This is the time of year when we become so desperate for signs of spring that we go on long drives to find them. One of our favorite spring drives, when not following a stay-at-home order, of…
#kristenlindquist
Something about the embracing mountains and blue bay stretching to the horizon
In honor of Maine’s 200th anniversary as a state this month, I offer up something a little different than my usual natural history, mixing it up a bit with Maine’s literary history.
In…
most ducks are only seasonally monogamous
In his long poem “The Parlement of Foules,” Elizabethan era poet Geoffrey Chaucer shared the belief that birds choose their mates on St. Valentine’s Day. For waterfowl, this is not simply a poetic…
It’s a chilly winter dusk as the last mauve shades of sunset fade from the sky. Overhead, a pair of birds flits quickly past, headed together to roost, a poignant sight in the dying light. From…
You may have seen a recent report that bird populations have declined by over 3 billion birds, or by almost 30%, in the past fifty years. It’s not surprising: Birds run a daily gauntlet that…
always keep an eye out for berries, the wild gems of our forests
The first snow fell recently on the summit of Mount Battie in Camden Hills State Park. Although wind had blown much of the snow off the exposed ledges when I arrived that morning, a light dusting…
monarch butterfly roosts high in some of the spruces and pines
When I visited Monhegan, a small island about 10 miles off the coast of Maine, this past Labor Day weekend, I witnessed a heartening number of monarch caterpillars, chrysalides, and flying adult…
a bountiful summer for monarchs in Maine
During my annual fall pilgrimage to Monhegan Island to enjoy the spectacle of bird migration, I’ve found myself paying more and more attention in recent years to butterflies—especially the…
By late summer, birdsong has quieted. Shorebirds’ southward migration is underway. Fledged birds—from sparrows to hawks—are newly on their own. Robins are considering a third nesting. And…
Down East, periwinkles, called ‘wrinkles,’ are harvested for food
Who here on the coast of Maine doesn't have their handful of shells, mussel shells on a windowsill, or little jar of periwinkles? Who doesn't pick up one or two from the beach each summer, to be…
Jupiter is currently 14 times brighter than the planet Saturn
While we were driving home to the Midcoast from an event in central Maine recently, just past sunset, fields of lush green grass glowed on either side of the car. As the passenger, I kept watch…
As the trees begin to leaf out, songbirds are slowly but surely returning. Waking in the morning to birdsong feels like the renewal of some kind of blessing. Even on a bleak and chilly day in May…
According to the calendar, it's now officially spring. As those of us in Maine know full well, however, we could just as easily experience a blizzard at this point as a beautiful spring day. But…
if you keep them in water until the leaves emerge, rooted cuttings can be easily transplanted into soil
A friend once told me that when he first moved to Maine years ago, to try homesteading in the boonies of Montville, his 80-year old neighbor told him that every winter she counted down the days…
Great Horned Owl pair is nesting by late January, early February in Maine
When we think of springtime, we think of birds returning from southern climes to brighten our trees once more. Of waking to flourishes of birdsong each morning. Of birds pairing up and nesting.…
Now is the season for lights: strung up on Christmas trees, along our porch eaves, on the holiday wreaths on the town lampposts, in shop windows, on the shrubbery in the front yard. As we approach…
