by Roland D. Hallee

One evening, earlier this summer, we heard something mysterious. It was after dark, and from a distance, we heard a wailing, lamenting siren-like shriek. Everyone around was wondering what was making that noise. At first we thought it was a small, yiping dog. But it continued almost uninterrupted.

Then, someone mentioned they had seen some red foxes around.

That was it. The sound we heard was that of a red fox. It is common to hear those kinds of cry during the foxes’ breeding season, and thought to be emitted by a vixen’s (female fox) summoning males. Foxes generally greet each other with high pitched whines, particularly submissive animals. During an aggressive encounter they will emit a throaty, rattling sound.

An adult red fox has been identified with 12 different sounds while kits may produce eight.

The red fox, Vulpes vulpes, is the largest of the true foxes and the most abundant wild member of the species. It is listed as least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Besides its large size, red foxes are different from other species because of their ability to adapt quickly to new environments. There are 45 different subspecies of foxes.

The red foxes have a long history of interacting with humans, having been extensively hunted as a pest and furbearer for many centuries. Because of its widespread range and large population, the red fox is one of the most important furbearing animals harvested for the fur trade. Too small to pose a threat to humans, it has successfully colonized many suburban areas.

Urban red foxes are most active at dusk and dawn, doing most of their hunting and scavenging at these times. Despite their search for usable food, foxes tend to eat anything humans eat.

These foxes can cause problems for local folks. Foxes have been known to steal chickens, invade rubbish cans and raise havoc in gardens. In our case, we heard that a nearby neighbor, who kept chickens, had many disappear in a relatively short period of time. They will also prey on domestic rabbits and guinea pigs if they are allowed to run in the open. Urban foxes have been known to encounter cats and may feed alongside of them. In confrontations, cats usually have the upper hand, although foxes have been known to attack cats, not so much for food but rather as a competitor for food.

Red foxes are not readily prone to be infested with fleas.

Red foxes live in family groups, sharing a common territory. They may leave their families once they reach adulthood if the chances of winning a territory of their own are high. Otherwise, they will stay with their parents, postponing their own reproduction.

Red foxes have binocular vision, but their sight reacts mainly to movement. Their hearing though, is their strength, being able to hear a squeaking mouse at about 330 feet. Their sense of smell is good, but weaker than that of a domestic dog.

Being the largest of the Vulpes genus, on average, an adult male will measure 14-20 inches high at the shoulders, 18-35 inches in body length, and the tails measuring 12-22 inches. Their weight range is 5 – 31 pounds, with vixens weighing 15 – 20 percent less.

Red foxes are often mentioned in folklore and mythology of human cultures. In Greek mythology, the Teumessian fox or Cadmean vixen, was a gigantic fox that was destined to never be caught. According to Celtic mythology, witches were thought to take the shape of foxes to steal butter from their neighbors. In later European folklore, the figure of Reynard the Fox symbolizes trickery and deceit.

The red fox originated from smaller-sized ancestors from Eurasia shortly after the Wisconsin glaciation, which took place approximately 85,000 to 11,000 years ago. It was the most recent major advance of the North American ice sheet complex.

At camp, the red foxes have been sighted many times, but they tend to keep their distance, and have not been seen in close proximity of our shelters. Perhaps it’s because there are so many dogs present.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Who was the last major league pitcher to win 30 or more games in one season?

by Roland D. Hallee

Let’s stray off the beaten path this week and talk about the weather. Everybody does. Especially forecasts in particular, and those people who tell us what to expect, and are very often wrong. Or are they?

A group of us were recently talking about weather forecasts and what they mean. If you asked three people what a 50 percent chance of rain means you’ll potentially get three different answers. The chance for rain (or snow) is probably the most misunderstood part of the weather forecast. In meteorology they refer to the chance for rain or snow as POPS, or probability of precipitation.

A rain chance – also known as a PoP (probability of precipitation) – is often expressed as the coverage of showers and storms in a given day and describes the chance of precipitation occurring at any point in a selected area.

The National Weather Service defines PoP in the following way: PoP = C x A where “C” = the confidence that precipitation will occur somewhere in the forecast area, and where “A” = the percent of the area that will receive measurable precipitation, if it occurs at all. So… if the forecaster knows precipitation is sure to occur ( confidence is 100 percent), he/she is expressing how much of the area will receive measurable rain. ( PoP = “C” x “A” or “1” times “.4” which equals .4 or 40 percent.). Another way to explain this, is that if there is a 50 percent chance of rain in 80 percent of a given area, there is a 40 percent PoP.

This means that PoP is an expression of both confidence and area. If a forecaster is only 50 percent certain that rain will occur over 90 percent of the area, then the PoP is 45 percent (because POP in this instance would equal 0.5 x 0.8).

Let’s say tonight’s forecast calls for a 50 percent chance of rain. It does not mean, 1. that 50 percent of the area will get wet; or 2. that it will rain 50 percent of the time.

According to meteorologists, a 50 percent chance of rain means there is a 50 percent chance for any one spot in the forecast area to get wet during the forecast period. So what’s the forecast area and forecast period?

A UGA study surveyed 188 meteorologists and broadcasters and found that respondents expressed a range of different definitions of PoP, and that each person was highly confident in their definition. The expression given above (PoP = Precip X Area) is one of the most common, while another common interpretation of PoP focuses on a specific point instead (PoP = Precip X Point).

Nearly half of those involved in the survey also felt there was little consistency in the definition of PoP, and the study concluded that it was evident that we need to work together as a community to establish clear and consistent messaging involving the communication of uncertain information. However, to be clear, none of the interpretations of PoP reference the intensity, amount, or duration of precipitation. You can still see flooding with a 30 percent PoP, and there could also be a day with 100 percent PoP that results in little accumulation (such as a day when meteorologists are anticipating a few hours of drizzle everywhere). Planning a beach day and see an 60 percent chance of rain? Dive deeper – don’t let it ruin your fun at first glance! It could mean that there is a high likelihood of a 30-40 minute storm, versus an all-day event. This is why context is critical when consuming any kind of information – especially a weather forecast.

Fortunately, even if everyone isn’t on the same page of what PoP means, they’ve likely adapted their own internal definition of it. If you see an 80 percent chance of rain, you’ll likely remember to grab a rain jacket or umbrella on the way out the door, regardless if you think the 80 percent is referring to how much rain your area will receive or how long it will last. A quick glance at the forecast for PoP is generally all people need to know if they need to grab their rain gear, but if you have plans outdoors, be sure to take a closer look at the forecast.

At no time does a percentage given in a forecast tell you how long it will rain, how much rain is expected, what time the rain will arrive or what the potential impacts are to you.

Confused yet?

There is a lot of confusion around what rain chances actually mean; simply put, the percentage given in a forecast is the coverage of people in the coverage area they think will see wet weather.

Unfortunately, POPS is a very subjective topic. Let’s say your county is the forecast zone and it has a 50 percent chance for rain today. If it rains in just one spot sometime during the afternoon then the forecast is verified, regardless of where the rain fell within the county.

The above scenario happens a lot. It might rain in a rural or unpopulated part of the county, missing the bulk of the population. Because the main population center missed out, most will think “they were wrong again,” referring to the local meteorologists, despite the forecast really verifying, because it did indeed rain within the forecast area during the forecast period.

My mother had two methods to predict rain. One, she would look at the silver maple tree outside, when the green leaves turned over to display the silver on the back side; two, or – we lived on the west side of the Kennebec River, in Waterville, and Hollingworth & Whitney (Scott Paper Co.) was on the east side, in Winslow. Whenever we got a strong scent of sulfur from the mill, and the wind was coming out of the east, on both occasions, she would predict rain – and was right 100 percent of the time.

OK, Mr. weatherman, with your Doppler radar and computer models, when will you be able to tell us which part of a given area will receive 100 percent of the rain?

So, here’s my solution. I have a rock in my backyard that I look at every day. If it is wet, it’s raining; if it is white, it’s snowing; if it’s dry, then it’s a nice day. Best of all, that rock is never wrong.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

What Hall of Fame defenseman, who played 21 seasons for the Bruins, logged the most career games in franchise history?

by Roland D. Hallee

Slugs! They can truly do a lot of damage to your plants, like they did to mine this past spring. They like damp places, feed at night and prefer tender new growth and seedlings.

Last week we learned about slugs, this week we will talk about how to control them.

Here are a few general tips on how to deal with slugs:

• Seedling protection: Protect your seedlings with 2-3 liter plastic soda bottles. Make sure no slugs are around the seedlings first. Cut the bottoms out of the bottles, sink them into the soil around the seedlings and remove the caps. You can reuse them over and over.
• Mulch: Keep mulch pulled away from the base of your plants. Consider waiting to apply mulch until the soil temperatures have warmed to above 75°F.
• Garden debris: Keep all decaying matter cleaned out of your garden beds. Clear all dead leaves and debris from the garden on a regular basis and put it in the compost pile which is best located in an area away from the garden.
• Slug havens: The shaded areas beneath decks can be a slug arena. Keep them weed and litter free.

You can also build barriers around your garden:

• Use cedar, oak bark chips or gravel chips which will irritate and dehydrate them.
• Try a barrier line or an overall sprinkle of powdered ginger.
• Use wood ashes as a barrier around plants, however try not to let the plant come into contact with the ashes. The ashes act as a desiccant and dry up the slugs.
• Spread well crushed eggshells around the plants. The calcium released from the eggshells is an extra benefit that “sweetens” the soil. The sharp edges of the shells will kill slugs.
• Talcum powder works as a barrier but must be replenished after rainfall or watering.

Finally, there is always the slug trap method:

• Beer or yeast traps: A traditional trap that seems to work well is to place containers of beer or yeast and water at one inch above the ground level in the garden to entice and drown your prey. Empty traps as needed. For the yeast trap, use one package of yeast to 8 ounces of water.
• Grape juice: A new rendition on the beer trap is to use grape juice. For some reason slugs really have a taste for this. Use just as you would in the beer method and buy the cheapest grape juice you can find.
• Beer batter bait: Mix 2 tablespoons of flour with enough beer to make a thick batter. Put 1 teaspoon of this in a small paper cup and lay the cups on their sides around your plants. Slugs will flock to this, get snared in the flour and die. When the trap is full toss the whole thing in the compost pile.
• Comfrey: This perennial is a preference of slugs and can be used as a trap. Comfrey is considered to be an invasive plant, however, it has so many uses for the garden and medicinally that it is worth having around. Comfrey has more protein in its leaves than any other vegetable, perhaps explaining its appeal to slugs.

I have comfrey around my garden at home and have had very little problems with slugs. So, I might just transplant some to the garden at camp.

Taking into consideration everything we have learned about slugs in the last two weeks, the more I think about it, slugs remind me of college students: They suck up available resources, give very little in return, and they like to drink beer. They even prefer the same beers (a study conducted by students at Colorado State University concluded the slug’s favorite beers are Budweiser products).

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

How many New York Yankees players have recorded 3,000 career hits with the team?

by Roland D. Hallee

This week, I will share with you a press release I received from Nancy Bostrom, of American Family Care. In the early days of summer 2023, local healthcare providers are sounding an alarm about a triple tick threat that includes a rare illness that just killed a man!

While Lyme disease – considered one of the most common tick-borne diseases is usually the biggest concern this time of year – local healthcare providers at American Family Care (AFC) are spreading the word about two other types of illnesses associated with the blood-sucking insects.

They’ve even launched an educational campaign called Tick Talk so local families know what to look out for while outdoors this summer and how to protect themselves.

Powassan Virus

Powassan virus is a non-treatable illness transmitted by the same black legged (or deer ticks) that carry Lyme Disease. Just a few weeks ago, health officials in Maine confirmed a man was pronounced dead from the disease.

So far this year, two cases of Powassan Virus have been reported. The CDC has tracked nearly 300 cases, including 264 hospitalizations since 2014, but experts fear many cases are unreported.

Symptoms can include fever, headache, vomiting, weakness, confusion, seizures or even memory loss. Ten percent of those who contract Powassan will die.  Approximately one half will have long term health problems like recurring headaches, loss of muscle strength, and memory problems.

Big difference from Lyme – It takes Lyme Disease many hours (at least 24) to be transmitted from tick to person. It is suspected that Powassan Virus is transmitted from the tick to person in just 15 minutes.

Babesiosis

Babesiosis is another tickborne illness on the rise. Unlike the Powassan virus, babesiosis is treatable if caught early. This illness can also be transmitted by a tick that is also carrying Lyme.

Federal health officials say cases of tickborne illness have skyrocketed over an 8-year period.

Symptoms can include fever, chills, lethargy, joint pain, body aches, loss of appetite, nausea or fatigue – things that can appear to overlap with Lyme disease, but there is no distinctive bullseye rash.

If left untreated, it can lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), severe anemia, congestive heart failure, renal failure, disseminated intra­vascular coagulation (DIC), shock and coma.

Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is the most known of the tickborne illnesses. It is transmitted through the bite of an infected deer tick. Cases of Lyme disease have more than tripled since 1993 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Lyme disease causes a rash that looks like a bullseye. It also causes flu-like symptoms, such as fever, chills, headache, fatigue, and muscle aches.

Lyme disease may evolve through phases, which can overlap and cause ever worsening symptoms that may involve the skin, joints, heart, or nervous system.

Antibiotics are effective treatments for Lyme disease when detected early.

Protect Yourself

Remember, ticks can typically be found in grassy, brushy, or wooded areas, or on animals. They typically wait on the tips of branches, leaves, or tall grasses for prey to walk by.

A tick’s saliva has anesthetic properties, so you may not even realize you’ve been bitten.

When spending time outdoors, be aware of your surroundings and the possibility of ticks in the area. Wear insect repellent with DEET. If you must be in a grassy or wooded area, wear long sleeves and long pants. Tucking your pants into your socks for extra protection. Shower immediately after being outside. Ask someone check your body for ticks. If you find a tick on your body, time is of the essence!   Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp it by the head as close to the skin as possible. Gently pull the tick upward, making sure not to twist or squeeze it. Wash and disinfect the area with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.

Save the tick!

Take a photo of the tick and submit to a tick identification website which can inform you of the potential pathogens it could be carrying and whether you might want to have the tick tested as a further assessment of disease risk.

Protection is the key, however, if you do come in contact with a tick, don’t wait. If you’re not sure, seek professional medical help.

Roland trivia question of the week:

Name the only two players to win a World Series with both the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.

by Roland D. Hallee

Question of the week, it seems, is this: Are we having an epidemic of grubs?

I’ve been asked that question many times in the past week. It seems folks in our area are seeing an increase in grub activity in the lawns.

What are grubs and what makes them appear in your lawn?

Grubs are the larvae of Japanese beetles. These larvae are the white grubs that devour lawns. Their bodies are c-shaped with brown heads, visible legs and are approximately 1/8 to one inch in length. During their larval stage, they live beneath the surface. Fully grown Japanese beetles are about 1/3 to 1/2 inch in length with a metallic-green body and head copper-colored wing covers. White hair covers the sides and tips of their abdomens.

Adult Japanese beetles get nice and cozy underground over winter. When spring comes, their larvae instinctually move closer to the surface of the soil so they can nourish themselves on the roots of turfgrass. Once they grow into adult beetles, they emerge in mid-summer and feed on the leaves of grass. Unfortunately, their activity causes the grass to create an odor that attracts more hungry beetles. This is why it’s so important to contact a lawn care service if you suspect you have grubs. It won’t take long before you have a full infestation. Catching them before the adults lay eggs, or these eggs hatch breaks up the cycle. Female Japanese beetles can lay as many as 60 eggs throughout their breeding season in late July and August. The eggs will hatch, and grubs dig deeper into the soil to wait for spring, where the cycle starts over again.

Grubs are a staple food in the diets of birds, possums, raccoons, and skunks. If you notice more of these species than usual, it could be a sign of grub activity. These animals will dig up the turfgrass to get to the grubs just beneath the surface.

As grubs chew on the roots of the grass, the blades above the surface will start to brown, wilt, and die off, creating undesirable dead or brown patches in your lawn. Keep in mind that grub damage often has multiple symptoms, so don’t assume you’ve got grubs if the only thing you notice is brown grass. Brown spots in a lawn could be a type of lawn disease. If, however, you see dead grass in conjunction with the other signs, it could be time to consider grub treatment.

As grubs munch their way through a lawn, it can create uneven terrain. They may also create spongy grass that feels like you’re walking on a yoga mat. Grub activity can also cause your grass to become so loose; it can be rolled back like a sod roll.

Grub populations are also normally controlled by various kinds of birds living in or near home landscapes where there is a diversity of plants and wildlife to support them. Yards that are not visited regularly by songbirds have more grubs and plants suffer greater damage than yards where various kinds of birds systematically inspect the soil for grubs and attack adult beetles before they can lay more eggs in the soil.

Also, grubs are more prevalent in yards where there has been frequent routine or preventative use of broad-spectrum insecticides. These products kill bad and good insects indiscriminately, so nature’s first line of defense–the beneficial insects–is eliminated along with the pest insects. Because pest populations rebound faster than those of their natural enemies, the beetles can reestablish themselves unmolested and begin to lay more eggs unchecked.

How To Get Rid Of Grubs

Like all insects, it’s impossible to eradicate the population. Having some grubs on your lawn does not mean the end of the world. However, ten or more per square foot is when you’ll start to notice the damage. There are several ways of implementing do-it-yourself pest control.

Keep your lawn well-nourished with nitrogen fertilizer, as well as phosphorous and potassium. These are the three key ingredients to a healthy lawn.

Keep the mower height between two and three inches. This promotes a healthy root system, which is less prone to grub infestation.

Treat dead or dying areas with an overseeding application to restore damaged areas, and discourage more beetles from attacking the already stressed grass.

Sometimes, the infestation is more than one person can handle. Don’t wait until greedy little grubs fully take over your lawn. Occasionally contacting a professional grub control service is the most efficient means of eradicating grubs.

Grubs not only can raise havoc on a lawn, they also be a nuisance once they mature into a full-scale Japanese beetle population you have to put up with during the summer months.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Who was the last Boston Red Sox player to win the AL Rookie of the Year Award?