A BIBLE MOMENT: The unsearchable riches of Christ

/0 Comments/in /by
by The Village Parson

Ephesians 3:8

It was time for the biannual visit from the pastor, and Mrs. Brown arranged her heirloom silver dinnerware and best china for the customary meal after the visit.

After the pastor left, she began cleaning up. She noticed that her heirloom silver spoon was missing from the pastor’s place at the table.

At the time Mrs. Brown didn’t think much of it and figured her silver spoon would show up sooner or later.

The pastor, she knew, was, of course, beyond reproach.

A few months went by with no sign of her spoon. She began toying with the idea of confronting the pastor. Finally she could bear it no longer and called him.

She asked him if he had the silver spoon.

After a gentle pause, he told her that he had put it in her family Bible!

In contrast, the following is a true story.

In 1949, the Communist party took over China and changed the country overnight. Pastors were arrested and church leaders fled. A terminally ill man, and his family sold all they had to buy medicine for him, but to no avail. He went home to die.

One night, his wife, who was a Christian, heard these words in her spirit….”Jesus loves you”. She was moved powerfully in her spirit to wake up their six children and they all together prayed for their father.

Within a week their father was completely healed and their 16-year-old son decided he wanted to know about Jesus! In those days if you were caught with a Bible you and your family were publicly beaten and the Bible was burned. He knew of a man who might have a Bible so he visited him, but the man did not admit he had one.

He told him to fast and pray. Taking the man seriously, he ate only a small bowl of rice, per day, for 100 days! One night he had a dream that a man would deliver a Bible to him. The next day the same man in the dream showed up at his house and handed him a Bible. Then he realized he couldn’t read the words for lack of education, but acquired a dictionary and studied the book all waking hours.

He quickly memorized the entire book of Matthew and the book of the Acts of the Apostles and would recite them at meetings.

Long story short, he became a leader, suffering many hardships. He was responsible for the spread of the gospel in the underground church. Thousands of people became hungry to know Jesus who loves us.

One moral of this story is, ….Prosperity did not bring about the abandon that Jesus was talking about, but adversity caused the eternal love of our heavenly Father to be understood and experienced, in the underground church.

One wife and mother was praying when she heard and …. believed….

“JESUS LOVES YOU”!

The love of Jesus is in us now through belief! How simple!

Falling in Love with a God who would endure the cross for what we deserved, and accomplished forgiveness for our sins is more in line with God’s will.

You don’t have to be a prophet to know that Christ’s loving return is imminent.

The views of the author of this column are not necessarily those of The Town Line newspaper, its staff and board of directors.

AARP NEWS YOU CAN USE: Many may be feeling alone in the midst of all these celebrations

/0 Comments/in /by
by Joyce Bucciantini

The colorful fall leaves are long gone, and the shorter days of December have arrived with the promise of starry nights and maybe a hint of snow. There is a feeling of expectation in the air as we hurry along thinking of the upcoming holidays. Perhaps it is my northern Scottish heritage, but I just love the contrast between the chill outside and the warmth and coziness we find inside. The Danish call it: hygge, the quality of coziness and well-being when we spend time with our friends and families.

While many of us will experience the warmth and comfort of time spent with loved ones, others may be feeling alone in the midst of all these celebrations. Social isolation and loneliness are significant concerns at any time of the year, but they can be especially difficult during the winter. According to AARP Maine, over 135,000 Mainers 50 and older live alone and are at higher risk of loneliness. The National Institute on Aging reports that social isolation can negativity affect the health and well-being of individuals as they age. Since Maine has one of the highest numbers of residents over 65 in America, this is certainly a concern for all of us.

What can we do? AARP’s publication, Resources to Fight Social Isolation and Caregiver Guide, has many helpful suggestions for how we can help each other and ourselves. One of the first suggestions in this resource is to join a group or to volunteer. Easy to say, maybe harder to do. As my husband and I both know, volunteering is a great way to meet new people and to help local organizations. You might start with places you know and where you feel comfortable such as your local church or synagogue, community organization or your local Area Agency on Aging or AAA as they are often called.

AARP’s resource guide reminds us that our local AAAs offer individuals and caregivers a wealth of information about available services to meet their needs. Programs such as Meals on Wheels are managed and staffed by the AAAs and volunteers. Classes and activities are offered at each of the five Area Agencies on Aging in Maine. There is always a lot going on! The AAA closest to your community can be found at: www.maine4a.org/ or by calling 877-353-3771. Creating connections with others is one of the best ways to combat loneliness and isolation.

As we move through the bright short days of December and into the candlelit season of the holidays, I wish all of you the opportunity to spend time with those who you hold near and to reach out to those who may need extra comfort and connection creating our own hygge to enjoy the long Maine winter. As it turns out, being with others is good for our spirits and our health.

To find AARP events near you please visit: https://states.aarp.org/maine or use the scan code below.

To read AARP’s Resources to Fight Social Isolation and caregiving visit: https://states.aarp.org/maine/isolation.

Please use the web address to find more information about AARP Maine and events near you.

Joyce Bucciantini AARP Maine Community Outreach Volunteer can be reached at aarp.org/me · me@aarp.org · @aarpmaine · 866-554-5380.

Give Us Your Best Shot! for Thursday, December 12, 2024

/0 Comments/in /by

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

CARDINAL IN A TREE: Joan Austin, of China, snapped this photo of a male cardinal in a tree behind her home.

OCTOBER COLORS: Emily Poulin, of China, captured the turning foliage last October.

REFLECTIONS: Gary Mazoki, of Palermo, photographed the northern lights last August.

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Fred Gaisberg

/0 Comments/in /by
Peter Catesby Peter Cates

Fred Gaisberg

Fred Gaisberg

For collectors of the early shellac 78s, the 1999 biography, Sound Revolutions by Jerrold Northrop Moore is a fascinating biography of recording pioneer Fred Gaisberg (1873-1951) who, from 1894 when he landed employment at the Berliner Gramophone Company (later to become EMI) to his retirement in 1939, would develop a massive catalog of recordings of many of the world’s finest musicians and singers- Caruso, Chaliapin, Heifetz, Rubinstein, Paderewski, Kreisler etcs.

Prior to the 1930s, the artists were mainly recording short selections – operatic arias, piano and violin pieces and single movements from Symphonies and String Quartets.

Then Gaisberg started seeing the potential for complete Symphonies, Concertos, Sonatas if the right artists were matched to the repertoire and the financing provided through advance subscription from interested collectors.

Two notable projects were the Beethoven Society complete Sonatas and Concertos recorded by pianist Artur Schnabel and the Sibelius Society sets of all seven Symphonies of the Finnish composer.

In 1930, Bruno Walter (1876-1962) recommended that Sir Malcolm Sargent (1894-1967) engage Schnabel for a series of concerts in London. Prior to that, Schnabel was known mainly as a highly respected teacher at a Berlin Music School.

The pianist achieved success immediately and acquired a huge following as an interpreter of Beethoven’s 32 Sonatas and five Concertos.

A large number of Schnabel 78s and LP reissues here at the house reveal a pianist who played those Beethoven works like no other pianist, no matter how gifted otherwise. The sense of spirited freedom, rollicking rhythm, rapid playful tempos and an uncanny ability to gauge the emotions behind the notes could be heard in the Emperor Concerto’s first movement where Schnabel’s fingers were dancing on the keyboard.

Gaisberg wrote about his initial encounters with the pianist:

“It was given out that Schnabel would never stoop to recording as he considered it impossible for a mere machine to reproduce the dynamics of his playing faithfully. Therefore, when I interviewed him he was coy, but all the same prepared to put his theory to the test, though he would need a lot of convincing. At long last I was able to overcome all his prejudice. Tempted by a nice fat guarantee, he eventually agreed that it was possible to his ideals with machinery.”

Bruno Walter

The biography is loaded with other anecdotes. The inventor of the flat disc and owner of the Berliner Gramophone Company, Emile Berliner (1851-1929) was recorded around 1894 reciting the Lord’s Prayer and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star in, as described by Gaisberg, “in his typically broken guttural English!”

Just before the Nazi takeovers of Czechoslovakia and Austria, Gaisberg produced two legendary recordings:

In April 1937, he was in Prague to record the Dvorak Cello Concerto with Pablo Casals (1876-1973) and George Szell (1897-1970) directing the Czech Philharmonic.

January 1938, had Gaisberg in Vienna to record a live concert featuring Bruno Walter conducting the Vienna Philharmonic in Mahler’s 9th Symphony.

A retirement banquet for Gaisberg at London’s Savoy Hotel on April 21, 1939, had an honor roll of almost 70 guests from the musical world including most of the ones listed above. He lived long enough to see the first releases of the LP in 1948 and of the 45 rpm in 1949.

Fred Gaisberg died in his sleep on September 2, 1951.

FOR YOUR HEALTH: What Are Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs)?

/0 Comments/in /by

You may be able to get more health care at less cost.

(NAPSI)—Over 12.5 million Americans are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, but many don’t realize this and could be missing out on some valuable benefits. People who qualify for both health care programs can enroll in a type of Medicare Advantage plan called a Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan (D-SNP), offered by Aetna® and other health care companies.

D-SNPs work with your Medicare and Medicaid benefits to help you maximize your benefits. They provide all the traditional benefits of a Medicare Advantage health plan, while also offering added benefits, such as flexible allowances, which can help pay for healthy food and certain over-the-counter items. Depending on the state where you live, some additional benefits that come with an Aetna D-SNP may include:

• Dental, vision and hearing coverage.
• $0 co-pays for covered Part D prescriptions at in-network pharmacies.
• Extra Benefits Card with a monthly allowance to use on certain everyday expenses, like healthy foods and over-the-counter items, such as aspirin and bandages.
• SilverSneakers® fitness membership.
• Fresh meals home-delivered after a hospital stay.

D-SNPs may also come with a personal care coordinator, who can help you find in-network doctors, arrange transportation and schedule appointments. They can also connect you with programs to help beyond health care services.

D-SNPs may help save you money. Most people pay little or no cost for their coverage. Covered Part D prescription drugs are available at no cost at in-network pharmacies, and doctors’ visits may also be fully covered at no cost to you.

If you qualify, a D-SNP can offer you more complete health care coverage so you can take charge of your health and access the care you need.

To enroll in an Aetna D-SNP plan, you must apply and prove that you meet the eligibility criteria, including having both Medicare and Medicaid. You will also be required to periodically prove that you continue to meet the plan’s requirements.

For more information about D-SNPs, call Aetna at 1-844-588-0041 (TTY: 711), 7 days a week, 8 AM to 8 PM. A licensed agent may answer your call. Or visit AetnaMedicare.com/DSNP.

Aetna Medicare is an HMO, PPO plan with a Medicare contract. Our D-SNPs also have contracts with State Medicaid programs. Enrollment in our plans depends on contract renewal. See Evidence of Coverage for a complete description of plan benefits, exclusions, limitations and conditions of coverage. Plan features and availability may vary by service area.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: How do these animals survive the winter?

/0 Comments/in /by
Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

It’s become obvious that the warmer weather is behind us, and winter is patiently waiting in the wings. The other day, after doing some fall chores outside, I watched as squirrels scampered around, up and down trees, and were just plain busy.

Last week on my security cameras around my house, during the early morning hours, I saw a skunk and a very well fed raccoon, on two different occasions, pass before the lense of the camera. That got me to thinking, what do these animals do during the cold months of December, January and February?

You may already know the cold weather could drive rodents like mice, rats and squirrels into your home this season. But what about other mammals? Do you have to worry about raccoons in winter?

Unfortunately, it is possible. They might sneak into your attic or crawl space during colder months. Raccoons are omnivores, meaning they eat other animals, insects and vegetation. However, their meal of choice is going to depend on where they live. For example, raccoons that live near the water may snag crawfish or frogs from streams and creeks. These mammals may also steal eggs from birds’ nests or sniff out insects or mice. And urban raccoons are definitely not above rummaging through your trash can or eating any pet food you might keep outside. To put it simply, raccoons will take whatever they can get.

Raccoons are not true hibernators, meaning they do stay active year-round. That being said, you may see fewer raccoons in winter. This is because some raccoons, especially those in more northern states, may store up body fat in the spring and summer so they can spend most of the winter sleeping in their dens. In the winter months, they’ll sleep several weeks at a time, and it is possible to find several raccoons sharing a single den.

Skunk males, for their part, spend the winter alone in their own hole. Generally, skunks enter their lethargic sleep phase from December to March. They lose about 30 percent of their weight over that period. They look for places like patios and garden sheds, under which they can dig a hole to hide until spring.

During winter months, skunks enter a phase of lethargic sleep, without falling in a complete state of hibernation. We can sometimes smell a skunk’s odor during wild weather, when it gets out of its hiding place to feed. Females get together to spend the winter, and there can be as many as 12 of them in a single hole.

Youngsters will share a den with their mother during the winter months. In warmer climates, skunks will stay active most of the winter. In colder areas, they will sleep through the coldest periods, but do not hibernate. Often skunks will use the same winter den used the previous year.

Gray squirrels sleep in tree nests during the winter and only venture out during the morning and evening. Instead of hibernating, they rely on sheltered nests or dens in trees, fat reserves, and stored food to survive the long, cold winter.

These critters are homeotherms, which means that unlike some mammals, their body temperatures remain fairly constant throughout the year; they don’t hibernate. In the winter, squirrels spend less time foraging outside their dens, and it’s more common for several squirrels to share a den.

Squirrels can survive temperatures as low as -40°F, especially those adapted to Arctic environments. Their thick fur and hibernation behaviors help them endure such extreme cold.

Now, recently we discussed opposums and what seems to be a growing population in our area. So what do thet do?
Because their fur doesn’t provide much insulation from the cold, opossums typically spend the winter in dens that are dry, sheltered and safe. Opossums are vulnerable to frostbite on their hairless tails, ears and toes, so they often “hole up” during extremely cold spells. Their dens may be in hollow logs or trees.

Opossums do not hibernate. Their greatest challenge during winter, especially in colder climates, is simply to survive. Very often opossums will alter their foraging habits during winter, coming out during the day when it is warmer rather than at night.

So, there you have it. Some of your “favorite” critters that rummage around your yard, and how they survive the winter.

Roland’s trivia questionn of the week:

Who was the tallest player ever to play for the Boston Celtcs?

Answer
Tacko Fall 7’ 6’’ (Seven feet six inches.)

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Pietro Mascagni

/0 Comments/in /by
Peter Catesby Peter Cates

Pietro Mascagni

Pietro Mascagni

Italian composer Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945) experienced the most extraordinary success when, at the age of 28 in 1891, his opera Cavalliera Rusticana was premiered in Italy. It would receive over 14,000 productions between then and the beginning of World War I in 1914.

It is one of my six currently favorite operas, the others being Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, Puccini’s La Boheme and Tosca and Verdi’s Rigoletto and Simon Boccanegra.

Mascagni would compose 14 more operas, none of them achieving quite the same success.

Lodoletta was given its first production in 1917, achieved a few more, including a Met Opera staging. But in recent years, it has been largely forgotten.

The opera is based on Two Little Wooden Shoes by the English novelist Maria Louise Rame (1839-1908) who used the pen name Ouida. It recounts the tragic love story between the Dutch maiden Lodoletta and a French painter Flammen who is visiting friends at Lodoletta’s birthday celebration – Lodoletta rejects the painter after he suggests that they live together, but later changes her mind, pursues him to Paris where, upon seeing Flammen at a New Year’s Eve party surrounded by other women, she falls down in the snow from despair and perishes.

The opera’s first and thus far only recording is a 1990 set of two CDs (Hungaroton HCD 31307/31308) and features soprano Maria Spacagna in the lead role, tenor Peter Klein as Flammen and the late Charles Rosekrans the chorus and orchestra of the Hungarian State Opera. The recording was bankrolled by Westchester Opera, currently known as Taconic Opera, and based in New York’s Westchester County.

While not having the same level of melodic inspiration and general excitement of Cavalliera, Lodoletta was scored with intriguing sonorities, colorful instrumentation and moments of vocal beauty.

Soprano Spacagna sang exquisitely, Maestro Rosekrans, who directed the Houston Grand Opera for several years during the 1970s, conducted with tremendous power and drew highly responsive playing from the Budapest musicians; unfortunately tenor Klein tended to belch his notes with an annoyingly over expressive manner, much too similar to the overrated Placido Domingo of Three Tenors fame.

Mascagni struggled most of his life with depression. Like his on again/off again Giacomo Puccini (1857-1924), he opposed Italy’s involvement in World War I. Later after Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) seized power in his 1922 March on Rome with his Fascist followers , Mascagni, along with several other Italian composers and musicians, publicly accepted the honors and stipends that Il Duce bestowed on them yet privately became quite disenchanted with the government by 1935. An opera produced that year, Nerone, was based on the life of Emperor Nero, and intended as a depiction of Mussolini who in turn became upset with the composer. When the dictator personally expressed this displeasure and began pressuring Mascagni to withdraw the production, Mascagni told the dictator where to stick it in so many words. Due to Mascagni’s world fame, he was not arrested.

The above-mentioned novelist Ouida achieved fame in London society for her gatherings of famous writers, including Robert Browning, Swinburne and Oscar Wilde. She was described as possessing a “sinister, clever face” and speaking with a “voice like a carving knife.”

FOR YOUR HEALTH: Volunteer Finds Community in Military and Veteran Caregiver Network

/0 Comments/in /by

The Towler family takes a portrait at Fort Cavazos (previously Fort Hood) just months before a permanent change of station to Germany. Photo courtesy of Betty Towler

(NAPSI)—If you or someone you care for is ever among America’s more than 2 million military personnel or in their families—or even if you’re not—here’s a story you may find inspiring:

Betty Towler met her husband, U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Nigel Towler, over 20 years ago while stationed in Korea. When they returned stateside, Towler made a professional sacrifice for her family.

“I had to leave the military because my husband was deploying. We already had two kids.”

When her husband returned from Iraq in 2005, Towler started noticing changes.

“He was with us all the time when he came back. He wanted to hang out with his family, but he was drinking and that wasn’t normal.”

Towler had her hands full, raising two children with another on the way and impending permanent change of station orders to Germany. A month later, her husband deployed a second time to Iraq.

“We all felt it when he came back the second time. He would be there, but he was not there. The TV would be on, but he wasn’t watching it. His mind was somewhere else,” Towler recalls. “We could be sitting on the couch and he’s on one end and I’m on the other and it’s like an awkward but a very scary silence. It was like a void. And I felt I could fall into this darkness, and nobody was going to come for me, and nobody was going to help me.”

Towler said she tried seeking help but found little support as a dependent overseas. They turned to religion, but that didn’t bring her family the solace they were seeking either. When they returned stateside in 2011, little had changed.

“Everything was just so overwhelming,” Towler said. “All the things people were telling us to do, all the appointments. It was all too much. Even visiting with family: he hears everybody being loud, laughing and his brain was like, ‘I can’t do this. There are too many conversations going on at the same time. I love them but I can’t be around them. It’s too chaotic,’ he said. He’d be down for 2 to 3 days trying to recover from just hanging out with other adults.”
Then in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, but their family was largely unaffected. In fact, Towler sees it as a blessing. It gave them time to focus on their health.

“I signed up for a lot of webinars and a lot of online courses,” she shared.

One of these resources was the American Red Cross Military and Veteran Caregiver Network (MVCN), a secure, online community that acts as both a resource directory and peer support network to over 12,000 military-affiliated caregivers. Using evidence-based peer-support programs, caregivers connect, share knowledge, learn new skills, and gain hope. Towler found support and solace from others just like her. Empowered by her newfound communities, she exercised her voice.

“We had to set boundaries. I was like, no, we need to tell them that we can only do two or three appointments in one week. It was too much. I had to learn to speak up, speak up for him and speak up for us.”

Now a Red Cross volunteer, Towler has been involved with the MVCN for the past five years, giving support to other military-affiliated caregivers going through the same challenges she did.

“We have about four calls a month. We’ll have some Zooms and some Slack chats just to really check in with the caregivers. I love how the older caregivers will share their experiences, like, here’s what we had to do, here’s the changes that happened in my house. Being part of this reminded me that I spent so much time caring for this one person, I forgot to make friends.”

Towler cares for her husband following his two deployments to Iraq, and the Military and Veteran Caregiver Network helps her do that by also helping her care for herself.

Learn More

For more information or to join the MVCN community, visit redcross.org/caregivers.

FARMGIRL AT HEART: Bringing coziness to the seasons and some good books to read

/0 Comments/in /by
by Virginia Jones

As I go outdoors in the morning to do farm chores I am met with a crisp and cold wind. I notice little changes in the air; the color of the leaves as they shed their coats to bring us brilliant colors and the shade of the clouds as they glide swiftly by. It is these little changes that, if not observed, will go away too fast and then be forgotten.

Autumn is my favorite season with Spring being a second. When I am walking the dogs around the field or bringing food for the chickens and goats, I sometimes stop and look around at all the brilliant colors of the trees in our back field. I smell the scent of pine and fallen leaves underfoot and just pause to be grateful. My husband and I live on six acres which we call home. We are so grateful to have our little farm where we can experience the antics of our chickens and goats.

For some the end of Autumn brings an excitement of winter to come. They look forward to snow and all the activities that it entails. I am not a winter person, so I wish Autumn to last just a little bit longer. I am not quite ready for the leaves to fall away so quickly only to be replaced with a fresh layer of snow. Don’t misunderstand me. I love the first snow, especially at Christmas, I just wish it didn’t stay as long as it does here in Maine. I plan on getting a new perspective on that though.

With the colder weather comes the understanding that we will be shut in for a good part of the winter, unless you enjoy skiing or snowmobiling. I don’t tend to want to be outdoors when the weather drops below forty degrees. I like to be curled up on my sofa with a cozy blanket, a cup of delicious tea and a good book.

Thinking of coziness… there are many ways to bring a sense of coziness to your home. I love to light a few candles to bring a sense of calm to my home. I will put on some soft piano music while I am getting dinner ready. I drape the sofa with a few soft and cozy blankets. I stack a few books in a basket and place them on my coffee table. A simmering pot of orange slices and cinnamon sticks will bring a festive scent to your home. There are even lightbulbs that you can replace the brighter ones with to soften the lighting in your home. I love to have a pot of soup or stew simmering as well on the back of the stove.

Part of having a cozy home is to have house chores done, which isn’t always easy when you have a farm. There is always something to be done which can’t always be put off till tomorrow. When I do finally have my chores done I then like to sit in my lazy boy recliner or on my sofa and dive into a really good book; whether that be a cozy mystery, an interesting biography, or a look into days goneby.

Recently I started reading a magazine called The Cozy Issue published by Bella Grace. They have such good articles about ways to enjoy coziness. You can find this publication and more at www.stampington.com . I long for a simpler lifestyle and they have such a way of showing the reader how to achieve that goal. I usually have at least three of four books going at once. If you love to keep track of books that you read or want to keep a list of books to read you can get an app for your phone called Goodreads. You can challenge yourself and others to a goal of books read per year.

Here are some recommendations for books to read during the cooler seasons and the days when you are snowed in.

Winter’s End (Alaska Wild #4) – Paige Shelton
The Lighthouses of New England – Snow Edward Rowe
The Fellowship of the Ring – J. R. R. Tolkien
The Chronicles of Narnia – C. S. Lewis
The Volstead Manor Series – Anita Higman
The Taster – V. S. Alexander

You can find many books to read during the cooler seasons of the year at your local library. Be sure to thank a librarian for all of their hard work. So steep your favorite cup of tea or cocoa, grab a cozy blanket and dive into a great read.

CRITTER CHATTER: Reminiscing at the Duck Pond Wildlife Rehab Center – Part 2

/0 Comments/in /by

Undated photo of Don Cote with rescued baby raccoon. (file photo)

by Jayne Winters

As a follow-up to last month’s stroll down Memory Lane, here is another article Carleen Cote wrote in 2004:

“Over our 40 years, we have cared for every species of Maine mammal except for the Pine Martin [sic]. We have cared for every species of water mammal.

Caring for the mammals every year is one thing. We also needed to have places to release the wildlife back into the wild. Without the wonderful landowners who so graciously allowed us to enter their property to release the wildlife, releasing could have posed a problem. Our ventures into the fields and forests provided us with an opportunity to enjoy spectacular scenery, to enjoy the peace and quiet away from the rush of life, to listen to birds singing, squirrels scolding as we invaded their territory, the rushing and babbling of waters in streams and brooks as they wandered along to their next destination and the wonderful scents of the forest and the colors of fall foliage.”

“Over the years, area veterinarians have generously provided their services to the injured wildlife. They include Drs. Langdon and Peter Davis, Dr. Mike Hersom of Pine Tree Veterinary Hospital in Augusta; Dr. Dale Allerding, Drs. Darryl Praul and Erika Matthies Praul of Windsor Veterinary Clinic; and the wonderful staff of both hospitals.

We have met hundreds of wonderful people who have come to the Center to deliver a bird or mammal in need of human assistance, or who have come for a tour. Hundreds have made donations to help feed and house the wildlife, many of whom have become regular donors. School children have done projects to raise money for the Center. Area businesses have donated meats and produce or placed collection containers for donations. It is truly heart-warming to know that so many care about and want to help the wildlife.

In September 2003, 35 people came to the Center for a work day. These people gave up a day, after working all week, to build new pens, tear down others, and do any other work that we needed done but did not have time to do – as our time was spent in caring for the babies.”

I’ve only been writing this column since 2019 and don’t know all those who have supported Duck Pond over the years, but want to include Dr. Cody Minor and all the vet techs, assistants, and office staff at Windsor Veterinary Clinic who have provided care to Don’s wildlife patients since I’ve come “on board.” I would be remiss not to recognize the most recent volunteers I’ve met: Debbie, Jane, Don, Jeff and the late Amy Messier, as well as the folks who have helped with snow plowing and shoveling, lawn mowing, hauling brush, and making dump runs; Inland Fisheries &Wildlife biologists and wardens; Animal Control Officers and Agents; farmers who provided fresh goat milk for the fawns. Last, but certainly not least, a HUGE thank you to fellow wildlife rehabbers who have been so welcoming and helpful in accepting critter transfers since Don’s hospitalization last May. And, of course, much appreciation is extended to the Natural Resources Council of Maine, The Town Line, and Turner Publishing, for bringing Critter Chatter back to readers, following Carleen’s unexpected passing in April 2018.

In December, I’ll continue down Memory Lane with stories about student fundraisers!

PLEASE NOTE: Due to health issues, Don is not accepting or assessing any wildlife at this time, nor taking phone inquiries or referrals. He has been working with Misfits Rehab, in Auburn (207-212-1039; FYI, Jen accepts bats and mice), Wilderness Miracles, in Bowdoin (207-720-0074), Bridget Green, in Wiscasset (207-631-0874), Critterville Wildlife, in Brooklin (845-549-2407), and Saco River Wildlife (207-702-1405). Mid-coast Maine has a new turtle rehabber! Pam Meier can be reached at The Turtle’s Back (203-903-2708).Please check these websites for a rehabber close to you: https://www.mainevetmed.org/wildlife-rehabilitation or https://www.maine. gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/ wildlife/living-with-wildlife/orphaned-injured-wildlife/index.html In addition, you can contact your local Animal Control Officer through your town office. – PHONE MESSAGES & EMAILS ARE NOT BEING MONITORED AT THIS TIME.