Cobscook Bay
Scallop dragging in Reversing Falls. This is a tricky piece of water and several boats have been lost here recently. Must be a pretty cold business, as the sea smoke ices up everything.
Sunrise
Last Fall
Quoddy Nature Notes – Food
Foods
by Fred Gralenski
With the wind howling and the snow beating against the windows as I sit at the computer, I feel it’s a good time to write about the selected subject, especially since the New Year’s resolutions are now safely forgotten. Most of us know that we eat too much of the wrong stuff, but that must be the curse of this country for being too rich. But it’s cold and going to get colder. I need a little more fat to stay warm.
As I day dream, especially this time of year, I marvel at the pre-Columbian Native Americans and their diet, which seemed to consist of anything available. A recent article in the paper reported finding evidence of the oldest known dog in this hemisphere and about 9400 years ago it had served as the entrée for a meal down in what is now Texas. The early Europeans reporting on the natives here in New England stated that each family typically had a about a half dozen dogs. Dogs were very useful in hunting, and also a sign of wealth, but the owners might slaughter one for a celebration of some notable event. When I lived in northern New Hampshire I read the story of Metallak, an Indian who lived in the area many years prior to me. He lived in a cabin on an island in Lake Umbagog, and his food was mostly just fish and wild game, and probably an occasional dog. Modern dietitians would be horrified at the poor fellow’s plight, and with no B12 vitamins or other supplements available, he only lived to be 120 years old.
Using dogs for food was relatively common even recently in Southeastern Asia, but apparently the public outcry of other (civilized?) countries silenced the reporting of such doings. In Arizona it didn’t seem to generate any opposition when a restaurant started selling tacos made from lion meat. I’ve been told that in the butcher shops in France one can purchase a butchered rabbit. That’s certainly not very common here, as I’ve never seen any in ‘Shop ‘n Save’, especially with the heads still on them. The reason for leaving the heads on is not to test the squeamish quotient of the customers but to prove that the critter is a rabbit and not a cat. Apparently cat is not recommended for Potage du jour, even with a few croutons, but in Italy a few months ago a noted chef got some bad publicity when he stated that he liked the flavor of cats, and recommended some recipes. Martha Stewart didn’t pick up on that. I like to try different foods, but I’ve never eaten cat. I read about a hunter that once ate a Bobcat he had shot. He wrote that eating the ‘Bob’ part was OK, but the ‘cat’ part was pretty difficult. I think it’s too bad that our likes and dislikes are often dictated by fashion, not by reason, or even trial and error.
Maybe we should be more like vegetarians. I have a niece who is a vegan, and she seems pretty healthy. I am getting closer to being a vegetarian in my dotage as my breakfast now is entirely grains and seeds, and my meat portions during the day are much more realistic, versus the typical one and a half pound steak, medium rare, that was the standard meal in my younger days. But maybe the Mystery Mouse in my garage that I’m trying to identify can sense that I’m still a carnivore, and thinks that I’m trying to fatten him up for a better snack, consequently he won’t come out in my presence. That little sneak! I am trying to fatten him up but only so he can’t jump out of the bucket. I wonder if he will come out if I eat tofu?
Talmadge (45) Eastern Wild Turkey
It’s a bit alarming to see, out of the corner of your eye, a large object falling from the sky. Earlier this morning six wild turkeys were here harassing our penned domestic turkeys. I startled them to make them fly away and scanned the trees to be sure there weren’t any stragglers. I must have missed one. The “falling” object was a hen turkey that must have been coming out of a maple or ash tree near the house. She landed in the walk to the back porch, startling mourning doves. I’ve limited feeding the wild birds to the back porch area only. Unfortunately, the turkeys found the food while we were out yesterday. RF
Quoddy Nature News – Outfoxed By a Mouse
by Fred Gralenski
Maine has two types of jumping mice, the Meadow Jumping mouse, Zapus hudsonius, and the Woodland Jumping mouse, Napaeozapus insignis. These are not unique to the area but are unique to the northern half of the Northern hemisphere, both here and in the old world. Jumping mice are little critters tipping the scales at an ounce for a fat one, and with fur coats of a handsome reddish honey color, a darker dorsal streak and pure white underneath. They have oversized hind legs like a kangaroo and a hind leg toe pattern that is pretty symmetrical, with the center 3 toes being the longest. Top this outfit off with a long tail of over 6 inches to stabilize them in their jumps, and you have a pretty unusual looking critter. The diet of our jumping mice is primarily seeds and a tiny but common underground fungus of the Endogone family. (Flying squirrels are also known to feed largely on this.) They will eat a lot of other stuff, depending on availability, like fruits and insects, but a study indicated their particular dislike for ladybugs and burying beetles. Jumping mice are pretty good swimmers, and the Woodland variety is also a good diver, a technique used to evade predators. The literature is full of contradictions on these critters, especially as to how far they can jump. I’ve seen Jumping mice bound away in their brushy wetland habitats, but they usually disappear after one jump, so it’s difficult to focus on them. Apparently the Woodland Jumping mouse is capable of hopping 8-10 feet in an open area, but the Meadow Jumping mouse only leaps 2-3 feet. The agreement in all of the literature seems to be that these guys are elusive, and seldom seen, although they may be pretty common in some areas. Normally, Jumping Mice just sneak around like regular mice, and only jump to escape predators.
My association with jumping mice in Pembroke started last summer. I often have problems with mice and voles in the garden. They cut down the lilies (not the common Day Lilies, but the expensive hybrids) and eat the tops of carrots, potatoes, beets, etc. I don’t mind a few thieves but if the number of these critters gets too irksome I may feel the population needs a little reduction. I don’t use poisons but I use the small mouse traps of the Victor type. These I put in little wooden boxes with mouse size entrances, so birds won’t get caught. I may or may not use bait, and the carcasses, if I’m successful, I give to the ever available bluejays. Anyway, late last summer I caught a Meadow Jumping mouse. I had never seen one here before, so after his demise I took in the traps and looked for signs of Jumping Mice. As the books say, the critters are elusive, and the books also say that they go into hibernation as early as September, so I stopped looking. Early in December, Linda got a glimpse of a mouse in the garage that she thought had a long tail. Now my garage is relatively mouseproof, but a door is often open so a critter can sneak in, and this time of year it’s usually a Deer mouse. I put out the typical trap: a five gallon plastic bucket with a dozen or so sunflower seeds in the bottom, and that was the start of an interesting experiment. I wanted to see the Jumping Mouse in action, and the best way to do that was to get him familiar with me, if indeed there was a Jumping mouse in my garage. As of this writing, and it has been over a month since I put out the bucket, I have caught one Deer mouse (see picture) as they can’t jump out of the bucket, but no Mystery Mouse. The little rascal gets into the bucket and most often eats the one or two dozen seeds in the bucket and leaves the shells, but sometimes he takes the seeds and he must hide them somewhere. He is mostly nocturnal, but will dine in the day if that suits him, and his timing is random. I have sat out in the cold garage with the camera at the ready, but so far I have not caught even a fleeting glimpse of him. He has taught me to clean the empty shells out of the bucket at least 2 or 3 times a day and put in a small handful of sunflower seeds afterwards, which I dutifully do. And the experts say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. HAH!
Deer mouse that I caught in the bucket. Be careful in handling these as they can bite, although they seldom do.
Thorncrag Nature Sanctuary: Volunteers Needed
PRESS RELEASE January 17, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: SUSAN HAYWARD 782-5238
Do you enjoy sharing nature with young children?
Thorncrag Nature Sanctuary in Lewiston is seeking volunteer Environmental Education guides for grades Pre-K – 5.
You are invited to join other volunteer guides to discover the joy of exploring nature using the 5-senses, finding ferns and mosses, hearing the birds, and hugging a tree.
The Guide Training begins on Thursday, February 3 and continues each Thursday morning from 8:30 AM – noon until March 31 at the USM campus in Lewiston. This will be a comprehensive course that includes successful methods for teaching in the outdoors, orientation to the habitats of Thorncrag, ecology of trees, insects, and birds, and the secrets of the natural world to share with learners of all ages. Following the training, new guides will shadow experienced guides on field trips conducted at Thorncrag this spring.
To find out more information or to sign up:
Contact Susan Hayward 782-5238
