a great meeting on Friday night. Gerry Smith visited and spoke with us. He is the president of Aquatic Control Technologies, a company which does remediation treatments such as alum treatments and invasive plant harvesting. Most of his work is done in Massachusetts, where his company is located, but he also does contract work for the Maine DEP.

His thoughts were that we do not need his company to do any treatments or aeration. This was especially comforting to me, because even though he would benefit financially by doing "something", he still thinks it's not necessary.

His thoughts concur with the DEP in that he recommends evaluation and changes in the watershed to restrict phosphorus input into Quimby Pond. The steering committee has heard this previously from the DEP and we really need to be vigilant about our roads, driveways, lawns, not feeding the waterfowl, and not fertilizing! It helps to get this reinforced, especially because we are starting the written survey portion of the watershed survey. I'm hoping that most all of you return the surveys and allow access. This is imperative to the "health" of the pond.

I will look out at the moon over Quimby Pond. When it's night-time and the moon is full, it reminds me of "Twas the Night before Christmas" lines, " The moon on the crest of the new-fallen snow, gave luster of mid-day to objects below." Speaking of Christmas, some of the folks around Quimby Pond will leave Christmas lights on their trees all winter. It continues the festive air throughout the winter season.

This one is a UFO. Actually it's a small balsam fir with white lights and covered with snow.

And this one is another small tree with Christmas lights.

And now back to spring and summer.

Dave Boucher, the regional fish biologist with the Maine Inland Game and Fisheries, did a study on Quimby Pond last fall. He released the results last week and here is a summary of those results.

Summary and recommendations:

Quimby Pond has been the source of several recent complaints pertaining to slow catch rates, heavy parasite load (trematode blackspot), excessive predation by fall-flocking loons, and declining water quality. Stocking rates were reduced in 2005 from 3000 to 2000 fall fingerlings in an effort to reduce parasite loading. Algal blooms have occurred with increasing frequency, and the volume of “Wilbur Spring” appears to have declined coincidentally with increased watershed development. A new Lake Association was formed in late 2009 to address nonpoint sources of phosphorous.

This pond receives heavy use, but release rates are very high; 90-100% as reported by voluntary book anglers.

Wild trout comprised 58% of the trapnet sample, with ages 0+ to V+ present. High ratio of wild trout was probably related to favorable water temperatures and flows since 2005. Growth of wild and hatchery fish were above average for the region, but body condition was marginal for most cohorts. All trout, including young-of-year, were heavily parasitized with blackspot; there was no evidence that reduced stocking rates lowered the incidence of this parasite. Trout density estimates were low/moderate compared with other ponds of similar size and trout origin.

The smelt population appeared robust and they’re likely trout predators and competitors. Mallard ducks very abundant and tame.

Preliminary recommendations:

1. Maintain fall fingerling stocking rate at 2-3000 Kennebago-strain fish annually, but consider switching to spring yearlings to mitigate predation by fall loon flocks.
2. Maintain present fishing regulations (high release rates indicate fishing mortality does not significantly structure this population).
3. Continue to work with MDEP, RLHT, and Lake Association to address water quality issues.
4. Repeat trapnet survey in 5 years, or sooner if significant management changes are made.

February

When I moved to Maine from Virginia (nearly 30 years ago) somehow I expected that spring would arrive about the same time that spring came in Virginia (sometime in March). Well, I had to wait a bit. Oftentimes I will look for early signs of spring (just to make sure that it is coming). One of these signs occurs when the sun is higher in the sky and the days (daylight) become longer. Then the tree trunks will warm, melting snow rings around the tree base. Spring is coming. But we will need to wait a few more months for the snow to melt (the real sign of spring).I thought that I would include a few photos of animal tracks. They are much more apparent in the snow than on the ground. The next two photos are the same animal. The front two impressions are about 3 inches long and the depression is not very deep in the snow. Can you guess what it is?

These are snowshoe hare tracks. I have only seen one snowshoe hare in the winter. It was a beautiful white and the hare was so shocked to see me that it jumped nearly a foot in the air, then immediately returned to its hole.

I'm not sure about the above tracks. I know that they are bird trackes. I believe that the tracks are made by spruce grouse. I thought they might be turkey tracks at first, but each track is only 1-2 inches long.

Thanks for reading and happy Valentine's Day.

Traditionally the Coldest Week

If one looks at the weather averages, one will note that the coldest average temperatures occur around the third week in January in Rangeley. We are past that point now!


The days are getting longer. Just today, I saw the first deer on the pond during the day. As the deer become less timid and sunset occurs later, you may often see the deer on the pond. They will congregate around Wilbur Spring and sometimes around Sagamore Lodge while looking for open water. This picture isn't great, because it was nearly dark, when I snapped the photo. In the coming weeks, the photos should improve as the deer get more daring in the daylight hours.
On the way into Rangeley, I will often gasp at the beauty of Saddleback mountain. For the past several weeks, the higher elevations of Saddleback have been covered with new snow and the shadows are dramatic.

Friends of Quimby Pond

With each new week there seems to be more opportunities and more support for our organization. I want to thank everyone for their donations. The funds, that we have collected have exceeded my expectations. Thank you all.

There are a couple of scientists (lake biologists) that have stepped forward to give us advice. One is the son of Ebbie Ellis. Chris Ellis not only works in the water quality/research division of the University of Minnesota, but he has often spent a few weeks per year at Quimby Pond. A former neighbor of Rick and Marcia Baker, Gerald Smith has offered advice. Gerrie is the president of Aquatic Technologies in Massachusetts. Aquatic Technologies has had great success in cleaning up the Charles River around Boston.
We are very fortunate indeed.

Happy Holidays to All

Early January 2010

I apologize for not posting near the end of last month. Activities continue to slow down a bit up here. We have plenty of snow. A"blizzard" several days ago turned into about 10 inches of snow and heavy winds. Dawn Towey, a friend, remarked that the wind won't be blowing at our camps, we can just listen to the wind in the treetops. Often I worry about the trees toppling in front of camps and it was comforting to listen to the wind whistling in the treetops for most of the evening. A great sound indeed.

Here's a photo of the pond from my porch. In the photo it's hard to tell if it's snow or water. Trust me it's snow.





I thought that I would inclde a couple of area photos in the mix today. Below is a snowman family in the field near the dentist's office.

And below is Saddleback as the sun was setting.

Friends of Quimby Pond

I want to thank all of you, who responded to the donation request. We have collected $330.00 so far. The funds will help us in the watershed survey this spring. Our steering committee is meeting monthly. Tomorrow night John Towey and I meet with the Rangeley selectmen to update them on our progress and request a few more dollars. Wish us luck!