Blood Sucking Summer

This is another one of Drew's masterpieces of AI generated pictures and music to document the way life is in Maine during the summertime! Ya gotta be tough to live and thrive in Maine, so think twice before moving here!

A Loon has finally arrived to summer on Caesar Pond

 Here we are on June 15th and I have just heard the first loon calling for the summer season. Generally, the loons arrive in April, but maybe because this was such a cold spring they might have stayed longer at the ocean before heading inland? I have no idea why they are so late this year. I need to go over to the pond to try and capture a photo of it, but I haven't had time. 

Flora and Fauna Investigate Amphibians

I created this Flora and Fauna investigation of amphibians to help teach young students about some of the amphibians in Maine, where they live and breed, and to keep students mindful of respect for animal habitats. The first section of the video is AI generated with Gemini. I do not want to be associated with what is called "AI Slop", where people upload just for clicks. Each picture that I had Gemini create was done so thoughtfully with respect to specific species of amphibians and their characteristics to the best of my ability. The text is what I asked Gemini to include after doing research. Animation is not easy to create in Gemini so there are only still pictures. My friend (and gardening guru bestie), Veronica, did the voice of Flora and narration. I did the voice of Fauna. This project took many hours to create. It is not perfect but I think it will be a good first draft. If there is anything you see that you think should change, let me know. Enjoy!

Some vocabulary terms are: Abundant, Amphibians, Breed, Cold-blooded, Egg Mass, Habitat, Inhabitant, Predator, Vegetation, Vernal Pool.

Black Fly Jitters

Drew created another AI generated hit that he has titled, "The Black Fly Jitters!" It thoroughly embodies the hardy spirit of Mainers in their annual month long battle with these feisty critters! (Note: black flies not to scale)

A Whopper of a Thunderstorm

 We just had a whopper of a thunderstorm overnight. It is crazy to have a storm like this in April. It dropped 1.12" of rain. In fact, this last week we have had a total of 1.9" rain total. Since we are still in a severe drought from last year, we are in need of as much rain as we can get this spring.

2026 Maine Big Night #4

 Maine Big Night # 4. We had rain from 6pm-8:45pm.

LH1Bowd (This year's participants are me, Paul, and Caroline. Kathy will join us periodically.) Lauren Leclerc is the official adopter of the site.

April 14, 2026.  Start time 7:45pm - 9:15pm

Certified Volunteers - 2 (Paul) (Laurie)

Uncertified Volunteers - 1 (Kathy)

Starting Temp: 56F.   Ending Temp.:  55F

Precipitation: Rain

The road is wet.

Traffic Tally:  21 vehicles

Species Live:  3 Pickerel Frogs, 41 Spring Peepers, 4 Bullfrogs, 2 Green Frogs, 1 Leopard Frog, 4 American Toads, 1 Four-toed Salamander, 6 Spotted Salamanders,  4 Newts

Species Dead:  2 Pickerel Frogs, 1 Red Eft, 4 Spring Peepers

Species Injured: 

NOTES: 

2026 Maine Big Night #3

 Maine Big Night # 3. We had patchy rain during the day that stopped at around 5pm.

LH1Bowd (This year's participants are me, Paul, and Caroline. Kathy will join us periodically.) Lauren Leclerc is the official adopter of the site.

April 13, 2026.  Start time 8pm - 9pm

Certified Volunteers - 1 (Paul) 

Uncertified Volunteers - 

Starting Temp: 50F.   Ending Temp.:  50F

Precipitation: Misty

The road is wet.

Traffic Tally:  6 vehicles

Species Live:  15 Spring Peepers, 2 Wood Frog, 1 Spotted Salamander, 1 Newt

Species Dead:  1 Spotted Salamander

Species Injured: 0

NOTES: 

Tick Check Lab and Maine Cooperative Extension Agency

 The Maine Cooperative Extension Agency checks ticks for disease that have been embedded in you. It is worth the piece of mind.

Our last snowfall, I think...and hope...

 SNOW TOTAL FOR THE 2025-2026 SEASON = 80.25"

The overnight snowfall totaled 0.25". The overnight temp. was 23F. I am thinking that this is the last snowfall of the year since the weather is warming into the 50's after today.

The Mud Season Blues

Drew has created a fun song and photos through AI. He used Gemini and Lyra3Pro, along with iMovie to create this video. The vocal artist is also AI, not a real person. Enjoy!