Woodrow Charles

by Roland D. Hallee

Oh, my goodness!

Sunday is Groundhog Day. My, how times flies.

For starters, I have to find out where my friend Woodrow Charles is hanging out these days. Last year, he had moved to less than flattering surroundings. A quick email will tell me where he is.

I hope it doesn’t take too long for him to respond. I only have three days to find him, do an interview and write the story.

Wow! There he is.

He’s back in his old digs.

So, let’s trek out that way, in Center Vassalboro, and visit with the little fella.

The walk out to his place from Rte. 32, is rather easy. No snow on the ground, and very little ice to deal with. It takes about 20 minutes to get there. The familiar smoke is emanating from the chimney, and there are lights on inside.

A knock on the door and Woody answers.

“Come on in, buddy. Have a seat while a get us some tea,” says Woody. “Nice weather we’ve been having.”

I agreed, as usual, as he begins with the small talk. He knows darn well why I’m here.

“So, how did you end up back here?” I inquire.

“Well, the other tenant didn’t work out, I would say, ” as Woody answers. “Didn’t pay the utilities, heat, or other expenses, and the pipes froze. Was quite a mess from what I hear.”

That’s too bad.

“Not only that, but besides shutting off the utilities, because the guy didn’t pay the rent, the bank threatened to foreclose,” Woody added. “I guess the old guy figured he was never going to find another tenant like me.”

“I see everything is back to normal,” I said. “You’ve got your TV back, internet, Wi-fi, and every other conveniences.”

“Just in time,”said Woody. “With the Super Bowl and all next Sunday.”

“Any prediction this year?” I prodded.

“Well, the early betting has Kansas City as a slight 1.5-points favorite. A little surprising I would say. The Vegas over-under is 49.5.”

“How much are you betting?” I asked.

“Ooohhh, no! Woody retorted. “I’m not laying down hard earned money on such slim odds. And I’m not giving points. You could lose your fur.”

“Come on, you’ve never hesitated in the past,” I replied. “How about your buddies Frank, Slim and Butch?”

“Are you kidding, they lose their fur every year. I wouldn’t bet the stump based on their prediction,” Woody lamented.

“Well, just a wild guess,” I pressured.

“OK, I’ll go with Philadelphia by three,” Woody finally caved.

“Now, how about the rest of the winter? I asked.

“Oh, that again.You must think I have a crystal ball or something,” he answered.

“Come on, I’m running out of time,” I darted back.

“OK, I can wrap this up with one sentence. This winter, in Maine, is expected to be milder, with warmer temperatures and slightly less snow. You can look for an early spring.”

Education

For those of you who didn’t figure it out, last week’s mention about the mayor of Philadelphia, and the person at the TD Garden, both misspelled their message.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

What is the highest scoring Super Bowl in history?

Black crappie

by Roland D. Hallee

Because I spend my summers on Webber Pond, in Vassalboro, I have the chance to fish that lake extensively. In the 35 years my wife and I have summered there, we have caught plenty of fish of many various species: small and largemouth bass, white perch, yellow perch, chain pickerel, eels, to name a few.

Until 2009, we had not heard of anyone catching black crappie. But the catch has become quite common in the ensuing years.

The first question that comes to mind is whether the fish ladder at the dam on the Webber Pond Road (built in 2008) had anything to do with it. Probably not, but why, all of a sudden, are there crappies in the lake? That is the same question people residing on Togus Pond, in Augusta, have been asking, since the fish has made its appearance there recently.

Black crappie, also known as calico bass, is a member of the sunfish family. These fish seem to fall in the love-hate category. Many people I have spoken with like the fish, saying they are a very tasty pan fish, while others put them in the same class as sunfish – what they describe as trash fish.

Despite that, they are a fairly popular fish although most of them have been artificially introduced. Black crappies are a schooling fish which leads to fast, intense fishing, an experience that many anglers prefer.

Adult crappies are typically around 6-12 inches long and weigh somewhere between two to three pounds. Typical crappie fisheries produce fish between 6 and 11 inches long, although crappies exceeding 14 inches and three pounds have been caught in Maine waters.

Their spawning season varies by location, due to the species’ great range. Water temperature at breeding is 58-68 degrees F. and occurs between April and June. Spawning takes place in a nest built by the male, who guards the eggs and young.

Closely resembling bass and sunfish species, which have 10-12 dorsal fin spines, crappies possess 6-8 dorsal fin spines. Body form is very deep and narrow, much like the sunfish. The coloration is silvery-olive to golden brown, with an irregular mosaic of dark black blotches.

Adults feed predominantly on smaller species, including the young of their own predators. They have diverse diets, however, including zooplankton, insects and crustaceans. This could be an added plus to Webber Pond. Over the last 10 – 12 years, Webber Pond has experienced a tremendous improvement in water quality due, in part, to the return of the alewives, who also feed on zooplanktin. Zooplanktin feed on algae, and when alewives, in turn, ingest the zooplanktin and leave the waters in the fall, they take with them large quantities of algae. With the addition of the black crappie as an eater of zooplanktin, it can be interpreted as a potential for even more improvements. It would be nice if their presence helped with the declining water quality on Webber Pond over the last couple of years.

By day, crappies tend to be less active and to concentrate around weed beds or submerged objects, such as logs and boulders. They feed especially at dawn and dusk, moving then into open water or approaching the shore. Because of their diverse diets, crappie may be caught in many ways, including casting light jigs, trolling with minnows or artificial lures, using small spinnerbaits or worm and bobbers. We catch them on red shad plastic worms, using the cast and retrieve method.

This year, for the first time, we have kept our catch of black crappie and fileted them. Rolling them in a batter of egg and corn meal, with some garlic pepper, we fry them in a pan, or cook them over an open fire. They make great fish filet sandwiches with cheese and lettuce.

Fishing for black crappies is most productive during the early morning or early evening while the air is relatively cool. They can be caught during the day, however, in more active waters. Be patient.

Black crappie are fairly common in the waters of southern Maine and in some of the Belgrade lakes.

A big ”Hooray”! for public education

I might be a little harsh right now, but I saw and heard a couple of things this past weekend that makes me wonder about education in general.

First, there was the mayor of Philadelphia who, at a rally to celebrate the Philadelphia Eagles advancing to the NFL championship game, gave the cheer, E-L-G-L-E-S, GO BIRDS!.

Then, I was in Boston on Monday at a Bruins game when I saw a fan in the stands displaying a sign that read, ”Go Bosten!”

Notice the similarities between the two?

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Name the only female race car driver to have led both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500.

by Roland D. Hallee

One of the educational things I do for myself every day is read the comics in the daily newspaper. It kind of sets the tone for the rest of the day for me. I have my favorites: Peanuts, Hi and Lois, Beetle Bailey, Garfield, etc. I even like to read Mark Trail just to see what kind of adventure he sets out on, and invariably, brings to a successful and happy ending.

The one that caught my eye was a certain theme that Doonesberry was presenting. It seemed this certain person declared himself a “birder” and was on a quest to find a certain warbler to add to the list of birds he had witnessed.

That got me thinking. Claiming myself to be an amateur birder, I wondered how many varieties of birds I have seen in my life time. So, I set out to make a list.

Once I got to about 73, I decided I was wasting too much time on this. So, the thought came to me that maybe I should single out one that was intriguing to me.

Having seen birds as small as a ruby-throated hummingbird, and as large as a Great Blue heron, it was difficult to see which one in between would get my attention. Then it dawned on me.

These particular birds are mostly envisioned as pests, vagrants, scavengers and dirty inhabitants of parking lots, churches, parks, and just about everywhere else you can go in the world, leaving behind messes and clear indications of their presence, if you know what I mean. What is more intriguing than the common Rock Dove.

More commonly known as pigeons, rock doves vie with the domestic chicken for status as the world’s most familiar birds. They are not indigenous to the western hemisphere. They were introduced into North America from Europe long ago and are conspicuous in cities and villages throughout much of the world.

There are few visible differences between males and females, and the species is generally monogamous.

Feral pigeons have become established in cities around the world. The species is so abundant, that an estimated population of 17 to 28 million feral and wild birds exist in Europe alone.

With only its flying abilities to protect it from predators, rock pigeons are a favorite almost around the world for a wide range of raptors. I remember several years ago when I kept seeing pigeon body parts strewn all over my yard. One day, when I just happened to be looking out the window, I noticed a large flock of pigeons cleaning up on the ground under my bird feeders. Like a lightning strike, I saw a broad winged hawk dive head first into the pile, and came out with his next meal. To protect the pigeons, I temporarily suspended the feeders until the hawk found a new place for his hunting grounds. That poor pigeon didn’t stand a chance.

Pigeons, though, get a bad rap. They have been falsely associated with the spread of human diseases. Contact with pigeon droppings poses a minor risk of contracting diseases, and exposure to both droppings and feathers can produce bird fancier’s lung. Pigeons are not a major concern in the spread of West Nile virus. Though they can contract it, they do not appear to be able to transmit it.

Pigeons, in fact, have been associated with humans for several thousand years. Believed to have been the first domesticated birds, they were raised for meat as far back as the time of the ancient Egyptians.

Because of their powers of flight and their remarkable homing ability, pigeons have played important roles in history. A domestic pigeon taken from its home loft and released many miles away will almost invariably return. And if a message is tied to the bird’s leg, the result is a kind of air mail – a fact that humans learned to exploit many centuries ago. When Julius Caesar marched against Gaul, the news of his victories was carried back to Rome by a network of carrier pigeons. Other pigeons carried messages for Alexander the Great and for Hannibal. In modern times opposing armies in both World War I and World War II made use of thousands of carrier pigeons, also known as war pigeons. Curiously, many pigeons have received bravery awards and medals for their services in saving hundreds of human lives. A total of 32 pigeons received medallions or medals for their gallant and brave actions during World War II. And today, pigeons are still bred for their homing ability.

The next time I see a disgusting-looking pigeon on the ground, I may stand at attention, salute, and thank it for the many contributions their collective ancestors made for the human race.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Name the eight NFL teams that have the initials of their host city on their helmets.