Young families looking for a picnic spot with a playground have two choices in Lincoln County: the Wiscasset Community Playground and the Harold B. Clifford Playground in Boothbay. State guidelines advise using hand sanitizer before and after playground use, and users should maintain physical distancing.

It can be easy to confuse the various frogs that appear in your backyard. Some have distinctive features that aid identification, while others look quite similar at first glance.

Patience is a virtue … Why do we hear or say that old adage? How is it a virtue? What does it refer to? Simply stated, it is the ability to be able to wait for something without becoming frustrated. It is a virtue that often alludes me, but also an area of my life I feel I have made significant gains in (my wife might disagree).

Houses and other buildings are the product of centuries of evolution. As his numbers outgrew the cave, early man built simple box-like shelters from the elements with local materials.

This past week, during the period of hot weather, I stayed inside our home, where it was quite cool. This gave me a chance to go over many of my books with photos of the Damariscotta area. To my delight, I came across a number of old photos I had forgotten all about.

We hope you are finding plenty of material to read this summer while we work on breathing new life into this old building. When ripping and tearing down 135-year-old plaster and lathes from our first floor ceiling and walls, the volunteers have been in full body coverings, regardless of the heat, masks included.

For many years Lewiston had a fine trotting horse race track, and it was here that the annual livestock fair was held. During our first years of showing sheep at this fair, there was a beautiful old grandstand that was still being used. It was a very old, massive structure, narrow and towering in height.

Before I explore this week’s species, I wanted to respond to the thoughtful letter from Claire Yackel in last week’s paper. Claire wrote about the lack of Lincoln County-based resources for wildlife. The only wildlife rehabilitation center in our area is Avian Haven in Waldo County. Located in Freedom, Avian Haven assists injured and orphaned wild birds, as well as turtles. They can be reached directly at 382-6761.

Samuel L. Miller, founder, editor, and publisher of The Lincoln County News, served as a private, sergeant, and lieutenant in the legendary 20th Maine regiment of Gettysburg fame. In 1876, 11 years after the Civil War ended, Mr. Miller and his comrades established the 20th Maine Regimental Association and in 1882 held their second annual reunion in Portland. (Other reunions were held in subsequent years in various places, including Waldoboro in 1896.) Mr. Miller became historian of the group and a driving force behind these reunions.

While running outside in Bremen recently, I noticed two broad-winged hawks at the edge of the woods near the shoulder of a busy road. As one loudly called from a perch, the other disappeared into the brush. Stopping to look, I suddenly felt a raking sensation on my head.

People have been keeping track of the changing seasons by naming full moons for eons. Of course, different people in different times had different names. That gives me an excuse to invent some moon names of my own. My “Egg Moon” is just passed, or perhaps a “Wild Baby Moon,” though there are some second broods and late nesting birds still to go. Goldfinches, for example, are strict vegetarians, so they wait for an abundance of seed.

The 330-acre National Audubon Todd Wildlife Sanctuary is located on Hog Island in Bremen. A smaller portion is on the mainland, where Hockomock Nature Trail is located. Hog Island lies about a quarter-mile offshore, just south of Keene Narrows. The closest public access is from the town landing on Medomak Road in Bremen.