Impressive overtopping at the Clary Lake dam this morning!
2022/2023 Water Column Newsletter Available
The Lake Stewards of Maine’s 2022/2023 Water Column newsletter is out, and it’s good reading:
Summer 2023 Raffle!
The 2023 Raffle is Over!
We held the drawing at the conclusion of our Annual Meeting yesterday afternoon, September 2nd. The winner of the grill was Cheryl Willis, the Winner of the L.L. Bean gift card was Linda Gallion, the winner of the Reny’s gift card was Geraldine Hull (wife of Paul Barton), and the winner of the Sheepscot General gift certificate was Lee Sledjeski (a friend of our new President, Gareth Bowen). There was an additional 5th prize made and graciously donated by Linda Clark, wife 
of Alan Clark, a lovely sun catcher and a pendant made with real flowers (picture at left). This unexpected lovely final runner up prize was won by Steve Cowles daughter-in-law, Jess Puth.
We’ll be collecting the grill from Louis Doe Garden Center this coming week and delivering it to it’s new home.
All told we raised $2335 for our Dam Repair Fund bringing the fund balance to an impressive $26,310. We would like to thank EVERYONE who bought tickets this year for helping support our dam repair efforts.
The Second Annual Clary Lake Association Raffle is underway! Once again, Mark & Tara Doe of Louis Doe Garden Center in Newcastle have graciously donated our First Prize, a Masterbuilt Digital Charcoal Grill + Smoker (pictured at left) with a retail price of $599. To increase your chances of winning something, we have three runner up prizes too! Our 1st runner up prize is a $250 Gift Certificate from LL Bean in Freeport. Our 2nd runner up prize is a $100 Renys Gift Certificate, and our 3rd runner up prize is a $50 gift certificate from Sheepscot General. Tickets cost $5 each or 5 tickets for $20.
The drawing for the raffle will be held at the Clary Lake Association’s Annual Meeting on Saturday September 2nd at the Clary Lake dam on Route 218 in Whitefield. The meeting starts at 2PM and usually goes for about an hour and a half. We’ll hold the drawing at the conclusion of the Membership Meeting. There is no limit to the number of tickets you can buy so if you want to increase your chances of winning, buy a lot!
Why Are We Raising Money?
We are raising money for our Clary Lake Dam Maintenance and Repair fund. The dam is in reasonable shape now but it leaks, and leaks only get worse, not better. Someday in the not too distant future we’re going to have to make some costly repairs to the dam and gate mechanism. This is your chance to help fund that effort and maybe win something as well. Sadly, money that you spend on raffle tickets is not tax deductible, even if given to a nonprofit organization such as the Clary Lake Association. Sorry! If you WOULD like to make a tax deductible contribution, please visit our Donate to the Association page!
Here’s what our tickets look like. You keep the big part. We keep the small part:
YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE PRESENT TO WIN! Make sure that you write your contact info (at least your first name and phone number) on the back of the ticket stub so we can reach out to you to let you know you won. Gift certificates can be mailed. Particulars for claiming the 1st prize will be furnished at a later date.
How To Get Tickets
There are lots of ways you can get raffle tickets:
- Make out a check made out to Clary Lake Association and mail it to PO Box 127, Whitefield ME 04353 and we’ll mail you your tickets! How easy is that?
- We’ll be sending out our Summer 2023 Newsletter soon with an included Dues envelope. Just include your ticket money with your dues and we’ll mail your your tickets! 2 birds with one stamp!
- If you know a Board member, go see them, they’ll have tickets to sell.
- We’d like to make it easy to buy tickets! You can simply email your name, mailing address, and phone number to ticketsales@clarylake.org and someone will call to make arrangements to meet up with you to get you some tickets!
- Tickets will be available at the Annual Meeting on Saturday September 2nd from about 1PM until the drawing.
- You can buy tickets at the Clary Lake Association’ Ice Cream Social (Saturday July 15th)
- Starting in June, we plan to have a table set up to sell tickets at the Whitefield Recycling Center (and possibly other places to be announced); stop by and grab some tickets!
- You can use the button below to buy tickets and pay for them with a credit card or with your Paypal account. Make sure we have your full name, mailing address and email address and we’ll put your tickets in the mail to you and put your ticket stubs in the bucket with all the rest. How easy is that!
We’re continuing to work on easy ways to see you tickets. Stay tuned for future announcements!
7 April 2023: Spring Turnover and More!
I stopped at the boat launch the other day to check out the waves, and I was not disappointed! It’s windy days like this in the early Spring that churn up the lake water, mixing it together from top to bottom in a process known as Spring Turnover. The water column ends up with a uniform (and cold) temperature and the oxygen profile is similarly homogenous. Then throughout the course of the summer, the lake water stratifies with the surface warming up while remaining cold down below the thermocline. Then same turnover thing happens in the Fall, mixing the water once again. It’s an endless cycle: Spring turnover, Summer Stratification, and Fall turnover.
This video not only shows this turnover process taking place, you can also see the lines of white froth resulting from Langmuir Rotation.
April 3, 2023 Ice Out, Finally!
I consulted with David Hodsdon a little bit ago and we are in agreement: the conditions for calling Ice Out on Clary Lake have been achieved. There’s still one small ice floe still drifting around down in the east end of the lake but it is not attached to the shore, it is visibly shrinking by the hour, and it will likely be gone by morning. It is not preventing circumnavigation of the lake.
The winner of the First Prize of a $25 Gift Certificate from The Jefferson Scoop is Gayle Knight! Congratulations Gayle! She was the only person to have guessed today’s date, hence there are no runners up. However, I’d still like to offer runner up prizes of a laminated 8.5″ x 11″ Clary Lake Depth map to the 4 people who guessed tomorrow, April 4th. They are: Sarah Hazelton, David Marsh, Brian Vogel, and Beverley Bowen. I’ll email you and let you know how to collect your prize!
I’d like to thank everyone for playing, it’s been fun.
Almost Ice Out…
Still a good charge of ice down by the boat launch. It’ll probably go out tomorrow.
Live! From Clary Lake!
Image taken using Live View of ClaryCam-3
How many of you ever click on the “Live Stream in your browser” link on the Webcams page? I know the webcams themselves are very popular (22 people have looked at Clarycam-1 today alone), but I have no metrics on use of the live-view offered. My old visitor stats plugin used to show exterior links that people clicked on, but the plugin I’m currently using only shows local pages. I’m just curious! I could go grep through the weblogs to find that information, but that’s pretty tedious.
I check all three live feeds every day just to make sure they’re working OK. The level of service we’re using is free, but I have to periodically reactivate the cameras every once in a while. I’m just curious how many of our visitors check them out. Leave a comment!
March 2023 Water Level Chart Archived
I have archived the March 2023 water level chart (at left). The precipitation deficit we saw in February continued into March with only about 2.5 inches of precipitation falling, well below the average for March of 3.77 inches. However, due to the excess precipitation we received in January, we’re still 1.5 inches ahead of normal for this date. March is when we start the process of gradually raising the lake level by adding stop logs to the weir, while at the same time trying to maintain minimum flows to sustain the downstream aquatic habitat. We could really use some extra water in March to help with this process, but it didn’t happen this year. Given the conflicting mandates in the Water Level Order i.e., raising the lake level to it’s full capacity by ice out AND maintaining minimum flows at the same time, it’s a rare year when we can accomplish both! Usually something has to give and raising the lake level to where it belongs in the spring is our number one priority. We did succeed in gradually raising the lake level about a foot over the course of the month to within 1/2 a foot of the HWM, by the end of the month. With close to a half inch of rain falling on this first day of April, we should be overtopping the dam shortly. No fooling! Continue reading
30 March 2023 Ice Is On The Way Out
Judging from what I can see out my office window, I’d say about half of Clary’s main basin is ice free. I haven’t been down to the East end yet but I suspect it is still largely ice covered. Should be too long now!
2023 Ice Out Update
Patience! It ain’t out yet but it’s getting closer! You can see what appears to be open water on the far side of the lake on this web cam picture, but it’s not open, it’s just dark water logged ice and it’s more like a large section in the middle of the lake. I wouldn’t be walking around out there anymore.
The Vernal Equinox Has Arrived!
Well we’ve made it through another Winter, and for some of us it’s been particularly trying one. But today, finally, and despite the temperature, Spring is definitely in the air. At 5:24 PM this afternoon the Sun, in it’s apparent path around the Earth, will cross the Earth’s equator on it’s way North. It’s the Vernal Equinox, the day when the Sun rises directly Due East and sets directly Due West and the length of the day and night is equal. From now until the Summer Solstice in June, the days will be getting longer and the nights shorter. Summer is on the way 🙂
Ice-Out Contest Closed to New Entries
I’ve closed the 2023 Ice Out contest to new entries. Now we wait! We’ve got 38 ice out guestimates ranging from tomorrow March 17th (sorry no way!) to April 25th (could happen!). I have no idea if there’s thin ice out there yet or not, but looking out my upstairs office window at the lake today I can see the lake surface has taken on a gray cast indicating there’s water soaked snow on top now. You can’t see that on the Webcams because the images are overexposed, but it’s there. Wet snow on the ice combined with a higher sun angle and warmer temps means winter is coming to an end and the ice’s days are numbered.
Stay tuned!
Clary Lake Birding and Marsh Paddle Event
American Bittern, often heard if not seen on Clary Lake!
In what is becoming a most welcome annual event, experienced Clary Lake birder Malcolm Burson has offered to guide a small group of kayakers and canoeists on an early summer Birding event up into the great Marsh at the outlet of Clary Lake. Both Malcolm and his partner Eleanor Goldberg are long time birders with considerable experience spotting and identifying birds. The tentative date of the tour (to be confirmed as it nears) is Saturday, May 27th, with Sunday the 28th as a rain date. The event is expected to last about an hour and a half. To keep the group small and intimate, we’d like to limit participation to no more than 5-7 kayaks or canoes (no motorboats please, but electric motors are OK). We’ll be filling slots on a first come, first serve basis. If there is sufficient interest we’ll schedule a second event later in the summer on a date to be determined. Continue reading
[UPDATE] Time is Running Out to Enter the Ice Out Contest!
Time is running out to enter the 2023 Ice Out Contest! We’ll be stopping accepting guesses at the end of the day on Wednesday, March 15th. There are currently 29 guesses. It’s not cheating to look at our Ice In and Ice Out Dates page! You’ll find a description of the prizes, the contest rules, and the entry form here: 2023 Clary Lake Ice Out Contest!
[UPDATE] Remember, you can enter more than once but only your LAST entry will count!
Here are the guesses so far:
2023 Ice Out Guestimates
These are the guesses for ice out. The timestamp column will be used to decide on who was first in the event of a tie. I'll try and keep this more or less up to date. Hint: you can sort on any of the columns by clicking on the header:| Timestamp | Your name: | Ice Out Guess: |
|---|---|---|
| 3/12/2023 19:22:09 | Sue Webb | 3/17/2023 |
| 3/1/2023 14:22:10 | Stephen Viti | 3/21/2023 |
| 3/13/2023 23:19:11 | Megan Luisi | 3/22/2023 |
| 3/1/2023 14:08:55 | Randall B Wing | 3/23/2023 |
| 3/1/2023 16:41:05 | Jack Holland | 3/23/2023 |
| 3/1/2023 11:06:25 | Karen Stutzer | 3/24/2023 |
| 3/1/2023 12:36:22 | June Relyea | 3/26/2023 |
| 3/1/2023 16:06:19 | Anya Lagasse | 3/26/2023 |
| 3/1/2023 13:47:45 | Jay Bridgforth | 3/27/2023 |
| 3/4/2023 11:40:18 | Carolyn Curtis | 3/27/2023 |
| 3/1/2023 16:13:16 | Dan Burns | 3/28/2023 |
| 3/1/2023 21:04:18 | Sophie Seba | 3/28/2023 |
| 3/1/2023 16:50:39 | Megan Breece | 3/29/2023 |
| 3/8/2023 8:53:45 | Linda S Gallion | 3/30/2023 |
| 3/2/2023 18:16:36 | Thomas Gillette | 3/31/2023 |
| 3/6/2023 16:42:51 | Cheryl Smith | 3/31/2023 |
| 3/10/2023 11:35:09 | Steve Relyea | 4/1/2023 |
| 3/13/2023 18:59:22 | Ronnie Spann | 4/1/2023 |
| 3/12/2023 14:04:17 | Rick Gallion | 4/2/2023 |
| 3/14/2023 12:06:28 | Gayle Knight | 4/3/2023 |
| 3/1/2023 13:41:57 | Sarah Hazelton | 4/4/2023 |
| 3/1/2023 19:40:31 | David L Marsh | 4/4/2023 |
| 3/8/2023 10:48:13 | Brian Vogel | 4/4/2023 |
| 3/13/2023 18:06:57 | Beverley Bowen | 4/4/2023 |
| 3/1/2023 15:54:06 | Julie Anderson | 4/5/2023 |
| 3/3/2023 8:35:39 | Cindy Norman | 4/5/2023 |
| 3/1/2023 11:39:48 | Bill Hall | 4/6/2023 |
| 3/10/2023 10:19:24 | Michelle Pinkham | 4/6/2023 |
| 3/14/2023 12:08:25 | David Knight | 4/7/2023 |
| 3/10/2023 10:20:24 | Steve Pinkham | 4/9/2023 |
| 3/1/2023 16:56:40 | Dedi Rapp | 4/10/2023 |
| 3/15/2023 10:05:50 | Vicky Grimaldi | 4/12/2023 |
| 3/15/2023 11:23:56 | Ellis Percy | 4/12/2023 |
| 3/4/2023 11:29:37 | June m Lordi | 4/10/2023 |
| 3/1/2023 13:44:12 | DONNA Roeckel | 4/13/2023 |
| 3/13/2023 20:24:48 | Wynne Keller | 4/13/2023 |
| 3/13/2023 19:02:50 | Charlene Andersen | 4/14/2023 |
| 3/1/2023 13:08:23 | Kate Seba | 4/25/2023 |
Maine Lakes & Lake Stewards of Maine Annual Conference
LSM’s Annual Conference this year will be a joint conference with Maine Lakes.
Location: China Lake Conference Center
Date: June 17, 2023. There are discounts for early registration, LSM Water Quality monitors and Invasive Plant Patrollers, and Maine Lakes’ LakeSmart volunteers.
Please have a look at the conference webpage to register and to learn more about the programming, workshops, sponsors, door prizes, and silent auction items that will be at this all-day, engaging, and inspiring day. Information will be added in the coming weeks as the schedule of speakers and activities are finalized.
Amanda E. Knight December 2, 1986 – February 19, 2023
Amanda Knight
It is with the deepest of condolences to our CLA President David Knight and his dear wife, Gayle that we acknowledge the passing of their daughter, Amanda. Amanda grew up on Clary Lake. David has been a solid and supporting hand in lake business during these past few years, all the while shouldering the heavy load of concern and care for a child struggling. David and Gayle made numerous trips to Vermont where Amanda lived with her wife, Carrie and their beloved child, Kastle. Through all of this he found time, where he could, to stay in touch with Association business and keep us informed of progress and setbacks. Alas, Amanda’s obituary is included below. Please keep David and Gayle and their family in your hearts and be kind to one another. Continue reading
2023 Clary Lake Ice Out Contest!
This is our fourth year running a Clary Lake Ice-Out contest. This year’s prize for first place is a $25 Gift Certificate to The Jefferson Scoop. Yay Ice Cream! If you guess the correct ice-out date or come closest without going past it, you’re the winner. It’s quite likely that the ice will go out before the Scoop actually opens for business. You were warned. In the event there are two (or more) people who guessed the same winning date, the person guessing first (based on the recorded timestamp) will be the winner and the other less-lucky (but still lucky!) person (or persons!) will win a laminated 8.5″ x 11″ Clary Lake Depth Map as a runner up prize (see below). FYI, the earliest the lake has been deemed completely free of ice was on March 13, 2016; the latest the ice has gone out was on April 24, 2001. Last year’s “official” ice out date was March 29th which was correctly guessed by Vicki Grimaldi. She won a beautiful 12″ H x 15″ W framed loon photograph taken by David Hodsdon. We also awarded some second places prizes to a couple of lucky but not that lucky people. Visit our Ice In and Ice Out page to see all our historical data back to 2001. Reviewing historical ice-in and ice-out data is NOT CHEATING!.
We’ll be closing the contest to new guesses late on March 15th or sooner if it looks like ice out is actually imminent. Guess as often as you want, but remember: only your last guess counts! Here’s the Entry Form: Continue reading
February 2023 Water Level Chart Archived
I have archived the February 2023 water level chart (at left). February did not continue the wet trend that start the new year. On the contrary. February has the smallest average monthly precipitation of only 2.61 inches but we failed to reach even that low bar, receiving only 1.35 of precipitation for the month, mostly in the form of snow. We started February fully 4 inches ahead of average precipitation, but we lost ground, ending the month only 2.74 inches above average. Despite this, because we received so much precipitation in January, outflows from Clary Lake remained extremely high for the entire month. How high you ask? In the first two months of 2022, total outflows from Clary Lake amounted to 2231 acre-feet of water. In the first two months of 2023, outflows amounted to 4667 acre-feet or more than TWICE as much water. In other words, in the first two months of 2023 more than half the full volume of the lake passed through Clary Lake. In fact, outflows in the first 2 months of 2023 far exceed outflows during the same two-month period for the last 5 years, back to 2019 with the greatest disparity occurring in 2021: Continue reading
Our Weather Page Actually Has Weather!
We haven’t had much in the way of current local weather on this website for some time. CLA member Tim Chase has a new Davis Instruments weather station designated Whitefield Village and we’re now hosting it on our Weather page. It displays the current temperature, wind, rain, humidity, and barometric pressure. There’s also a Whitefield Village Weather Summary page which has more information for a more detailed look at local weather.
I’m not sure when Tim installed his weather station but I think it was sometime in January. He therefore missed some of January’s heavy rains. As a result, his precipitation totals and mine won’t agree this year.
There’s a neat WeatherLink app on Google Play you can install on your Android phone which gives you access to loads of weather stations all over the world, in addition the Whitefield Village station. The app provides even more information including historical data. I assume there’s one for iPhones but I haven’t checked.
You’ll also find Whitefield Village weather on the Weather Underground station KMEWHITE15.
Banner Highlights
Usually the header image/banner on the website rotates randomly. Once in a while I highlight a specific banner image for a while. Today’s banner highlight is a truly ethereal sunset taken by Mark Rowe, taken looking southwest from Mark’s home on the North Clary Road.