Mountain Times - Volume 49, Number 14: April 1-7, 2020

Columns
24 • The Mountain Times • April 1-7, 2020
What to see, hear, and do outdoors:
A treasure hunt for early spring
This is such a disorienting time,
when all our lives have been turned
upside down and shaken. One of
the ways my
own family
is coping is
by spending
time outside
every day. We
stage nature
treasure
The Outside
Story
By Elise Tillinghast
hunts in
the woods
behind our
house. The
kids work as
a team, with
points awarded for number of species
identified, and chocolate doled
out after every 10 points. It’s fun for
the kids. For my husband and me,
it’s a chance to escape a swarm of
worries and enjoy such basics as
spring light and birdsong.
You don’t need specialized
knowledge to get outside and have a
treasure hunt of your own. Below is a
simple list of common sights in early
spring, and suggestions for handson
activities. For those who have the
time and interest to go deeper, the
online version of this essay that’s
posted at the Northern Woodlands
website (northernwoodlands.org)
has links to related articles.
And here’s a great outdoor
learning resource: the Upper Valley
Teaching Place Collaborative
(uvtpc.org), supported by the New
Hampshire Charitable Foundation’s
Wellborn Ecology Fund, is serving
as a hub for outdoor learning
opportunities, bringing together
online resources from environmental
education groups around the
region. Bookmark their site! Then
get outside.
Yellow-bellied sapsucker
holes:
Look for lines of tiny
holes in old apple trees
and other common tree
species. The birds drill
these, then used their
bristle tipped tongues to
lap sap. Fun fact: as spring progresses,
hummingbirds will follow
sapsuckers around, taking advantage
of the freshly-drilled feeding
stations.
Red maple bud bouquets:
Red maples are a common, earlyblooming
tree with easy-to-identify
raspberry-shaped buds. Cut a stem
with a couple of buds and stick this
in a jar of water on a sunny windowsill
to force an early bloom. Try other
early-blooming stems as well.
Insect galleries:
Pull the bark off a log or dead tree,
and you’re likely to find intricate
patterns chiseled underneath.
These are made by tunneling
insects, probably beetle larvae. See
if you can find different patterns underneath
the bark of different logs.
Moon close encounter:
On April 7, the moon will make
its closest approach to Earth for the
entire year: a mere 221,773 miles
away. And lucky us, this occurs on a
full moon night. Get the binoculars!
Chickadees:
Listen for their dee dee dee alarm
call, as well as their love song, fee bee.
Ditch your dignity, and try making
a loud, repeated “pshpshpshhhh”
sound. This is likely to lure them to
fly closer to investigate. This trick
works on many other songbirds, as
well.
Chipmunk burrows:
See if you can identify one or
more burrow entrances. Leave a
seed offering and wait to see if it’s
gathered. Yes, I know – it’s inadvisable
to feed wildlife. I’m willing to
corrupt a few chippies.
Spring ephemerals:
It’s still early for wildflowers,
but under
the ground, they’re
already racing to
sprout, bloom,
and set seeds
before the
tree canopy
closes in.
Keep
an eye
out for their emergence, and in the
meantime, look for early nonnatives
coming out of the ground
now, including snowdrops, daffodils
and crocuses. If you have access to
wetlands, look for the bizarre seacreature-from-outer
space purple
spathes of skunk cabbage – a plant
that gets a jump on spring by generating
its own heat.
Pileated woodpecker feeding holes:
These are large, shallow gouges,
with wood chips piled at the bottom
of the tree. Sometimes you can find
the bird’s scat there. A fun project for
the non-squeamish: use your phone
or a hand lens to magnify this, and
inspect all the undigested carpenter
ant bits.
Woolly bears:
Those fuzzy, brown-and-black
banded caterpillars are active again.
Their markings show past, not
future, weather; as a rule, the milder
the past autumn, the broader the
middle brown band. See if you can
find a woolly and “read” its past.
Vernal pools:
They’re still icy now, but repeated
trips to these small, seasonal pools
in the woods will reveal constant
change over the next month, as amphibians
arrive for mating season.
Peepers and wood frogs start off the
spring chorus. One peeps, the other
chuckles. Can you hear them both?
Jelly fungus and other fungi:
Look for these globby fungal
forms on logs and dead trees. Bright
yellow-to-orange witch’s butter is
easy to spot. You can also find turkey
tail and other shelf mushrooms, and
old puffball mushrooms (some can
still be stomped to create a modest
puff).
Elise Tillinghast is the executive
director of the Center for Northern
Woodlands Education. The illustration
for this column was drawn by
Adelaide Tyrol. The Outside Story
is assigned and edited by Northern
Woodlands magazine and sponsored
by the Wellborn Ecology Fund of New
Hampshire Charitable Foundation:
wellborn@nhcf.org.
Important birthdays over 50
Most children stop being “and-a-half” somewhere
around age 12. Kids add “and-a-half“ to make sure everyone
knows they’re closer to the
next age than the last. When you
are older, “and-a-half” birthdays
start making a comeback. In fact,
starting at age 50, several birthdays
and “half-birthdays” are
critical to understand because
they have implications regarding
Money
Matters
By Kevin Theissen
your retirement income.
Age 50
At age 50, workers in certain
qualified retirement plans are
able to begin making annual
catch-up contributions in addition
to their normal contributions. Those who participate
in 401(k), 403(b), and 457 plans can contribute an
additional $6,000 per year in 2019. Those who participate
in Simple IRA or Simple 401(k) plans can make a
catch-up contribution of up to $3,000 in 2019. And those
who participate in traditional IRAs can set aside an additional
$1,000 a year.
Age 59½
At age 59½, workers are able to start making withdrawals
from qualified retirement plans without incurring
a 10% federal income-tax penalty. This applies to
workers who have contributed to IRAs and employersponsored
plans, such as 401(k) and 403(b) plans (457
plans are never subject to the 10% penalty). Keep in
mind that distributions from traditional IRAs, 401(k)
plans, and other employer-sponsored retirement plans
are taxed as ordinary income.
When you are older, “and-a-half”
birthdays start making a comeback.
Age 62
At age 62 workers are first able to draw Social Security
retirement benefits. However, if a person continues to
work, those benefits will be reduced. The Social Security
Administration will deduct $1 in benefits for each $2
an individual earns above an annual limit. In 2019, the
income limit is $17,640.
Age 65
At age 65, individuals can qualify for Medicare. The
Social Security Administration recommends applying
three months before reaching age 65. It’s important to
note that if you are already receiving Social Security
benefits, you will automatically be enrolled in Medicare
Part A (hospitalization) and Part B (medical insurance)
without an additional application.
Age 65 to 67
Between ages 65 and 67, individuals become eligible
to receive 100% of their Social Security benefit. The
age varies, depending on birth year. Individuals born
in 1955, for example, become eligible to receive 100%
of their benefits when they reach age 66 years and 2
months. Those born in 1960 or later need to reach age 67
before they’ll become eligible to receive full benefits.
Age 70½
Under the SECURE Act, in most circumstances, once
you reach age 72, you must begin taking required minimum
distributions from a Traditional Individual Retirement
Account (IRA) and other defined contribution
plans. You may continue to contribute to a Traditional
IRA past age 70½ under the SECURE Act as long as you
meet the earned-income requirement.
Understanding key birthdays may help you better
prepare for certain retirement income and benefits. But
perhaps more importantly, knowing key birthdays can
help you avoid penalties that may be imposed if you
miss the date.
Kevin Theissen is the owner of HWC Financial in
Ludlow.