One of a series of articles exploring the natural and human history of Harpswell Heritage Land Trust’s protected land. What comes to mind when you think of the Giant’s Stairs? A “stern and rockbound coast”? That’s a catchphrase used by P.G. Wodehouse about Bertie Wooster: “[He] once got engaged to… Honoria, a ghastly dynamic exhibit… Read more
One in a series of profiles of people who played a key role in the first 35 years of the Harpswell Heritage Land Trust. Please note that this profile was written in fall of 2016 but it remains relevant today. Helen Norton continues to be a driving force for conservation. For decades, the Norton name… Read more
Buttonbush with Viceroy butterfly (Leslie R Ramey photo) Many of you have an interest in attracting a variety of wildlife to your yards, and you also want to add color and texture to your landscaping in an environmentally sound manner. People are increasingly aware that using exotic imported plants can cause problems for our local… Read more
Stover’s Point Preserve: A picnic spot and much more
April 4, 2018
One of a series of articles exploring the natural and human history of Harpswell Heritage Land Trust’s protected land. Stover’s Point Preserve makes me long for a picnic on the beach (even in February, when we first visited). Picnic weather is a matter of time and patience. Many of us recall family picnics in special… Read more
Spike Haible: The First Executive Director
April 4, 2018
One in a series of profiles of people who played a key role in the first 35 years of the Harpswell Heritage Land Trust. As the first executive director (and first more-or-less fulltime employee) of Harpswell Heritage Land Trust (HHLT), Thomas “Spike” Haible arrived at a pivotal point in the history of HHLT. Haible was… Read more
Photo by Marc Quebec, iStock After living in England for many years, a country with a reputation for underwhelming dining choices, our move to Maine offered great promise for mouthwatering foods. Succulent tiny shrimp, clams for the digging, scallops, lobster, moose if I was lucky, trout and blueberries all landed on my Maine dining plate…. Read more
When harsh winter cold grips the forest in January, most folks hunker down indoors to read a book, or to get started on their taxes. But for some hardy souls, winter is a time for hard work in the woods and watching the weather reports, anticipating the inevitable thaw that brings day time temperatures above… Read more
Hackett and Minot Trails: Trees and a legacy
March 6, 2018
One of a series of articles exploring the natural and human history of Harpswell Heritage Land Trust’s protected land. A walk in the woods, to borrow Bill Bryson’s title, describes the Hackett and Minot trails. Except that for me, my first visit was a snowshoe in the woods. Blue sky, fresh snow, and only one… Read more
Chip Black: Building HHLT from the Ground up
March 1, 2018
One in a series of profiles of people who played a key role in the first 35 years of the Harpswell Heritage Land Trust. You can see Chip Black’s handiwork throughout the 35-year history of the Harpswell Heritage Land Trust (HHLT). In fact, you could say that the long-time member of the Board of Trustees… Read more
Skolfield Shores Preserve: A 148 million year legacy
February 6, 2018
Harpswell volunteers who saved Skolfield Shores Preserve from development in 2002 saved a 148 million year legacy. One of Maine’s largest populations of Atlantic horseshoe crabs feed and reproduce on the tidal mudflats of the Preserve, as their close cousins have done in similar settings since the Jurassic. Paleontologists in 2014 discovered new fossils… Read more