by Roland D. Hallee A friend of mine was asked by an acquaintance if she recognized a certain bug they found hanging around the garden, and boring holes in the yard. She suggested the person send the photo to me for identification. With the help of my insider at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries […]
by Roland D. Hallee Because I spend my summers at Webber Pond, in Vassalboro, I have the chance to fish that lake extensively. In the 38 years my wife and I have summered there, we have caught plenty of fish of many various species: small and largemouth bass, white perch, yellow perch, chain pickerel, eels, […]
by Roland D. Hallee Recently I read an article about the state of bumble bees and honey bees. It seems a common class of pesticide, neonicotinoids, is causing problems for honeybees and bumblebees, by attacking the central nervous system, causing a reduction in weight and number of queens in bumblebee hives. It also causes them […]
by Roland D. Hallee A little while back someone inquired about fireflies and how they have been scarce as of late. Well, the other night, my wife and I were treated with a light show like we have not seen in a while. We were sitting enjoying the warm summer night when the area to […]
by Mary Grow “It’s a sad, sad situation. People love the chairs,” Winslow Parks and Recreation Director Amanda McCaslin said regretfully. The chairs she meant were the wooden Adirondack chairs that used to be in Fort Halifax Park, near the Kennebec River. Early in June, unknown people apparently threw them into the river. Since they […]
by Roland D. Hallee A reader recently asked about the Japanese beetle, and the lack of them so far this year. She said they usually devour her roses, but has not seen one this year. So far, It’s difficult to say definitively if it will be a bad year for Japanese beetles, but there are […]
by Roland D. Hallee For some reason, this year, I am getting more and more questions about poison ivy. Where is it? What does it look like? What do you do about it and how do you treat it? All very legitimate questions. As we all know, poison ivy and other members of its family […]
by Roland D. Hallee The house mouse is becoming more and more of a nuisance at camp, and to say the least, are not welcome. My neighbors are fighting a constant battle with them, and until Saturday, my wife and I had been free of them. They have intruded our camp and when we uncovered […]
by Roland D. Hallee It has already been a month since my wife and I moved to camp for the summer. With the annual trek comes the installation of the bird feeding stations that are all around us. We get the usual local congregations of chickadees, nuthatches, gold finches, blue jays, woodpeckers and occasional wanderers […]
by Roland D. Hallee Last Thursday night my wife woke me from a sound sleep to listen to something outside our camp. Well, being somewhat groggy, I didn’t hear anything, and went back to sleep. It wasn’t long afterwards that she woke me again. “Can’t you hear that?” she inquired sounding a little frustrated – […]