The Wrack

Can you bribe a disaster? No, but you can get a dirty look for trying.

We in Maine don't have much call for marking Groundhog Day. Our groundhogs are lying low before checking for any shadows.

It was a perfect day for mushrooming, foggy and damp, as Dr. Larry Millman led us slowly down the trail. Said one participant: "The walk was a revelation."

Paddling upstream to enjoy the shade of overhanging oaks, maples, and pines providing a forested buffer along the river's edge. What a peaceful, lovely trip.

The facilities manager and caretaker of the Wells Reserve is also a member of the family that purchased the farm in 1881. Charles Lord is moving to Germany, so I joined his last history program of the season.

Fourteen enthusiastic participants traversed field, forest, and bog to discover late spring wildflowers. 

Twenty chestnut trees arrived at the reserve in May for planting in the Yankee Woodlot.

The Wells Reserve has studied fish habitat, identified pollution sources, educated residents about riverine and estuarine ecology, and helped protect land in the York River watershed.

With a camera and a computer you have everything you need to monitor habitat change over time at the Wells Reserve.

The Marine Invader Monitoring and Information Collaborative (MIMIC) is a network of trained volunteers, scientists, and state and federal workers who monitor marine invasive species along the Gulf of Maine. The Wells Reserve coordinates Maine's program.