Category: Out in the Woods

Out in the Woods

Photo: Kevin McKeonBy Kevin McKeon, Maine Master Naturalist Prickly Pear creeping into Maine Cacti in Maine!? Yup! Sort of. A cactus is making its way here from New Hampshire and is listed as native to all New England states except Vermont and Maine. It’s called the Eastern Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia humifusa) because of the pearlike shape of its fruit and it’s unrelated to the pear. Another one of its names, the Indian Fig, relates to the fruit’s size. It’s…

Out in the Woods

Yellowjackets Aren’t All Bad (Really) By Kevin McKeon, Maine Master Naturalist Yup, yellowjackets sting, their sting hurts, and the reason is clear when you see a magnified picture. Those barbs look menacing but are relatively small — probably an aid in keeping the stinger inserted during venom injections. Some bees will die after a single sting, but these wasps often sting repeatedly. Yellowjackets are one of more than 100,000 named species of wasps and come from relatives 200 million years…

Out in the Woods

Pokeweed: Look But Don’t Touch, or Eat Raw By Kevin McKeon, Maine Master Naturalist Properly prepared, American pokeweed can be used in pies, salves, dye and ink. It was even sold in food stores until the Allen Canning Co. of Siloam Springs, Arkansas, closed about 10 years ago. But it’s important to remember that this common weed must be prepared properly. Otherwise, it can be deadly. American pokeweed is found at forest edges, under power lines, and in fencerows, pastures,…

Out in the Woods

Delicate Beauties Bloom Along Sanford Trails By Kevin McKeon, Maine Master Naturalist The season is changing, and that means Sanford’s trails are blooming with all kinds of life, from butterflies to birds, ants and other creatures in search of pollen from the booming wildflower population. A recent walk along the trails near Deering Pond revealed many colonies of whorled asters — a late summer to early fall blooming wildflower native to New England. The whorled aster, Oclemena acuminata, also called…

Out in the Woods

A woodchuck forages in a field about 100 feet from its burrow under a wood pile. How Many Veggies Could a Woodchuck Chuck? Photo: Kevin McKeon By Kevin McKeon, Maine Master Naturalist This summer, for the third time in six years, we had a woodchuck take up residence under our tool shed at the Sanford Community Garden. This character followed on the heels of a pair of hares that also decided to use the garden as their personal smorgasbord. These…