Flying Saucers! Well, not that kind...

Hi everyone!  While things have been quiet here on the blog, I've been busy fitting in research around my foolish work schedule (too much overtime, bleah).  But in my delvings, I found a couple of things the other day that caught my eye.  I thought you all might like to see them too.  😄 

I'll transcribe the article in case the images don't load.  This one is from a winter 1958 article in the Bangor Daily News.

Warning Issued to Coasters By Old Town Chief

Old Town Police Chief Robert Lee reported today that one motorist who spotted a "flying saucer" while driving along Brunswick Street today was terrified but the chief reports it was no joke.

The "flying saucer" was a small child riding atop a saucer sled coasting from a steep bank across the busy street.  Luckily, he was not struck.

Lee issued a warning against such dangerous practices asking parents to tell their children not to use any grades for sliding that might end up in a street or intersection.

And in another winter issue of Bangor Daily News I found this photo, from two years later in 1960, which aptly illustrates the irresistible joy of sailing through the air on FLYING SAUCERS!!!

Caption reads:   

FOR REAL "FLYING" SAUCERS -- The man on the business end of a shovel might not display the enthusiasm for the season's snowfall that these two youngsters do.  But Mark Pooler and Susan Purinton of Bangor, both 11, beam with joy about the whole situation as they sail out into the air on their flying saucers over a bank of the wonderful white stuff.  (NEWS photo by Maher)

I hope everyone is having a great winter, and enjoying all the white stuff out there.  Before you know it, spring will be here! 

Osprey on campus?

USM's Portland campus is playing host this afternoon to a very dapper raptor! Photos courtesy of Stacy Stewart, snapped on the scene. This large fellow perched himself in a tall pine between Payson-Smith Hall and the Science Building, and surveyed the scene haughtily. All the robins who had been littering the campus with their happy spring chirpings seem to have disappeared, as a result.

The guest raptor is quite sizeable, at least 2 1/2 feet tall and waving a mighty wingspan when the mood takes him. Local crows have attempted divebombing the osprey, to no avail. "He didn't even flinch!" reported an eyewitness. The guest has created a controversy over identification. Osprey? Hawk? Any guesses? Back view provided for avian sleuths among our readers. Please click on the images below for larger versions of them.

The Last Wolf in Maine

The Daily Kennebec Journal of Friday, April 10, 1908, ran this story:

Bangor News --
According to a report published in the Bangor Whig and Courier three-score and five years ago, the last wolf seen alive in Maine was observed near the upper waters of Union river near the present village of Ellsworth Falls, as it paused to gorge itself upon the body of a dead horse in a clearing by the roadside.

The beast was very old and shaky on its feet, and from the slow and clumsy manner in which it bit off pieces from the frozen flesh, its teeth were evidently badly worn and dulled from years of constant use. From the carrion the beast was tracked to the shores of Union river by footprints in the slush and wet mud.

When these tracks had reached a hole in the ice about the middle of the river they stopped, and the presumption was that the wolf, gorged and stupid with much food, had walked to a place where the ice was thin and had broken through and was swept under the frozen coating and drowned.

This suspicion was verified the next day when the body of a very emaciated and very aged wolf was fished out of Union river near Ellsworth. A citizen of Bangor who is alive in good health today was present when the dripping body was rescued from the water and this gentleman believes that the wolf drowned in Union river thirty-five years ago this month, was the last member of its species which has been seen in Maine.

Today, the wolf in Maine is a phantom presence. There are sightings on record, and an occasional body. There is no known large wolf population in the state, but currently there is a full-scale effort to make Maine one of the restoration territories for the now-protected species.

FMI: http://home.acadia.net/mainewolf/

Great shots of snowy Maine!

The nifty blog Five Squirrels has some pretty sweet shots of Maine covered in snow (a familiar sight for us over the last few weeks). Take a peek by clicking here! There's a nice variety, 6 shots taken by Mindy in different places near her, posted just a few days ago. Since I haven't had a chance to get out with my own camera, these'll have to tide both you and I over until I do!