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SOLON & BEYOND: The Burial of Flagstaff story continues

August 5, 2020/0 Comments/in Solon & Beyond/by Website Editor

by Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percy
grams29@tds.net
Solon, Maine 04979

Before I get into this week’s third column of the Burial of Flagstaff, I’m going to print the only recent news I have received: The August 10, 2020, Embden Historcal Society meeting has been canceled. My many thanks go out to Carol Dolan for keeping us informed.

The Burial of Flagstaff: The anxiety of waiting by Roland Hallee and Marilyn Rogers.

The dam was now under construction and the residents of Flagstaff knew the end of their quaint little town was near. Anticipating the changes that were coming, residents were saddened and serious. They were not resentful, rather, but rather bewildered. As to what they will do and where they will go, no one had a definite answer.

Outside the community the project meant work, cutting flowage, construction and after completion, more industry from storage water power.

The men of Flagstaff had always been lumbermen, rivermen and guides. Among the families who came down through the years were the Viles, the Wings, the Savages, the Hines and Taylors.

The most noted and remembered set of buildings to go was the so-called Parsons Place. A huge set of buildings built in the early 1880s by Thomas Butler and later sold to Samuel Parsons. This was a road house or old time tavern open the year around. The stage from “down river,”originating from New Portland and connecting with “up-river,” Eustis, and tied up there, lumbermen, river drivers, hunters, fishermen, guides and all who traveled the Dead River region planned to stop at the Parsons Place whenever going that way.

The Dead River was about 50 miles long. It ends at The Forks where it flows into the Kennebec River. It rises out of Chain of Ponds and watershed of the United States and Canada.

Also within the water area was the DAR market place in honor of Col. Timothy Bigelow, one of the leaders in the Arnold Expedition and the first known white man to ascend the mountain that bears his name.

Also taking place at this time was a meeting of the Flagstaff and Dead River boards of selectmen to discuss and name the desired location for the removal of their cemeteries. Eustis Ridge was the desired site.

Leroy Parsons, who was second assessor of the plantation, while referring to his own home and while pointing to the eaves of the house, grimly remarked, “They say that will be the high water mark.”

Mrs. Kenneth Taylor, a great-great granddaughter of one of the early settlers, Rufus Viles, remembered earlier happier days.”The beauty of these days, make us all realize our homes here are more precious than ever before.”

In an article in the Waterville Morning Sentinel, on March 7, 1949, columnist Clayton LaVerdiere wrote:

A gallant little town that is slated to die came out with one last, bold gesture of defiance here tonight.

As if nothing had ever happened – or ever would – some 30 of Flagstaff’ s voters conducted their annual town meeting in a business-like manner that belied the apprehehension lurking in the hearts of all.

Sitting in the the tiny schoolhouse, bronzed woodsmen and their wives studiously avoided discussing the numbered days of a community that will probably, by next March, be at the bottom of a lake….

They tackled 25 articles of the town warrant with enthusiasm, voting to keep their schoolhouse, and appropriated $1,000 for an “Old Home Day” that promises to be the biggest thing to hit Flagstaff in many a moon.

Deep in their hearts they all knew, though, that this celebration would be a colorful farewell to a town they knew so well, a town rich with the history of America’s struggles for freedom.

Voters dropped their ballots into a hat in the old-fashioned way, raised $11,368 and the called it a night.

Flagstaff had been an active, busy little town since 1865, thriving on the vast woodlands bounding it on all sides. It was established close to the banks of the Dead River, whose waters eventually would be backed up to cover the town.

Although town residents watched as 700 men were swarming over adjacent property, clearing the land for the huge project, they were still uncertain as to when the evacuation date would come.

Perry Burbank, who had just been elected to his 21st term as town clerk said, “we’ re still looking ahead as if nothing ever happened.”

Captain Cliff Wing, attending his 55th town meeting, slouched behind the tiny desk and said little. There was a gleam of sadness in the 76-year-old gentlemen’s eye. “I guess it’s a good thing in the end probably,” he said, after awhile, “but I kind of hate to leave. It’s just hard to tell where we’re goin’, what we’re going to do.”

Hilda Ames’ big job was teaching some of Flagstaff’s four high school, 14 grammar school and 22 primary grade pupils, but that night, she too, felt rather sad, “I’ don’t like it very well, she said. “I’ve always lived here. It’s hard to think of any other place to live.”

Her husband, Hazen, who owned a store on Flagstaff’s Main St. said “I wouldn’t mind if I had been younger. No one knows where to go, what to do.”

Evan Leavitt, postmaster and proprietor of the town’s general store, added “nobody likes to be forced out of their home. It’s just human nature.”

The light point of the meeting came when Perley Stevens was unanimously re-elected as road commissioner. He responded by saying he wasn’t sure he could do the job that year. (Perley Stevens was my dear uncle).

The residents now awaited the full flood of the spring runoff which once signaled the re-awakening of the lovely rural country side.

The residents of Dead River Plantation also faced the same fate. By March 1950, the highway was already flooded, thus closing forever the Dead River Road from the intersection where the new road leads to the dam at Long Falls. By this time, Bert Witham’s home had already been burned, as well as the old landmark of the highway, Parson’s Place and the old Ledge House.

By the spring of 1950 the waters of the Dead River crept slowly over a barren burned-over countryside with only a few scattered buildings, all abandoned to a watery death.

Water flowing into a 25-mile man-made water reservoir had already cut off the roads, and all the residents of Flagstaff and nearby Dead River, had moved.

And now for Percy’s memoir: People are only complete when they have a true friend to understand them, to share all their passions and sorrows with and to stand by them throughout their lives. Always remember: Don’t worry, be happy!

THE MONEY MINUTE: The power of a smile and a wave

August 5, 2020/0 Comments/in The Money Minute/by Jac Arbour

by Jac M. Arbour CFP®, ChFC®, President
J.M. Arbour Wealth Management

Summers in Maine are special, and I am blessed to call this state my home. I wake each morning and travel across Lake Cobbosseecontee in a 14-foot, 1956 Richline aluminum boat with my grandfather’s 1973 6 horsepower Evinrude. I watch mist rise from the water, eagles and ospreys grab their morning catch, and listen to loons call their friends from miles away. It’s quite the skip across the lake.

I then hop in my truck and head to the office here on Water Street, in historic downtown Hallowell. For anyone that hasn’t been here, it is a small, but buzzing little town that has a strong sense of community. The bakery, the juice shop, and the coffee shop are some of my favorite stops here in the mornings.

It is however, what happens between the lake and the office that I want to share this month.

The largest room in the world is the room for improvement. Big or small, there are things we can do to improve ourselves, the world around us, and therefore, the experience of others. Mark Johnston, former President of Kennebec Savings Bank, in Augusta, knows this all so well.

The Granite Hill Road, in Manchester, is the route I take each day to get to Hallowell, and it is on this road that I (and every other car and passenger who takes that road) am greeted with a daily smile and a wave by Mark himself.

Mark always wears a bright shirt for safety reasons; to make sure he is seen (it’s a narrow road and vehicles drive fast). This is the usual attire he wears as he completes his morning routine of walking, smiling, waving, and picking up trash.

Yes. Every day I see Mark walking, getting some exercise, taking care of his body, stopping only to smile and wave at each and every car that goes by, and to bend over and pick up any and all pieces of trash he discovers. He carries a bag with him, and surprisingly, even though the road was spotless after his yesterday’s walk, there is always more to pick up.

I wonder what that road would look like if Mark didn’t walk it every day. Would there be more trash? Would there be less people who could say a stranger (or old friend) has already smiled and waved to him or her by the time 8 a.m. rolled around? I believe so.

It may sound trivial, but in my opinion, what Mark does each say is symbolic of the power we each carry within us and that we can share through simple acts of kindness and respect.

Mark, please keep smiling and waving. It’s more powerful than you know. And, thank you for all that you still do for our local communities.

Jac Arbour CFP®, ChFC®

Jac Arbour is the President of J.M. Arbour Wealth Management. He can be reached at 207-248-6767.

Investment advisory services are offered through Foundations Investment Advisors, LLC, an SEC registered investment adviser.
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) owns the CFP® certification mark, the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification mark, and the CFP® certification mark (with plaque design) logo in the United States, which it authorizes use of by individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: The common grackle has become a pest to farmers because of their large numbers

August 5, 2020/0 Comments/in Scores & Outdoors/by Roland D. Hallee

the common grackle

by Roland D. Hallee

They swarm down from the heavens in flocks and take over the ground. They stay for a while, and then all leave together, like someone giving an order to evacuate the location. They are also a nuisance if you have a garden.

The common grackle, Quiscalus quiscula, is a large member of a species of birds that are often colorful and found in large numbers through much of North America. Most species have black as a predominant plumage color.

Adult common grackles have a long and dark bill, pale yellow eyes, and a long tail. Adults often have an iridescent appearance on their head, especially males. Common grackles are found in much of North America east of the Rocky Mountains.

The common grackle was first described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of Systema Naturae.

Adult common grackles measure from 11 to 13 inches in length, span 14 – 18 inches across the wings, and weigh 2.6 – 5 ounces. Common grackles are less sexually dimorphic than larger grackle species, but the differences between the sexes can still be noticeable. The male, which averages 4.3 ounces, is larger than the female, at an average of 3.3 ounces. Adults have a long, dark bill, pale yellowish eyes, and a long tail; their feathers appear black with purple, green, or blue iridescence on the head, and primarily bronze sheen in the body plumage. Adult females, beyond being smaller, are usually less iridescent; their tails in particular are shorter, and unlike the males, do not keel in flight and are brown with no purple or blue gloss. Juveniles are brown with dark brown eyes.

When grackles are in a group, they are referred to as a “plague.”

The breeding habitat is open and semi open areas across North America east of the Rocky Mountains. The nest is a well-concealed cup in dense trees (particularly pine) or shrubs, usually near water; sometimes, the common grackle nests in cavities or in man-made structures. It often nests in colonies, some being quite large. Bird houses are also a suitable nesting site. Four to seven eggs are in a clutch.

This bird is a permanent resident in much of its range. Northern birds migrate in flocks to the Southeastern United States. The distribution of the common grackle is largely explained by annual mean temperature, and the species has expanded its range by greater than three-fold since the last glacial maximum, approximately 22,000 years ago.

The common grackle forages on the ground, in shallow water, or in shrubs; it may steal food from other birds. It is omnivorous, eating insects, minnows, frogs, eggs, berries, seeds, grain, and even small birds and mice. Grackles at outdoor eating areas often wait eagerly until an unwary bird drops some food. They rush forward and try to grab it, often snatching food out of the beak of another bird. Grackles prefer to eat from the ground at bird feeders, making scattered seed an excellent choice of food for them. Grackles can be regularly seen foraging for insects, especially after a lawn trimming.

Grackles have a unique adaptation within their bill which allows them to crack and cut hard nuts or kernels. The keel projects downward from the horny palate and is sharper and more abrupt anterior. It extends below the level of the tomium, the sharp cutting edge of the beak of a bird or turtle, and is used in a sawing motion to score open acorns or dried kernels. Large adductor muscle within their jaw makes this even more useful for opening hard seeds and acorns.

Along with some other species of grackles, the common grackle is known to practice “anting”, rubbing insects on its feathers possibly to apply liquids such as formic acid secreted by the insects.

The grackle’s song is particularly harsh, especially when these birds, in a flock, are calling. The songs occasionally sound like a power line buzzing. The grackle can also mimic the sounds of other birds or even humans, though not as precisely as the mockingbird, which is known to share its habitat in the Southeastern United States.

In the breeding season, males tip their heads back and fluff up feathers to display and keep other males away. This same behavior is used as a defensive posture to attempt to intimidate predators. Male common grackles are less aggressive toward one another, and more cooperative and social, than the larger boat-tailed grackle species.

The range of this bird expanded west as forests were cleared. In some areas, it is now considered a pest by farmers because of its large numbers and fondness for grain. Despite a currently robust population, a recent study by the National Audubon Society of data from the Christmas Bird Count indicated that populations had declined by 61 percent to a population of 73 million from historic highs of over 190 million birds.

Unlike many birds, the common grackle benefits from the expansion of human populations due to its resourceful and opportunistic nature. Common grackles are considered a serious threat to crops by some, and are notoriously difficult to exterminate; this usually requires the use of hawks or similar large birds of prey.

Though the exact mechanism is poorly understood, several studies have examined the ability of the common grackle to interpret the Earth’s magnetic field – or in this case, the variability of it. The common grackle has been found to exhibit a scientifically significant attunation with a dynamic magnetic field.

Whether this is of any significance to mankind, they don’t know. But I do know that when they arrive, it’s as if they are attracted to each other like magnets.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

What is the mascot of the new NHL franchise in Seattle?

Answer can be found here.

Give Us Your Best Shot! for Thursday, July 30, 2020

July 29, 2020/0 Comments/in Give Us Your Best Shot!/by Website Editor

To submit a photo for this section, please visit our contact page or email us at townline@townline.org!

FIRST OF SEASON: John Gardner captured this photo of an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly.

MIRROR, MIRROR: Ken and Ellen Fletcher, of Winslow, submitted this photo of a bald eagle and its reflection on the river.

HANG ON: Lori Benson photographed this chipmunk hanging onto a bird feeder.

SOLON & BEYOND: More on the Burial of Flagstaff

July 29, 2020/0 Comments/in Solon & Beyond/by Marilyn Rogers-Bull

by Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percy
grams29@tds.net
Solon, Maine 04979

This will be the second column written about The Burial of Flagstaff, by Roland and myself. He wrote quite a bit about the beginning of this sad happening and it starts this way…. The decision to build the dam at Long Falls had been in the planning stages for quite some time. Up to 20 years before the first tree was cut, Central Maine Power Co., in conjunction with Great Northern Paper Co. and Hollingsworth & Whitney, in Winslow, had begun buying up property in the Flagstaff area. The community was the only one of any size with an elevation low enough to be covered by the future lake.

By an act of the Legislature in 1937, the creation of the Dead River storage was authorized and the act was renewed in 1939 and subsequently, in 1941.

Maine ‘s hydro-electric output would be increased by thousands of kilowatts with the completion of the project. The Dead River storage basin contains no generating equipment at the Long Falls site, but provides additional prime capacity from the Central Maine Power Company’s five generating stations on the Kennebec River.

The storage system was increased by about 35 to 47 billion cubic feet of water, increasing the Kennebec River’s normal flow and making higher minimum flows.

The dam would act as a huge reservoir to control the flow of water into Wyman dam, as well as dams at Skowhegan, Madison, Solon, Shawmut, Fairfield, Waterville, Augusta and those along the length of the Kennebec River. The dam in Augusta has since been removed.

When completed, the dam would create a lake approximately 25 miles long and impound some 12 billion cubic feet of water. The estimated cost for the project was put at $4 million. Work began in 1949 and was was completed in 1950.

Up to that time the Dead River and its peculiarities had been controlled by one dam, a 21-gate hand-operated wooden affair. The Dead River would have been useless if it hadn’t been for that small dam. The river was a sight to be remembered after the zig-zag course, which at times runs all points of the compass. That river no longer exists as the entire basin is flooded with up to 20 feet of water.

By July 1948, the sound of axes were already in the air as the crews began to open up the area where the engineers and construction crews would build the dam. The few remaining residents sadly watched the preparations for the construction.

(I hadn’t thought it could get any worse!….. But then came all the raging fires! Can’t begin to explain what that was like! )

However, the tiny village of Flagstaff was to meet another challenge. In July 1948, forest fires broke out in the vicinity where crews were cutting in the flowage area. A Somerset County official said the Flagstaff fires were centered mainly on the Central Maine Power Co. flowage basin, sweeping unchecked through 50 acres of private timberlands. The town was threatened with complete destruction by one of three forest fires raging within sight of its main street.

At 5:30 p.m., an eye witness stated that Flagstaff “appeared doomed,” as a brisk northeast wind pushed a stubborn fire on the Eustis Road to within a half-mile of the built up section, before being checked by Flagstaff, Rangeley and state forestry department firefighters. Flagstaff was spared for the time being. ( I can remember one that was much nearer to our house than that, and our only means of escape was to cross the big bridge where the fire was close by, not a pretty sight!

At this point, Flagstaff was a town of 20 families. The people of Flagstaff had been taken by surprise, and almost stunned by the news that their homes were to be inundated as a result of the dam project. They had known for years that such a move was pending, but had gotten used to the idea, and it was always something that MIGHT happen SOMETIME in the future . Folks had heard the building of such a dam talked about for 20 years. But as time passed, it had become more or less a myth.

However, there had always been a feeling of uncertainty in everything they had done. No one attempted to establish anything permanent.

Financial arrangements were made with the property holders by the development concern, but the remaining residents were now faced with a stern reality that made them sad and homesick.

Public buildings included a fine school house, a Congregational Church, a mill, one store and the Masonic lodge.

There were many residents of Flagstaff who were born and had always lived there.

The Dead River Plantation was in a similar circumstance. Although they did not have a village, there were 27 sets of buildings in the area to be flooded.

I am sending an excerpt from a letter to the editor, published on June 29, 1948, written by a wonderful friend of mine who lived in Dead River.

To the editor:

Your recent editorial on the benefits to be received from the building of the dam on the Dead River makes me shake a wrathy fist at you people who are so in need of more hydro-power that we must sacrifice our homes and lands to it. To us who have put all our love, labor, and earnings into the lands that have been in our families for years, there can be no compensation for their loss.

It seems a sad and selfish thing when the needs of urban dwellers become so demanding as to cause, to be obliterated, two communities whose inhabitants live in greater happiness, satisfaction, and far more tranquil peace of mind than you harried city folk can imagine. (Written by Frances Taylor, who I miss very much)

I hope all of those who read this column every week are enjoying this old news about days gone by. With all that is going on in our world today, I’m going to send out a bit of information in memory of my dear cat, Percy. Hope it helps!

We need to feel more to understand others, We need to love more to be loved back, We need to cry more to cleanse ourselves, We need to laugh more to enjoy ourselves, We need to be honest and fair when interacting with people, We need to establish a strong ethical basis as a way of life, We need to see more than our own fantasies, We need to hear more and listen to the needs of others, We need to give more and take less, We need to share more and own less, We need to realize the importance of the family as a backbone to stability, We need to look more and realize that we are not so different from one another, We need to create a world where we can trust one another, We need to create a world where we can all peacefully live the life we choose.

REVIEW POTPOURRI – Composer: Brahms; TV Show: Killing Eve; Poet: Wallace Stevens

July 29, 2020/0 Comments/in Review Potpourri/by Peter Cates

Wallace Stevens

by Peter Cates

Brahms
2nd Piano Concerto

Artur Schnabel, pianist, with Sir Adrian Boult conducting the BBC Symphony; Victor, M 305, six 78 discs, recorded 1935.

Artur Schnabel

The leaflet for this set of fragile records contains a most intriguing opening paragraph:

“Johannes Brahms came by his love for music naturally, for his father ran away from home several times in order to pursue the study of music. Quite naturally when Johannes, born May 7, 1833, showed talent, his father was willing to give him instruction. Soon the boy was turned over to other teachers, one of whom lamented the fact that the youth would be a fine performer, ‘if only he would give up this everlasting composition.’ ”

Pianist Artur Schnabel (1882-1951) met Brahms once through his teacher in Vienna, Theodor Leschetizky (1830-1915), who numbered Polish pianist and patriotic freedom fighter, Ignace Paderewski (1860-1941), among his many later famous pupils; Schnabel’s encounter with Brahms was on a nature walk.

Schnabel left recordings of both Brahms Piano Concertos and a few solo pieces. What was always for me most uniquely captivating about Schnabel’s playing was its playfulness combined with very convincing and communicative musicianship, whether of Brahms or of this pianist’s large number of recordings of Beethoven Piano Concertos and Sonatas. Other pianists , for all of their wonderful qualities, rarely conveyed this playfulness, and spontaneity. Schnabel made the piano seem a very easy instrument to play well. A few missed or bad notes, let alone memory lapses, rarely phased him in concerts.

Schnabel moved to Berlin as a young man after several years in Vienna, feeling rightfully that opportunities for teaching and performing were greater there. He was a free spirit, he fathered an illegitimate daughter whom he didn’t know about for several years, he played pool until the middle of the night and slept until noon, and, due to limited finances, he would buy a beer at city bars in order to eat the free bread rolls with mustard for frequent meals.

The above recording has been reissued on CD and can be heard on YouTube.

Killing Eve

I highly recommend the very suspenseful and funny first two seasons of the BBC show, Killing Eve, starring Sandra Oh as the MI6 investigator, Eve Polastri, and Jodie Comer as a skilled assassin, Villanelle. These two characters develop a love/hate attraction that proves very distracting to their chosen profession.

Two other superlative performances in the series are Fiona Shaw as Eve’s supervisor, Carolyn Martens, and Henry Lloyd-Hughes as the devious billionaire, Aaron Peel. The series can be seen on the Hulu channel.

Wallace Stevens

American poet, successful Hartford Connecticut insurance executive and very conservative Republican Wallace Stevens (1879-1955) wrote poems that I found consistently tough to read and teach yet still fascinating. During a vacation in Key West, Florida, Stevens got into a fistfight with novelist Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) at a cocktail party and, being paunchy and portly, he was easily punched to the floor.

One worthwhile quote is from his poem, The Emperor of Ice Cream, one most apt for this time of year – “The only emperor is the emperor of ice cream.”

CRITTER CHATTER: Heartbreak at the wildlife care center

July 29, 2020/1 Comment/in Critter Chatter/by Jayne Winters

A deer being returned to the wild following rehabilitation at the Duck Pond Wildlife Center. (contributed photo)

by Jayne Winters

Donald Cote and his late wife, Carleen, have operated the Duck Pond Wildlife Center for over five decades. Five decades of 24/7 devoted care to nature, large and small, furred and feathered. While we naturally prefer to hear about the successful stories, the “feel good, happily-ever-after” anecdotes, there are certainly sad outcomes which are inevitable in this type of rescue work.

My visits with Don are never boring; he’s a wonderful story-teller, animated and at times, quite out-spoken in expressing his opinions. An hour passes quickly and I must admit, it would be easy to stay longer to chat except for the nagging thought that I’m preventing him from many chores. One story he has wanted to share for some time is about three deer that wandered into a junkyard through a gate which had been left open.

Following an urgent call about a doe and two youngsters, likely her yearling and new fawn, being confused and trapped by the yard’s fencing, Don met with an employee and the town’s Animal Control Officer (ACO) to assess the situation and hopefully rescue the deer. An attempt to encourage the deer to move out of the enclosure by slowly driving a truck to “herd” them resulted in their jumping into a 100-foot x 50-foot, six-foot deep, lined pond which was on site to catch vehicular oil. The local fire department was contacted and responders were able to encourage the deer to get out of the pond; two deer left the area by an open gate, but the smallest one – about six months old and 75 pounds – remained and in a panicked state, just kept running along the fence line. The decision was made to leave it alone overnight in the hopes it would calm down and find its way out.

The next day, however, the fawn was still there, butting its head into the chain link fence in its attempt to get out. Don met several volunteers at the site and the deer was ultimately cornered and put into a trailer for transport to Duck Pond for observation. He was transferred to a large pen, given food and water, and closely monitored. Two days later, he appeared to have a seizure, likely from the repetitive head butting into the junkyard fence. An anti-inflammatory injection often used for prevention of seizures was given, but without any real change in behavior; sadly, the fawn suffered another episode a couple of days later and was found dead shortly thereafter. Although it was obvious that the stress of the previous few days, along with a probable head injury, caused the deer’s death, Don still wonders if it was by seizure(s) or possibly a heart attack.

Despite the best efforts of many caring people, outcomes are not always positive and there may not be definitive answers as to why. Helping wildlife is certainly not an easy task, but the reward of seeing a rehabilitated animal released into its natural habitat again far exceeds the disappointing losses.

Donald Cote operates the Duck Pond Wildlife Care Center on Rte. 3 in Vassalboro. It is a non-profit federal and state permitted rehab facility which is supported by his own resources and outside donations. Mailing address: 1787 North Belfast Ave., Vassalboro ME 04989 TEL: (207) 445-4326. EMAIL CORRECTION: thewildlifecarecenter@gmail.com.

FOR YOUR HEALTH: Staying Healthy in Stressful Times

July 29, 2020/0 Comments/in For Your Health/by Website Editor

You don’t have to let stress get you down.

(NAPSI)—You may be feeling stressed during these challenging times, but stress can affect your physical and emotional health. Learn how to manage your stress so that you can stay healthy and cope with life’s challenges.

What is stress?

Stress is how your brain and body respond to a challenge. Any type of challenge—such as performance at work or school, a significant life change, or a traumatic event—can be stressful.

Your body reacts to stress by releasing hormones. These hormones make your brain more alert, cause your muscles to tense, and increase your pulse. In the short term, these reactions are good because they can help you handle the situation causing stress. This is your body’s way of protecting itself. However, too much stress all at once or over time (chronic stress) can threaten your health.

Everyone experiences stress from time to time, but your response to stress may be different. Some people may experience headaches or an upset stomach. Others may get muscle aches or chest pain. Stress can also disturb your sleep, reducing your energy and making it tough to keep active when awake. In addition, stress can lead to weight loss or weight gain. Over time, stress can contribute to serious health problems, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other illnesses, including mental disorders such as depression or anxiety.

Managing stress through fitness, healthy eating, and relaxing activities

Regular physical activity, healthy food and beverages, and other positive activities may help you relieve stress and stay on track with improving your health.

Physical activity may help you start feeling better right away. It can help boost your mood and improve your sleep. In addition, physical activity adds to strength and stamina, which can help you manage stressful situations.

Physical activity doesn’t have to mean long workouts. Short workouts, such as a set of sit-ups or stretches, can help relieve stress. Try adding a new activity to your daily routine, such as walking around the block or up and down stairs a few times. Partner with a friend or neighbor to help you stay on track.

Consuming healthy meals, beverages, and snacks in moderation can be another way to protect yourself against stress. Preparing or purchasing foods such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables, low-fat proteins, and foods without added sugars or fats can give you energy and keep you feeling good.

Learn to recognize what triggers your stress response and identify ways to help you manage it. Other ways to help you manage stress may be to meditate, engage in your favorite hobby, limit your time on social media, volunteer, or connect with people who can provide emotional support.

Visit the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases website to learn more about physical activity, healthy eating, adequate sleep, and other behaviors to help you manage your stress. Visit the National Institute of Mental Health website to learn more about stress.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: The soothing and enjoyable songs of the Winter Wren and Hermit Thrush

July 29, 2020/0 Comments/in Scores & Outdoors/by Website Editor

Winter Wren

by Roland D. Hallee

There are times at camp, especially when the weather is oppressingly hot, that my wife and I will retreat to our gazebo, that sits under shade trees, turn on the fan, and enjoy whatever is around us.

Recently, actually since the beginning of summer, we have noticed a Winter Wren that is hanging around our camp. Now, I don’t know if there are more than one, or just the one. We have not seen two together. It has a pretty little song and we enjoy listening to it in the morning.

Another recent visitor, that we don’t remember ever seeing before, is the Hermit Thrush. Another small, brownish bird with a melodious song.

While sitting in the gazebo, we started to talk about the two birds. So, to compare the two songs, we each took our respective cell phones, and Googled the birds. She the hermit thrush, I the winter wren.

To our surprise, when we played their respective songs, to compare them, we became surrounded by the two different birds, and they were answering our calls. We did it a couple of times, then decided that we were possibly confusing the real birds. So we stopped.

However, the birds in the trees continued to call out for quite some time.

The Winter Wren, Troglodytes hiemali, is a very small North American bird. It breeds in coniferous forests from British Columbia to the Atlantic Ocean. It migrates through and winters across southeastern Canada, the eastern half of the United States and (rarely) northeastern Mexico. Small numbers may exist in the western United States and Canada.

The scientific name is taken from the Greek word troglodytes (from “trogle,” a hole, and “dyein,” to creep), meaning “cave-dweller,” and refers to its habit of disappearing into cavities or crevices while hunting arthropods or to roost.

They have small tails often cocked above its back, and short neck which gives the appearance of a small brown ball. Rufous brown above, grayer below, barred with darker brown and gray, even on wings and tail. The bill is dark brown, the legs pale brown. Young birds are less distinctly barred. Most are identifiable by the pale “eyebrows” over their eyes.

The Winter Wren nests mostly in coniferous forests, especially those of spruce and fir, where it is often identified by its long and exuberant song. Although it is an insectivore, it can remain in moderately cold and even snowy climates by foraging for insects on bark and fallen logs.

Its movements as it creeps or climbs are incessant rather than rapid; its short flights swift and direct but not sustained, its tiny round wings whirring as it flies from bush to bush.

At night, usually in winter, it often roosts, true to its scientific name, in dark retreats, snug holes and even old nests. In hard weather it may do so in groups, either consisting of the family or of many individuals gathered together for warmth.

For the most part insects and spiders are its food, but in winter large pupae and some seeds are taken.

Hermit Thrush

The Hermit Thrush, Catharus guttatus, is a medium-sized North American thrush. It is more compact and stockier than other North American thrushes, with relatively longer wings. The hermit thrush has the white-dark-white underwing pattern characteristic of Catharus thrushes. Adults are mainly brown on the upperparts, with reddish tails. The underparts are white with dark spots on the breast and gray or brownish flanks. They have pink legs and a white eye ring. Birds in the east are more olive-brown on the upperparts; western birds are more gray-brown.

Hermit Thrushes breed in coniferous or mixed woods across Canada, southern Alaska, and the northeastern and western United States. They make a cup nest on the ground or relatively low in a tree.

While most hermit thrushes migrate to wintering grounds in the southern United States and south to Central America, some remain in northern coastal U.S. states and southern Ontario. They usually breed in forests, but will sometimes winter in parks and wooded suburban neighborhoods. They forage on the forest floor, also in trees or shrubs, mainly eating insects and berries.

The Hermit Thrush’s song has been described as “the finest sound in nature,” consisting of a beginning note, then several descending musical phrases in a minor key, repeated at different pitches. It often sings from a high open location. Analysis of the notes of its song indicates they are related by harmonic simple integer pitch ratios, like many kinds of human music and unlike the songs of other birds that have been similarly examined.

Walt Whitman construes the Hermit Thrush as a symbol of the American voice, poetic and otherwise, in his elegy for Abraham Lincoln, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d,” one of the fundamental texts in the American literary canon. A Hermit Thrush is the name of a poem by the American poet Amy Clampitt. A hermit thrush appears in the fifth section (What the Thunder Said) of the T. S. Eliot poem The Waste Land.

Former Canadian indie-rock band Thrush Hermit took its name from a reversal of the bird’s name. It is also shared by the American bands Hermit Thrushes and Hermit Thrush.