LOBSTERS, PORCUPINES & MILKWEED SEEDS, NO LESS!This week I got down to the lobster pound where I heard the news that the cove was being stocked this year. Sure enough, I caught Donny and Chris in the act of feeding the lobsters that have been introduced into the pound on the north end of the island. They were throwing Herring in to the cove as you see in the picture. What you can't see are the lobsters on the bottom scavenging for the fish. We were able to see the lobsters even at high tide since their colorful rubber banded claws are a giveaway. The fore claws are secured with the rubber bands so they don't eat each other. They have enough other appendages to catch the fish and move it to the hungry mouth.

The lobsters are vulnerable to predators. Traps are set to keep marauding raccoons from dining on these crustaceans. Gulls, too, have been seen capturing the lobsters when they move into shallow waters. Maintaining a lobster pound is a tricky business. Hopefully the lobsters, confined in the cove, will remain viable until spring when the price exceeds that for which they were purchased when placed in the pound. As the season becomes colder, feeding will not be necessary since the animals will go into a comatose state. When the water and air become warmer, they will be captured by divers and sold as the market demands. Usually at Easter, the cove is drained and the remaining lobsters are collected. I have yet to see this, but would find it most interesting. Just imagine walking around in the mud picking up lobsters!

We saw another porcupine up in an apple tree this week. It may be the same one I saw earlier. The apples continue to attract a bevy of deer on the island. The hunting season starts on Saturday, so these animals would be wise to stay put for the next month. No hunting is allowed on the island, but I don't think the deer read the signs. Let's hope the hunters do, however. I still haven't seen the beaver, though they have been back to the tree they downed to do further chewing.

It was very windy for one outing, and a few hikers enjoyed visiting the milkweed patch near Sanddune Beach. The seeds they were flying, with the help of some blowers! You will notice how the beach grass has lost its green hue, and the foliage of Rugosa Rose has turned a bright yellow. As you can see, it was a brisk day, requiring warm hats and coats.

I was excited to learn that Chris is in the process of making a teepee where he plans on smoking foods, and boiling sap in the spring! The teepee will be enclosed in birch bark which he plans on sewing together with spruce roots. I hope to get pictures of his efforts to show in the days to come. Meanwhile, he remains busy tending to the lobsters in the pound.
10/27/06 Wind blown Ronnie