A pickup load of firewood arrived Saturday morning, wood for winter 2001-'02. My woodshed was already full with this year's wood, so I stacked the load in the backyard, a chore that soaked my shirt with sweat. Warm weather hasn't slowed Canada geese in their southward migration. Two flocks flew down Penobscot Bay, honking as they passed. Mallards have returned to Frohock Brook and may winter there - just as 70 ducks did last year.
Cranberries are the last wild crop of the year around Penobscot Bay.
A friend gave me two gallons that he had harvested from a bog behind my house, an annual ritual. Each summer, I give him Bing cherries from my tree. Barry Reed from Stonington had also gathered wild cranberries, and his wife had culled, cleaned, and put them up already. This discourages hunters with plans on filling the freezer with venison because roaming whitetails are far more vulnerable to skilled marksmen than ones lying low. Folklore claims deer need cold weather to begin breeding, but research refutes this quaint notion.