The Binker Files

Scenes from the cemetery - Outdoor Monday

Three summers ago, the boys & I found a cecropia moth caterpillar on a blueberry bush.  This amazing creature turned all three of us into budding lepidopterologists and since that time, we've spent much of the warm season searching for caterpillars, butterflies & moths.

The cecropia moth caterpillar that started it all.

When I read that the Maine Butterfly Survey was looking for volunteers, I knew this would be perfect for us - a place to share our discoveries.  I spent a day training at Colby College and now our big butterfly net goes almost everywhere with us.  The survey is a five-year project to document the distribution, flight season and relative abundance of Maine's 120 (and counting) butterfly species.  At the end of the survey, all the identified butterflies will be published in an atlas, and Silas, Levi & I will be credited for our contributions, which I think is very cool.

The survey requires a "voucher" for identification, which means an actual butterfly or a very good photograph.  Levi is very against killing butterflies, even in the name of science, so we are only taking pictures.  To get the images we need, we have to move the captured butterfly from the net into a ziplock bag and take shots of both sides of the wings, which isn't very easy at all.  

Mourning Cloak butterfly.

This seems kind of cruel, but surprisingly the butterflies just flutter away seemingly unharmed after they are released from the bag. 

We can collect the butterflies from anywhere in the state and someone recently suggested that we try Evergreen Cemetery in Portland.  I'd only been there once before (Mark & I had wedding photos taken there almost 13 years ago) and I didn't really remember much besides a duck pond.  I was surprised to discover that the cemetery is really like a park - there are several ponds and trails through the woods.  There were lots of butterflies, four of which we caught.

An American Lady.

Clouded Sulphur.

We saw a lot of other wildlife too, like birds, tadpoles, freshwater snails, frogs, painted and snapping turtles.

Bullfrog.

We'll definitely go back to the cemetery when we need a little dose of nature when in the city.

Outdoor Monday

One of Silas & Levi's favorite books is called  The Orphan Seal, it tells the story of an abandoned baby seal that was rescued, nursed back to health, and later returned to the ocean.   Today, we were lucky enough to watch that story come to life when the University of New England's Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center released two juvenile and two adult male harp seals on a beach in Biddeford.

The boys were very impressed with this whole thing, and so was I.  The seals were just adorable and it was such a treat to watch them make they way back into the ocean.  Harp seals live in chilly waters of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, so from here they will swim north to Canada.

A young harp seal.

An adult male harp seal.

Almost there.

These are the seals that are often hunted as babies for their beautiful, fluffy, white fur.  Can you imagine clubbing such a cute animal?

 

After getting in the water, the seals gave a couple long looks back toward shore, as if saying goodbye, then swam away.  We watched until they were gone, then spent the rest of the beautiful afternoon on the beach.

Levi, Si & Coco.

These little creatures were all over the beach, we think they are krill:

Silas & Levi spent a lot of time with a dead sea worm.

 

It is always a good time at the beach, but today was really good!

Outdoor Monday

It is official, we are Citizen Scientists!  We passed our frog call quiz with flying colors and are now  volunteers with the Maine Amphibian Monitoring Program; this past week we completed our first run.

Mark, Silas, Levi and I headed to Jackman, Maine to collect information about the breeding calls of spring peepers and wood frogs in the area.  Our survey route is located near the base of Moose Mountain, about 10 miles from the Canadian border.  It is a very beautiful and sparsely populated area.  We didn't see many people, but did see a lot of moose.

And, of course, a lot of frogs and frog eggs.

About a half-hour after sunset, we started out on our route along a logging road.  At ten different wetland stops, the boys quietly splashed in puddles as we listened for breeding calls and recorded the relative abundance and species of early season frogs. 

You can see me listening very hard in the background of this photo:

 

We'll return to Jackman to do the survey route two more times, in late spring and again in summer, to collect information about the later season breeding frogs and toads.  We're all looking forward to it. 

I can't say enough good things about this program; it has allowed our family to do volunteer work together to support conservation efforts, while spending time outdoors in a beautiful place and we've learned a lot to boot.  About two months ago, I don't think any one of us could have identified a frog call besides that of the spring peeper.  Now, we all know a LOT about amphibians in general and can easily identify the breeding calls of all 9 frogs & toads that live in Maine.  We're collecting real and useful scientific data and we are having a lot of fun!

If you are in Maine, consider volunteering as a citizen scientist for Maine Audubon, they have many different and interesting programs (we're looking forward to the owl monitoring project next winter) and most can be done with children.  For those not in Maine, check out these cool projects!

The Great Outdoor Challenge

We joined the Great Outdoor Challenge earlier this month and since starting, we've spent time outdoors every day, regardless of the weather or how busy we were.  We've all loved it and it seems it isn't going to end.  Silas, Levi and I were already thinking we'd keep up our daily outdoor streak and Lisa at 5 Orange Potatoes is going to continue on with the challenge by posting once a week, which I think is perfect.  It is fantastic to be outside everyday, but posting everyday is just too much computer time for me.

Silas has discovered fly fishing, so I don't think it will be difficult to convince him to go out every day!

This challenge has been pretty easy, the weather here has been nice and with all the vernal pool activity, there hasn't been any place we've wanted to be besides outdoors.  But, often life gets so hectic that we might not make it out, as much as we'd like to.  This challenge has helped me realize that I need to make outdoor time a priority for me and the boys.  I hope we can continue on with this (maybe a 365 day challenge?), I think it will be so great for all of us.  I'll keep you posted!

City hike

Last night, Mark flew in from the Black Hills, where he is doing some field work.  Today was filled with errands, but we did manage to squeeze in a hike at Baxter Woods.  It was so nice to get outdoors after spending much of the morning in the car, even though Portland is experiencing Winnemucca like winds today.

We love these tree signs and they inspired a great project idea - we're planning on making some for our little forest.

Growing up

I've never had to worry about Silas wandering off, he has pretty much always stuck right by my side - I sometimes jokingly refer to him as my velcro kid.  But, times are changing.  It started small, like in the grocery store where he'd suggest that I stay put while he went after a sample a couple aisles away.  Now, he is taking his new independent self outdoors.

Recently, with a rock hammer hanging over his shoulder like a cartoon character with a bindlestick, Silas announced "See you later Mom, I'm going into the forest to pound rocks".  It's not really a forest, just a patch of woodland around our house & completely safe, but it is away from me & he wanted to go alone.

Today, when we needed fresh water for our salamander eggs, Silas set out for the stream in a cold, heavy rain to retrieve some, again alone.  And the stream is across the road!  Yes, it is a dead-end road with almost no traffic, but still, it's across the road.  I knew he would be alright, but couldn't help checking on him after he was gone for awhile.  I called to him from the edge of the road to ask if he needed help and he kindly asked me to please go back inside the house, he was OK.  Wow, my little boy is growing up.  It makes me so happy and just a little bit sad all at the same time.

Wandering

We headed into the woods today without a plan, but with a backpack filled with essentials - bug spray, binoculars, a magnifying glass and some water.  We checked out snail shells, moss, unfurling ferns and wildflowers and did a lot of playing.

Red Trillium.

A sapling catapult. 

Then, like moths to a flame, we found ourselves near water; a little stream in the woods where we stopped and stayed awhile.

Levi calls this walking on water, it's one of his favorite things.

As we hiked, there was a lot of discussion about what direction we were headed in, we'll have to pack a compass in the backpack next time.

Why I love the Great Outdoor Challenge

I had insomnia last night.  I didn't even try to sleep until 2:00am and that attempt wasn't successful.  I don't know what time I fell asleep at or how long I slept for (I don't keep a clock in the bedroom), but I know it wasn't long enough.  I felt bad today, I groggily made it through a trip for groceries, made lunch and, imagining myself taking a nap, seriously thought about putting on a movie for the boys.  But, remembering the Great Outdoor Challenge, I suggested to Silas & Levi that we take a short walk, just to check out the lake. 

Our time outdoors started out like this:

I thought this would be the end of it, but the boys starting throwing some stones into the water.

I thought, OK - this will work - I'll just rest and they'll play.

My view from the hammock.

Then, I don't know how it happened - maybe the little one's enthusiasm was contagious, but we all ended up in kayaks.  Silas took off alone - his first solo paddle of the season and Levi & I followed, with Levi waving a pirate flag.

My energy was truly revived by being outdoors.  As we paddled south in a shallow cove, we were distracted by a dead crayfish; both boys jumped ashore to investigate and we ended up staying for hours.  While there, we discovered fish eggs.  I've spent about 25 summers on this lake and I've never before noticed fish eggs!  

On the way home, Silas developed a new method of paddling.  He calls it the nearly-naked, standing pirate.

It was a wonderful afternoon and, as if that wasn't enough, Silas decided it was time for his first swim of the season.   Yes, the ice went out a month early, but it was only a month ago, and the water is still cold!

He dove underwater - twice.  This really raises the bar for the Long Pond Dive Team, I am sure this is a record!

What a great day we would have missed if I had put on a late afternoon movie and spent the day indoors.  I think the Great Outdoor Challenge has changed our lives for the better!

Frog eggs

Silas, Levi & I have been searching vernal pools for wood frog eggs almost daily, but have so far only seen spotted salamander eggs.  Today, we finally found our eggs - in our friends pool!

A couple have already hatched into tiny tadpoles.  The boys are beyond excited about this and are looking forward to watching them transform into tiny frogs.

A walk in the woods

For the first year of Silas' life, we lived in a very old farmhouse on 100 acres in a small, rural Maine town; the boys & I took a walk through the woods there today.  They played in the mud on the bank of a slow-moving stream, plunged their hands into murky bog water searching for frog eggs, discovered many animal tracks, scat and the remains of an opossum.  It was a nice afternoon.

Although we loved the farmhouse & the land, we really hated the town, so we sold the farm almost 6 years ago.  It seems others feel the same way as I do about the area, someone even posted a sign:

The old Leaning Barn Farm on the left, hell on the right.