by Roland D. Hallee OK, let’s shift gears this week and talk about our roads. No, not the ruts, potholes and whoopsy dos, nor the bevy of political signs that sprout along the roadway. I’m talking about the carnage on our highways. Over the last week, I have seen, laying dead, either on the shoulder […]
by Roland D. Hallee There I was last Thursday, driving down the Cross Hill Road, in Vassalboro, minding my own business, listening to my Johnny Cash CD; just cruising on a beautiful, pleasant late spring afternoon, heading for camp. That’s when it happened. A gray squirrel came darting out from the side of the road. […]
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 […]