Birds of a Feather, Not Flocking Together

Good news! Despite birders’ tendency to flock together in groups and share their spotting scopes, birding is actually a fine way to explore the outdoors with a friend or even grand-kids, without getting too close. You can drive separately, walk six feet apart but be close enough to ask, “What on earth was that?”

I once stood on a dirt road with the amazing Bob Duchesne while he . . .

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About Maine. Nothing About Impeachment.

It’s gotten kind of crazy out there. Time to pull into Maine and appreciate it. Shovel the roof. Get out with the dog and roll in the snow. Read about the some Maine things that matter.

Question. What do these all have in common?

Bald Eagles eating things they shouldn’t and Avian Haven.
A caddis fly building a golden pupa palace.
The fight to save the last wild rapids on the Penobscot River.
The Maine Master Naturalist program.
A USA Dept. of Agriculture war on predators.
Humans needing what zoo animals need.

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How We Lose and How We Find the Wild Maine

This week the undeveloped woods around my northern forest home were posted “No Trespassing.” Gates went up, cameras were leashed to trees, sheriffs were called; everything turned nasty. (Didn’t help that people angry about losing snowmobile access chain sawed their way through woods they didn’t own.)

For 30 years I’ve been slipping in and out of these woods, following old game trails and . . .

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The River. Thoreau. The Dam. And the River.

This past week I lived at the  Penobscot River. For 35 years I’ve camped by its rapids and under its pines. My husband and I caught landlocked salmon and brook trout, releasing them to shove off our hands the way competitive swimmers urgently buck against a pool wall to return to the water.

It was so cold at night . . .

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