The Wrack

Jeremy Miller embraces the long view. His projects depend on it. As lead technician for our system-wide monitoring program (SWMP), as state coordinator for monitoring marine invasives (MIMIC), and as lead scientist on the reserve's larval fish study, Jeremy adds pieces to puzzles without predefined shape. He knows that patterns begin to emerge only after years of methodical, meticulous data collection.

Yesterday, a foggy morning in Southern Maine made for some interesting perspectives.

This week, July 20-24, Artist-in-Residence David Allen of Stone Point Studio will be creating various works of art throughout the Wells Reserve, as well as giving demonstrations and tutorials on stone balance and arch building.

The following was published in the Biddeford-Saco?Journal Tribune Sunday edition, 7/19/2015.

The Fuligo septica, or dog vomit slime mold, as it is picturesquely known, appeared in our front garden after a particularly humid day last week. The five-inch-wide, bright yellow splatter was impossible to miss on the black mulch. To the touch, it felt like scrambled eggs. My son declared it ick. I was delighted.

We listen to the rain patter against the roof of leaves of the wise old copper beech tree as campers and I munch lunch. The vast canopy gives the impression of a complete ceiling of wood and leaves, but campers are able to look closely and discover something remarkably unique.

The Wells Reserve recently hosted coastal communities from Kittery to Scarborough for a workshop titled Tracking Progress - Better Safe than Sorry. The workshop was a combination of presentations and group discussions for participants to discuss how their communities are working to improve their resilience to coastal hazards and extreme weather events in light of climate change. The workshop gave participants the opportunity to identify shared goals and track progress towards these goals.

On December 24, 1968, the Apollo 8 mission team shared this photo of Earth as seen from orbit around the moon. ?This photograph has since been credited with igniting the second wave of modern environmentalism in the United States, as people realized that the Earth was a small and unique oasis in the vastness of the universe. While modern American environmentalism has come a long way, it has slowed from a speed run to a painstakingly slow walk over the last few decades.

Last week we welcomed our first campers of the summer. This camp, titled Earth Stewards, focused on ways we can appreciate and honor the earth. A highlight for campers was a boat ride/driving opportunity, around Wells Harbor with stewardship coordinator Tin Smith and environmental educator Linda Littlefield Grenfell as our guides.

On the trip, we had the opportunity to look at the harbor and beach from far offshore, navigate the twists of the river, and stick our faces just above the water where hundreds of sand lances sparkled in the sun. This boat trip truly provided campers  and myself  a new perspective on this place. On the drive back from the harbor, one camper exclaimed she would never see the harbor in the same way again.

Whos been spitting in the grass? Stick your fingers into the frothy mass and youll likely find a cool and moist tiny lime-colored creature with black eyes. This is the nymph (or immature form) of a spittlebug (Cercopidae).

Its been 7 years since we started collecting larval fish and 3 years since our last update (See Team Larval Fish at the Wells Reserve) so its time for another look at the wonderful world of larval fish! Weve had some exciting developments over that time and attended some professional meetings where we have made connections with other researchers working on early life stages of fishes.