by Roland D. Hallee Well, the first June bug of the year made its appearance at camp on Thursday, May 31, at 10:30 p.m. We were, after all, still in May. Generally, June bugs, Phyllophaga, do make their appearance in mid- to late-May. So why are they called June bugs? It all depends on what […]
by Roland D. Hallee While taking a break from my chores at camp over the weekend, I tried to figure out what my column was going to be about this week. Thoughts were coming hard until I noticed all around me were blue jays galore. Other than knowing they are scavengers, noisy and the mascot […]
by Roland D. Hallee There is nothing like beating a subject to death. But, in this case, it’s worth every word. You have to be living in a cave not to know that deer ticks are at an all time high. They are everywhere. Friends and family have told me stories about their encounters with […]
by Roland D. Hallee On Friday, May 11, my wife and I officially moved to camp for the summer. It’s always great to leave the city and live in the serenity by the lake for about five months. And, on Sunday, we were greeted by my wife’s favorite bird, the ruby-throated hummingbird. It was […]
by Roland D. Hallee It was an interesting weekend for me regarding unusual animal activities. The first one was actually, unknowingly, transporting a field mouse from our camp to our house. She had hidden herself in some clothes that were taken home to be laundered, jumped out of the bag and ran under the refrigerator. […]
by Roland D. Hallee Porcupines. Nuisance, or ecological necessity? It all depends with whom you talk. I know some people who are overrun by the animals to the point where they are raiding the gardens, and having to deal with their dogs being injured by porcupine quills due mostly to their own curiosity. While others […]
by Roland D. Hallee A couple of weeks ago, during a discussion with associates, the subject of the brown-tail moth came up. I figured it was just another of the mundane moths we see during the summer. However, that was not the case. This particular moth, Euproctis chrysorrhoea, is one that we probably could […]
by Roland D. Hallee I came across something quite interesting last week while watching the Animal Planet network. It was a story about Pink Pigeons. Now, you have your general, run-of-the-mill rock doves, or common pigeons, that we all know all too well, marking up our landscape and just making a plain nuisance of themselves […]
by Roland D. Hallee At their March 15 meeting, the Kennebec Water District board of trustees heard a report, on the request of trustee Allan Fuller, regarding the China Lake water level and maintaining this level within the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) lake level guidance order. Kennebec Water District Engineer Matt Zetterman informed […]
by Roland D. Hallee I’m not talking about Martha Stewart etiquette here. I’m talking about house mice that come in uninvited and overstay their welcome. I dealt with mice at camp last summer when I trapped 13 during the season, and I am in a constant battle to keep them out. Now, I’m dealing with […]