STRENGTH IN NUMBERS: Michael Bilinsky, of China Village, captured this flock of blue jays in his yard.
PECULIAR MUSHROOM: Joan Robertson, of Palermo, snapped this mushroom growing on her lawn. It measured more than 10-inches in diameter.
SUPER MOON: Tina Richard, of Clinton, was on the spot to get this photo of the Super Moon on Nov. 14.
It’s amazing how one day you are oblivious of certain things, and the next day. you learn how a small, previously obscure caterpillar is now raping the landscape along the southern Maine coastline, and moving swiftly into the central part of the state.
The browntail moth caterpillar falls into that category. It not only poses a health problem for trees and insects, but it can also make humans uncomfortable.
browntail moth caterpillar
Last fall, Maine Forest Service entomologist Charlene Donahue wanted to see just how much damage browntail moth caterpillars were causing by chomping on the leaves of hardwood trees and shrubs. So, she did an aerial survey.
“In September, when the little teenie weenie caterpillars that are about a twelfth of an inch long were feeding, and mapped over 11,000 acres of feeding damage,” she says.
That means when they mature, and reach a size of about two inches in length, they are going on a mission to defoliate everything in sight. Donahue says most browntail moths are centered in the Topsham, Brunswick and Bowdoinham areas of the state, but the infestation has expanded. It has now been reported in the central Maine area from Waterville-Winslow to Lewiston-Auburn and even further south to Kittery.
And while that’s bad news for trees like oaks and apples, it’s also bad news for people because the caterpillars shed hair that can cause poison ivy-like rashes and breathing problems if ingested.
“The hairs can last for a year or 2-3 years, so people — even if the browntail moth go away — they go and rake or work in the brush in a place that’s been infested in the past, you can still end up with a rash,” Donahue says.
The severity of this year’s infestation is prompting the town of Cumberland to consider spraying pesticide in an area of town most affected, Cumberland Foreside.
Apparently, this is something that happens every year and the Cumberland Town Council tries to be pro-active.
According to Council chairman Peter Bingham, “Cumberland has considered spraying in the past, but abandoned the plan after too many homeowners opted out. The town held a workshop recently to help determine whether to spray this time around.”
Donahue says using pesticides would provide relief for people in the area, but it won’t get rid of browntail moth entirely. They’re invasive, from Europe, and don’t have natural predators.
According to biologists, the caterpillar and moth have been around these parts for well over 100 years. See what I meant when I said it all of a sudden makes news.
The only thing that seems to slow down browntail moths is a fungal disease, which hasn’t been as prevalent in recent years.
Donahue says to avoid exposure, mow the lawn when it’s wet. Don’t hang laundry outside where it can pick up the caterpillar’s hairs. And wear long sleeves and pants if you’re in an infested area.
Have you ever been involved in a conversation and realized you don’t really remember much of it?? It has happened to me. Sometimes I would be so engrossed in what my clients were saying…….at least that’s what I thought I was doing.
However, truthfully, I was hearing things they wanted and my head was actually in high gear trying to think of my answers to them.
I saw these words in something I was reading: “The biggest communication problem is we do not listen to understand. We listen to reply.” Oh yeah, the light bulb came on and I saw that I fit right in the category of non-listener.
All that time I was listening to the comments I could help out with, evidently, I wasn’t hearing the whole story, only parts.
We started our holiday season already with Thanksgiving, one of the “conversation” holidays, it’s over. The month of December generally hits us all with more family and/or friend’s parties, dinners, get togethers of all kinds. There will be people that we care about but only see on holidays, once every few years. There is so much we have missed in each other’s lives and without realizing it in our “conversations” we are busy coming up with things we want the other to know about us. Oops. We just missed most of what they were trying to tell us about them.
I also just realized that we use a form of selective hearing when we deal with children, spouses; maybe it’s because we think we know already where they are going with their conversations. I have learned with my little niece Haliegh that I need to be on my toes! That child is very smart, very conversational and if you’re smart you don’t want to miss it. The kids at the school where I am a foster grandparent/teacher I have learned to listen closely. They have some wonderful ideas.
We did a “circle story” with the class this fall. We started with the teacher making up the first sentence of the story and then it goes on to the first child, the next and the next, right around to all 15 kids, each kept up their part of the circle. It was wonderful! These are only first graders!
If you have kids at home of any age I encourage you to listen carefully to what they say to you. It might be tougher with teens; they have already learned to not talk to an adult because they probably don’t want to listen to you anyway. Let’s change this where we can.
Family and friends will remember any discussion with you when you have been actively listening to them. Let them talk; you can make comments but remember to listen to understand, I promise your interest will be noticed.
Contact me at dwdaffy@yahoo.com sub: Communication problem. Thanks for reading. Looking forward to any communication.
PS: Put the cell phone away while with others!
Sir Thomas Beecham conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Capitol, G 7251, mono edition of LP also released in stereo, recorded 1961.
The Overtures contained herein are Rossini’s La Gazza Ladra and La Cambiale di Matrimonio – itself composed when he was 18; Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream and Fair Melusina; and Berlioz’s Corsaire. Gazza Ladra, translated as Thieving Magpie, is based on a story in which a servant girl is charged with stealing a silver spoon. She is caught between a rock and a hard place because she is hiding her father who is a deserter while the real thief is a magpie.
Thomas Beecham
The Corsaire Overture was written by Berlioz in a tower on a cliff in Nice, was initially titled Le Corsaire Rouge because the composer really liked the American novel Red Rover by James Fenimore Cooper, but was shortened to just Corsaire when he feared confusion of the many listeners not particularly well read. The novel also had one scene depicting its own tower on a cliff, inspiring some speculation as to why Berlioz might have sought and found such a place on his vacation trip to Nice.
The performances are very good but more recent performances with even better sound exist that are also very good. Finally, Overtures by these three figures and others such as Dvorak, Brahms, Suppe, etc., are a wonderful source of listening, like the composers and pieces I have recommended in previous columns, for beginning one’s classical collection. And for anyone who does want the above LP, vinyl and cassette copies are listed on Amazon for under ten bucks.
Atlantic- 7 81281-2, CD, released 1984.
The classic Memphis record label Stax had the gifted personnel of Booker T. and the MGs as its house band for most of the 60’s. Organist Booker T. Jones, 1944; guitarist Steve Cropper, 1941; bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn, 1941-2012; and drummer Al Jackson, Jr. provided top notch support for such artists as Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Bill Withers, Sam and Dave, the Staple Singers, Carla Thomas and her father Rufus, Albert King and Bonnie and Delaney.
Booker T. and the MGs
With the two whites, Cropper and Dunn, it was one of the very first racially mixed musical groups in the U.S. as of 1962 when they released their only megahit, Green Onions. This selection and 15 others comprise the CD above, some of the most well-honed, nuanced and funky instrumentals that make for excellent background music and focused listening.
Detroit’s Motown label has an outdoor marquee reading, “Hitsville USA,” while Stax in Memphis has “Soulsville, USA.” Prices for the CD on Amazon start with a very exorbitant one penny.
Amy Morris Bradley was born September 12, 1823. She spent her youth in the family home in East Vassalboro. Her father’s cobblers shop was in the north section of the house. The main house consisted of two front rooms, kitchen, pantry and upstairs chambers. Eight family members lived and worked in this small house.
Amy Morris Bradley
Amy’s life was dedicated to education and helping others. She taught school in Vassalboro and Gardiner, also, the Winthrop School and Putnam Grammar, in Massachusetts. She suffered from a weak body, but she more than made up for it by forceful determination. Periodically she would return to East Vassalboro to recuperate and then forge ahead again.
During one of her recuperations, she was invited to stay at her sister in law’s family home in Charleston, South Carolina. Being an abolitionist and prohibitionist she had to mute some of her beliefs while she was visiting. Amy was treated very well and soon recovered though the visit did reinforce her views on both slavery and alcohol.
Amy was a governess for a short time in Costa Rica. The plantation owner overstated the opulence of his holdings and treated her more like a servant than teacher. She left that employment and went to the city of San Jose. Having become fluent in Spanish she went on to start the first English School there in 1854. Amy returned to Maine in 1857 to care for her ill father.
The fluency in Spanish that she gained in Costa Rica allowed her to pursue other employment. After her father died, Amy moved to Boston and worked as a translator for different companies.
The Civil War brought her to her toughest task, nursing. She was first attached to the 3rd Maine Regiment, and then put in charge of 5th Maine’s hospital, and then worked for the United States Sanitary Commission. She supervised and worked on the steam transports in the Peninsula Campaign. Before she would allow wounded soldiers on board, the entire boat would have to be cleaned to her particularly high standards. With her success on the transports she was put in charge of the Sanitary Commission’s home in Washington DC, where discharged wounded soldiers began
Amy Morris Bradley’s grave located at the Oakdale Cemetery, in Wilmington, North Carolina. Internet photos
their journey home. Her final position was head of Camp Convalescent, a wet muddy field that was the hospital for recovering soldiers. She soon put it in order with tents, beds, bedding and decent food. The Soldiers Journal was a newspaper she published for her charges.
After the war, she continued her efforts by working for the Freemans Bureau setting up schools for freed slaves and poor white children. One of the things that she discovered was that a hungry child would not do well academically. Amy set up kitchens at her schools so that the pupils had at least one nutritious meal a day. She established the first Normal School and is considered the founder of the school system in Wilmington, North Carolina. She died there January 15, 1904 and is buried in Oakdale Cemetery.
Headstrong, the biography of Amy Morris Bradley, by Diane Cobb Cashman is the source for this article.
by Katie OuiletteWALLS, if our faithful readers aren’t off to the stores, somewhere, and Christmas shopping, hopefully they are taking time to read about your suggestions this week. Oh, and while I’m on the subject of our faithful readers, you may have no idea how many of our readers are truly faithful. Wow, readers that I do not know recognize my glasses, I guess, and that you, WALLS, have a writer. Yes, each of them that tells how much they enjoy you are really giving us a ‘gift for all seasons’, right?
You, WALLS, know that Lew and I hope that our gifts inspire our great-grandchildren to learn and have fun, at the same time, as we fill all their parent’s mailboxes with National Geographic for Little Kids and for Kids (KIDS receive the issues that are published for seven years old and ‘up’). We are told our beloved kids really enjoy both editions together and the ‘more grown up great-grandkids’ receive the Smithsonian Magazine…and so do we! What an interesting read that affords us! Yes, WALLS, no one is ever too young or too old to learn!
Adults? Well, we do that the easy way, too. You see, we have a cancer-free great-grandson who was diagnosed at five years old and was sent to St. Jude’s by Seattle Children’s Hospital. What a wonderful research hospital that has to be, as our now grown up 17 year old was schooled for 12 years while at St. Jude’s and he only lost one year of school while there.
Equally, dear to us is his original doctor who had retired, but saw our great-grandson at his home, since a loving mom felt that treating her son for the flu was not what he needed. Yes, that doctor said he had to go to Seattle Children’s immediately and, it just happened that the world’s outstanding authority on Wilm’s Cancer was at St. Jude’s.
Some of you faithful readers maybe saw our great-grandson on Keeping Pace when he visited Maine from Bellingham, Washington. Former Town Manager John Doucette interviewed our handsome cancer-cured grandson and you faithful readers learned why Make a Wish is so important for giving, too.
Do you remember Danny Thomas, who brought fun, laughter and real lessons to everyone in the family once a week? His daughter, Marlo Thomas, promotes St. Jude’s as her dad’s dream. Well, Danny’s dream made our dream come true, too, so now WALLS, you can write the letter to Marlo and tell her of all the Ouilette family members’ Christmas gift that has been sent to St. Jude’s every year since Danny’s dream became ours, as well.
Many thanks for the cards that you send us, Marlo, so that we can send to those at St. Jude’s and wish them wellness in their respecdtive future, Marlo and all that work day and night to make that wellness a reality……her dad’s dream.
So, now, faithful readers, we of WALLS will be back next week and wish you a very happy holiday season!
by Marilyn Rogers-Bull & PercyGood morning, dear friends. Don’t worry, be happy!
This week I’ll start off with a little news that I didn’t write about the women’s shelter in Solon before because of lack of space. This new building where the shelter is now behind the New Hope Church, in Solon, two new group classes were begun for the women back in July. On Mondays there is a nutrition/cooking class, and on Tuesdays there is a parenting class for the women with minor children. These classes help the residents not only with their spiritual needs, but also with practical skills needed for a productive life after they leave the shelter.
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about other news from Tim and Pat about the New Hope Church and Women’s Shelter and the wonderful things happening there. The e-mail I received ended with, “Thank You! We are so grateful to each of you for your interest in and support of the ministries we have been part of over the past 46 years.”
One other item in the e-mail was this request, “Pray that Pat will quickly learn the various skills needed in her position as secretary. She laments, “I can milk cows, muck stalls, drive tractors; but run a copy machine? Learn computer programs? If the trial of my faith works patience, I should be all set on patience for the next billion years!”
My sympathy goes out to her, I have a similar problem with anything electronic, and it is most frustrating! Best of wishes go out to you and your church for all you do.
Received a copy of the Embden Historical Society, Inc., 2017 Program from Carol Dolan and there won’t be any meeting in January and February. The March 13 meeting program: DVD Blizzard to Blossoms (Winter 1948-49, Skowhegan) and April meeting Program: Fiddleheads A to Z, sound very interesting and some things to look forward to.
Other things to look forward to at the Embden Community Center are: On December 10, Phil Amadon will present a musical show from 7 – 9 p.m. All proceeds to benefit the center. On December 11, 1 – 4 p.m., Country Jam/Open Mic on second and fourth Sunday, by donation. Kitchen open.
Another event at the Embden Community Center is a sale at the Embden Thrift Shop on boots and shoes, half off on men’s and women’s and kids through (Dec. 7, 9 and 10 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.). The Lending Library is open the same days and times. ( My many thanks go out to Carol Dolan, she is my most dedicated helper. I truly appreciate your e-mails). I’m sure my readers do also, it is nice to know what is going on in our communities.
For those of you who perhaps have not seen your news in, it is because I didn’t get it in time for my deadline. I need all news by early Sunday to get it in that week’s Thursday edition. Thanks to all of you, I do appreciate your help in providing me with newsworthy items.
Yesterday was one of those wonderful days when good things happen. Son Dave had called to let me know that he and wife Eleanor (Pete), would be coming to see us. They do this every year, so we can exchange Christmas gifts before they leave for Florida. After opening our gifts we always go out to eat, this year was extra special, Peter, Sherry, Chandra and Cole joined us at Ken’s Restaurant and we all enjoyed our meal and joy of being together.
I’ve got a little extra space this week so I’m going to put in two of Percy’s memoirs: “Life’s greatest celebrations are born in the heart.” And, “The path to wisdom is never easy, but those who strive will find their journey blessed.”
by Roland D. HalleeWell, it’s December, and Christmas is closing in on us fast. What does that have to do with a sports and outdoors column? How about talking about one of the all time traditions of the holiday dinner – the Christmas goose. After all, even Ebenezer Scrooge, of the 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, written by Charles Dickens, prompted by the Ghost of Christmas Present, observed the Cratchit family enjoying a goose for Christmas dinner.
The once common farm bird, the goose has a rich legacy of multi-purpose value. Geese possess down feathers, dark flavorful meat, and rich high-temperature cooking fat.
As natural foragers, geese much prefer to graze than feed on grain alone, and need the freedom to roam in search of tender grasses. Their tendency to grazing has made them difficult to be produced under farm conditions, like the turkey.
According to Frank Reese, “In the old days you’d never harvest a goose until after you had freezing weather. The old people really felt that the cold weather allowed the goose to put down that important layer of fat that was needed to make it taste like it was supposed to.”
Goose, before Christmas dinner.
I once attended a wild game dinner with some friends. As hunters and fishermen, we would gather once a year and share our bounty from the previous season. That was the first time I had tasted goose, which had been harvested in New Jersey. I found the meat to be tender, a little greasy, but very pleasant to the palette.
Geese are a waterfowl. The word goose is a direct descendent of the German word gos, with the plural ges and gandres, becoming the modern English words of goose, geese, gander and gosling, respectively.
Actually, goose is the name given to the female of the species. The males are called ganders. Interestingly, a group of geese on land or in water is called a gaggle, while in flight, it is known as a skein.
Fossils of true geese in North America seem to indicate the different species of geese have been around since about 10 million years ago.
Geese are monogamous, living in permanent pairs throughout the year; however, unlike most other permanently monogamous animals, they are territorial only during the short nesting season. Paired geese are more dominant and feed more, two factors that result in more young.
However, farmyard ganders have been known to have a harem of three or four females. They are extremely dedicated partners and will actually mourn the loss of a mate.
And the Goose just before Christmas dinner.
Geese are herbivores, and the bumps in their beaks are used for cutting through grass stems. Since the inside of the beak and the tongue are serrated, they are often mistaken as fangs.
The goose is also the subject of many well-known sayings in American culture:
The Egyptians domesticated the goose more than 3,000 years ago. Properly cared for, geese can live to be as old as 20 years.
In Victorian England, the goose was the chimney sweep’s favorite tool. The goose was lowered down the chimney to collect the built up coal, and would come out the other end blackened with soot.
Another historical fact about geese: their feathers were used in some of the first golf balls, being created by hand, making them extremely expensive.
How do you cook a goose (no pun intended)? Very carefully.
As a casual dabbler in the culinary arts, I suggest this: Let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Generously salt both the inside and out and fill the cavity with garlic, thyme and sage. Prick small holes over the skin, being careful not to pierce the meat. This allows the fat a chance to render out during roasting. Cook low and slow, preferably at 325°F.
Having a tendency to be a bit dry, the meat should be served medium-rare. If you’re worried about the dark meat, to ensure it has had time to become tender, remove the breast part way through roasting.
Now, trying to find a goose at the local grocery store can result in a “wild goose chase.”
The New England Patriots are 6-5 in Super Bowl appearances. Name the teams to which they lost.
The following Personal Representatives have been appointed in the estates noted. The first publication date of this notice is December 1, 2016.
If you are a creditor of an estate listed below, you must present your claim within four months of the first publication date of this Notice to Creditors by filing a written statement of your claim on a proper form with the Register of Probate of this Court or by delivering or mailing to the Personal Representative listed below at the address published by his name, a written statement of the claim indicating the basis therefore, the name and address of the claimant and the amount claimed or in such other manner as the law may provide. See 18-A MRSA 3-804.
2016-308 – Estate of RICHARD N. SALISBURY, late of Skowhegan, Me deceased. Jodi Dyke, 373 Chesterville Hill Road, Chesterville, Me 04938 and Elden Salisbury, PO Box 3011, Skowhegan, Me 04976 appointed Co-Personal Representatives.
2016-298 – Estate of LUCIE H. HUETTNER. late of Starks, Me deceased. Barbara Huettner, 375 Anson Road, Starks, Me 04911 appointed Personal Representative.
2016-309 – Estate of DOROTHY W. CLEAVER, late of Skowhegan, Me deceased. Thomas W. Cleaver, 2605 First Street, Matlacha, FL 33993 appointed Personal Representative.
2016-310 – of STEVEN D. EMERY, late of Detroit, Me deceased. Tiffany Emery Lackie-Ketcham, 134 C Street, Pittsfield, Me 04967 appointed Personal Representative.
2016-311 – Estate of STANLEY L. HUFF, late of St. Albans, Me deceased. Jenny-Lyn M. H. Brown, 1849 Hudson Road, Hudson, Me 04449 appointed Personal Representative.
2016-312 – Estate of DORIS M. TURCOTTE, late of Skowhegan, Me deceased. Edmond Turcotte, Jr., 359 Canaan Road, Skowhegan, Me 04976 appointed Personal Representative.
2016-314 – Estate of WALTER F. PARLIN, SR., late of Anson, Me deceased. Etta T. Parlin, 703 Horseback Road, Anson, Me 04911 appointed Personal Representative.
2016-315 – Estate of CONSTANCE ELLEN HOPKINS aka CONSTANCE C. HOPKINS, late of Solon, Me deceased. Lawrence S. Hopkins, 3827 Bonaventure Way, Pittsburgh, PA 15212 appointed Personal Representative.
2016-237 – Estate of RICHARD R. BLAISDELL, late of Fairfield, Me deceased. Susan L. Baker, 43 Beckler Hill Road, Monmouth, Me 04259 appointed Personal Representative.
2016-316 – Estate of MELROY H. FULLER, late of Norridgewock, Me deceased. Jean E. Fuller-Lehtis, 323 Pond Road, Albion, Me 04910 appointed Personal Representative.
2016-317 – Estate of EDWARD KENDALL PERKINS, late of Saint Albans, Me deceased. George Perkins, P.O. Box 2, Palmyra, Maine 04965 appointed Personal Representative.
2016-320 – Estate of JOHN ELIAS, late of Madison, Me, deceased. Frances J. Peters, 123 Franklin Avenue, Farmington, Me 04938 appointed Personal Representative.
2016-321 – Estate of GARY EUGENE LISHERNESS, late of Madison, Me deceased. Naomi J. Lisherness, 39 Ash Street, Madison, Me 04950 appointed Personal Representative.
To be published on December 1, 2016 & December 8, 2016.
Dated: November 28, 2016
/s/ Victoria Hatch,
Register of Probate
TO ALL PERSONS INTERESTED IN ANY OF THE ESTATES LISTED BELOW
Notice is hereby given by the respective petitioners that they have filed petitions for appointment of personal representatives in the following estates. These matters will be heard at 9 a.m. or as soon thereafter as they may be, on November 30, 2016. The requested appointments may be made on or after the hearing date if no sufficient objection be heard. This notice complies with the requirements of 18-A MRSA §3-403 and Probate Rule 4.
2016-318 – Estate of MICHAEL ANDREW TESMACHER. Petition for Change of Name (Adult) filed by Michael A. Tesmacher, 14 Fahi Pond Road, No. Anson, Maine 04958 requesting his name be changed to Mary Ann Elizabeth Tesmacher for reasons set forth therein.
Dated: November 28, 2016
/s/ Victoria M. Hatch
Register of Probate
Remember I bought some odd ball books last month? To refresh your memory the list of my new books reads like this: “A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon & Cant”, “The Left Hander”, “Can Holding in a Fart Kill You?”, “What Did We Use Before Toilet Paper”, “Why Do We Say It?”, and the newest addition is “Manners and Morals of Victorian America”. So….. I’m going to share a couple tidbits from each book or all I have room for here.
Manners & Morals: Never punish your child for a fault to which you are addicted yourself. Never exhibit too great familiarity with a new acquaintance. Never will a gentleman allude to conquests which he may have made with ladies. “The Curtsy vs the Bow.” Formerly it was the habit for the ladies to curtsey on being introduced, but this has been changed into the more easy and graceful custom of bowing” (1868). Yeah, I can see me worrying about doing a curtsey or bow, not a chance these days! I am reasonably sure I would be the one in the family to question these behaviors.
Yes and I know I have to answer the great questions of the book title “Can Holding in a Fart Kill You?” It was believed at one time that it could cause poisoning of the body. People still try to hold it in until the coast is clear, believing this behavior is more acceptable. The main side effect of” holding it in” is probably some stomach discomfort but they won’t die.
“What Did We Use Before Toilet Paper?” is the title of another of my books. The Chinese invented toilet paper in the 14th century and the Bureau of Imperial Supplies began to produce paper for use by the Chinese emperors. Toilet paper was factory produced in 1857 and named “Therapeutic Paper” and sold in packs of 500 sheets. Different areas of the world used different products. Such as: Rome – moist sponge on end of a stick, wealthy used wool and rosewater, Vikings in the Middle Ages used hay balls. Hawaii: coconut husks. Eskimos used snow and tundra moss. There are, of course, more but the ones who used grass, stones (?), moss were considered poor. Some countries use their hands. A friend of mine was in Afghanistan, he was introduced to an important woman and he offered the wrong hand for her to shake! BIG mistake: Woman was insulted! Sears catalogs were favorites until they started using glossy paper!! That’s where it went, I never knew!
Okay, I think I’m about at the end of my allotted words! We will, of course, be visiting my books from time to time, especially when I find some of the really interesting tidbits!!
I’m just curious what I’ll find yet?! Hope you enjoyed and I thank you for adding me to your day. Love comments! dwdaffy@yahoo.com is my e-mail, sub line: Odd Books. Thank you again!