IS THERE ANYTHING MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN THIS?
I've been itching to get over to Seawall, and finally made it there yesterday. We've been having summery weather up here, and the beaches have been getting good use. I walked the beach, stopping once to make a brief plunge into the waves and gargling in the salt water. I spied a drift of shell deposits down near the water's edge and found myself picking up sanddollars galore! I've never seen so many so close together. I counted 118 of different sizes....figure it out - that was over one hundred bending overs to pick these up! I shall now have some to share when they are not so easy to find. These are such beautiful animal remains....a skeleton if you wish, but technically called a test. They have lost their spines, but suggest their relationship to Sea Stars if you look closely. Here you see the inside structure - very starlike. If you look carefully at the disc on the right you will see several of the animal's teeth that separately look like birds on the wing.

Speaking of birds, there are pheasants that are making the rounds near my home. I was out in the garden when one walked out of the woods into my vegetable patch. He first stopped to check out the peas, then moved over to an open area near the Brussel Sprouts. I kept on with my weeding while taking a peek every now and then to see if the bird might help himself to my veggies. No, he was seeking a dust bath and hunkered down in the dirt, leaving a round hollow. I ran to get my camera, but he had taken off.
I celebrated the end of the month by catching the last extremely low tide at Totman Cove. I wasn't dressed for the weather, still down near 40 degrees! I was not to be daunted, and headed out over the vast exposed sand flats. I found several large, live Sanddollars, and many Moon Snails. What was interesting about the latter was the fact that half of them over near the rocky shore, were eating Periwinkles! I didn't get to see the radula in the process of drilling, but many of the snails had perforated holes. Why hunt for a clam when a Periwinkle is handy?!

As September sneaks out the back door, here is a caterpillar update. I am running out of Monarch caterpillars, only finding one on an island search. That one was so big I thought it would chrysalize on my way home! I am finding several fuzzy varieties, and one green beauty thought to be that of a Polyphemus Moth. Unfortunately, it made a cocoon before a positive ID. Several Monarchs have emerged from their pupae, and my first Painted Lady Butterfly was flying around in a jar asking to be freed! All of my Black Swallowtail caterpillars are hanging from their sling chrysalises. Those will not emerge until spring, so I have to find a safe place for overwintering and watching.

My final note is not a very happy one. It has to do with cleanup at the campground. Students from Wiscasset spent most of a day picking up man-made debris, primarily along the shoreline. Here are the statistics: 200 lbs. of trash were removed including food wrappers, building supplies, fishing gear and drink containers! This serves as a reminder of how important it is to pick up after ourselves. The natural environment deserves better and safer treatment! 9/30/07 Ronnie, on the verge of October.