It was a brisk but glorious winter day, dazzling blue sky, no wind and ten inches of diamond-bright powder on top of a two-foot base.  Snowshoeing through the aspens on my way to prune some old apple trees, my hands were full of tools.  Pruning is far easier when standing on solid ground but Mother… Read more

We were dog tired after a long day of rowing the heavy rafts 23 miles down the winding river, much of it into the wind. Charlie and Pete had suffered on their raft with a broken rowing frame held together with duct tape. Another 12 miles to go early the next morning to meet our… Read more

If this story makes your skin crawl or your scalp twitch, don’t blame me. Lois made me do it. You see, Lois is batty. I am not saying there is anything wrong with her belfry, she just loves bats. Lois insisted I had to write about bats. It is against my better judgement but Lois… Read more

This essay comes from Ed Robinson’s new second volume in the Nature Notes series, titled Nature Notes from Maine: Puffins, Black Bears, Raccoons & More. Click here to learn more and order yours! It was cold in the dark October woods, thank goodness for my down jacket. As dawn crept slowly over the horizon behind… Read more

It was just after dawn as I drove north along Route 123 on a beautiful sun-streaked August morning. Passing the huge Merriconegan farmhouse, I noticed the salt marsh was nearly full at high tide. Suddenly my eyes were drawn to a sight I could hardly believe. Amidst the wildflowers and field vegetation stood a tall… Read more

“Is that a shark?!!” Unless you are a pretty cool customer, those words immediately trigger all kinds of thoughts. When you are on the ocean in a small boat, it means you are suddenly on high alert. Lane is an experienced outdoorsman, not given to hysteria, but I could hear the concern in his voice… Read more

I dreaded getting on the school bus that morning, anticipating the reaction to our appearance. As soon as we started down the aisle my brother and I were the targets of laughter, teasing and name calling. Since we looked like characters from the 1960’s movie “The Living Dead” the humor at our expense was well… Read more

A few years ago, I wrote about wildlife mysteries, relating strange events that occurred when living in close proximity with various species. The star of that story was a female white-tailed deer who developed a habit of pulling up and eating the succulent cattails in the pond by our cabin. Because she carried out her… Read more

If there is a creature of Harpswell waters with a bigger image problem than the horseshoe crab, it has my sympathy. Most of us know little to nothing about the prehistoric looking horseshoe crabs other than seeing their old exoskeletons on our beaches. Then there is the fact that these fascinating creatures are not crabs,… Read more

Photo by James Pearsell, iStock Many birds overlap in the subtleties of their coloration and it requires careful observation for accurate identification. That is not the case with this powerful woodpecker; having seen one, the image will be locked in your mind. Memory does not serve me well regarding the timing of my first encounter… Read more