SCORES & OUTDOORS: The 12 days of Christmas

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Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

Christmas is over for another year! But not the 12 Days of Christmas.

One of the myriad of Christmas songs we have been hearing on radio is the 12 Days of Christmas. Did you ever wonder about the partridge in a pear tree? What was he doing in a tree in the dead of winter? Well, a closer look also indicates that six of the 12 symbols in the song refer to birds.

Everyone knows the 12 Days of Christmas song. Few of us know the meaning of the gifts delineated in the somewhat monotonous carol or, in fact, the significance of the 12 days to the story of Jesus’ birth. When I started poking around, I found some deep historical secrets and also an ongoing mix-up that blows the lid off the usual imagery of baby Jesus in the manger.

Let’s start with the facts. According to Dr. Paul Spilsbury, academic dean and professor of the New Testament at Regent College on the UBC campus, “basically, the church calendar is divided into seasons, and Christmas, in the church calendar, is a season rather than a day,” he says. “Christmas lasts for 12 days.”

The 12 days of Christmas go from December 25 until January 5. Traditionally, including in my mother’s house, the Christmas tree had to come down on or before January 5, because that was the end of the Christmas season and the beginning of Epiphany.

Usually we think of the first Christmas as the moment the world (in the Christian narrative) realized the savior had arrived. Not so. That was 12 days later. Epiphany is the feast associated with the Magi – the Three Wise Men – coming to Jesus, presenting their gifts. It also commemorates the presentation of Jesus in the Temple.

“Epiphany is like the coming out of Jesus,” says Spilsbury. “The manifestation of Jesus to the world.” And here is where much of what you think you know about the manger scene may not be correct.

“There are two stories in the Gospels about the birth of Jesus,” he explains, one in the Gospel of Matthew and one in the Gospel of Luke. “And the two stories are not exactly the same.”

In one gospel, the Magi visit Jesus in a house, not in a manger. In the other, the arrival of Jesus in the manger is met with angels and shepherds, but no wise men.

“Christian tradition has always kind of woven the two stories together and said the one happened first and the other one second or something like that,” says Spilsbury. “In your typical pageant or Christmas card, you often have a scene in which there are wise men in the stable, but if you look at the original stories in the gospel, those are two separate scenes. We’ve kind of mixed them all together… they get kind of coalesced, fused together.”

Mary and Joseph had advance warning that her son was the manifestation of God made flesh. The world, however, became aware of this only on Epiphany — 12 days after Jesus was born. The Three Wise Men represent the awareness of Jesus as the son of God spreading to the larger world.

“It’s when the wise men come with their gifts and that, in a sense, is the revealing to the world,” Spilsbury says. “That’s what epiphany is about, revealing to the world the holiness of this baby… the Magi were from another country, they were not Jews, so it was the making known of the Christ child to the world, as it were.”

So that’s what the 12 days of Christmas are all about. Now what about that song?

Between 1558 and 1829, Roman Catholics in England were forbidden from openly practicing their religion. In order to introduce the catechism in their children, Catholics created the song as, basically, a series of mnemonic devices to give kids the broad outline of the Roman Catholic worldview and teachings.

Both “my true love” and the partridge in a pear tree represent Jesus — the partridge because it’s a bird that will sacrifice its life to save its children.

So, the remaining symbols inclulde birds: Two turtle doves represent the Old and New Testaments. The three French hens are faith, hope and love. Four calling birds are the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The five gold rings are the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament and so on, through six days of creation (geese a-laying), seven gifts of the holy spirit (swans a-swimming), eight beatitudes (maids a-milking), nine fruits of the holy spirit (ladies dancing), the 10 commandments (lords a-leaping), 11 faithful apostles (pipers piping) and 12 points of belief in the Apostle’s Creed (drummers drumming).

If one understood the song’s underlying meaning, it provided a pretty good beginning upon which to delve into a wider exploration about religious teachings. And it could be sung publicly leaving the Protestant establishment none the wiser.

What the ground dwelling grey partridge was doing up in a pear tree has spawned a number of theories; some believe the words were originally a catechism song for 16th century Catholics unable to practice their faith publicly and the bird in the tree represented Christ on the cross.

Now we know why the partridge is in the pear tree.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Which team has the Boston Celtics met the most times in the NBA finals?

Answer
Los Angeles Lakers (a record 12 times).

SCORES & OUTDOORS: The northern cardinal: bird of the season

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Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

One of my wife’s favorite birds is the northern cardinal. We’ve had a nesting pair hanging around our house for a couple of years now, and we both enjoy watching the brilliant red male go about its business. The northern cardinal is also synonymous with winter, and adorns many a Christmas card.

That has not always been the case.

One of our most popular birds, the cardinal is the official state bird of no fewer than seven eastern states: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia. Abundant in the Southeast, it has been extending its range northward for decades, and it now brightens winter days with its color and its whistled song as far north as southeastern Canada. Feeders stocked with sunflower seeds may have aided its northward spread. West of the Great Plains, the Cardinal is mostly absent, but it is locally common in the desert Southwest.

Widespread and abundant, having expanded its range over the last century or more, the current numbers are probably stable. It inhabits woodland edges, thickets, suburban gardens, towns, desert washes. Found in a wide variety of brushy or semi-open habitats in the East, from forest clearings and swamps to city parks, almost wherever there are some dense bushes for nesting. It forages mostly while hopping on the ground or in low bushes, sometimes higher in trees. They readily come to bird feeders, where it favors sunflower seeds.

The male Northern Cardinal is perhaps responsible for getting more people to open up a field guide than any other bird. They have a a shade of red you can’t take your eyes off. Even the brown females sport a sharp crest and warm red accents. Cardinals don’t migrate and they don’t molt into a dull plumage, so they’re still breathtaking in winter’s snowy backyards. In summer, their sweet whistles are one of the first sounds of the morning.

Both parents feed nestlings. Young leave the nest about 9 – 11 days after hatching. Males may feed fledglings while females begin the next nesting attempt. They have two to three broods per year, rarely four.

Their diet consists mostly of seeds, insects, berries. Diet is quite varied. They feed on many insects, including beetles, true bugs, grasshoppers, caterpillars, ants, flies, and many others, also spiders, centipedes, and snails. Most of their diet is vegetable matter, including seeds of weeds and grasses, waste grain, leaf buds, flowers, and many berries and wild fruits. Young are fed mostly insects.

While nesting, the male sings to defend nesting territory, actively attacking intruding males (and attacking his own reflection in windows and mirrors). In courtship, male and female raise heads high, sway back and forth while singing softly; male often feeds female early in breeding season. The female sings mainly in spring before the start of nesting. The nest is usually well hidden in dense shrubs, vines, or low trees, placed 3 – 10 feet above ground, sometimes higher. Nest (built by female) is open cup made of twigs, weeds, grass, bark strips, leaves, rootlets, lined with fine grass or hair.

Nearly any bird feeder you put out ought to attract Northern Cardinals (as long as you live within their range), but they particularly seem to use sunflower seeds. Leave undergrowth in your backyard or around the edges, and you may have cardinals nesting on your property.

Here are some cool facts about cardinals:

– Only a few female North American songbirds sing, but the female Northern Cardinal does, and often while sitting on the nest. This may give the male information about when to bring food to the nest. A mated pair shares song phrases, but the female may sing a longer and slightly more complex song than the male.
– Many people are perplexed each spring by the sight of a cardinal attacking its reflection in a window, car mirror, or shiny bumper. Both males and females do this, and most often in spring and early summer when they are obsessed with defending their territory against any intruders. Birds may spend hours fighting these intruders without giving up. A few weeks later, as levels of aggressive hormones subside, these attacks should end.
– The male cardinal fiercely defends its breeding territory from other males. When a male sees its reflection in glass surfaces, it frequently will spend hours fighting the imaginary intruder.
– The oldest recorded Northern Cardinal was a female, and was 15 years, 9 months old when she was found in Pennsylvania.

Mighty House Mouse Update

Well, he’s baaaack!

Another trap destroyed. I checked on my traps, and sure enough, another broken trap. One of my brand new ones. Sooner or later, I’m going to get down to the bottom of this.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Who was the last Boston Bruins player to score 100 points or more before David Pastrnak’s 113 in 2022-23?

Answer
Brad Marchand, 100, in 2018-19.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: The mighty house mouse

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Common house mouse

Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

Growing up in the 1950s and ‘60s, we used to watch Saturday morning cartoons, after we finally got a TV in 1958. We also saw them at the State Theater during Saturday kids’ shows. One of my favorite characters was Mighty Mouse, and how he would always get the better of Sylvester, the cat. Well, for some reason, this year, for the first time in the 47 years my wife and I have lived in our current home, we are experiencing a showdown with house mice.

I have managed to get one, but like the old saying goes, “If there’s one, there’s more.”

Well, another one has made its presence known. And I call it, Mighty House Mouse. Why? I have laid out two TomCat traps where I have seen signs of their presence. Both have been tripped, without the bait being touched. But the reason I call this mouse Mighty House Mouse is because both of the traps have been broken. The housing where the spring attaches is completely, and cleanly, broken off. What kind of mouse does this?

After all, the adult body length is about three inches and they weigh approximately 1-5/8 ounces.

The house mouse has been domesticated as the pet or fancy mouse, and as the laboratory mouse, which is one of the most important model organisms in biology and medicine.

A recent study revealed that the modern day house mouse emerged from an ancestral population in Indian subcontinent sometimes around 700,000 years ago. From there, this ancestral population migrated to Iran around 360,000 years ago and then to Afghanistan around 260,000 years ago.

House mice usually run, walk, or stand on all fours, but when eating, fighting, or orienting themselves, they rear up on their hind legs with additional support from the tail – a behavior known as “tripoding”. Mice are good jumpers, climbers, and swimmers, and are generally considered to be thigmotactic, i.e. usually attempt to maintain contact with vertical surfaces.

Mice are mostly nocturnal; they are averse to bright lights. The average sleep time of a captive house mouse is reported to be 12.5 hours per day. They live in a wide variety of hidden places near food sources, and construct nests from various soft materials. Mice are territorial, and one dominant male usually lives together with several females and young. Dominant males respect each other’s territories and normally enter another’s territory only if it is vacant. If two or more males are housed together in a cage, they often become aggressive unless they have been raised together from birth.

House mice primarily feed on plant matter, but are omnivorous. Mine seem to like bread, crackers, and, of all things, popping corn. I have seen an area where they hoard the corn. They eat their own faeces to acquire nutrients produced by bacteria in their intestines. House mice, like most other rodents, do not vomit.

The social behavior of the house mouse is not rigidly fixed into species-specific patterns but is instead adaptable to the environmental conditions, such as the availability of food and space. This adaptability allows house mice to inhabit diverse areas ranging from sandy dunes to apartment buildings.

In open areas such as shrubs and fields, the house mouse population is known as noncommensal. These populations are often limited by water or food supply and have large territories. Female-female aggression in the noncommensal house mouse populations is much higher, reaching a level generally attributed to free-ranging species. Male aggression is also higher in noncommensal populations. In commensal populations, males come into contact with other males quite frequently due to high population densities and aggression must be mediated or the risk of injury becomes too great.

In both agricultural and urban environments house mice are often preyed upon by the domestic cat. House mice usually live less than one year in the wild, due to a high level of predation and exposure to harsh environments. In protected environments, however, they often live two to three years.

House mice usually live in proximity to humans, in or around houses or fields. The house mouse first arrived in the Americas in the early 16th century. It was carried aboard on the ships of Spanish explorers and Conquistadors. About one hundred years later, it arrived in North America with French fur traders and English colonists. They have since been spread to all parts of the globe by humans.

Mice are widespread pest organisms, and one of the most common rodents to infest human buildings. They commonly forage outdoors during the spring and summer, but retreat into buildings through the autumn and winter to seek warmth and food. They typically feed on unattended food, leftovers and garden produce. Their foraging risks the contamination and degradation of food supplies, and can also spread other pests such as fleas, ticks and lice.

When infesting homes, house mice may pose a risk of damaging and compromising the structure of furniture and the building itself. They gnaw various materials to file down their growing teeth and keep the length under control. Common damage includes gnawed electrical wires, marks on wooden furniture and construction supporting elements, and textile damage.

House mice can sometimes transmit diseases, contaminate food, and damage food packaging. Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides a list with diseases transmitted by rodents, only a few of the diseases are transmitted through the house mouse.

In folk culture the importance of mice as a house and agricultural pest resulted in a development of a variety of mouse-related rituals and stories in world’s cultures. The Ancient Egyptians had a story about “The mouse as vizier”.

Many South Slavs had a traditional annual “Mouse Day” celebration. In the eastern Balkans (most of Bulgaria, North Macedonia, the Torlak districts of Serbia), the “Mouse Day” (Bulgarian: Миши ден, Мишин ден) was celebrated on October 9 of the Julian calendar (corresponds to October 27 of the Gregorian calendar in the 20th and 21st centuries), the next day after the feast of Saint Demetrius. In the western Balkans (Bosnia, Croatia), the Mouse Day would usually be celebrated in the spring, during the Maslenitsa week or early in the Lent.

Since I replaced the broken traps, I have seen no signs of the little rodents. By securing their food source, and placing some repellants, along with the traps, we seem to have driven them away.

That remains to be seen.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

On the Boston Celtics’ logo, what does the leprechaun have in his left hand?

Answer
A cane.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: The Maine coon cat

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Maine Coon Cat

Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

I don’t usually do a column on domestic house pets, but I think this one is worth the exception. I have this Maine coon cat that hangs around my house. It belongs to the next door neighbors, but it seems to have claimed my yard as part of its territory.

The Maine coon cat is one of the oldest natural breeds in North America, specifically native to the state of Maine, and is recognized as the official state cat.

Although the Maine coon’s origins and date of introduction to the United States are unknown, there are many theories. The breed was popular in cat shows in the late 19th century, but its existence became threatened when long-haired breeds from overseas were introduced in the early 20th century. The breed has made a recovery, and is second only to the Persians in popularity throughout the world.

There are only theories and folklore as to their origin. One involves Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France, who was executed in 1793. The story goes that before her death, Antoinette attempted to escape France with the help of Capt. Sam­uel Clough. She loaded Clough’s ship with her most prized possessions, including six of her favorite Turkish Angora cats. Although she did not make it to the United States, her pets safely reached the shores of Wiscasset, where they bred with other short-haired breeds and evolved into the modern breed of Maine coon.

Another folk story involves Capt. Charles Coon, an English seafarer who kept long-haired cats aboard his ships. Whenever Coon’s ship would anchor in New England ports, the felines would exit the ship and mate with the local feral population. When long-haired kittens began appearing in the litters of the local cat population, they were referred to as one of “Coon’s cats.”

A myth which is trait-based, though genetically impossible, is the idea that the modern Maine coon descended from ancestors of semi-feral domestic cats and raccoons. This myth would account for the common color of the breed (brown tabby) and its bushy tail. Another idea is that the Maine coon originated between the matings of domestic cats and wild bobcats, which could explain the tufts of hairs that are so commonly seen on the tips of the ears.

The generally-accepted theory among breeders is the possibility that the short-haired domestic cats and long-haired breeds brought from overseas, were responsible, especially the 11th century Vikings. The Maine coon bears strong resemblance to the Norwegian Forest Cat.

The first mention of Maine coons in a literary work was in 1861, when a black and white Maine coon by the name of Captain Jenks of the Horse Marines, was written about by co-owner F. R. Pierce, who wrote a chapter in Frances Simpson’s The Book of Cats in 1903.

In 1895, a dozen Maine coons were entered in a show in Boston. On May 8, 1895, the first North American cat show was hosted at Madison Square Garden, in New York City. A female Maine coon brown tabby, named Cosey, won the silver collar and medal, and was named best in show.

In the early 20th century, the Maine coon’s popularity began to decline with the introduction of other long-haired breeds, such as Persians. The last recorded win by a Maine coon in a national cat show was in 1911 in Portland, Oregon. The breed was rarely seen after that. The decline was so severe that is was prematurely declared extinct in the 1950s.

Maine coons are known as “gentle giants” and possess above-average intelligence, making them easy to train. They are known for being loyal to their families and cautious, but not mean, around strangers, but are independent and not clingy. It is not generally known as a lap cat, but their gentle disposition makes the breed relaxed around dogs, other cats and children. They are playful throughout their lives, the male more so than the female.

Maine coons have a fascination with water, and some theorize that this trait comes from their ancestors, who were aboard ships for much of their lives.

Maine coons are generally a healthy and hardy breed, and have adapted to survive the New Eng­land climate. Their most severe threat is a heart disease most commonly found in cats, whether pure bred or not. Another potential health problem is spinal muscular atrophy, a disease which causes the loss of the neurons in the spinal cord that activate the skeletal muscles of the trunk and limbs.

They have several physical adaptations for survival in harsh winter climates. Their dense fur is water resistant and the shaggier hair on their underside and rear protect them when walking or sitting on top of wet surfaces of snow and ice. Their long and bush raccoon-like tail is resistant to sinking in snow, and can be curled around their face and shoulders for warmth and protection from wind and blowing snow.

My wife and I have had our share of cats over the years, and choose not to have any more. But if I were to have another cat, it would be a Maine coon. There seems to be a mystique about them.

IMPROVEMENT?

Well, Patriots fans, what do you take away from Sunday’s loss to the New York Giants, 10-7?

I think it’s an improvement. After losing, 10-6, to Indianapolis two weeks ago, they only lost by three points instead of four. It is a sad affair when your defense gives up only 10 points in each of those games, and they still lose. It can only get better, right? Can you say, 2-15?

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

The New England Patriots were the first NFL team to achieve what record during the regular season?

Answer
Three.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: What is that funny-looking chicken?

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A Pearl Guinea Fowl, front, and White Guinea Fowl.

Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

A little while back, I went to a friend’s house at the lake to help bring in his dock. But before we did that, he had to go to Hannaford to pick up his weekly issue of the Boston Sunday Globe – he wouldn’t read anything else. I stayed back to start getting things ready.

When he returned, he asked me about a flock of birds he had seen crossing the road that looked like fat, gray chickens. Immediately, the guinea fowl came to mind. Rather than have him describe the bird to me, I described it to him, and it was exactly what he had seen.

Guinea fowl, Numida meleagris, in our area are generally domestic stock, kind of like chickens and bantams. It is believed they are of West African origin. There are two common varieties, the Pearl and the White. The bird rarely weighs over 3-1/2 pounds, although they appear larger than this alive. The bones are quite small, and the carcass produces a relatively large amount of meat.

There is good demand for Guinea fowl in the large markets, and because of their wild game flavor the birds are served extensively in the larger hotels and higher priced restaurants.

The eggs are small, of dark color and fine flavor, and are apt to be laid in secluded places in the grass and weeds.

It is not easy to distinguish the sex of Guineas. The male has slightly larger head appendages and the female seldom screeches like the male. They are normally monogamous, mating for life. All guinea fowl are social, and typically hang out in small groups.

The Guinea fowl is a family of insect-eating, ground-nesting bird that resemble partridges, but with featherless heads. Most speciest have a dark gray or blackish plumage with dense white spots.

Guinea fowl have a long history of domestication, mainly involving the helmeted Guinea fowl. They eat lice, worms, ants, spiders, weedseeds and ticks while on the range.

They are a very noisy bird, and are said to be good for controlling the Lyme disease-bearing deer tick. They range well and eat lots of small things. In fact, if you keep bees, you don’t really want to keep guineas. They’ll stand by the hive and snap up the bees as they come out. Some have reported that since they started keeping guinea fowl, they have not seen yellow jacket hives in their fields.

You can reduce ticks and other insects by raising them. They are a little tricky to raise, but they are interesting, friendly and they eat bugs. Contrary to popular opinion, they are quite intelligent.

Guineas often lay their eggs in fields and hatch their young by themselves. Being native to dry areas of Africa, they are very susceptible to dampness during their first two weeks, and can die from following their mother through dewy grass. After two weeks of age, they are probably the hardiest of all domestic land fowl.

Guinea fowl live in the wild once you raise and release them.They are territorial so they will stay pretty much in one area.

Once you have raised them, their release can be tricky. If you release them all at one time, they may wander off forever. The best bet is to release one or two. They will hang near the others in the hutch. They hate to be alone. After dusk, you will find them roosting on the ground nearby. Capture them from the top so they can’t open their wings. This shouldn’t hurt them. Wear gloves as their claws and beaks are sharp. Put them back in the hutch and let another pair out the next day.

They are extremely vulnerable to hawks, cats and raccoons. They are most vulnerable when they are bedded down as a group at night. These birds cannot fly when their feathers are wet.

Do not confine male guineas with chickens if there are roosters in the same flock. Male guineas will run the roosters ragged and keep them from food and water. Females do not cause the same problems.

If you wish to raise Guinea fowl, there is much information on-line on that subject. Your local feed store will either sell keets (babies) or they will be able to tell you who does. You will need 15-20 to get started as they have a high mortality rate. They generally cost $3 – $5 each. There are benefits to raising these birds but there are some tricky steps along the way. Make sure you have done some homework, not to mention having the room (their range is usually 3 – 5 acres) before you begin to raise these wonderful birds.

During our many trips to Mexico, and the Caribbean, for that matter, my wife and I have noticed Guinea fowls are kept at all the resorts we have stayed at to control insects.

I have seen several Guinea fowl in the central Maine area, and maybe there should be more of them, considering the large population of deer ticks that have been reported lately.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

In what year did the Boston Patriots become the New England Patriots?

Answer
1971.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: Let’s take a look at what’s to come

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Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

We’ve turned another page on the calendar and we are now entering into the time of year when the holidays are upon us, and the wintery weather is on the horizon. What is in store for us this year?

Well, most of my natural signs are not visible this year. One of the forecasters of snow amounts, the hanging of bee hives, was not present this year. The activity of the bees was almost non-existent toward the end of summer. Remember, the higher the hives, the more snow can be expected.

Secondly, the wooly bear caterpillar. Old farmers folklore states the wider the rust colored band on the furry caterpillar, the milder the winter. I have not seen one single, solitary wooly bear caterpillar this year.

The onion peelings are the only one that I have been able to use. My wife and I use a lot of onions. In this case, folklore has it the easier to peel, the milder the winter – the onions have been relatively easy to peel.

The first cicadae was heard on or about July 26 this past summer. Farmers’ folklore says 90 days following that, we will see the first killing frost. Although the 90-day period ended on October 26, it usually doesn’t take effect until after the next full moon, which was October 28. Although a frost was predicted, it didn’t happen in the Kennebec Valley. Side note: It was 37-degrees when I drove to work on October 30. However, there was a frost on October 31.

So what’s in store? Well, I had to go to several sources to find out. Coming up with a consensus was difficult. But here goes.

Winter officially arrives this year on December 21, 2023. On the winter solstice, those of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere are tilted as far away from our Sun as possible.

Many sources are predicting snow, seasonable cold, and all of winter’s delights! This winter’s forecast will surely excite snow bunnies and sweater lovers alike, promising a lot of cold and snow across North America.

Snowfall will be above normal across most snow-prone areas. Get prepared for plenty of snow throughout the season! Keep a shovel at the ready early, especially in the Northeast, where snow will arrive beginning in November with a myriad of storms, showers, and flurries continuing through the beginning of spring.

Along with above-normal snow, we’ll see normal to colder-than-normal temperatures in areas that typically receive snow. Expect just the right amount of chill in the air for an afternoon of adventurous snow sports like snowmobiling, skiing, cross-country skiing and ice fishing. Only snowy New England and the Atlantic Corridor will enjoy winter temperatures milder than typical for their regions. Which I guess is good news when it comes to the heating bill. Much of the U.S. coastline, from New England down to Florida will see mild to cool temperatures.

The Old Farmers’ Almanac explains that we are approaching the middle of Solar Cycle 25, which is increasing in intensity and already as strong as Solar Cycle 24, which possibly had the lowest solar activity in about 200 years. Such low activity has historically meant cooler-than-average temperatures across Earth, but this connection has become weaker since the last century.

They go on to say the expected El Niño has emerged and should gradually strengthen into the winter. El Niño is a natural climate phenomenon marked by warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean. Typically, El Niño conditions result in wetter-than-average conditions from southern California to along the Gulf Coast and drier-than-average conditions in the Pacific Northwest. Will we see a “Super El Niño?” We also expect a warm Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and a cool Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). Also significant are the equatorial stratospheric winds involved in the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation, or QBO.

Wow! My head is spinning!

WAKE UP, FANS!

Amazing how much of a difference a week makes. After feeling good about the New England Patriots’ last second upset win against the Buffalo Bills, our collective bubbles were burst with this past Sunday’s performance against the Miami Dolphins. The 31-17 loss was disappointing, especially after scoring a touchdown on a long pass early in the game that gave the Pats a 7-0 lead. I guess it’s on to Washington and a showdown with the Commanders. A winnable – and loseable – game.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

When was the last time the New England Patriots started a season 2-6.

Answer
2000. Bill Belichick’s first year as head coach.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: More reports of mountain lion sightings in Maine

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Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

Every so often I get emails from people who have read my columns and contribute their own experiences. This one involved the sighting of a Mountain Lion. Now, let us not forget that depending on with whom you speak, mountain lions either do, or, do not exist in Maine.

Here is the email I received recently. It came from Brian and Colby Prescott, of Windham:

“Was reading an article you wrote about mountain lions in Maine from a couple years back and thought I’d relay a sighting from the other day, September 1, 2023.

“My son and I were camping at the Bemis Stream Prospect Camp location just north of Byron off Route 17. It’s right where Bemis Road crosses Bemis Stream.

“We were at the first camp site that’s down lower than the road. The brook was high and the water was fairly loud. We were huddling around the Coleman burner to warm up at about 6:30 in the evening, and my son tapped me on the shoulder. I looked up towards the road and sure enough, a mountain lion walked by. It was unmistakable. The size was approximately 150 lbs. It had giant paws and the tail was absolutely enormous. Thick, and it curved down to almost the ground. We were able to view the large cat for only five seconds or so, so unfortunately, no picture. The color was a sandy brown. Needless to say, I was in shock for several seconds. We waited for 20 minutes in the truck before settling into the tent for the night!

“My son and I looked for tracks early the next morning, but only found bear tracks with five claws. We got pictures of the paw print, but pretty sure it was just a bear.

“I met a neighbor from Mooslookmeguntic Lake walking his dog and immediately mentioned the sighting, although I knew the chances of it being nearby were very slim. He was very interested and said he would look for signs of the cat. Meanwhile, we drove over to Devil’s Den to explore that area.

“This person walked by our camp site later in the morning and mentioned he found some scat and was hoping to get it tested to see if it was from a mountain lion. I unfortunately did not think to get his name or number at the time. Needless to say, my son and I were super excited to have experienced the sighting. I never in my 16 years of camping in that area ever experienced anything like that!”

So, are there Mountain Lions in Maine? Maybe, Maybe Not . . .

Mountain lions, also called cougars, catamounts or pumas, are large felines that are native to the Americas. They once roamed from coast to coast in the United States, but today they are mostly found in the western states.

There have been occasional sightings of Maine mountain lions over the years, but it is uncertain whether there is a breeding population in the state.

So, are there mountain lions in Maine? One thing is for sure: if there are any cougars in the state, state wildlife experts contend they are most likely solitary animals that are just passing through.

On the other hand, credible witnesses with lots of outdoor experience insist on the presence of mountain lions in Maine. So, unfortunately, there is no easy definitive answer, yet. Officially, according to state wildlife experts, there are no mountain lions in Maine. However, there has been at least one official sighting and one Class 2 confirmation of mountain lions in Maine.

Mountain lions were classified as extinct in the 1920s and 1930s across the eastern states. In Maine, the last official mountain lion was shot by a hunter in 1938.

I have researched this subject many times and keep coming up with the same conclusion. Credible eyewitnesses vs. the state biologists: Which do you want to believe? There are photographs out there, but mostly are pooh-poohed by state “experts”. “Inconclusive photos”, hoaxes or staged. Those are the answers you will get from state officials.

I for one, believe there are mountain lions in Maine because, even though I have never actually sighted one, have seen their tracks in snow and mud. Unmistakable, feline prints, approximately four inches across, or as big as my hand. That is not a house cat, and too large to be bobcat or lynx.

But, unofficially, the jury is still out.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Which NFL team went 0-16 in 2008?

Answer
Detroit Lions.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: What are all those chirps we hear in the night?

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Cricket

Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

I’ve always been interested in folklore. It is intriguing how older generations and cultures came up with them, with most dealing with nature.

While sitting around a campfire with friends once in late summer, we heard a cricket chirp in the distance. One of the friends, we’ll call her Lauri, groaned at the sound. “What’s the matter?” I asked. Lauri responded, “Hearing a cricket means the end of summer.”

Interesting!

Well, my curiosity got the best of me. I started asking many acquaintances, friends, family and whoever else would listen: Had they ever heard of that folklore? The answer has been “no” every time. One thing I failed to ask Lauri was where she had heard that. It probably is an old wives tale or something, just like the cicada predicting the first killing frost in the fall, or the wooly bear caterpillar forecasting the severity of a winter.

Crickets, family Gryllidaeare, are found in all parts of the world, except in cold regions at higher latitudes. They are also found in many habitats, upper tree canopies, in bushes, and among grasses and herbs. They also exist on the ground, in caves, and some are subterranean, excavating shallow or deep burrows. Some live in rotting wood, and some will even run and jump over the surface of water. They are related to the bush crickets, and more distantly, to grasshoppers.

Crickets are relatively defenseless. Most species are nocturnal and spend the day hidden. They burrow to form temporary shelters, and fold their antennae to conceal their presence. Other defensive strategies are camouflage, fleeing and aggression. Some have developed colorings that make them difficult to see by predators who hunt by sight.

Male crickets make a loud chirping sound by scraping two specially textured limbs together. This organ is located on the fore wing. Most females lack the necessary parts to stridulate, so they make no sound.

Crickets chirp at different rates depending on their species and the temperature of their environment. Most species chirp at higher rates the higher the temperature. The relationship between temperature and the rate of chirping is known as Dolbear’s law. According to this law, counting the number of chirps produced in 14 seconds by the snowy tree cricket, common in the United States, and adding 40 will approximate the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.

Some crickets, such as the ground cricket, are wingless. Others have small fore wings and no hind wings, others lack hind wings and have shortened fore wings in females only, while others have hind wings longer than the fore wings. Probably, most species with hind wings longer than fore wings engage in flight.

Crickets have relatively powerful jaws, and several species have been known to bite humans.

Male crickets establish their dominance over each other by aggression. They start by slashing each other with their antennae and flaring their mandibles. Unless one retreats at this stage, they resort to grappling, at the same time each emitting calls that are quite unlike those uttered in other circumstances. Once one achieves dominance, is sings loudly, while the defeated remains silent.

Crickets have many natural enemies. They are eaten by large numbers of vertebrate and invertebrate predators and their hard parts are often found during the examination of animal intestines.

The folklore and mythology surrounding crickets is extensive. The singing of crickets in the folkore of Brazil and elsewhere is sometimes taken to be a sign of impending rain. In Alagoas state, northeast Brazil, a cricket announces death, thus it is killed if it chirps indoors, while in Barbados, a loud cricket means money is coming, hence the cricket must not be killed or evicted if it chirps inside the house.

In literature, the French entomologist Jean-Henri Fabre’s popular Souvenirs Entomoloquques devotes a whole chapter to the cricket. Crickets have also appeared in poetry. William Wordsworth’s 1805 poem, The Cottager to Her Infant includes the lines, “The kitten sleeps upon the hearth, The crickets long have ceased their mirth.” John Keats’ 1819 poem Ode to Autumn, includes the lines, “Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft, the redbreast whistles from a garden-croft.” Could this be from where that folkore about the end of summer comes?

Crickets are kept as pets and are considered good luck in some countries. In China, they are kept in cages specially created. The practice is also common in Japan, and has been for thousands of years. Cricket fighting is a traditional Chinese pastime that dates back to the Tang dynasty (618-907). It was originally a common indulgence for emperors, but later became popular with commoners. (I hope Vince McMahon doesn’t read this!)

While serving in the Army in Southeast Asia from 1968-69 (Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam), I learned that crickets are commonly eaten as a snack, prepared by deep frying the soaked and cleaned insects. In Thailand, there are 20,000 farmers rearing crickets, with an estimated production of 7,500 tons per year. No, I didn’t try them.

And, of course, in popular culture, we have Walt Disney’s Jiminy Cricket in the 1940 film Pinocchio, and in the 1998 film Mulan, Cri-kee is carried in a cage as a symbol of good luck.

In the media, the sound of crickets is often used to emphasize silence, often for comic effect after an awkward joke.

I’ll bet you didn’t think crickets had such a valued place in societies and cultures for centuries.

Roland’s trivia questions of the week:

Is Jim Rice the all-time Red Sox home run leader among right-handed batters?

Answer here.
Yes (382).

SCORES & OUTDOORS: Call in the night turns out to be red fox

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Roland D. Halleeby 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?

Answer
Denny McLain, of the Detroit Tigers, in 1968, went 31-6, with a 1.96 ERA.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: A case of mistaken identity

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Halloween Pennant (left), Graphic Flutterer (right)

Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

From time to time, it happens. You see something unusual, don’t know what it is, so you go to your research material to find the answer. You use multiple sources, do your homework, then, when you think you have found the answer, it ends up being wrong.

Well, it happened again last weekend for me. While working in my garden at camp, I noticed this unusual looking dragonfly. It wasn’t your run-of-the-mill, old brown ugly dragonfly. It was extremely colorful and just seemed out of place.

My research pointed to it being a Graphic Flutterer, rhyothemis graphiptera, The illustration looked remarkably similar to the photo I had taken, but there was one thing that didn’t add up. The Graphic Flutterer can only be found in Australia, the Moluccas, New Guinea and New Caledonia. That’s half way around the world from here.

So, like I have done many times before, I turned to my contact, a wildlife biologist at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, emailed the photo to him, and he responded in short order.

“This is a Halloween Pennant,” (no, not a little flag you would wave on October 31), Celithemis eponina. This is a native dragonfly in Maine, an uncommon, but not rare, species that breeds in slow streams, ponds, and lakes with abundant aquatic vegetation.”

Well, it sure fits. If you have been to Webber Pond, in Vassalboro, in recent years you will see that the lake is abundant with aquatic vegetation.

The Halloween Pennant can be found across the eastern United States, ranging from the east coast to the states just east of the Rocky Mountains. They can also be found on some Caribbean islands and in Ontario province, in Canada. Seen mostly during June and July during the summer, they are actually active year round.

The Halloween Pennant gets its name from its orange-colored wings, which have dark brown bands. They are often found on tips of vegetation near the edges of waterways. Mine was just hanging around on a Tiki torch near my garden.

It is a medium-sized dragonfly but also considered large for its species. They can range from 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 inches in length.

The adults fly around above freshwater habitat and the surrounding vegetation, and feed on smaller insects they capture in flight. They are considered very strong flyers, and can fly during rain and strong winds.

And, listen to this, they have some positive impact: They help control the mosquito population and have no negative affect on humans. I can only hope I see more of them, considering the healthy mosquito population we have at camp.

They are also secure in numbers and currently have no conservation concerns, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

In case you’re interested, dragonflies have been in existence since the Permian period (299 – 251 million years ago).

In the end, I was not too far off when I identified it as a Graphic Flutterer. According to the Animal Diversity Web, at the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, the male Halloween Pennant closely resembles the Graphic Flutterer.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

This New England Patriots QB holds the record for most passing yards in a season. Who is he?

Answer
Drew Bledsoe, 4,555 in 1994