by Roland D. Hallee Sometime between 5 and 5:30 a.m., a few weeks ago, I was unceremoniously reminded the season on Canada geese had begun in Maine. It’s rather startling when you’re awakened from a sound sleep with the clapping of gun fire. For a second, I thought I was back in Vietnam. There was […]
by Roland D. Hallee Isn’t it amazing how when you begin a conversation with someone, inevitably, it always leads to the weather. What would we do if we didn’t have the weather to talk about. Maybe some of us would never speak. Whether you’re at the supermarket, church, or just bumping into a friend on […]
by Roland D. Hallee Former local resident Zach Glidden, along with two other biologists, has been presented with the 2024 award from the Maine Department of Fisheries and Wildlife for a rescue last year. On September 7, 2023, at approximately 3:30 p.m., retired fisheries biologist Nels Kramer took a direct phone call of a missing […]
by Roland D. Hallee A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about different colored squirrels and what was the cause. That prompted an email from a reader who wrote, “Might you consider writing about their various calls? A week ago Thursday, I heard something making noise in my far tree line. After listening for about […]
by Roland D. Hallee Well, my article on Woolly Bear caterpillars in the September 12, 2024, issue of The Town Line, generated some emails. One reader wrote: “According to your article in this week’s issue of The Town Line you haven’t been seeing any Woolly Bear caterpillars. Maybe it’s because they all migrated to my […]
by Roland D. Hallee While driving to work on the Cross Hill Road, in Vassalboro, one morning last week, I saw a black squirrel. This caused me to remember an email I received a little while back from a reader who said, “I have red, black gray and a new one – dark gray with […]
by Roland D. Hallee Send out a BOLO! I got that from NCIS, it means “be on the lookout”, what they used to call an APB (all points bulletin – those of you my age will remember). Has anyone seen a woolly bear caterpillar this year? Usually, by mid-September they are everywhere. I haven’t seen […]
by Roland D. Hallee Recently, at camp, a friend showed me photos of a mushroom – an unusual mushroom – she had seen on the grounds. The mushroom had a blue hue and was seen in a wet area. So, it was research time. It turns out to be an Indigo milk cap, Lactarius indigo, […]
by Roland D. Hallee According to Zachary Smith, of Smith’s Pest Management, summer heatwaves have created the ‘perfect storm’ for a surge in rodent activity. Mainers have had to grapple with heatwaves this summer, and while these extreme weather patterns have obvious consequences, such as water shortages and increased wildfire risk, there’s another, less visible […]
by Roland D. Hallee With the increasing number of wolf sightings reported to me, I found it necessary to revisit the subject. Thanks to John Glowa, of the Maine Wolf Coalition, I will share with you the contents of an email he submitted to The Town Line. Wolves are attempting to recolonize the northeast after […]