FOR YOUR HEALTH: Poems That Can Help With Healing In Hard Times

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A new book—by a woman who’s been there—can, with empathy and even humor, help many people get through difficult times.

(NAPSI)—You may be able to bring some comfort to your friends and family members who have been grieving a loss in these difficult days.

Poetry And Emotion

There’s a new book that can help heal the hearts and minds of people who have lost jobs, opportunities, homes, even loved ones. Called “Words for the Unbearable: A Journey Through Loss” (IngramSpark), it was written by psychologist Enid Sanders, who has had her own losses to deal with.

When her first child, Keri, died, the young mother spilled out a series of poems and put them away in a drawer. Decades later, when her husband Andrew died, she took them out and started writing again. At first she wrote for herself, for Andrew and to Andrew. A poem would rise up out of nowhere and she’d jump up and scribble it down, not knowing how it would end until she wrote the last word.

Little by little, she shared the poems with friends and fellow therapists who pushed her to turn them into a book. The title comes from a friend who read the poems and said, “These are words for me, words for the unbearable.” Because it is poetry, the book reaches people at a deep level, helping therapists, patients, hospice workers, clergy, and anyone who grieves.

Yet the book is not really sad. It’s helpful, engaging and even rather funny in spots because it tells the truth about grieving without self-pity—including the fact that it can make everyone a little crazy.

Dr. Sanders also brings 34 years of experience as a noted clinical psychologist and bereavement counselor to writing this book. Having trained with internationally renowned child abuse expert Eliana Gil and specialized in helping abuse survivors for 18 years, she now focuses on helping clients negotiate grief and transition.

Doctor’s Opinions 

As Dr. Gil herself put it: “I am wiping tears so that I can write…I feel as though I’ve been seen and heard and understood. Each poem is a picture memory, a reminder, a suggestion, a loving gesture, words that attest to the author’s love. I thought only I loved so deeply and hurt so profoundly, but she’s captured and clarified grief so well, it was comforting to read her words, even though many hurt like hell…Enid Sanders’ words evoke strong feelings and encourage reflection, while providing the strange comfort that comes from being understood.”

Added psychiatrist Daniel Kostalnick, MD: “It is rare that an author can capture both the emotional and intellectual experience of grief, but Dr. Sanders has succeeded…Most of us find it impossible to express that experience, but Dr. Sanders uses her work as a psychologist—and a poet—to help the reader identify, name, and deal with the profound and universal aspects of grief…a work of compassion and understanding that comes from the soul of someone who has loved deeply.”

Many therapists recommend the book to grieving patients and it can inspire people to write their own poetry, or to paint or find another creative outlet for their feelings.

Learn More

For further facts or to order the book go to www.wordsfortheunbearable.com. It’s also available from Amazon and other booksellers.

PAGES IN TIME: The Leeman Sheepscot Lake fish trap

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Leeman trap on Chamberlain Lake

by Jim Metcalf

A Maine ice shanty is a temple reserved for those who consider ice fishing a religion. Being invited to enter a shanty is a privilege reserved for those few who can respect the language and rules of the house. All others must stand outside and only address the shanty’s congregation if the door is opened from the inside. Occasionally an exception can be made if someone falls through the ice and is freezing wet or if a member’s wife brings out a platter of food.

Leeman Ice Fishing Trap.

Archie Leeman’s Sheepscot Lake shanty was such a temple. It was placed off Bald Head where most of the lake could be surveyed. The congregation consisted of Archie Leeman, the builder of the shanty and skilled stone mason; Manley Scates, owner of the Scates General Store, in Palermo; Harold Sennett, owner of the blueberry barrens on level hill road; and Jim Grady, Palermo farmer and first snowmobile owner in town. These four friends could sit in the shanty for hours without ever talking. They communicated with each other only using sounds, grunts, mumbles, coughs, looks and the occasional word “flag” which was the signal for congregation members to look out the windows to determine whose trap had a flag and who had to walk or run, Other members would watch from the shanty’s warmth unless there was a yell for help.

Everyone’s fish traps were homemade ranging from a whip stick placed in a chiseled slot in the ice to a tip-up type trap with a red handkerchief attached as a flag. The line may be coiled on the ice or later wrapped on homemade birch spools. Although everyone sat quietly in the shanty the common thought was to always develop the ideal fish trap which would stay together in heavy wind, instantly notify the fisherman of a fish near or on the bait and finally set the hook and hold the fish until the fisherman got to the hole.

The only exception to fishing with traps was Manley Scates, a jig fisherman, who was damned if he was going to walk all over the pond checking traps. Manley never left the warmth of the shanty. His seat was over a jig hole next to the wood stove in the shanty where he would wrap the line around his fingers and sit quietly strumming his wrist like he was playing a guitar. It would not take very long for Manley’s head to drop into sleep. This was the time for Harold to mumble something about full bladder and leave the shanty. Harold would quietly move around to the corner outside of where Manley sat to reach under the shanty and yank Manley’s jig line. The explosion that occurred when Manley came alive sometimes kicking the stove off its stone while yelling, “Jaesus, wicked monster. Damn, lost him.” Harold would then enter the shanty zipping up to listen to the one that got away story. I don’t know if Manley ever figured it out or if anyone ever told him, but the rest of us never dropped off to sleep while Harold was with us in the shanty. Harold looked like a grumpy old man, but he had this twinkle which masked a full of fun brain, thinking about who would be next to experience his practical jokes.

Archie was the one who introduced all of us to ice fishing and the shanty. Since my wife Sandra lived with her Grammy Lil and grandfather Guy and uncle Archie during her younger years, we always enjoyed staying with family for a few days during ice fishing season. Archie and I or Norman would wake before dawn, drink a glass of milk with a couple raw eggs then stuff our pockets with Grammy Lil’s biscuits and head out on snowshoes down to the river and on to the lake. We chiseled our holes and set up our traps before we entered the shanty. Often others from the congregation would come snowshoeing in to join us. It was during these shanty meetings that I learned to love the rules and silent language of the shanty. No talking or humming unless you did it while walking around skimming ice holes. No questions, as you were an apprentice with the responsibility to watch, listen and learn. The ultimate compliment, if you did something well, was a pat on the back or a seat in the shanty to get warm.

Leeman four foot trap

Everything was going well during winters of fishing, grunting, pulling Manley’s jig line and reading the inside walls of the shanty which were covered with pieces of tintype from the Kennebec Journal. Then there was the day that Jimmy Grady came roaring down the river and out on the lake sitting on some sort of contraption which looked like a seat on skis with him in front and a noisy engine in back. Jim said it was a Polaris snow machine which could take him anywhere he wanted to go all winter. Further, he announced that he would be the local dealer for these “snow machines” and when would each of the members of the shanty congregation like to order theirs. Everyone’s words cannot be repeated or printed, but they mentioned that nothing would replace snowshoes or driving out on the ice in the trucks when it got safe enough. However, by the end of that winter each of the congregation had to eat their words as they rode their own snow machines purchased from Jim Grady’s snow machine dealership.

Now you could set your traps further away from the shanty as the quick 8/mph ride to a flag made for more lake to fish and less fish lost. Everyone started living happily ever after until the snow machine cowboys started racing, spinning out and doing tricks on the lake. The straw that broke the camel’s back was the number of times these machines ran over and destroyed fish traps. This destruction by snow machine yahoos resulted in loud shanty meetings trying to find a solution. Of course, the first idea was to ban machines from the lake, but with the shanty surrounded by members’ machines banning would not work. A couple of guys cut six-foot ash poles to mark the fish holes. Another shoveled up piles of show to protect the fish traps. Instead, Archie Leeman figured he had to make a fish trap which was big enough to be seen and unique enough not to be ignored.

One day Archie caught a beautiful 17-inch brown trout. The light went on. Why not pay tribute to this brown, the most sporting of all trout, by putting the fish on the trap as the tip up. When Archie got back to the farm, he laid out the brown on a piece of plywood and traced the outline. He sawed out the profile and determined where the balance point would be. If the trap upright was notched and a bolt positioned across the notch, the fish profile could pivot on the bolt. The bolt could also pass through a line spool. It all sounded easy, but the fish trap had to be tested and modified so Archie would sneak down to the lake when no one was around to fish with this new trap. It didn’t take long to figure the Leeman fish trap could be introduced to the shanty members. Archie set up five traps with the brown trout profile as the tip up then came into the shanty and sat down. Harold offered the first comment, “Putting a fish decoy on top of the stick could call the keepers into the ice hole.” Archie replied, “That’s what I was thinking.” Manley’s contribution was, “Craziest thing I ever saw. No way am I going to give up my jig hole for a flatlander fish trap like that.” Jimmy Grady said, “Crazy or not no sled operator is going to hit a trap that visible.”

As luck would have it, Archie had a busy day of getting flags and catching fish. But he also began catching people on the lake. Everyone on the lake had to swing by the traps to try to figure them out. More people stopped by the shanty to ask why would anyone put a fish on a stick. The replies ranged from every conceivable reason which resulted in people walking away shaking their heads and four old friends filling the shanty with laughter. The immediate result was that three members, each wanted a set for themselves. Manley still refused to fish with a damn trap when his jig hole was right in front of him.

Sheepscot Lake Fish and Game club held a derby on the first Sunday in February. This was the ideal time to show the world the Leeman fish trap. Surrounding the shanty was 25 or 30 Leeman fish traps tended by the shanty crew and a few nephews who wanted to be part of this showcase of the Leeman trap to all at the derby. Snowmobilers, fishermen, and just people visiting the derby had to surround the shanty to see this trap in action. In fact, there were so many people attracted to the traps that the shanty members couldn’t see flags. But it didn’t matter as people would yell flag and run over to the trap just to see how fish were handled. That derby was a success as was the Leeman fish trap. Archie and Norman Leeman estimated they made 3,000 – 4,000 Leeman traps in the years following the introduction.

For the next few ice fishing seasons, the Leeman fish traps could be seen from Eagle and Chamberlain lakes to Moosehead to Sebago lakes, and constantly on Sheepscot Lake, in Palermo. Mainers were identified as members of the ice fishing congregation if they set out the Leeman traps. Unfortunately, over the years, the trap lost the name of the inventor Archie Leeman as it became known as the Sheepscot Fish Trap paying tribute to where it was first used in the Sheepscot Ice Fishing Derby. Even today Norman or one of his sons build a set of these famous traps as a prize for biggest derby fish. There is even a trap made with a four- foot fish which sits on top of an eight-foot pole which only comes out for the Sheepscot Derby to keep the story of the revolutionary Leeman Sheepscot Ice Fishing Trap alive.

I’M JUST CURIOUS: Unusual uses for toothpaste

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by Debbie Walker

Hi! I want to share some things I came across today. Pour a cup of tea or coffee and find a comfortable seat. Relax. Some of these things you may already know so I apologize , but just maybe you needed a reminder, as I did with some of these items.

I collected these from numerous magazines and online.

The first I came across today was just plain old fashioned white toothpaste (not gel or whiteners). One way was to use the toothpaste is to clean your faucets. I believe I have done a little cleaning with it but quite by accident, pure laziness. And little did I know…

You can also clean your car headlights with that white pasty stuff. Just use paper towels to rub the paste on then wipe clean with a damp cloth.

Toothpaste can be used to remove ink from fabric (so can hair spray. That one I have used.) Put a dab of toothpaste on the spot, put fabric face to face, rub until stain starts to disappear. Rinse and toss into washer.

This tidbit was perfect timing for me to use to hang pictures. It said to put a dollop of toothpaste on the hanging loop of each frame, level it and press it against the wall. Toothpaste will be left on the wall. Ta-Da, a spot for the nail or hanger.

I can’t wait until one of you try this one and let me know. I don’t have any glass tabletops. The story is to rub a dime size dollop of toothpaste into the scratch on the glass top with your fingers. Let set until dry, then wipe away with a soft cloth.

When I was still dying my hair, I could have used this information. Auburn dye is hard to clean up. Massage a dab of toothpaste onto counter areas until pigment disappears. Warm water washes it away.

One little tidbit is if you are having trouble lighting a candle, match not long enough to reach. Clip a match into a clothespin and you have a longer match. No burns.

With wet hands in the shower, I often lose my grip on my shampoo bottle, before next use put a wide rubber band around the bottle. This gives you a grip without a slip.

Other hints to help:

Cut snow shoveling in half, spread one cup of shortening over the paddle of your shovel (or move to Florida).

To remove food odors from your skin sprinkle salt on your palms, rub all over hands then rinse clean.

There is also a note about salt sprinkled over a carpet for ridding fleas, let sit overnight, then vac in the morning.

These were someone’s version of new words:

Prairie Dogging: When someone yells or drops something loudly in a cube farm and people’s heads pop up over the walls to see what’s going on.

Woofs: Well-off Older Folks

I’m just curious if you will find these helpful or at least interesting. Contact me at DebbieWalker@townline.org with your questions or comments. Have a great week and thank you for reading.

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Lee Marvin

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Lee Marvin

Peter Catesby Peter Cates

Lee Marvin

For me, Lee Marvin (1924-1987) was one of the most consistently fascinating actors to grace the movies and television. He was considered a director’s dream because he instinctively knew how to move for the camera. And his ability to convey character was formidable.

Some background on his life is in order. He and his older brother Robert were both named for the ancestral family fourth cousin, Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Another ancestor from 200 years further back than General Lee, Matthew Marvin, emigrated from England in 1635 and helped in establishing the city of Hartford, Connecticut.

Marvin took violin lessons as a youngster. Also, to quote a May 1964, article in the magazine Gun World entitled Elk Hunting with Lee Marvin, he “spent weekends and spare time hunting deer, puma, wild turkey, and bob white in the wilds of the then-uncharted Everglades.”

As an adolescent, Marvin attended several boarding schools in New York and Florida but was kicked out for rowdy behavior.

He joined the Marines and fought in the Battle of Saipan where most of his unit was killed, his sciatic nerve severed by machine gun fire and his foot wounded by a sniper’s bullet. He spent over a year in the hospital and was awarded the Purple Heart and five other medals for bravery, yet was busted down to private from corporal for speaking his mind too freely.

My first experience of him was as a kid when I watched his show, M Squad, in which he starred as a detective.

His portrayal of evil characters was vividly manifested in guest appearances on Wagon Train, as a sadistic wagonmaster replacement, after Ward Bond died, for two episodes and as a gunman on The Virginian. An early ‘50s TV appearance was as a serial killer on Dragnet who’s also a vegetarian.

His most famous role of venom was a majorly billed appearance in Director John Ford’s 1962 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, in which he thrashed Jimmy Stewart with a horsewhip during a stagecoach holdup and squared off unsuccessfully with John Wayne. Just the way he menacingly walked into a saloon and sat with an attitudinal smirk conveyed his natural gifts as an actor.

In 1964, he and Clu Gulagher were two professional hitmen in The Killers, which was based very loosely on Ernest Hemingway’s story (the late former President Ronald Reagan very convincingly did his only role as a mobster in what would be his last film before his political career took off).

Other memorable roles – the movies Pete Kelly’s Blues, Bad Day at Black Rock, Cat Ballou, Point Blank, Paint Your Wagon, Prime Cut, Pocket Money, Violent Saturday, The Caine Mutiny, Emperor of the North, The Iceman Cometh, Missouri Traveller, Gorky Park, and The Dirty Dozen with a sequel.

He turned down the lead role of Jaws – “What would I tell my fishing friends who’d see me come off a hero against a dummy shark?”

Lee Marvin died of a heart attack on August 29, 1987, at the age of 63.

MAINE MEMORIES: Pets and how they affect our lives

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by Evangeline T.

Hello and welcome to Maine Memories, little snippets of life from our home state.

This week, I have a story about pets and how they affect our lives, young and old.

People love having pets. Dogs and cats are the most popular, but you’d be surprised at how diversified some people are, especially when it comes to pets. Here’s my example:

When I was younger, living on a small farm in Maine, I learned that animals were a lot like people. They all have different built-in habits. For instance, pigs love to rut, dogs like to bark and chase cats, and most cats love to catch mice, and the list goes on.

As a naïve young child, I thought any animal would be happy if you fed them and loved them. Boy, was I wrong! I’ll never forget the day I caught a raccoon in a barrel. Oh, wow, what a cute and cuddly pet, I thought! I didn’t realize he really wasn’t a pet and didn’t particularly want to become one, either.

Daddy explained everything to me, and I listened carefully. This raccoon was a wild animal and probably had a family somewhere that missed him. “You don’t want to make his family worry, do you?” Daddy asked. No, of course not. Much to my dismay, I did the right thing and let him go. Still, I cried buckets, and it wouldn’t be the last time.

My next pet was a long-haired fluffy white kitten named Snowball. She allowed me to dress her in doll clothes and didn’t mind riding around in my doll buggy. During the winter, I’d wrap Snowball up in a blanket and put her inside a red doll’s sled I had. We’d walk outside, over snow and ice, and my kitty never complained. Honestly, she was mild-mannered and sweet.

I don’t remember Snowball’s departure, but I haven’t forgotten crying once again. She had been my best friend, as I was an only child, and losing a best friend is always hard to take.

In May of the next year, my parents bought me a puppy for my birthday. He was so adorable, and an instant bond formed between us. I named him Rusty. He’d also would ride in my doll’s carriage and wear my sun glasses.

Rusty became the best pet ever. He loved everyone and went everywhere with me, even ice skating. He’d run and slide on the ice, and we’d all laugh.

While I was in school, mom taught him to call for me. He would utter a whine that sounded as if he was saying, “I don’t know,” to her question, “where is Evangeline?” He would run to the window in the direction of the school bus. What a smart doggie!

Years passed, and I grew up, fell in love, and got married, and Rusty came to live with us. Only one problem. He was so jealous of my husband. He was the only person ever that Rusty growled at. Over time, things got better, though!

My husband was in the Air Force, and he received orders to go to Texas. We knew it would be too much for Rusty, at age 13. He wouldn’t be able to withstand the trip and intense Texas heat.

I had four cousins, all girls, and they were delighted to give him a nice home and so much love. It was the right thing for me to do, though I missed him terribly. Still do.

My friend, my dog, my companion, my wonderful pet, Rusty lived the rest of his years making four little girls happy. That’s what a good pet does.

INside the OUTside: After five years, Saddleback is now up and running

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by Dan Cassidy

It’s been five years since ski enthusiasts were able to ski one of Maine’s top ski resorts, Saddleback and the lifts were turned on Tuesday, December 15, 2020.

The effort became a reality when Arctaris Impact Fund purchased the mountain in January of 2020. Dopplemayr USA was also present to bless a new Quad chairlift for the Mountain.

Although the resort was closed for five years, many locals never gave up on it. “Over the past five years, the Rangeley and Oquossoc communities have shown a remarkable resilience,” said Andy Shepard, general manager at Saddleback. The mountain raised the towers on the new detachable quad that attracted hundreds of spectators from all over and inspired their donor base and also sent a clear message to the Saddleback family that even in the midst of the CVOID crisis, the mountain was determined to open on December 15 and that indeed took place.

Saddleback Ticket pricing:

With a new high-speed detachable quad, the improvements made to the base lodge and the expansion of their new snowmaking system, Saddleback has developed a Fair Ticket Pricing Plan that is intended to make skiing and riding more accessible and fair to everyone while intending to allow the mountain to be sustainable and remain sustainable. Check out the Saddleback website for ticket specials.

The mountain, located in Rangeley has a vertical drop of 2,000 feet, is serviced by two quads, two double chairlifts and one T-bar. Terrain consists of 23 easy/green, 20 intermediate and 23 back diamond trails.

Andy Shepard is the new general manager at Saddleback, Douglas Doc Tulin is director of marketing and Patricia Baker is communications director. Many improvements including the quad lift is a welcome addition to the Mountain.

Ski resorts under pressure:

With the coronavirus continuing to spread it is putting ski resorts under a great deal of pressure throughout the state.

Many ski areas are no longer allowing skiers and snowboarders to enter the base lodges to dress, boot up or warm up. Some have installed porta-potties outside, however visitors are facing problems during cold or snowy weather, as it’s not only difficult to ‘boot’ up in a parking lot then carry back packs and skis to waiting busses then transport them to the lifts. This is creating longer lift lines.

Needs have changed:

The time has come when both individuals and families will have to change our habits before getting to your local ski area. First, you’ll have to change the way you get to your destination, that is, carrying a backpack filled with hand and foot warmers and other gear, you should bring along a chair to sit in next to your vehicle to boot up and dress up.

It’s not how we’ve all enjoyed winter skiing and riding in the past, but during these Covid trying times, let’s hope a better season will be here before spring skiing.

Ski and ride safely, use your head and don’t forget to wear a helmet.

GROWING YOUR BUSINESS: Finding and hiring the right people – part 2

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Growing your businessby Dan Beaulieu
Business consultant

Hiring: It all starts with the right process.

“I am convinced that nothing we do is more important than hiring and developing people. At the end of the day you bet on people, not strategies.” – Lawrence Bossidy GE

“I hire people brighter than me and then I get out of their way.” – Lee Iacocca

I have heard you loud and clear. The hardest thing about owning a small business is finding, hiring, and keeping good people. It has always been a problem, no matter the condition of our economy. The problem with so many small business owners is they don’t take the time to do it right. They are just too busy managing day by day affairs to lift their heads long enough to make the time to hire the best people. Often, they need a person, and they needed her yesterday so they are just appreciative when they can find someone, anyone. And this of course, leads to a great deal of frustration for both the owner and the people he hires.

Look, as Larry Bossidy said in the above quote, nothing is more important than hiring the right people.

With that in mind, here are six tips to make sure you hire the right people

  • Hiring is a process: have a plan: To be successful you have to plan ahead and that means having some kind of idea where your company is going and what your employee needs are going to be when you get there. These factors can be as straight forward as you, a contractor, need more people in the warmer months. You run an ice cream parlor or a ski resort, your hiring is based on your specific needs. Plan for those needs in advance. That will also give you the right amount of time to hire the right people.
  • Know exactly what you want. What is the job and what kind of person do you need to fill that job? No matter the job, full or part time, you need to have a well-thought out job description. Describing not only what the job is, but the description of the right person for the job.
  • Hire slowly and fire quickly: Take your time. Here, if the old adage applies, “you don’t have time to do it right, but you have time to do it over.” Take your time and hire carefully. It will save a lot of time in the long run.
  • Keep the application form simple: Make it very clear. Use the job description you developed in item three as the format for your job application.
  • Develop good interviewing skills: The interview is where you really get to know your candidate. You can tell much more from an interview than from what is written on the job application. Think hard about your interview process. Develop a set of questions that will help you discover exactly what you need to know about the candidate.
  • Show them the future: If you are serious about your company, then you have a vision for that company. Share it with the candidate. Get her excited about working for your company and most of all show her that this is not a job, it’s a career, it’s a future.

Probably the most important piece of advice here is to be thoughtful, take your time to do it right.

In the words of Jeff Bezos, “ I’d rather interview 50 people and not hire anyone, than hire the wrong person.”

Hiring the right people is the best way to grow your business.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: So, what were they? Crows or ravens?

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Crow, left, and a raven.

Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

Last week I observed that many different kinds of birds have been coming to our feeders this winter, and I compared the situation with the Alfred Hitchcock thriller film, The Birds – actually, crows, ravens, seagulls, and sparrows were used in the film. (Did you know, The Birds is a political allegory about the psychological violence of capitalism and the fear-mongering of the Cold War – filmed in 1963. Fear of nuclear attack is apparent when the birds “cover the bay like a white cloud”, suggestive of a nuclear mushroom cloud.)

Anyway, back to the subject matter.

Well, I have another chapter in that episode. I have noticed recently the high number of crows, or ravens, that have been hanging around my house. Just the other day, I saw seven of them sitting in my pine trees in the backyard. They are huge birds.

Just to draw a comparison, there was a gray squirrel – either Martha or Stewart, my resident squirrels, are pretty good sized squirrels – on one of the other branches, and these birds made it look like a field mouse. The squirrel was dwarfed by these birds. They were also licking their chops. However, the crows’ stout bill is not strong enough to break through the skin.

Later that day, while driving by the park that is located at the end of my street, there were about two dozen of these birds feeding on the banking that was bare of snow.

Where are they coming from. And are they crows, or ravens like some people are calling them?

Well, to cut to the chase, crows have a fan-shaped tail, while ravens’ tails are wedge-shaped. The birds I’m looking at have a fan-shaped tail. Obviously, there are a few differences between the two species. Most of the differences are noticeable when the two are together. However, crows will assemble in large flocks, while ravens tend to be solitary, until the fall migration.

Both the crows and the ravens are highly intelligent birds. Perhaps the most intelligent. The two can learn to imitate a variety of sounds, including the human voice. Recent research has found crows not only use tools, but also tool construction. Their intelligence quotient is equal to that of many non-human primates.

There is a story that indicates crows know how to count. The story has not been substantiated, but it goes like this. Three hunters enter a hunters’ blind. They wait, the crows know they are in there. The crows don’t move. Two hunters leave the blind, and the crows still don’t move. Once the third hunter leaves, the crows know they are gone and resume their normal activity.

Crows also have a good memory, remembering where there is danger, and where their cache of food is for later consumption.

Predators include owls and hawks. Crows will gather together to move an offending or intruding owl or hawk. However, West Nile disease has been taking its toll on crow populations.

A couple of years ago, while fishing on Webber Pond, my wife and I noticed a large flock of crows headed for a tree that sat on a point. Apparently, a bald eagle was intruding on a nest, the crows mobbed the eagle and drove it off. That was interesting to watch.

Crows don’t regularly visit feeders, but you can attract them to your backyard if you offer a mix of trees, open space, and food. Peanuts left in an open place are a good attractant. Crows are also attracted by compost, garbage, or pet food that the birds can feed on.

American Crows congregate in large numbers in winter to sleep in communal roosts. These roosts can be of a few hundred up to two million crows. Some roosts have been forming in the same general area for well over 100 years. In the last few decades some of these roosts have moved into urban areas where the noise and mess cause conflicts with people.

Young American Crows do not breed until they are at least two years old, and most do not breed until they are four or more. In most populations the young help their parents raise young for a few years. Families may include up to 15 individuals and contain young from five different years.

So, taking all these things into consideration, the large black birds hanging around my house are most likely crows. But the question as to where they come from and why they are hanging around, has not been answered. In the past, I have seen massive numbers of crows fly overhead in late fall. But they continue in a northwesterly direction, darkening the sky as they passed.

This year, they are making themselves right at home around my house.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Tampa Bay will be making only its second appearance in the Super Bowl. Name the four teams to never play in a Super Bowl.

Answer can be found here.

SOLON & BEYOND: The day Percy walked into my life

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

In my continuing effort to write a column without any recent news, I’m going to put in old news again! This one goes way back to February 11, 2005! Percy was still alive back then and we had started a paper of our own!”

It starts out, “Perseverance (Percy) Rogers co-owner of SOLON and BEYOND and I were going to go to Florida to visit some of my family. It starts out, ” Would like to introduce you to my partner and supporter, Perseverance (alias Percy). On bad days he is right there to cuddle with me, with one paw as far as he can get it around my neck.

Percy started out as a frightened stray kitten and was rescued by a family on Route 43. They called and told me about this sweet little female kitten that needed a home and it was love at first sight. I named her Faith, but as luck would have it, on the first trip to the vet, I found out that a boys name was needed instead. After a short time this little kitten started his true personality and hence Perseverance, or Percy for short.

Percy has many talents besides being a good cuddler, he is always at the door to welcome me home, loves to sing, (Amazing Grace is his favorite song!) He has become famous and much loved for his good advice in the columns I have written. As you can see from his picture, he is very intelligent and he’s promoting this book of meditations-for-cat-lovers. Oh yes, he thinks he is a mighty hunter and is still looking for the mouse that got away! (For those of you who didn’t get the January 21, 2005, issue of this paper, I told of his letting a live mouse loose at my feet and how upset I got at him) must confess, there is a slight power struggle between us as to to who is really the “Boss!”

I had quite a bit of town news in these small papers that I delivered. The old story continues with these words: “It is now early Thursday morning and we’re in the middle of a beautiful snow storm. I quite often write this paper during different times and days, am finding that it is a full time job. The reactions that I get when I tell people that I’ve started my own paper, are basically the same, total amazement! It affects me like that some days also. One day this week someone said to me, “What are you trying to do?” You’re giving this paper away!” True…. and had hoped for a miracle of some kind, but when the miracle doesn’t materialize immediately, you compensate. Sometimes you have to eat your words, as in this case, never say ‘never’! I had tried to sell ads for another paper for awhile last year and couldn’t reach the goal set for me and so I quit. I remember uttering the words, “I’ll never sell ads again, ever!” Well you will notice that I have started selling ads again, and my many, many thanks for those who responded so graciously. ( And, you know, I did receive a miracle, never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined your wonderful response to this little paper, my heartfelt thanks.)

And so with your great support, I have decided to expand to Bingham. And so the first story from there will start with a question. Can someone up to Bingham tell us Solon people the story, (what, why, who did it and more) about the, as we call it, “Mystery Light” on the river? Going north, it shines from the island, soon after you go by the Goodrich Road.” ( I’m sure that mystery has been solved long before this issue comes out in February 1, 2021!

Percy died a few years ago, and I’m still missing his help, so I’m going to print his message in that long-ago paper: “This message that Percy is approving this week is from his favorite book, What My Cat Has Taught Me About Life. And it says, “To get a grip on a job that’s waiting, dig in with determination. Work past that imposing start. and get hooked on a dreaded task. Nothing productive in this world happens without hard work. Sharpen your character with a little gutsy determination, and sink your energies into that next project.”

(Editor’s note: After proof reading this week’s paper I would like to add the following saying told to me by a fiend. “Always make a mistake in something you do, it will give your enemies something to gloat about, and your friends won’t care!”)

To all of you who have lost a pet at some time, and still miss them, and need something to give you a good laugh, I hope this works: It is taken from a little book called The Last Laugh, and it says Epitaph to an unhappy marriage: “Within this grave do lie, back to back, my wife and I. When the last trump the air shall fill, if she gets up, I’ll just lie still.

PHOTO: It’s his favorite team

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Carson Foster, 7, of Winslow, recently built a snowman donned in Boston Celtics apparel, since it is his favorite NBA team. (photo by Mark Huard, Central Maine Photography)