by Roland D. Hallee Recently, someone showed me a photograph of an insect they alleged bit one of their children. They wanted to know what it was and whether it was harmful. It didn’t take long for me to identify it as an earwig. Earwigs are a relatively small group of insects. Earwigs often upset […]
by Roland D. Hallee More and more in recent days, I have seen and heard of the return of the red-winged blackbird. It is the first of migrating birds to return in the spring. A sure sign that spring is near. The red-winged blackbird is one of the most abundant birds across North America, and […]
by Roland D. Hallee You must, at sometime, heard a rooster crow in the morning. It’s pretty cool. Roosters are often portrayed as crowing at the break of dawn and will almost start crowing before the age of four months. He can often be seen sitting on fence posts or other objects, where he crows […]
by Roland D. Hallee You must remember the cartoon character of a bird with an innate chutzpah and brash demeanor that would fly into our living rooms during cartoon Saturdays in the 1950s and 1960s. He possessed a fluffy red crest and a laugh that bordered on insanity. He was Woody Woodpecker, the 1940 creation […]
by Roland D. Hallee Now, you’re very familiar with Drosophila melanogasters aren’t you? They usually show up in your kitchen at the most inopportune time. They are called fruit flies, also known as vinegar flies. Those pesky little bugs that annoy the dickens out of you, but are actually very beneficial to humans. This species […]
by Roland D. Hallee Recently, my daughter and one of my granddaughters have expressed an interest in bringing home a Maine coon cat. I’ve heard a lot about coon cats, but what makes them so different, and their size. The Maine Coon is a large domesticated cat breed. One of the oldest natural breeds in […]
by Roland D. Hallee Oh, my goodness! Sunday is Groundhog Day. My, how times flies. For starters, I have to find out where my friend Woodrow Charles is hanging out these days. Last year, he had moved to less than flattering surroundings. A quick email will tell me where he is. I hope it doesn’t […]
by Roland D. Hallee Because I spend my summers on Webber Pond, in Vassalboro, I have the chance to fish that lake extensively. In the 35 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 One of the educational things I do for myself every day is read the comics in the daily newspaper. It kind of sets the tone for the rest of the day for me. I have my favorites: Peanuts, Hi and Lois, Beetle Bailey, Garfield, etc. I even like to read Mark Trail […]
by Roland D. Hallee I recently received this update from the Maine Forest Service on the status of the browntail moth caterpillar. Browntail caterpillars will remain in their winter webs for now… Throughout the winter season in Maine, browntail caterpillars are nestled inside of their winter webs they created in late fall. These winter webs […]