December Morn

Yesterday morning, I loaded Evvy up in the truck and headed to Derry Hill for some exploring along the granite boulders and cliffs. My intent was to look for bear and deer sign. I parked the truck next to an old cellar hole.


The dug well

A piece of natural art. The roots of the black birch tangled around the rock, lifting it right out of the ground. "Gnarly man".

Nearby, the "dug well" with a piece of steel covering the hole. I removed the cover revealing the water. I took a long stick and stuck it down into the well. I wanted to know how deep the well was. I figured the well would be only a couple of feet deep, because through the years they fill up with dirt and "stuff". I took the stick out and measured the water level. I estimated the depth of the well to be 5' deep. I was surprised.

We walked up a long defunct skidder trail. At times the trail nearly vanished with brush growing in it, and ruts disappearing. I rarely stay on a trail, because I figure the real action is happening off the trail. So we walked back and forth across the trail or made large circles winding up back on the trail. I like to explore the many granite cliffs and hidey holes of Walpole. I rarely have a hike where I see nothing. We flushed a Grouse, or I should say Evvy did. Then she located a wonderful pile of bear skat, composed completely of corn! I would have taken a photo of it because it was bright yellow. Unfortunately, Evvy took the opportunity to gobble it all up...Yuck.

I found this gnawing about 5' 6" feet up on a hemlock. I know the height because I'm alittle shorter than 5'6"...ok, 3 inches shorter.

We worked our way around two bogs up on top of the hill. Ice covered the bogs, so of course I had to check it out, by walking on top. Neither of us broke through the ice. I searched for fresh animal tracks in the new snow, but few prints were found. I did find, mouse and fox tracks though.

I began to make a circle back toward Derry Hill Rd. to a large outcropping of granite. Up there, the granite is broken up in some places. Some of the rocks are nearly square, resembling bricks. I was tempted to build a little fortress, like I would as a kid. But recovering from a mild concussion sustained in a floor hockey game the previous, I opted to just keep taking photos. Evvy continued her romping around, gobbling up all the black jelly beans she could find.

I took this picture on top of Derry Hill. The little red things are only about 1/2" tall, a type of lichen. Sorry I haven't identified it yet.

This Evvy peeking out an opening in a rock fort that someone else put together. It has two walls about 3' tall. The shape of the rocks make for easy stacking. Evvy was inside rooting around after something.