We're 'on vacation' this coming week. It seems strange to say that since every day is a vacation! We'll be traveling with our friends from the Valley (Sharon and Rick) who are flying up for the week.
I'll have lots and lots of pictures to post when we get back.
Check back starting on the 16th. I don't know how soon I'll get anything posted but it should be close to that date.
Teri
Monday, July 11, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Hornpout Fishing
There is a really nice lake (Echo Lake) here in the park that is stocked with Trout. Mark brought his fly fishing gear from home with the thought of doing a little fishing. We had been hearing people talk about fishing for Hornpout, a term we had never heard. It turns out that Hornpout is a Brown Bullhead Catfish. Most people don’t eat them and they are unwanted in the lakes.
Mark bought a fishing license and inexpensive spinning rod and we went down to the lake for some fishing. It looked like a lot of fun so the next day I bought a fishing license and rod!
Most of the fish we caught were not very big (about 4 inches). We fished with worms, leftover teriyaki pork tenderloin and artificial crawlers. The Hornpout didn’t seem to be very particular about what we put on the hook!
It was a blast! We each caught 6 fish in about two hours.
Beautiful Echo Lake
Mark bought a fishing license and inexpensive spinning rod and we went down to the lake for some fishing. It looked like a lot of fun so the next day I bought a fishing license and rod!
Most of the fish we caught were not very big (about 4 inches). We fished with worms, leftover teriyaki pork tenderloin and artificial crawlers. The Hornpout didn’t seem to be very particular about what we put on the hook!
It was a blast! We each caught 6 fish in about two hours.
Beautiful Echo Lake
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Spuds and Studs
SPUDS:
The potato industry in Maine is over 250 years old, brought to the state by the Scotch-Irish in about 1750. Since then, the potato has become the number one agricultural row crop in the State with production from over 55,500 acres totaling approximately 1.5 BILLION pounds of potatoes PER YEAR!
Newly planted potato field
Due to a very wet spring, the potato fields were just being planted when we arrived in the area.
With all the rain we have been having, the potato plants are growing fast.
A few weeks later.
STUDS:
Shortly after Maine became a state in 1820, the first businesses to spring up, in what was later to become Presque Isle, were lumber mills.
Lots of cut trees.
As we drive around the back roads we see lots of fields that have been clear-cut.
We see lots of trucks hauling giant logs.
A lot of the fields are marked with signs indicating when they had been planted, thinned, or cut.
A few days ago we came across these empty plastic pots.
Stacks of empty flats.
We didn’t know what they were for until we got a little further down the road and saw these pots that were planted with seedlings. There were workers in the fields planting these little seedlings by hand.
Each flat contains 75 seedlings. The workers would hook two of these on their belt and walk out into the field to plant.
The potato industry in Maine is over 250 years old, brought to the state by the Scotch-Irish in about 1750. Since then, the potato has become the number one agricultural row crop in the State with production from over 55,500 acres totaling approximately 1.5 BILLION pounds of potatoes PER YEAR!
Newly planted potato field
Due to a very wet spring, the potato fields were just being planted when we arrived in the area.
With all the rain we have been having, the potato plants are growing fast.
A few weeks later.
STUDS:
Shortly after Maine became a state in 1820, the first businesses to spring up, in what was later to become Presque Isle, were lumber mills.
Lots of cut trees.
As we drive around the back roads we see lots of fields that have been clear-cut.
We see lots of trucks hauling giant logs.
A lot of the fields are marked with signs indicating when they had been planted, thinned, or cut.
A few days ago we came across these empty plastic pots.
Stacks of empty flats.
We didn’t know what they were for until we got a little further down the road and saw these pots that were planted with seedlings. There were workers in the fields planting these little seedlings by hand.
Each flat contains 75 seedlings. The workers would hook two of these on their belt and walk out into the field to plant.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Moths
Moths – Our shower house has three outdoor lights that stay on all night. As the weather has warmed, we have found an interesting variety of moths under the lights on some mornings. While most moths are tough to identify, these four large moths have enough “field marks” to make identification possible. What most folks don’t realize about these large moths is that they spend very little of their lives in this adult (flying) form. Most of their life is spent as a growing caterpillar (larva), or overwintering in a cocoon or underground (pupa). With these four species, it is thought that the adults do not feed at all. During their rather short time on this earth they seek a mate and mate, the female lays eggs on the appropriate larval food plant, and the adults die. This occurs over a period of one week or less. What a life, eh??
Sphinx Moths – This is a family of large moths known for their rapid, sustained flying ability. They are among the fastest flying insects, with some capable of sustaining speeds of 30 mph. Their caterpillars are large, and most have an obvious “horn” at their posterior (back) end, earning them the name Hornworms. Some are serious agricultural pests, among these the Tomato Hornworm and the Tobacco Hornworm.
This Waved Sphinx (Ceratomia undulosa) is one of the most common sphinx moths, and their caterpillars feed primarily on Ash trees.
Waved Sphinx
This Modest Sphinx (Pachysphinx modesta) is also known as the Big Poplar Sphinx, after one of the caterpillar’s preferred food plants. The caterpillars feed on Poplar, Aspen and Willow trees.
Modest Sphinx
Giant Silkworm Moths – This family contains many of the largest and most spectacular moths, and represents some of the largest insects in existence. While their caterpillars do create a large silk cocoon for pupation, these moths are only casually related to the silkworms used commercially for silk production.
The Luna Moth (Actias luna) is known for its green color and the long curved tails on the hindwings. Caterpillars feed on a variety of trees including White Birch which is common here in the park.
Luna Moth
We discovered these Promethea Moths (Callosamia promethea) mating one morning on the wall of the showerhouse. The male is dark brown, while the female is redder. You may also notice that the abdomen of the female is much larger than the males, since she is carrying eggs.
Promethea Moths
Here is a picture of the lonely male the next morning.
Promethea Moth
--Mark
Sphinx Moths – This is a family of large moths known for their rapid, sustained flying ability. They are among the fastest flying insects, with some capable of sustaining speeds of 30 mph. Their caterpillars are large, and most have an obvious “horn” at their posterior (back) end, earning them the name Hornworms. Some are serious agricultural pests, among these the Tomato Hornworm and the Tobacco Hornworm.
This Waved Sphinx (Ceratomia undulosa) is one of the most common sphinx moths, and their caterpillars feed primarily on Ash trees.
Waved Sphinx
This Modest Sphinx (Pachysphinx modesta) is also known as the Big Poplar Sphinx, after one of the caterpillar’s preferred food plants. The caterpillars feed on Poplar, Aspen and Willow trees.
Modest Sphinx
Giant Silkworm Moths – This family contains many of the largest and most spectacular moths, and represents some of the largest insects in existence. While their caterpillars do create a large silk cocoon for pupation, these moths are only casually related to the silkworms used commercially for silk production.
The Luna Moth (Actias luna) is known for its green color and the long curved tails on the hindwings. Caterpillars feed on a variety of trees including White Birch which is common here in the park.
Luna Moth
We discovered these Promethea Moths (Callosamia promethea) mating one morning on the wall of the showerhouse. The male is dark brown, while the female is redder. You may also notice that the abdomen of the female is much larger than the males, since she is carrying eggs.
Promethea Moths
Here is a picture of the lonely male the next morning.
Promethea Moth
--Mark
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)
As promised, here is our best ‘find’ from our trip to Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge. On the way there we saw this Red Fox walking through the back yard of a house that sat alone on Highway 89 and backed up to a wooded area.
They like a mix of open fields and wooded or brushy country. The lower legs and feet are black, and the trail has a white tip. This little guy was pretty wet. There was a lot of dew on the grass this morning.
It’s pretty rare to see these amazing creatures. We watched him until he disappeared into the brush.
They like a mix of open fields and wooded or brushy country. The lower legs and feet are black, and the trail has a white tip. This little guy was pretty wet. There was a lot of dew on the grass this morning.
It’s pretty rare to see these amazing creatures. We watched him until he disappeared into the brush.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge
It finally quit raining enough for us to get out for a morning of birding. We drove up to the Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge. The visitor center was open so we went inside and were met with “Can I help ya’ll?” Wow, someone who speaks Texan! That’s the first ‘ya’ll’ we’ve heard in a long time. We were met by Bill and Sharon who are the volunteers at the Refuge. They aren’t actually ‘from’ Texas but it sounds like they have spent a lot of winters there. After talking to them for about an hour Bill had to go to “work” but we spent another delightful hour talking with Sharon. Turns out we have friends in common (Carolyn and Wally). I’ve mentioned before how much we enjoy talking to other volunteers and Bill and Sharon are the kind of folks we really enjoy visiting with.
We walked a 1 1/4 mile trail around the visitor center. It’s a really nice trail that goes through some forested areas, some ponds and marshy areas and some meadows.
We got a very far-off look at this Northern Goshawk.
Northern Goshawk
There were also a lot of wild raspberries in the area. They were a little tart!
We saw a couple of these Ebony Jewelwings. They were absolutely beautiful and seemed to be glowing in the sun!
Ebony Jewelwing
Unknown butterfly (moth?). We haven’t been able to identify this one. If you know or even think you do, please post a comment.
Tomorrow I will post pictures of our best “find” of the day.
Talk to you tomorrow!
We walked a 1 1/4 mile trail around the visitor center. It’s a really nice trail that goes through some forested areas, some ponds and marshy areas and some meadows.
We got a very far-off look at this Northern Goshawk.
Northern Goshawk
There were also a lot of wild raspberries in the area. They were a little tart!
We saw a couple of these Ebony Jewelwings. They were absolutely beautiful and seemed to be glowing in the sun!
Ebony Jewelwing
Unknown butterfly (moth?). We haven’t been able to identify this one. If you know or even think you do, please post a comment.
Tomorrow I will post pictures of our best “find” of the day.
Talk to you tomorrow!
Saturday, July 2, 2011
We drove up to Fort Kent a couple of days ago. We saw 2 moose on the way and found a lot of wild strawberries.
Moose count: 8 + 1 Canada
Life Birds: 7 + 1 Canada
Bears: 1 Canada
Fort Kent is the last major town visitors to the North Maine Woods pass through. The North Maine Woods is the largest tract of undeveloped land east of the Mississippi River, covering approximately 3.5 million acres.
Wild Strawberry plant
Wild Strawberries - tiny but tasty!
Bobolink
Common Ringlet
Superb Jewelwing
White Admiral:
Moose count: 8 + 1 Canada
Life Birds: 7 + 1 Canada
Bears: 1 Canada
Fort Kent is the last major town visitors to the North Maine Woods pass through. The North Maine Woods is the largest tract of undeveloped land east of the Mississippi River, covering approximately 3.5 million acres.
Wild Strawberry plant
Wild Strawberries - tiny but tasty!
Bobolink
Common Ringlet
Superb Jewelwing
White Admiral:
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