The ice has come, the ice has gone, the ice is here again. It will be here for six more weeks if we can trust that Ground Hog. I am skeptical of any creature also known as a whistlepig, though, and for whom the leading topics in an internet search include 1.) How to repel, […]
400 plus souls gather in a field of ice. Three boys toss a ball for their dogs. A silver-blue Miata cruises with its top down. Fires dot the expanse, and a small group huddles around each one, warming hands and roasting hot dogs. It is the annual Great Pond Fishing Derby. Fish are the reason […]
There is crunchy brown grass in my yard instead of white expanses of snow, and my new winter boots are still in the box. Winters weren’t always like this. My little village of Otter Creek had a sled run that was an icy half-mile long, or so I was told… The Run “We were whistling […]
The last installment of my progress as a Maine Master Naturalist, Tier 1. Fireworks end with a grand finale of ear-aching noise and blinding flashes. That is nothing compared to the Maine Master Naturalist finale, Tier One. We followed in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark through field and forest, and then put on […]
Another installment in my progress as a Maine Master Naturalist Tier 1 student. We are in the home stretch, final assignments are due, and there is some scrambling to finish projects. Nineteen never-say-die aspiring naturalists, who might just possibly all be called over achievers, were given the assignment of building an insect model. We […]
In decades of being gainfully employed I have never* had to wear a badge with my name on it. I never really thought much about them. The bag girl at the local supermarket has one, flight attendants wear them, my daughter had polo shirts with her name when she drove a team of horses, and […]
Another installment in my progress as a Maine Master Naturalist Tier 1 student. “Dissect an owl pellet, separate and identify bones, and build and label a skeleton,” was one of the assignments due this week. “Piece of cake,” I thought, remembering seventh grade biology and all the dissections we had done. Earthworms, starfish, some […]
“When is the ice safe?” I am asked. There are plenty of answers to this, but the only right one is: “It depends.” Safe for a skater does not mean safe for a snowmobile. There is a generous amount of info out there on judging ice safety by its color, whether it is early […]
My village, Otter Creek, has an annual Christmas gathering that is part comedy of errors and part a magical suspension of time and personal differences. It is held in the former church, which has lofty ceilings, beadboard walls with old crackly varnish, long windows with colored glass fanlights, and it feels like Christmas even in […]
A golden glow has taken over the landscape. This is an autumn of intense color—hot pink, burning red, neon chartreuse—but dominating them all are the yellows. Leaves, apples, grass, I saw yellow everywhere I turned. I saw fifty, no, a thousand shades of yellow. I recalled a best seller with a similar title. I had […]
