Call To Action: Help Fight Invasive Purple Loosestrife!

Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)

For the past 3-4 years I’ve been removing isolated instances of the non-native invasive plant Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) that I have found growing in and around Clary Lake. With the help of a couple of other people we’ve been able to keep this invasive plant at bay, but the situation is getting worse and I’m no longer able to keep on top of this issue without enlisting more help. Clary’s lakeshore residents need to step up to help manage this threat. It really is important that we prevent Purple Loosestrife from gaining a solid foothold around Clary Lake.

This year I’ve seen more Purple Loosestrife growing than ever before. A few weeks ago, Kelsie French and I spent half an hour pulling up plants growing down on the east end of the lake and the other day, some of them growing on the edge of the water, and some in as much as 3 feet of water. I spotted another large plant growing on the edge of the marsh over by Duncan Road the other day but was unable to get to it in my boat. You can see a good sized field of it doing what it does best, spreading uncontrolled in a small field across the road from the Whitefield Post Office. I’ve written about this invasive plant several times in recent years (see “29 July 2018: Have You Seen This Plant? [UPDATED]“). We need to take seriously the threat this invasive plant poses for Clary Lake. Continue reading →

12 August 2021: Damariscotta Lake Blooms

Damariscotta Lake has been experiencing considerable cyanobacteria growth in recent years, a troubling condition that affects many lakes in Maine. Some lakes are big enough for these types of events to impact only certain areas, though they can be lake-wide. This particular algal bloom in Damariscotta is in the Mills area. So far this summer I’ve noticed only slightly elevated levels of blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) in Clary as evidenced by faint wisps of dead algae on the water surface and slightly reduced transparency in early August. This is most likely the result of runoff from heavy rains in July. A small amount of algae growth is expected, and is more or less normal. Clary Lake however is by no means immune to severe algae blooms, defined as a transparency of 2 meters or less and while we haven’t experienced a severe bloom since 2014 (see chart at left), it can and will under the right condition happen again. It behooves us to be vigilant and minimize soil erosion on our properties to stop the introduction of sediment and phosphorus into our lake.

Algae Bloom at Damariscotta Mills Potentially Harmful

The Midcoast Conservancy staffer Patricia Nease who is monitoring the Damariscotta Lake bloom spoke at our recent Annual Meeting about the Invasive Plant Patrol program on Damariscotta Lake and things we should consider when starting up an IPP program on Clary Lake.

10 August 2021: CLA Annual Meeting Poorly Attended!

The Annual Meeting of the Clary Lake Association that was held last Saturday, August 7th was a fine meeting, but not all that well attended. Much to our chagrin, it turns out we did not have a quorum present, something that didn’t become apparent until a couple of days later when I was reviewing the attendance records. Oops! This means that the election of Officers and Board members and the Membership approval of our 2021/2022 budget were invalid, and will have to be redone. Our Bylaws define a quorum as 1/3 of the membership, and at any meeting of the Association, assuming a quorum is present, a simple majority can conduct Association business. We had at the time 143 members, 1/3 of which is 48. So we needed a quorum of 48 but we fell short of that mark with only 30 Members attending. While this isn’t the end of the world, it is an inconvenience that we will rectify by scheduling a Special Membership Meeting sometime next month and mailing out proxy ballots to all current Members of the Association. In the meantime, our bylaws provide for those people IN office to remain IN office until such time as their replacements are elected, so we’re not leaderless. Phew 🙂 Continue reading →

Thanks From Lake Stewards of Maine

The Clary Lake Association has been members of the Lake Stewards of Maine (formerly the Volunteer Lake Monitor Program) since 1975. We felt that this letter thanking us for our annual donation should be shared with our Membership so they can see where some of our money goes!

LSM-Receipt-2021

July 2021 Water Level Chart Archived

July 2021

I have archived the July 2021 Water Level Chart (at left). And just like that, the drought was over. The dry conditions that have plagued us since the beginning of the year have been effectively wiped out in one month due to the exceptional amount of rainfall we received in July. At the beginning of the month we were 6.78 inches shy of rainfall for the year. Then over the course of the month we received a total of 9 inches of rain! As of the end of the month we’re shy only 1.33 inches of the average of 24.42 inches for this date. Of course, there’s no guarantee that the drought will stay gone, but at least for now we can relax. It does appear that mid-to-late summer and fall drought conditions are the new normal. Time will tell. Continue reading →

10 July 2021: Hurricane Elsa Delivers Much Needed Rain [UPDATED]

July 2021 Precipitation as of 7-10-21

On its way up the New England coast yesterday, Hurricane Elsa dropped over 3″ of rain on Clary Lake. While this won’t end our drought, it will go a long ways towards replenishing ground water supplies, and it brought the lake up enough for water to flow over the top of the dam again. For the month of July we’re now at 5.35 inches, well above the average of 3.54 inches. For the year we’re now only (only?) 4.97 inches short of normal for this date.

[UPDATE]: As of this morning and for the FIRST TIME this year, the lake level is +0.08 feet ABOVE the High Water Mark having risen 7.08 inches since yesterday morning. Plenty of water flowing over the top of the dam as the picture at left shows. What a treat to have such high water this time of year!

08 July 2021: Great Loon Video

Here’s a great video about Loons with fantastic photography. No word on whether Clary Lake’s loons are nesting this year. They probably are and we just haven’t discovered where they’re doing it. If they do successfully hatch out some chicks, we should know soon.

Maine Lakes 2021 Spring Newsletter

A little late but better late than never, Maine Lake’s Spring 2021 newsletter is now freely available on line and is well worth perusing. The Clary Lake Association has been a long time member of Maine Lakes (formerly the Maine Lakes Society). Among other things, Maine Lakes administers the award winning LakeSmart program: “LakeSmart is an education and reward program that helps lakefront homeowners manage landscapes in ways that protect water quality. The program is free, non-regulatory, and voluntary.” The Clary Lake Association is considering participating in the LakeSmart program in the near future.

June 2021 Water Level Chart Archived

June 2021

I have archived the June 2021 Water Level Chart (at left). The drought deepens. We were shy 5.20 inches of rainfall at the end of May, now we’re shy 6.76 inches of rainfall at the end of June. We received a total of only 2.15 inches of rain in June, fully 1.58 inches less than normal. This brings us to 14.1 inches for the year to date. Our drought is nowhere near as severe as they’re experiencing in the western half of our country and especially in the southwest, but that is small consolation: this deficit will have a profound impact on our environment and ground water supplies for the rest of the year, and it’s not over. It’s so dry that even when we received a significant rainfall of 0.99 inches on the 22nd of June, the lake level only came up 1/3 of an inch. Lesser rainfall amounts during the month had almost no measurable effect on the lake level. There are two reasons for this: The primary explanation is that the ground around the lake is so dry that when the lake receives rain, the rising water is quickly wicked off into the surrounding dry shoreline. The other reason is that at this lake elevation, adding more water to the lake mostly makes the lake bigger, not deeper. Continue reading →

Kenneth Sperry Rapp August 22, 1945 – June 22, 2021

Ken and Dedi Rapp have been Clary Lake shore owners and Association members for as long as I can remember. The family camp, originally built by Ken’s parents Bill & Catherine Rapp on property purchased from Paul MacDonald in 1967, is over on the northeast shore of Clary Lake, next north of Thomas & Delph Gillette. Ken’s daughter Jennifer Rapp Goyet reached out to me this morning to inform me of her father’s passing. Here is Ken’s Obituary:

Kenneth Sperry Rapp August 22, 1945 – June 22, 2021

Kenneth Sperry Rapp, 75, passed away peacefully on June 22, 2021 with his wife by his side. Ken was born in Pensacola, FL and has lived in Virginia Beach since 1988. He was the son of the late VADM William T. Rapp and Catherine A. Rapp, and was also preceded in death by his brother Richard Rapp. He was a proud veteran of the USMC, and served as a Marine Embassy Guard throughout various countries. After his military service he started out in banking as a Foreign Exchange Trader, then later became a Real Estate Broker. Continue reading →

15 June 2021: Trapping Browntail Moths

How to tell male from female Browntail Moths.

While killing Browntail moth caterpillars is easy and may make you feel better, it’s problematic for a variety of reasons. First, it gives you the sense that you’re doing something to rid yourself of the Browntail problem when in reality you’re probably not making a dent at all in the caterpillar population. If you just spray them with soapy water, sure it kills them, but then you’ve got dead caterpillars with their toxic hairs laying around your yard. I did that last month, fanatically wandering around my deck and yard with a spray bottle of soapy water in each hand, shooting caterpillars like some madcap wild west gunslinger. Of course, I got the rash on my arms and neck. Then I put aside the spray bottles and took up a tin can with some soapy water in it and kitchen tongs and went around picking the caterpillars up and dropping them in the can. More rash. Now that the caterpillars have begun pupating, I’ve been searching for the nests, cutting down those that I can reach with my tree pruner, and soaking them in a bucket of soapy water. Is this helping? I sure hope so, but I have my doubts. Continue reading →

Browntail Moth Hell [UPDATED]

Browntail Moth Caterpillar

If you’ve managed to avoid getting a Browntail Moth rash so far this summer, congratulations- and be careful, the summer isn’t over yet. Many of us haven’t been so lucky, myself and my wife (and most of my neighbors) included. My house is surrounded by large Red Oak trees that hang over my yard and deck. Last year we were still somewhat oblivious to the caterpillars and the risk they pose with the result that we got extensive rashes over large portions of our backs, necks, and arms. This year we’ve been more cautious and have avoided hanging out on our deck and in our yard, with the result that the rashes we’ve developed haven’t been as bad or extensive as they were last year, but they have still been very unpleasant. Both my wife and I have had a few sleepless nights so far this year. Even now as I type this, my hands are itching. Continue reading →

10 June 2021: Birds In The Marsh

An American Bittern, one of the birds heard during the birding trip into the marsh. (stock photo).

Last Saturday, Steven Viti, Nancy DeWall, and myself, Malcolm Burson, took a two-hour paddle up into the Clary Lake marsh to see what birds were around. We started over on the floating bog where the blueberries grow where we got good looks at Eastern Kingbirds, Yellow Warblers, and Purple Finch, all of which are likely breeding there, and we heard a Veery singing. As we worked our way into the marsh, we heard a call with which I wasn’t familiar; later detective work led to the conclusion that this was a Marsh Wren, a species I hadn’t observed before at Clary. A zig-zag to the other side, beyond the island, produced a Swamp Sparrow, a regular breeding species here. We watched a Great Blue Heron fly across the north end, and once we headed that way, heard an American Bittern, possibly a return to breeding territory that I heard every evening last year closer to the main body of the lake. Continue reading →

Clary Lake 4th of July Boat Parade!!

Clary Lake
4th of July Boat Parade!!