The Wrack

I had been bugging John about getting engaged for months.

The following was published in the Biddeford-Saco Journal Tribune Sunday edition of 1/24/16 and Making It At Home Thursday?edition, 1/28/2016.

Always eager to start some new long-term monitoring project, Im now keeping track of the number of conversations I have about the weather. Im planning to henceforth keep tabs on with whom, when, and for how long we chatted. Im already certain one thing will be constant: the changing weather will be discussed in only the most general, equivocal, unchanging terms. You and I will talk about the weather, my friends, but we will say nothing new.

A weekly recap and forecast to help you plan your visit for the week of January 22, 2016.

It's been well over a week since our few inches of snow fell and we've been through a a number of melt/freeze cycles over that time. Skis and snowshoes won't be much fun; wear sturdy boots and take your time on the uneven and sometimes icy surface.

Weather is not looking great. Your best bet this weekend is probably Saturday afternoon. Be careful early Saturday, as the roads might be slick. The skies brighten for the start of the work week.

We have no public programs this weekend, and the Visitor Center is closed until April, but next Wednesday at lunch time Sue Bickford will talk about Soundscape Ecology in Mather Auditorium.

There was a proposal and you said yes! Now comes the fun part — planning one of the most exciting and memorable days of your life.

As the first snow of the season fell outside my window yesterday, with our fleet of kayaks safely stored in the barn for the winter, I compiled the evaluation results from our fifth kayak season at the Reserve. Sixteen kayaking programs were held between early July and early October (eighteen were scheduled, but two were cancelled due to high winds/small craft advisories) and 82 people participated. Sixty-one of these paddlers completed evaluations immediately following the program. This is the first year we've conducted a formal evaluation of the program. What valuable information did the evaluations provide? Lots!

Santa visited the Wells Reserve at Laudholm this summer. One of these statements is false.

The following was published in the Biddeford-Saco?Journal Tribune Sunday edition, 12/20/2015.

[Trigger warning: the following paragraph may contain troubling information for preteens]

Like many parents, my wife and I get a real kick out of the Santa thing. Theres something delicious about a full month of lying, straight-faced, to our eight-year-old and five-year-old. Usually were trying to dispel myths, convey science, explain the world, and correct pronunciation. Come Christmas season, we just start making @#$# up. The holidays are a wonderful vacation from reality, arent they?

We received a lovely thank-you letter in mid-November from a summer visitor. What a guy.

I facilitated my final Head Start preschool story hour of the season this morning with a group of real sweethearts from Old Orchard Beach. The towns of Sanford, North Berwick, Lyman, Kittery, Biddeford, and Waterboro also participated in the program this fall. Whales Are Amazing...Just Like You! by local author Tony Viehmann was the featured storybook this time around. Families enjoyed learning about these gentle giants, creating whale crowns, and taking a walk to the ocean to see whale habitat. The children were delighted to receive their free books and blue whale puppets at the end of each program! Below are photos taken during one of the programs last month.

Reading the story...