Tracking – building confidence and desire

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TRAINING YOUR PERFORMANCE DOG

by Carolyn Fuhrer

Successful tracking comes from the dog wanting to follow the scent you have indicated to them. In this case, the scent of the “start article.”

You must motivate them to lock on to this scent because this scent “pays” – and ignore all the other wonderful scents they may come across along the way.

You must motivate them to persevere even when the path is hard and it is easier to go another way. You must motivate them to keep working even when they are tired and would like to stop.

So how do you communicate this to your dog?

Some dogs find sniffing very rewarding; however, this does not mean your dog will necessarily want to follow the scent of what you have directed them to follow. In order to create desire to follow the scent you have indicated (the start article) you must in training make the job of following the start article scent very rewarding. This is why using multiple articles on training tracks and rewarding for finding and indicating each article will teach the dog to stay on the scent you started with. I try to communicate to my dog that each article they find is very important and will “pay” very well. I vary the value of my rewards so the dog will always keep working to find the article that will pay with high value treats. I am enthusiastic about what they find. Just paying at articles and going on is not always enough for some dogs. Some dogs need excited input; others need sincere appreciation from the handler. This is where relationship comes in.

What does your dog need? This could change as the track progresses. This is where tracking really shows off the relationship with your dog. You must train this way with your dog so you can encourage them through the difficult parts of the track and get them to search for that elusive scent one more time.

Even though at a test you cannot reward your dog with food at the article, the relationship you develop through training each time your dog finds an article will carry over into competition and you will be able to help your dog focus and go back to tracking. Spending time at the article is a good mental break for both dog and handler. It gives the handler a chance to assess what has been going on and where they are on the track and enables the handler through their relationship with the dog to encourage and motivate the dog to go on or to calm and focus the dog on the next section of track.

What your dog needs at any particular time will depend on our dog’s personality and the difficulty of the track. When your dog finds multiple articles along the way during training their confidence builds because they are successful and are praised for their effort. This interaction enhances their relationship with you and will build confidence and desire. Long, arduous, unrewarding tracks will not build the desire you need for a successful tracking dog. If you are struggling with focus or desire, try to put some motivation back into your tracks.

Carolyn Fuhrer has earned over 90 AKC titles with her Golden Retrievers, including 2 Champion Tracker titles. Carolyn is the owner of North Star Dog Training School in Somerville, Maine. She has been teaching people to understand their dogs for over 25 years. You can contact her with questions, suggestions and ideas for her column by e-mailing carolyn@dogsatnorthstar.com.

SOLON & BEYOND, Week of May 11, 2017

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

Good morning, dear friends. Don’t worry, be happy!

My thanks to Marie Poulin for sending me a Solon Historical Society program, I appreciate it greatly. Officers are president, Chris Shaw; vice president, Neil Hunnewell; secretary, Maureen Shaw; treasurer, Albert Starbird and financial secretary, Marie Poulin. Trustees: Rance Pooler, three years, Chris Shaw, two years, and Jeff McAllister, one year. Publicity Marie Poulin and Marilyn Rogers-Bull. Program Juanita McAllister, Neil Hunnewell and Ann Padham. Dues are $5 per person or family, payable at the annual meeting in September. Meetings will be held on the fourth Monday of each month at 7 p.m., at the Gray Merrill House, 28 South Maine Street, unless otherwise stated. No regular meetings will be held in December or January. Programs and locations are subject to change. This months meeting is on May 22 and the program is called Issac Davis Celebration presented by Issac Davis. The Solon Historical Society was organized on May 8, 1999, by Virginia Merrill.

The monthly supper at the Embden Community Center will be on Saturday, May 13, at 5 p.m. Country Sunday/Open Mic will be held there on Sunday, May 14, from 1 – 4 p.m.

I have always been an animal lover and when a friend showed me a clipping entitled “A Dog’s Plea” I thought it would be nice to share . It was written by Beth Norman Harris. Treat me kindly, my beloved friend, for no heart in all the world is more grateful for kindness than the loving heart of me.

Do not break my spirit with a stick, for though I might lick your hand between blows, your patience and understanding will more quickly teach me the things you would have me learn.

Speak to me often, for your voice is the world’s sweetest music, as you must know by the fierce wagging of my tail when the sound of your footstep falls upon my waiting ear.

Please take me inside when it is cold and wet, for I am a domesticated animal, no longer accustomed to bitter elements. I ask no greater glory than the privilege of sitting at your feet beside the hearth.

Keep my pan filled with fresh water, for I cannot tell you when I suffer thirst. Feed me clean food that I might stay well, to romp and play, to walk by your side and stand ready, willing and able to protect y6ou with my life.

And, my friend, when I am very old, and I no longer enjoy good health, hearing and sight, do not make heroic efforts to keep me going. I am not having fun.

Please see that my trusting life is taken gently. I shall leave this Earth knowing with the last breath I draw that my fate was always safest in your hands.

Another friend who reads this column faithfully, and finds Percy’s memoirs quite inspiring gave me some that she had saved. The love and thought were very precious to me.

Percy’s memoir this week is one we both found and loved, it is entitled “A Touch of Loveliness.” Add a touch of loveliness To the things you say and do, Give pleasure to more people By a happy smile, won’t you? Be thoughtful of the people Whom you meet in shop and store, Then to God you will be dearer, He will love you even more. Aim higher, think kinder, Be a better, nicer you, Aim higher, think kinder, For this world has a need of you. (words by Sr. Mary Gemma Brunke.)

SCORES & OUTDOORS: The return of the phoebe

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Roland D. HalleeSCORES & OUTDOORS

by Roland D. Hallee

Several years ago – there seems to be disagreement when it was – we had an Eastern phoebe build a nest under the awning, on a cross beam that abuts our camp. We watched as the female incubated the eggs, and my wife had the opportunity to witness the last of the chicks leave the nest.

Well, I think it’s about to happen again, and to quote the late, great Yogi Berra, “it’s déja vu all over again!” We noticed an Eastern phoebe hanging around last Sunday when we went to camp to assess the winter damage and begin the clean up. She seemed to be scoping out the area for a potential site for a nest.

In the past, the female arrived and began building the nest sometime after May 1. When we moved out to camp for the summer on May 9, the nest was about half complete. Even with the increase in traffic, the bird continued on its mission of finishing the task it had begun, despite the fact that the nest was about two feet from the door to the camp, in the exact location the other bird had chosen a few years back.

eastern phoebe

There were four eggs in the nest. We determined this by taking a mirror, placing it on a stick and looking inside the nest. The female, at that point, would leave the nest every time the door opened. They were all phoebe eggs. The Eastern phoebe is occasionally host to the nest-parasitic brown-headed cowbird.

As the incubation period approached its end, she was a little more reluctant to leave the nest unattended. She was more tolerant of our presence and did not leave the nest after sunset, regardless of the commotion that was going on around her.

Returning north at the beginning of spring, sometimes before the snow has left, these early arrivals are unmistakable. They pump their tails up and down, as only phoebes can. They have remarkably large heads, and the straight-up feathers on their heads are far too short to make a respectable crest.

In inhabited areas, the phoebes like to build their nests under bridges, porches, eaves and sheds. They will practically move in on favored homeowners – which I suppose is what we became – who may then be lucky enough to watch the construction of their moss and mud nests, the hatching of the eggs, the feeding of the young, and finally the fledgling of the brood as they take their first awkward flights, all things that we have been fortunate enough to observe.

Phoebes will frequently return to the same nest sites year after year, which we have discovered.

Although only the female incubates the eggs, both parents share in the feeding of the young. They generally will raise two broods a year, sometimes three. In our case, the last experience with them was only one brood, because we deduced that because of the many times she leaves the nest in our presence, it may take longer than the customary 14-17 days to incubate.

The young will leave the nest approximately two weeks after hatching.

The nest is an open cup with a mud base (makes a mess on the windows) and lined with moss and fine grass stems and hair.

Although the book on the phoebes indicate they are loners, and that even during egg laying the female will chase away the male, the pair that we have stay close. While the female is in the nest, the male is never too far away. We witnessed the male attack a Baltimore Oriole that had landed on the edge of the roof, eight feet away from the nest.

When we go back to camp this weekend, we will try to find if the phoebe has found a place to nest. The beam that once was home for these birds is no longer there. I’ll keep an eye on the outbuildings.

I’m Just Curious: “911” called

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by Debbie Walker

I love it when things happen in daily life and it turns out to give me the next week’s column. That’s what happened on Thursday, April 27.

Ken and I were coming back to Burnham from Waterville; there was nothing unusual about that. I heard my cell phone making a noise, usually that wouldn’t be unusual but it wasn’t ringing and I heard someone talking. I picked it up and spoke into it. There was a voice saying it was the 911 operator.

My phone had called 911 all by itself. Oh, I felt so bad because I know how busy these people are with real emergencies; I didn’t want to waste their time.

I was ready to end the call so the woman could go on to help a real emergency. What I didn’t think of was this woman needed to make sure I wasn’t her next emergency. We verified where I was at the time, my name, my address and was anyone telling me to say I was “okay?” I was able to assure her that we were fine and I apologized again for my phone’s bad behavior.

We rode the rest of the way home without any more incidents. Things were normal for the rest of the afternoon and evening until… There was a knock on the door. It was after dark and neither of us had any idea who it might be. So Ken went to the door and opened it. He was quite surprised to see the smiling face of a Waldo county sheriff’s deputy looking back at him.

This was a follow-up visit to the afternoon’s phone call with the 911 operator. I was so surprised; I didn’t expect a follow-up visit. But I did understand the concern for safety.

Today this was a funny situation but I am sure that is not what these people deal with daily. Their caller could actually be in a life or death situation and desperately need help.

I was told that cell phones often call 911. From what I was told people usually just hang up without talking to the operator. When an operator calls back (part of the job) that number people very often will not answer the call. I don’t know if that is because of embarrassment or bother.

The job these operators have is very serious and I would imagine rather stressful. I certainly didn’t want to add to anyone’s stress. I know this would not be a job for me; I admire them.

I’m just curious if you ever had this experience? Contact me at dwdaffy@yahoo.com sub: 911

Thanks for reading.

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Baritone: Emilio de Gogorza; Author: Edward Garnett

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Peter Catesby  Peter Cates

Emilio de Gogorza

The Holy City
Victor- 74041, one-sided, 12-inch 78, recorded 1906.

Emilio de Gogorza

The baritone Emilio de Gogorza (1872-1949) recorded more discs for Victor than has been documented accurately. Despite this number and his success as a concert artist, he never appeared in any opera on stage due to terrible near-sightednss.

The Holy City has been recorded many umpteens of times since the cylinder days. My favorite records of this are the Richard Crooks 1935 Victor 78 and the 1950 Decca ep 45 but Gigorza performed it with intelligence, sensitivitivity and a very polished voice- qualities that have been consistently noted by his fans.

He was married for 25 years to the famed soprano Emma Eames (1865-1952), who grew up in Bath and whose house is still standing!

Letters from Joseph Conrad

Edward Garnett, ed.; The Bobbs-Merrill-Company, 1928, 302 pages.

Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) did not master English fluently until his 20s. Later the Polish-born merchant marine seaman would leave his oceanic livelihood to devote his energy full time to becoming one of a tiny handful of the greatest 20th century writers and a vibrant, multi-faceted individual to those fortunate enough to have met him.

Edward Garnett

I have read and deeply enjoyed Heart of Darkness (the basis for the late ‘70s film classic Apocalypse Now), Lord Jim, the short story “Typhoon”, “Under Western Skies”, and, a huge favorite of mine, “Victory”. Searchers for truth abound in his stories with their exotic and frequently hostile locales in the darker corners of Europe, Czarist Russia, and Africa, and on board the ships travelling the dangerously wide open seas.

This book of correspondence has an insightful introduction and notes by Conrad’s longtime younger friend and editor, Edward Garnett (1868-1937), who was most helpful in motivating the often insecure writer to keep working during their mutually edifying friendship- starting in 1895, just when Conrad began his writing career, to 1924, when the author suffered a fatal heart attack. However, only Conrad’s letters to Garnett make up the bulk of this fascinating volume.

I offer select comments from Conrad to provide a sense of his larger than life personality:

His ability to put pain in its rightful place with an unexpected twist while carrying on about petty matters- “Why am I fooling thusly while there is a pain in my back to which a jab with a carving-knife would be a soothing application?”

His impatience with people – “Don’t you know my dear Edward how stupid people are! They take delight in merest twaddle, they look out for and welcome the obvious. And they understand hardly anything which is not either one or the other.”

His praise of Garnett’s uncanny ability at helping him write his best work – “You are a dear good old critic – you are! You’ve a way of saying things that would make an old sign-post take to writing. You put soul and spunk into me – you, so to speak, bamboozle me into going on – and going on and going on. You can detect the shape of a mangled idea and the shadow of an intention in the worst of one’s work – and you make the best of it. You would almost persuade me that I exist. Almost!”

Reading him at first can be difficult but patience, as I know from my own experience, yields rewards of great worth. I recommend Heart of Darkness for the beginner.

IF WALLS COULD TALK, Week of May 4, 2017

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by Katie Ouilette

WALLS, surely we must feel honored. I found a business card, which I probably received at a Skowhegan Chamber of Commerce FAB Fair years ago and it read that The Town Line is the oldest [existing] weekly newspaper in Central Maine. The date was 1989. Y’know, faithful readers, the Skowhegan Independent Reporter surely outdated The Town Line, as its history follows, but certainly, WALLS, it is a great honor to be presenting your thoughts in print each week.

Yes, you are well-aware that the pocket-park at the corner of Madison Avenue and, what was, Russell Street in Skowhegan was the site of a large building. Yes, it was empty and folks learned that it was beyond repair by an architect and several others who were well-acquainted with old buildings. In fact, the same was determined for the, one time, Reporter Office. O.K., WALLS, go for it as this is reminiscing time for our faithful readers.

WALLS, tell about that big old building first. Yes, faithful readers, the top floor was the location of the first photographic studio in Skowhegan. Surely, WALLS, there were a lot of stairs to climb, so parents who wanted their children’s photos or people who wanted photos of people who were incapacitated for any reason had to have the photographer carry his equipment to one’s home. Then, on the third floor was Lydia Deane’s ‘candy kitchen’ and anyone who remembers those divine candies know that she shipped Lydia Deane’s candies to our military during World War II, while we lucky folks at home could visit her store that was located over our Maine Liquor Store on Madison Avenue. Our once Maine Governor and now U.S.Senator Angus King ran a law office for the Kennebec Legal Association on the second level. The first level housed two small grocery stores, one owned by Howard Gray and one by Emil Stred. After Wallace’s TV and Radio Sales and Repair became the building’s owner, we are told by Donna Wallace Finley that her dad placed a loud-speaker on the building and hundreds of people gathered there to get news of the ending of World War II. Ah, what a wonderful world we all thought we lived in!

O.K., WALLS, you told us that Skowhegan’s Reporter Office Building was torn down to create the ‘park’ in our downtown, so tell us about what happened to those bricks. Yes, Katie’s car was to be filled with some of the bricks. Oh, in her back seat, of course. Some of the bricks were to be used as a memorial to Herb Paradis, who was a founder and the first host of our Channel 11’s Keeping Pace, but we must remember that Herb wrote a column entitled Keeping Pace for our Somerset Reporter. WALLS, make sure to tell our faithful readers that “Buster” Foster was editor of The Reporter, too.

Now, here comes a twist to this bit of history. In East Madison is what has always been known as the Whittier House. Yes, Emma and Ed Whittier lived there and, when they ceased their living, the house was sold. to Jackie Jacques and Dick Anzelc amd all their family was born there. Dick worked at Alfond’s Shoe Manufacturing until Alfond’s ceased to exist. Well, Walls, now Rick and his wife have purchased the house, which was abused to say the least, and now it is the Anzelc house again. In the process of refurbishing “the Whittier house,” Katie learned that the fantastic antique brick fireplace that has a washtub and ovens in the kitchen had some broken bricks and what better place for antique bricks than what is now ‘the Anzelc House.’

SOLON & BEYOND, Week of May 4, 2017

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

Good morning, dear friends. Don’t worry, be happy!

My thanks to Elaine Aloes for letting me know about the following: There will be a special budget meeting on Monday, May 8, at the town office conference room at 6:30 p.m., to go over the four articles for a special town meeting on Monday, May 22, at 7 p.m. at Solon Elementary School.

1. The Fire Department wants to purchase a 2004 Pierce 3,000 gallon Pumper Tanker Fire Truck for $122,000. We would trade in our 1994 1,500 gallon Pumper Tanker Fire Truck. Our yearly loan payment would be about $8,000 per year. We currently put aside $3,000 a year in a reserve account so this would add an additional $5,000 to that appropriation for five years. Funding: Fire Truck Reserve Account $75,000 ( current balance $76,146) Trade-in value on 1994 truck $10,000, Loan for 2004 truck $37,000 for a total of $122,000.

2. Sidewalks on Pleasant and School streets: Due to the condition of the sidewalks and federal regulations, we need to discuss various options for our sidewalks. Due to their condition, we cannot simply pave over them. The pavement needs to be removed, some bushes and tree stumps removed, gravel added in many places, Federal handicap requirements met, and then the sidewalks repaved. If we choose not to repair the sidewalks then the selectmen suggest removing the sidewalk in that area (from Pleasant Street to Doherty’s driveway), filling it with gravel and plant grass. We will be discussing various options and deciding on a course of action at the Special Town Meeting.

3. Raising funds for the transfer station truck loan payment of 3,156.11 due in July: We have a loan payment due in July that we did not include on the annual town meeting warrant.

4. Raising funds for grounds maintenance: We need to maintain the grounds at the town office and fire station complex, the sports fields at school, and the Coolidge Library. We have been paying to have the lawns mowed at the library but have been relying on volunteers for the sports fields and the volunteer efforts of Duayne Rollins for the town office and fire station complex. We think it is time to contract with somebody to properly maintain these grounds. We are currently getting some quotes and will have more information at the special town meeting. Another option would be for the town to purchase a mower and a weed wacker and pay someone by the hour to do the job. A sit down zero mower is about $3,000.

The next Embden Historical Society meeting is Monday, May 8, at 7 p.m., at the Embden Town House. Amanda Taylor will have a Power Point presentation on “Maine Historic Bridges” (including our locals). A brief meeting will follow along with refreshments.

I had two wonderful birthday parties last weekend that made my heart soar with love! On Friday, Lief and I went to Falmouth to the home of my son and daughter-in-law Dave and Eleanor Rogers. They took us to Portland to a model plane shop where Lief was fascinated with all the flying models hanging from the ceiling, plus all the items available to buy. It was a most interesting place. They also took us to my very favorite store for art supplies Artist & Craftsman Supply. It had been enlarged since I had been there, so it took me quite awhile to spend just half of the gift certificates Dave and Pete had given me, … but so much fun! They took us out to lunch and then we went back to their house for cake and ice cream, such a perfect day!

Mary had invited us over for a supper birthday party on Saturday, and again, I can’t explain the love that was present as we all sat down to a scrumptious meal, all present told Mary how wonderful it was! Those present were Dave, Mary, Amanda, Alexander, Peter, Sherry, Lief and me. Words fail me when it comes to all the special gifts I received , and how much I love them all! Mary had made a special English birthday cake, and I blew out all the candles, there were only eight, and everyone cheered!!

Percy’s memoir is: Instead of loving your enemies, treat your friends a little better. (words by Edgar Watson Howe).

TECH TALK: Why you can’t afford to be neutral on Net Neutrality

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ERIC’S TECH TALK

by Eric Austin
Technical Advisor

Net Neutrality is — arguably — the most important legislative issue in the world of technology right now. And it’s an issue that will affect the lives of every single person reading this column.

Today, the Internet is like a super highway where every destination is the same distance from you. You decide where you want to go based on the content you are interested in, not the time it takes to get there. In Internet terms, this means that no particular website is given bandwidth preference (distance) over another. They are all equally accessible to you as the consumer.

You decide which websites to visit. You decide which video services you subscribe to.

But some people want to allow Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to restrict those choices. They want to allow your ISP to determine which services on the Internet you have access to. So, if you get your Internet from Time-Warner, you might only be allowed to stream video through Hulu. But if your service provider is Comcast, you might be required to use Netflix instead. This would become true of many of the services you use on the web. No longer would it be your choice. Instead it would be dictated by your service provider.

That doesn’t sound like much fun, does it? Why would anyone want an Internet that works this way?

As Internet-based companies grow larger, they seek new ways to capture even more of their market share. One way of doing this is by paying (bribing) Internet Service Providers to give their content bandwidth preference.

If opponents of Net Neutrality get their way, big companies like Amazon, Hulu, Netflix and others would be able to pay (bribe) ISPs to give preferential treatment to their web platform over their competitors, similar to how a restaurant today will offer Pepsi or Coke — but not both.

Do we want that to become the norm on the Internet? So that picking an Internet Service Provider also means restricting our Internet content options to the ones that have paid the most to our ISP for exclusivity? It’s starting to sound more like picking a cable package than accessing the Internet.

In the early days of the Internet, the web was widely touted as a “level playing field” where small companies like Google and Amazon could compete equally with huge, established corporations like Microsoft and Blockbuster.

Although, that time has come and passed, the barrier to a successful web business is still much lower than it is to open a traditional brick-and-mortar store. But suppose that, aside from needing to build a website and supply it with original content, you also had to pay Internet Service Providers to “allow” traffic to come to it? How would you compete against the likes of Google, Microsoft, and Facebook?

From a business perspective, it means that smaller, newer businesses could be discriminated against in favor of bigger, wealthier and more established corporations. Good news for Big Business. Bad news for promising young entrepreneurs.

From a consumer perspective, it means fewer choices for Internet content.

In 2015, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) decided to reclassify Internet providers as “common carriers” under Title II of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. This classification is reserved for “necessary” utility services like telephone, electricity, gas and water. These types of services are subject to greater regulation and oversight to prevent discrimination and price gouging of vulnerable consumers.

This was a huge victory for Net Neutrality, and recognition that the Internet has become an essential part of many people’s lives. It also meant that ISPs could not restrict or throttle bandwidths based on content, but had to make all (legal) content equally accessible to everyone. Simply put, this meant that Amazon, Hulu, Netflix – and your next-door neighbor Dave’s 24-hr livecast of his boring life – all have an equal right to the Internet’s bandwidth.

But the fight is far from over. With a new administration comes new policies, and the recently appointed chairman of the FCC (and former attorney for Verizon), Mr. Ajit Pai, only last Wednesday announced his plans to reverse this classification and rollback current regulations protecting Internet neutrality.

If you have any doubts about which side of the debate you, as an average consumer, should be on, simply consider those that are fighting for and against this issue.

On the pro-Net Neutrality side, we have numerous consumer advocacy and human rights groups such as Article 19, Free Press, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the ACLU, to name just a few. Even web companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Yahoo! and Google have come out in favor of Net Neutrality. And it’s advocated by people like the co-founder of Apple, Steve Wozniak; inventor of the World Wide Web, Sir Timothy Berners-Lee; and President Barack Obama.

On the other side, you have the lobbyists of large communications companies like AT&T, Qualcomm, and Verizon, as well as (according to Wikipedia) certain noted “technologists” (whatever those are) and “economists.” And, really, when was the last time “economists” were on the side of the little guy?

Have you ever gone to a restaurant and ordered Coke only to be told that all they serve is Pepsi?

Well, if you don’t want to be stuck drinking Internet Pepsi when you really prefer Coke (or vice versa), call your Senator and Representative in Washington today and tell them you want an open and free Internet, where access to content is decided by you, the consumer, rather than big communication companies!

For more information about Net Neutrality or to get involved, visit www.savetheinternet.com.

Eric W. Austin is a marketing and technology expert, and an advocate for a free and open Internet. As long as email remains free, he can be reached at ericwaustin@gmail.com.

Further reading:

TECH TALK: The Internet – At War with Itself

TECH TALK: Net Neutrality goes nuclear

SCORES & OUTDOORS: A fish story to top them all

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Roland D. HalleeSCORES & OUTDOORS

by Roland D. Hallee

I have been an avid fisherman for the better part of the past five decades. I have fished for many different species, under various weather conditions with some unusual experiences. But I have never had one fall out of the sky…until this week.
Now, I know recreational marijuana use is legal in Maine, but I swear on my mother’s grave I don’t touch the stuff.

When I arrived home from work last Wednesday, there it was, on the walkway from my driveway to the side door, a yellow perch, completely intact, with rigor mortis very well established. Since my hands were full, I figured I’d go back out to take care of it later.

Once in the house, I forgot about the fish until the next morning when I left the house to head to work. It was still there. I kicked it over to the side so no one would accidentally step on it, and proceeded to work. I returned that afternoon, and it was still there. I went in the house, dumped my briefcase and laptop, and headed out to take care of the situation.

The fish had disappeared, just as quickly as it had appeared. Strange to say the least.

Since I live about 400 yards from the Kennebec River, where there is a large population of sea gulls, crows, and a nesting pair of bald eagles, I figured one of them may have inadvertently dropped it during a mid-flight skirmish with another bird over the fish. I have witnessed such encounters in the past. Why it stayed there for two days before being reclaimed, or discovered by another bird, or even ground animal, is a mystery.

With that in mind, I have received the first fishing report of the season from Mark Latti, of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for our region.

The report, dated April 21, states the Belgrade Lakes are still ice bound except for some places where open water exists. I would think, though, that by now, they are probably free of ice. Anglers are catching up to 19-inch rainbow trout in Long Pond.
In our area, the best spot right now for landlocked salmon and brown trout is at Lake St. George, in Liberty, according to IF&W biologist Jason Seiders.

Alford Lake, in Hope, is another place to visit this time of year. Reports from there indicate brown trout in the eight pound range, according to trapnetting that was conducted last fall. Seiders thinks there may be some even bigger ones this spring. Also, humpback white perch, ranging up to two pounds, have been caught.

With the spring runoff, many area streams are overflowing their banks, making fishing a little difficult right now. Messalonskee and Belgrade streams have not yet been stocked, but should be in the near future.

A little further north, below the Wyman Dam, reports are showing excellent early season fishing of salmon and rainbow. IFW staff “conducted creel surveys there and interviewed one group that caught 20 salmon, and released all but one,” according to Seiders.

Also, taking into consideration the past history, the alewives should begin to run at the dam on Webber Pond during the first week or two of May.

Open water fishing is well underway – I saw a couple of bass fisherman on China Lake this week – so it’s time to get the gear out, prepare the boat, and head out on the great Maine lakes and streams, but keep an eye out above.

IF WALLS COULD TALK, Week of April 27, 2017

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Katie Ouilette Wallsby Katie Ouilette

WALLS and faithful readers, so glad that Computer Improvements in Downtown Skowhegan came to the rescue! Unfortunately, this is a completely new program, but hopefully, our faithful readers will be patient with us.

Yes, the last WALLS did give you faithful readers a reason for folks who are no longer with us but passed on the reason they spoke of the year Maine had no summer. Yup, WALLS, you were absolutely right. The year was 1816 when our beautiful blue skies were clouded by a volcano’s eruption in Tasmania, Indonesia, and the smoke and ash came all the way to make Mainers talk about “the year with no summer.” Yup, Mainers are great story tellers and the subject of “what used to be” has been a favorite one for all to give us our history lessons.

O.K., WALLS promised you faithful readers Chapter 2 last week. Actually, that volcanic eruption was in 1815, but Mainers didn’t realize the travel time for the ashes until the summer of 1816. However, with much of today’s emphasis being on art, the artisans of that era recognized that the sky had a “yellow tint” and have educated us by painting that yellow as each interpreted it. So, faithful readers, now you know!

Here’s another bit of history. Today is Earth Day and, admittedly, through little or no planning, do you know that East Madison holds the historic prize for being the first of many happenings? Little old East Madison in very early times was the first Madison until the paper industry discovered the power that the Kennebec River would afford ‘the mill’. Yes, WALLS, you are right in that now that paper manufacturing mill has ceased to exist…again.

Another first? East Madison had seven active manufacturers at one time. Yes, the Cummings Mill manufactured woolen goods and the late “Bill” Cummings, who grew up in East Madison, founded Skowhegan Art School. East Madison’s history also included a park where Donald Perkins’ East Madison Store once had a cribbage board for the men to enjoy and now the American flag flies for the first East Madison soldier to be killed in Vietnam and famous poet, Florence Burrill Jacobs was born and grew up in East Madison. So what does this have to do with Earth Day, you ask? Well, East Madison had the first Earth Day in the U.S.A.! No, WALLS is right! The date in 1970 had been set, the town youngers had been recruited. The late “Joe” Denis would walk and pick up trash from the White School House Road to Perkins’ Store (and Donald had snacks waiting). Katie would drive the town truck! Well, that truck wasn’t available for the official Earth Day, because of its being used “in the big town of Madison’ for Earth Day. So, guess who drove the town dump truck….yup, Katie! Oh, we found an old still, lots of junk, and the youngsters have all grown up…and even moved, but the memories linger on! Lest we forget, faithful readers, lest we forget! Earth Day was born in 1970 and Maine pride still is celebrated and Katie drove a Madison dump truck. Oh, yes, and East Madison had its own dump!