Mornings Downeast with Goldy

Dawn arrives early Downeast in the month of June. Our dog responds to the daylight by getting me up between 4 and 5 AM. This has been her pattern for 3 months. But this week of mid to late June, approaching the longest day of the year, she has started sleeping until 6 AM. There's no explanation for the change but my husband and I are very pleased and grateful.

Goldy is a dog of undetermined age and mysterious circumstances. She was found as a stray on the streets of Boston. The City of Boston Animal Shelter in Roslindale posted her photo and not much other information about her on petfinders.com. Just as many human relationships are started through online dating services today, pet adoptions are facilitated via the internet as well.

We were led to believe that she was 8 to 12 months old. But the day we went to pick her up, the veterinarian confessed that she was actually “much younger than I first thought”, confirming that we were in fact adopting a puppy.

She is of indeterminate origin. A Downeast neighbor looked her over and commented, "She has a pretty face but that tail is way too big. It's a shame she's too old to cut it off." Her tail is one of her communication tools. When she is extremely excited, her tail goes around in a circle. We'd no sooner cut her tail than cut off her tongue.

During the slightly more than 3 months since Goldy has come to live with us, her personality has slowly emerged.

It never occurred to us that Goldy would be less than happy running loose in a fenced yard. Within weeks, she tunneled her way out. It was only by chance that I was standing in the kitchen window and saw her wiggle under the wire. After that incident, Jon installed more wire flat on the ground to prevent her digging under the side fence. A few weeks ago, I discovered that Goldy was working on a tunnel under the wire. In went two big rocks to put an end to that escape route.

She chews thing. We’ve always made sure she has nylabones and squeaky toys to occupy her mouth but she gets bored with her own toys. It didn’t take long for her to figure out how much reaction she could get from destroying favorite flip flops. As she matures now, instead of chewing something she shouldn't, out of our sight, she comes into a room where we might both be reading, drops the heaviest boot she could find in the closet, and looks at me as though to announce her boredom.

On the positive side, she has adapted so well to her training that when she greets people on her lead, she sits and waits to be petted.

During the 6-week obedience class that Goldy and I attended at the Animal Welfare Society in Kennebunk, we practiced how to behave going into an office as would be the case when visiting the vet where other animals would be present. Goldy carried it off like a model dog. While I practiced “checking in” by writing my name and address for the receptionist, I came to the final question on the fake sign-in sheet. It said “My dog makes me__________”. Without hesitation, I wrote “smile”.

Natural Observations

Nothing qualifies me to speak about biology or botany. But as a gardener, a person who spends a great deal of time outdoors, I observe the habits of birds and bugs and amphibious creatures.

My theory about gardening is to leave what grows naturally around the edge of the property and introduce perennial gardens within the lawn. This cuts down on the amount of land which needs to be mowed, adds color and interest through the introduction of plants, and leaves a little natural food and cover for the birds, insects and other creatures.

Our house on MDI contains both perennial gardens and raised beds for vegetables, constructed in areas which were previously lawn. I used to scalp the grass and add compost and dirt to make the gardens. Now I find that it is easer to place layers of newspaper over the grass, add coarse compost material that hasn’t yet broken down, then cover the patch with a mix of compost, loam and peat.

Over the years we’ve added shrubs including native viburnum and high bush blueberry bushes. The front lawn slopes away from the driveway and is bisected by a drainage ditch. It has been my habit for the last 4-5 years to leave a foot-wide swath of whatever wild plants spring up on either side of the ditch.

In the early fall, birds feed on the seeds of curly dock (Rumex crispus), an unattractive plant (see photo). Having observed that feeding pattern, I always leave curly dock in the weed strip. Since Goldfinches love thistle seeds I no longer remove thistle from the yard.

We’ve always had hummingbirds but this year they seem prolific. This week while picking wild blackberries I heard that familiar Brrtt-purr of a hummingbird and watched as it fed off a plant which up until now I’ve always weeded since I considered it a nuisance. I’ve been unable to identify the weed. It can reach 3 to 5 feet tall, has a transparent stalk and a carrot-color small flower (see photo). This plant is very easy to pull out of the ground. Today I realized what an important plant this must be for the hummingbirds at this time of year. There aren’t many flowers blooming this late in the season. This year in particular, perennials have bloomed and gone by at least 2 weeks earlier than normal. Could the presence of hummers be attributable to this weed?

One day this spring, our dog barked incessantly and with some alarm until we came to the deck to see what she had discovered. Sitting under the steps was a creature with which Goldy, a city dog, was completely unfamiliar: a toad. This toad was the size of my fist. It sat with great dignity and patience as Goldy darted first toward and then away from the marooned amphibian. The toad offered no resistance when I gently collected it into my joined hands and carried it to the lower garden, outside the dog’s fenced yard. Within a few days, the same toad or its twin turned up under the stairs. Once more I ferried the toad to the safety of the lower garden near the ditch, hoping that the moisture there would sustain the little creature’s needs.

If you wish to encourage birds and amphibians in your yard, read the book called Noah’s Garden: restoring the ecology of our own back yards by Sara Stein.

The author landscaped her newly-purchased rural property by removing the native shrubs and weeds and replacing them with nursery-raised ornamental shrubs and bushes. Too late, she realized that despite living in the country, there were no birds or animals on her property. Her pond was devoid of life. She came to the realization that the plants and trees found naturally on her property were precisely what the birds, insects and wildlife needed to survive and flourish. She began to reverse her landscape mistakes and restore her property to its natural state.

Birds, insects and amphibians will live in yards if we show some restraint when removing shrubs or weeds which occur naturally. Leave a little wild area along the periphery of the yard or in a location which is easy to mow around. The mystery weeds, goldenrod, wild aster, curly dock and their wild neighbors are natural bird feeders.

Overheard at the Kennebunkport Post Office August 20, 2010

“Order in the Court”


Al: Well Jesse, I’ve been thinking about you since I heard that there was an Order in the Court.

Jesse: Long time no see, Al. You aren’t in trouble again are you?

Al: No, Jesse, nothing to do with me. This is to do with your friends who are asking the Court to make the private land at Goose Rocks public property.

Jesse: Well tell me!

Al: You see, the Judge Ordered that the Interveners don’t have any different stake than the Town. So they got dismissed. The Interveners called themselves the T-M-F’s. Who picks these names? I don’t know which is worse, S-O-B or T-M-F.

Now the Town has to write letters to all the property owners on the beachfront, telling them that if the Town wins its claim to an easement over their land, their private beach won’t be private anymore. Just so the property owners who don’t want to get involved understand what is at stake.

Jesse: You mean the property owners won’t get to decide who uses their beach? We didn’t think about that. I wonder when will be the next S-O-B meeting?

Al: Well you’ll have two meetings to go to now, Al. There’s your S-O-B’s. Then there’s these people called the T-M-F’s. No wonder the Judge got rid of them! You need to hire a marketing firm to come up with some nicer sounding names.

Jesse: I wouldn’t expect you to understand why there are the two different names, Al.

Al: If the private beach has a public easement on it, that means the Town or maybe the State can decide to let people go anywhere at anytime and do whatever they want on the beach.

Jesse: The State? What business does the State of Maine have at Goose Rocks Beach?

Al: Well, they care about the public losing access to beaches whether they are private or not. So they get to do what’s called intervene.

Jesse: Well no one thought about the State getting involved. Aren’t they broke? We just thought this would be a local matter. Hmmm. I wonder what the renters will think about that.

Al: What renters?

Jesse: The folks from away who pay a lot of money to come here to rent houses at the private - uh, I mean the less busy ends of the beach, you know - because those areas are quiet and peaceful.

Al: Well you see Jesse, the meaning of the word “public” means anyone who wants to go there.

Jesse: Did the Judge say anything about the beachfront owners not paying their taxes?

Al: As a matter of fact, he did. He dismissed the Town’s claim that the people don’t own the beach land because they never paid taxes on it. I think that’s what they call a “red herring”.

Jesse: I don’t need any of your fishing terms Al, just give me the facts.

Al: Well, the Judge said that this claim by the Town doesn’t make any sense. Of course people have paid their taxes.

Jesse: Do you mean to tell me that it isn’t true that people on the front row of the beach haven’t paid their taxes?

Al: Well yes, Jesse. I hate to disillusion you. But the fact is rumors are not always true. That’s why they are called rumors and not fact.

Jesse: To think, I called one of the Plaintiffs a tax cheat. Not to his face, of course.

Al: Well, Jesse, how much ground will you gain by calling people names and spreading rumors? It’s one thing to name yourselves something naughty. You take the cake for naughty names. But it’s quite another thing to damage someone else’s reputation. If I were you, with names like S-O-B and T-M-F’s, I’d be extra nice to those beachfront owners.

Jesse: You would? Why is that?

Al: Well, because when the Judge rules that their deeds show that they own the beach, I’d like to be on their good side. That way, things can go back to the way they were before the Town got ideas in its head about having a right to someone’s private property.

Jesse: But that isn’t what this was supposed to be about! It was supposed to be about sand castles and walks with the dog. About watching sunsets and finding star fish with my grandchildren. I’ve been had!

Al: Take heart, Jesse, it isn’t over yet. The Town still has to spend all that money we voted for in June. There’s still plenty of time to get on the good side of the people who own the beach.