There’s a 170-acre lake in Sutton, NH called Kezar Lake (not to be confused with the much larger — at 2,500 acres — Kezar Lake in Lovell, Maine),
on which is modest 50-acre Wadleigh State Park, consisting of a picnic area on a small beach, with the options to swim in a cordoned-off area (or beyond), kayak, canoe, paddleboard, fish (ice fishing in winter, with shacks on the ice), and operate boats. Seadoos and other skicraft are banned from the lake.
beach area, June 2016picnic table in beach area, May 2017people picnicking on 4th of July, 2017kayakers coming in, July 2013kayakers, with Mt. Kearsarge in view, 4 July 2017fisherman in canoe, April 2016 ice house, ATV, January 2017
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Around the lake runs a three-mile oblong-shaped road, partly paved (Keyser St, part of Penacook Rd), partly dirt (part of Penacook Road, King Hill Road), through which cuts a small bit of the 75-mile Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway hiking trail.
Keyser St, Oct 2016Keyser St, 4 July 2017Penacook Road, April 2017Penacook Road curveSRK trail aka King Hill Road, May 2017SRK trail aka King Hill Road with wildflowers, June 2017
The roads are fairly sparsely populated with houses: small cottages, larger vintage camps, farmhouses with spacious front and side porches, log cabins, a few new ultra-modern homes.
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From almost everywhere, there’s a view of Mt. Kearsarge, located partly in Warner and partly in Wilmot, NH, with its own state parks in those towns (Rollins and Winslow, respectively).
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I try to walk the 3-mile trail ’round the lake at least once a week in all seasons; sometimes after I finish, if I have time, I turn around and walk parts of it or the whole thing again. There are usually dogs to greet, other walkers to chat with (also joggers and bicyclists), and frequently I’m with friends, and their dogs, talking as we walk, taking it all in through sight, breath, scent, sound, touch. The place has a nostalgic, old-fashioned feel.
T and Charlie, Sept 2012Annie, Caroline, Candis, with Brandy ahead, April 2013Alison, Karen, June 2014Natalie and Ann, Zoey dog, Nov. 2015Caroline, Alison, Candis, and Brandy dog, May 2014Me and Zoey, Oct. 2015Darby swimming, Nov. 2015Brandy retrieving, Sept. 2013
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A visitor might see (or hear in some cases) loons, herons, eagles, various kinds of ducks, otter, beaver, newts, turtles, frogs, snakes, all kinds of insects, woodland and meadow plants, and wildflowers. If you fish, there’s rainbow and brook trout, large and small mouth bass, chain pickerel, black crappie, yellow perch, brown bullhead, and pumpkinseed.
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Here’s some of what I saw from March thru June this year.
March
Landscape ….
lake ice, branches, 6 Marchmoss on shed roof, 8 Marchview of Mt. Kearsarge, 19 MarchPenacook toward King Hill Road, 30 March
Animals ….
first chipmunk seen, 6 Marchchipmunk, 30 March
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April
Landscape ….
stone wall, stairs, 3 Aprilpicnic table at beach, 3 AprilPenacook toward King Hill Road, 14 Aprilstump cairn, 14 Aprildegrading lake ice, black and blues, 14 April
Plants ….
witch hazel flowers, 3 Aprilyellow alder catkins, 14 April
Animals ….
great blue heron, Lyon Brook, 3 Aprilmaybe a winter stonefly?, 3 Aprilchipmunk munching, 14 April
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May
Landscape ….
wind on water, Lyon Brook, 16 MayPenacook to King Hill Road view, 16 Mayflooded SRK Greenway trail, 17 Maynew granite dock for white farmhouse, 27 Mayferns, 27 May
Plants ….
Sessile bellwort (wild oats), 16 Mayhobblebush flower, 16 Maywhite and purple violet, 16 Mayperiwinkle flower, 16 Maywhite goldthread flower, 17 MayAmelanchier (serviceberry) flower, 17 Maypurple violets, 17 Mayred Trlllium erectum, 17 Mayequisetum stems and foliage, 17 MayAralia nudicaulis (wild sarsaparilla) with flowers, 17 Maycoltsfoot flowerhead, 17 MayActaea (baneberry) in flower, 18 Mayfalse hellebore, 18 Maythree painted Trillium undulata, 18 Maybunchberry with flower, 27 Mayfirst pink lady slipper, 27 MayJack in the Pulpit, 27 MayClintonia (blue bead lily) flower and foliage, 27 May
equisetums and ferns, 3 Junestump cairn, 3 Juneroad and trees, 3 JuneLyon Brook waterflow with bridge and moss pattern, 21 JuneLyon Brook with cloud reflections, 21 Junehigh lake water, no beach showing, 21 June
Plants & Fungi ….
ganoderma fungi?, 3 Junefalse Solomon’s Seal, 3 JuneErigeron (fleabane), 3 JuneZizia (Golden Alexander), 3 JuneIris versicolor (blue flag iris), 11 Junefirst daylilies of the season, 11 Junebumblebee in Rosa rugosa, 11 Junea brassica, maybe Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard), 11 Junefungus, 11 JuneSisyrinchium (blue-eyed grass), 11 Juneblue flag iris, 21 Junebirdsfoot trefoil, 21 JunePotentilla recta (sulfur cinquefoil) flower, 21 Juneheliopsis?, 21 Junevarnished shelf fungus ?, 29 JuneKalmia angustifolia (sheep laurel), 29 Junemilkweed flower with ant, 29 June
Animals ….
male mallard, Lyon Brook, 11 Junewhite admiral butterfly, 21 Junelarge swallowtail on red clover, 21 June
Check back again when autumn starts for some summer photos.
