In honor of wonderful educators everywhere, Islandport Press and I are running a special contest for teachers and librarians!
For as long as I can remember, teachers and librarians have played a major role in my life by encouraging, nurturing, and gently pushing me out of my comfort zone to try new things. From my hometown librarian who recommended Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret, to the sixth grade teacher who built a library of our stories and made us feel published, to a high school English teacher who encouraged me to proudly belt out a Bye Bye Birdie song on stage (even though I couldn’t sing a note to save my life), and so many more, these teachers and librarians will always be close to my heart.
In the past few years, I’ve met many more educators that I admire, some on-line and others in person at conferences and book signings for Cooper and Packrat. Also, as a teacher assistant at Whittier Middle School, I work with some brilliant educators and I’m learning so much. Times may have changed in the last *ahem* 35ish years, what with technology and all, but teachers and librarians haven’t. They still give daily to their classrooms and communities; monetarily, personally, and most of all, from the heart – seeing their students as people, not just a job.
In honor of all the educators from my past and present who give so freely, and with the help of my publisher Islandport Press, we’re giving away a Cooper and Packrat Package: a classroom set of 20 Mystery on Pine Lake paperbacks, a hardcover copy, and a half-hour Skype visit.
Entering the contest is simple, teachers and librarians only need leave a comment on this blog post, telling their name, school, and favorite wildlife encounter. Let Islandport and I know that you’ve spread the word about the contest on Facebook or Twitter, and we’ll enter your name twice.
Not an educator? Please tell your favorite teacher or librarian about it!
The deadline to enter is midnight, September 17th. I’ll ask one of my little campers to draw a name on the 18th , the release day for Cooper and Packrat’s first paperback, Mystery on Pine Lake!
Thank you educators, for all you do! Islandport Press and I know firsthand, that kids everywhere appreciate you more than you know.
Edited to make one little change: The students in Shannon Shanning’s and my classroom, are very intrigued and excited by the paperback edition of Mystery on Pine Lake. So I’ve asked them to take part in this Giveaway by pulling the winning name for this contest! Look for a blog post tomorrow, highlighting the winner!
It would be an honor to win this.
Thank you, Laura. 🙂
My favorite wildlife encounter happened when my husband and I were in Colorado. We were staying in some cabins near Pikes Peak that belonged to a church camp. We were the only ones there, as they rented them to individuals. We were waling out to the van to get something and saw a raccoon standing by a volleyball that had been left on the ground. He started messing around with it and before long was trying to stand on top of it! Finally, he ran off. It was so funny….
Lori Linville – 4th grade
Keller Intermediate School
Macclenny, FL
Lori! He tried to stand on top of it?? That’s too funny! Thanks for sharing.
My family and I lived on 10 acres of woods in Hollis for many years. As we were packing up to move, a dark shadow passed across the window in the kitchen where I was wrapping up dishes. I went to the back door and there it was, a male moose ambling up the driveway! I couldn’t find the camera, but I called to my sons to come see. We watched as the moose got to the top of the driveway and then slowly headed into the woods. We are convinced that he was coming to say good-bye!
Oh, Karen! I’m POSITIVE he was saying goodbye! What a memory to take with you on your move.
Meroby Elementary has an author visit once a year. This would be a great opportunity for those kids.
You’re entered, Jennifer. 🙂
My students are loving your first book. We are at the point of planning the loon raft. They are excited each day for me to read this story to them. Please enter us in your contest. Thank you
Awwww! Please tell your students I said hello!! And if they have any questions, please feel free to send them along to me. I’d love to answer them. You are entered, Doris. 🙂
My daughter and I shared our favorite wildlife encounter when she was 3. We saw a nest with 4 eggs in it, so we kept watching. Everyday we took a picture until one day when we went out, all four baby robins were gone. We turned the pictures into a book which she wrote the text for. This book is one of my most precious possessions and the two of us still like to watch for birds (even though now she’s 14).
What a sweet memory! And to have it in storybook form, makes it even more precious. A family treasure for years to come. Thanks for sharing!
Growing up in Aroostook county, having wildlife in our yard was a daily occurrence. However, the one that I cherish is sitting in our bedroom watching a moose and baby drinking out of our 4 foot tall swimming pool. I knew they were big, but when the baby had no problem drinking, I realized how massive they really were!! We sat their quietly as a family and watched this sweet act of peaceful drinking, until they sauntered off back to the wooded area near our home.
Thank you for creating this contest! I have shared on Facebook and will also do it on Twitter. ?
Thanks!
Jes Crowell
Fourth Grade Teacher
Canaan Elementary School
Jess! What a lovely image you painted – I would so love to have seen that 🙂 Thanks for sharing the contest, too!
My first teaching experience was in a two room school house and I was teaching kindergarten to third grade. We looked out the window and we saw a momma moose and her calf walk across the yard. It was the first time I saw a moose since I grew up on the coast.
A very cool moment, for sure!
I love my home state of Maine. Living in this wonderful state, I get to experience four beautiful seasons, and with that comes the changing of wildlife. My favorite wildlife experience actually comes from a day trip driving down the Kancamagus Highway in the neighboring state of New Hampshire on a beautiful fall day, as the light was shimmering amongst the rust colored leaves. As we rounded the bend we were halted by a mother Black bear and her three following cubs. They sauntered across the road as we watched, and as they got to the other side there was a guardrail. The mother bear lead them under the rail, and while the first two cubs followed her lead, the third little rebel decided to jump over the rail, and proceeded to dangle his stubby little legs until he could haul himself up over it, and chase the others merrily to catch up to them off into the woods. What a fascinating and alluring experience it was to watch those bears!
Thank you for this opportunity!
Oh, to have been there with my camera!! The fourth Cooper and Packrat adventure involves bears – and while I don’t want to run into one in my woods, I’ll be doing a bit of research on them next summer for sure. Thanks for sharing, Cheryl!
My favorite childhood memory of encountering a Maine wildlife animal was when I was 10 years old. My family and close family friends often camped in Jackman. One afternoon a few of us decided to hop on four wheelers and try to find wild blueberries to make blueberry muffins. we found the perfect lowbush blueberry site hopped off our vehicles and started to fill our margarine tubs with fresh blueberries. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we be sharing the blueberries with a Maine black bear! We all made I contact with the mama, and to this day I don’t know who was more scared! The bear scampered back into the sick woods and us women scattered quickly to the four wheelers. I remember riding back to camp thinking the bear was going to bring all her friends back for some blueberry muffins!
Kara Bubier
Grade 4
Margaret Chase Smith School
Kara! I immediately got images of our the picture book classic, Blueberries for Sal!! What a cool experience!
Growing up in Dixfield, Maine my family spent a lot of time at Mount Blue State Park where my father was a park ranger during the summer. Often times we would take the long way home around the lake in hopes of catching a glimpse of a moose or a deer. Sometimes we would get lucky, pull the car over and watch these massive animals munch on their dinner in a marshy pond or field.
However one day, to our surprise we didn’t need to go searching. I’ll never forget the shock and excitement in my mother’s voice as she whisper shouted, “There’s a moose in the yard!” I can’t remember what I was doing but I rushed to our kitchen window to see to largest bull moose I had ever seen! It stood there like a statue staring. My brother, sister, and cousins visiting from Massachusetts stood glued to the window watching to see what this giant was going to do. No one realized that my brother Mike wasn’t there to check out this amazing site. Having the moose stand in our front yard was different than seeing it in the wild, it seemed bigger somehow. It dwarfed our garden shed, it towered over the mailbox, it was almost as tall as the pine trees lining our property.
Eventually the moose had had enough and clomped his way back into the woods and the silence that had entered our house was broken when we saw my brother Mike running toward the house from the other end of our yard.
He had been picking raspberries when the moose had sauntered into the yard. Feeling trapped, he climbed a tree on the edge of our property to avoid having to have a closer encounter than he wanted with the beast. He looked pale and a bit shocked as he described sitting in the tree watching this bull moose meander around the obstacles in our yard.
We ended up leaving lettuce and cabbage heads out on our lawn in hopes our friend the moose would return. And he did, two more times in fact! However, with those visits no one needed to climb a tree!
I have shared your post on Facebook as well.
Mary Herrick
4th Grade Teacher
Margaret Chase Smith School
Skowhegan, Maine
What a wonderful family memory! You described it so well, I have a vivid image of your brother up in the tree, raspberries forgotten, watching the moose. How incredible to have the bull moose come through your yard, not once, but several times. Thanks for sharing the contest 🙂
Hiking on a trail through a rain forest in Costa Rica, we came upon a troop of Capuchin Monkeys smiling and snickering above us in the canopy. While lost in the bliss of this moment…Ziiiiiiiiiip…..I feel a spring of movement leave my back. I watch one of the little White-Faced rascals scamper up a nearby tree clasping something in his tiny fist. Well, to my delight and surprise, he had my chapstick from my backpack pocket! This follows with him biting off the cap (dropping near my feet), witnessing him sniff the fruity flavor, offering himself a small taste, and discovering it is not an edible fruit of choice. Next thing that falls by my feet, is my returned (slightly monkey-used) chapstick.
Carol Null
Kindergarten Teacher
Pemetic Elementary School, Southwest Harbor, ME
Ha!! I was sipping coffee when I read your memory and almost spit it out all over my keyboard, I was laughing so. What a cool moment that must have been. Thanks for posting!
I am a Maine native now living in Illinois. I am a first year teacher with low level Jr. High readers who would love a chance to read your book, and I would love to be able to share some of my home with them. One of my more vivid memories of a wild life encounter was when my Dad taught me how to drive in the off road parts of Dixfield and Carthage. As I was driving down this dirt road, we drove past a moose. This moose was HUGE and I remember being terrified and thinking that it was going to eat the car. Its huge mouth was so close to the car that I could have reached out and touched it, if I had not been scared to death. We turned around and left the moose alone, but my Dad always laughed at me when we thought of that story.
Thank you for your generosity. I have shared on facebook.
Chrystal, I love the image of a moose eating a car! Thank you for sharing on Facebook. Good Luck! And please, if you read any of my books to your students, or just want to share our great State with them, let me know. I can send Maine photos to you, to share with your class.
I am the library media specialist at an elementary school in Westport, CT. 4th graders get immersed in studying ecosystems and real life action steps to help wildlife found within each one -your book would be so much fun to tie in with our unit! Can’t wait to read it myself!! I will share on Twitter!
My favorite wildlife encounter is our beloved school tradition. Every spring for as long as the school has been around, about 75 years, a mother mallard duck nests in the courtyard next to the library. She usually nests near the glass for students to easily see. After the ducklings are born, a group of teachers and staff members called the Duck Patrol arrive very early to escort the mom and 10 babies (usually) through our school, past the library and art room, to get safely to the Saugatuck River! It is amazing to watch the babies zigzag in our courtyard following mom, and then scoot across the school hallway altogether to get outside to freedom since the ducklings cannot fly yet.
Rae Anne! That is amazing!! And to think it is a 75 year old tradition, brings tears to my eyes. You’re teaching your students first hand about compassion and caring for wildlife. Bravo!
It would be so wonderful for my students to win this great prize pack! At Biddeford Primary School, my third graders are always looking for a new mystery and adventure! I just had a close encounter with a fox in my neighborhood while out walking my little jack russell terrier. I have a feeling that the fox could have cared less about me or my son but thought that my dog would be a tasty little morsel! Luckily we all ran away without further incident…..at least for now!! Thanks for the opportunity, Tamra!
I shared this on Facebook, also!! Thanks!
Oooooo! Cooper’s third adventure involves fox kits!
Hi Tamra,
My name is Katie Thomas and I teach 5th grade at Oxford Elementary in Oxford Maine! I work at an outdoor summer camp in Standish in the summer. My favorite moment was definitely when my campers and I went canoeing and we saw the BIGGEST turtle I had ever seen in my life. Their reactions were priceless, and it’s something I will never forget.
I really appreciate this giveaway and am hopeful that my 5th graders will be able to win this prize pack. You are very generous. I will be sharing this post on Facebook so my other teacher friends will have a chance at this wonderful giveaway!
Thanks,
Katie
Katie, thank you for sharing. Turtles are one of my favorite wildlife species to photograph! We have some pretty big ones in our lake too, but I have yet to get a good picture of them.
My favorite wildlife encounter – probably having Chickadees nest in the birdhouse just a few feet from our front porch and watching the babies fledge.
I would love to win this for our fourth grade. Thanks!
Awwww! I bet there’s a ton of emotions to watch those chicks grow, only to have them leave the nest and go out into the world.
Originally from Lowell, MA, I now teach gifted & high achieving 4th & 5th graders at McNab Elementary School in sunny Pompano Beach FL! My favorite animal encounter was swimming in very shallow water one day, at dusk, and seeing a small nurse shark nestled some rocks – what a thrill!!!
Wow! A nurse shark! That would be so cool! Thanks for sharing Erin 🙂
I teach reading in a rural school. I love to share books with students about kids in everyday situations. Kids love to read about other kids and the funny way kids handle their chores and other daily activities. I’d love to share this book with my classes! Please add my name to the contest.
Saundra, your name is added. Thanks so much for entering. 🙂
I teach 4th grade at Glenburn Elementary School and have enjoyed meeting Cooper and Packrat! I wish I had more wildlife encounters to choose from, and I’m not sure if it’s my favorite, but it’s definitely memorable! While out geocaching with our pup, Asuka, we spotted a porcupine attempting to climb a tree. We stayed our distance and snapped a couple of pictures. Well, the poor porcupine lost its grip and fell to the ground, which is when our dog noticed what was going on. When she saw the little thing, she took off after it. She only wanted to get close enough to sniff and make friends, but porcupines don’t really do that. So our poor pup got a faceful of quills and the geocaching adventure was cut short. Thankfully, all the quills were safely removed and the porcupine (as far as I know) and the dog both made it out alive!
Thanks for doing this, Tamra!
Oh, poor Asuka! I winced when I read your post!
Thank YOU for reading the blog and posting, Jenny!! I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed reading Cooper and Packrat. Be sure to let me know if any of your students ever have questions. I’d love to answer them.
Hi! I am in my 30th year teaching 6th graders. I am in central Illinois so my wildlife experiences aren’t very glamorous. We did have a cow wander onto the school playground one year! Congratulations on your book!!
A cow on the playground?? It sounds like a picture book title! 🙂 And 30 years teaching . . . can you hear me clapping for you from here in Maine? That’s quite an accomplishment, Leigh. Thank you for posting and reading.
Wildlife encounters are a regular event here in Maine. One of my favorite family stories happened when I put the turkey stock on the back steps to cool before freezing it for later soup-making. When I went to check on it, I was surprised by a raccoon, sitting next to the pots with the lid in one paw and the other paw in the soup. The raccoon didn’t seem surprised to see me. I had to wait for him to finish his supper before I could rescue the pots. My family has decided that I’m a ‘chef to the critters’ rather than a ‘chef to the stars’!
I teach 5th grade in Orono, Maine. I’m sharing news of your contest on both Twitter and Facebook.
Oh my goodness! I can just see that masked bandit with the lid in his hand. That’s way too funny! Thanks so much for your story and for sharing the link. 🙂
My favorite wild life encounter occurred while I was in college. Each fall we would travel the wood lined roads, which seemed endless. One night as we were driving we spotted a moose. It was the first live moose I had seen. It was so beautiful. They are massive creatures…minding their own business. Each time we were out on the road our mission was to look for moose. I can say we spotted many of these creatures throughout our travels.
Kerri LeSieur
Biddeford Primary School
1st grade
Biddeford, ME
Moose sighting are so magical, aren’t they? I haven’t seen one walk through our campground in years . . . I keep hoping they’ll come back sometime, and I look for one each time I walk our trail.
Thanks for sharing Kerri!
My most memorable wildlife encounter was just a few years ago when I moved into my new house. The house lies just one mile outside the city limits in a small subdivision. There are a number of bushes, including hibiscus, that are along the perimeter of the yard. When I drove into the driveway, a beautiful doe was quietly munching on the blossoms. She stayed there as a parked and tiptoed closer. She was so beautiful with her big, brown eyes!
Oooooo! She was welcoming you to the neighborhood, Lori!
This is fabulous!! We are from the Albert S. Hall School in Waterville, Maine. And we LOVE your books. My kids all want to go camping at your campground.
My most memorable animal encounter happened when my family was camping at Baxter State Park. My 7 year old daughter and 4 year old son, husband, and I were walking back from Sandy Pond disappointed that we didn’t see a moose. All of a sudden the ground started shaking. A lot. It felt like a small earthquake. But the branches in the trees were all breaking and making a huge racket and it was coming our way. It was a HUGE mamma moose!!! She was running right for us. With one kid hanging on one leg and the other kid hanging on for dear life on the other, I was frozen in panic. Then I heard a man’s voice behind me very quietly whispering, “Don’t move mama. Stay still.” So I did just what he said to. That moose came so close to us that if I had had the courage to put my hand out 6″ I could have patted the bottom of its belly! Yes, it’s belly was eye height. Turns out the moose was heading for the pond we just came from. “Where was my husband?” you may ask. He was behind us taking a photo of the whole thing! PS – We just love Packrat. Thank you for such wonderful stories. Mary Dunn and her kids
Whoa!! That must have been quite the sight, Mary!
Please tell your students I said Hello! I’m so glad they love Packrat, he’s quite the character, isn’t he? Please let me know if they have any questions as they read the books, I’d love to answer them!
It makes ME excited to think of all the new readers Cooper & Packrat will reach in their new paperback format. Congratulations!
Thank you, Melissa!!
First I must say this is a very thoughtful and caring endeavor. I am a teacher at Warren E. Sooy, Jr. Elementary School in Hammonton, NJ. After much thought, I must say my encounter with wildlife happened after a 9 year old boy I taught was killed in a car crash close to the end of our school year. My heart was broken as this young boy was bigger than life during his short time here with us. My husband is a farmer and we have a farm market I decided to raise money for his family and placed a jar with his school picture and a brief statement about him on it. A customer was asking about the collection and as I talked to them a beautiful butterfly circled around me ever so close and then landed on the picture on shoulder of the young boy and stayed there for several seconds before flying away. I just broke down and cried right in front of my customers my daughter had to finish waiting on them. It just felt so meaningful and I’ll never forget that day or the little boy it touched.
What a lovely story, MaryAnn, I was teary reading it. But it also gave me goosebumps. Hugs to you!
Thanks for your generosity, Tamra, and allowing us an opportunity to share your book with our students. I’m a 6th grade teacher at Eduprize School. Going on my 17th year of teaching.
My earliest camping experience is when my dad took me and my brothers out in the forest to give us the Birds and the Bees talk, ha ha. On another note, and a more recent camp outing, I worked with the Boy Scouts and attended a weekend outing at a major annual scouting event. The tent that I was given for my first night there had mouse traps coated with peanut butter under the wooden platform, which was just inches away from my sleeping back. During the night, it was a nightmare! I heard mouse traps snapping shut and with that came the eary sounds of mice feet scraping along the same boards of that traps that they had been trapped in. Luckily, none of the mice made it up to me but it was a long night nonetheless. The next day, I got a new tent, not very far off, and no problems with mice during my last few nights there. Phew. I’m still here today to talk about it. 🙂
Yikes! I’m shuddering at your description of the mouse traps going off right under you! Now, I’m shuddering again! I’m sure I wouldn’t have slept a wink that night.
Thank YOU for reading and posting. 🙂
What a wonderful thing to do!
My name is BJ Kopishke and I teach third grade at Prescott Memorial School in Washington, ME. My favorite wildlife encounter happened during a long snowy winter growing up in Caribou, Maine. My dad hung a Christmas wreath on the side of our house between the two kitchen windows. We had a squirrel that was living in a near by tree and he would collect nuts and store them in the wreath. He would find a nut, climb the bird feeder pole in front of the windows and then LAUNCH himself onto the wreath as it hung on the house! My sister and I had so much fun watching and laughing at this squirrel that we would put nuts out in the yard for him to find so we could laugh some more. In the spring when the snow finally melted and my dad took the wreath down about 10 pounds of nuts fell to the ground…lol.
BJ, that is an adorable story! What a smart squirrel!!
Hope it’s ok to enter my favorite teacher (out until tomorrow due to broken ribs!!!): Kate Bucklin. She is a 5th grade teacher at Stratham Memorial School in NH, and is such a wonderful person, enthusiastic and encouraging teacher, actively involved with her students, and all around cool gal!
My favorite wildlife encounter was just after my youngest arrived home from Ethiopia. We were taking a walk near Mirror Lake here in NH and saw a tiny bear cub running around in the sunshine. My two daughters were completely amazed and will remember it forever. 🙂
Beth, tiny bear cubs are on my photography bucket list! In fact, Cooper’s fourth adventure is just an idea at this point, but bear just might be the wildlife encounter he has.
Just have Kate post a quick hello here under your post and we’ll get her entered! I sure hope she’s feeling better . . .
I am the library manager at Poinciana Elementary School in Key West, FL. My favorite wildlife encounter happened while my friend, Jane, and I were paddle boarding in the bay at sunrise. A curious lone dolphin swam beneath and between our boards several times. A magical experience in the calm quiet stillness beneath a beautiful pink sky.
Wow! Yvette, that is an amazing image! As someone who lives for her early morning kayak trips to photograph loons and eagles, I am envious of your dolphin sighting! Thanks for sharing!
Most of my childhood memories center around camping with my family and friends. I look forward to sharing this story with my daughter and my third grade class. Winning this contest would be amazing. Thanks for sharing. I will be sharing on our classroom Facebook page and Twitter account.
JoDell Warren
Carrie Ricker School
Litchfield, ME
JoDell, thank you! 🙂
I was visiting my little sister in California and we went for a walk through the neighborhood at dusk. We saw a flower garden in one yard and we leaned way over from the sidewalk to get a sniff of the beautiful flowers, when out popped a skunk! Just like Flower in Bambi! We started to walk tippy-toe away, but the little skunk was right behind us on the sidewalk. So we walked a little faster, and the little skunk walked faster, too. We crossed the street. We looked behind us. The little skunk crossed the street. We thought we could escape this cute little ball of black and white fur, especially when we saw lawn sprinklers up ahead, full blast! My sister and I raced thru the sprinklers, and the little skunk went right through them too! We outlasted the little skunk without getting sprayed. This all happened very fast. We were laughing all the way!
Tamra, I am a teacher and I know some fifth graders in Wisconsin who would love to read these books!
Jamie, I wonder if he was a pet???? I was giggling at the thought of you and your sister running through a sprinkler with the skunk close behind! Thank you for sharing!
My favorite wildlife encounter happened when I was seven. My mom took me to Baxter State Park. She woke me up early and we hiked to Sandy Stream Pond. As we sat on a huge granite rock we heard breaking branches behind us. Out came a HUGE bull moose. He didn’t see us. He crossed right in front of us! He was so close my mom didn’t dare snap a picture. It was the coolest thing!
Thanks for the chance to share. We’ll have your book on our Facebook page.
my favorite wildlife encounter happened when my sons were 6 and 7 years old. We were outside in our back yard which is in the southern end of a big city. We were just getting ready to go outside and read in our hammock when I looked out the window to see a horse in the back yard . Well we don’t own a horse so that seemed really strange. Then one of the boys shouted ” it’s a moose mom, it’s a moose!” Well we don’t own a moose either so that was quite an exciting day! Being that close to wildlife in our own backyard made us feel so very blessed to have an open field that seemed inviting. Since then we occasionally see wild turkeys, deer, and of course skunks, possums, and groundhogs; however we have never been as surprised as the day we had a moose as a “pet” for a few moments in time!
Lee, how exciting to have so many wildlife encounters in your own backyard. 🙂
Hello! My name is Erin and I teach 4th grade in NH. My sons and I like to watch for what we call the “evidence” that squirrels leave behind (empty acorn shells, half-eaten bits, etc.). We always comment on how messy they are. One cold winter, my husband had trouble starting his truck. He brought it to a mechanic, who discovered that the squirrels had socked away a ton of acorns in the air-intake box! Talk about evidence….
Erin, that’s very cool! (the evidence part, not the truck trouble! ) 🙂 I once took a nature walk at a local Wildlife Park, and the woman there would call the evidence, when it sat on a stump or rock, a “dinner table”.
I like leading a storywalk in the woods, walking and reading aloud as we reach each page.
Very cool, Pamela! The teacher who’s class I work in, loves to do a shelter building unit, and once the shelter is built, we sit outside in it during read-aloud – the most magical space I’ve ever read in.
I am a k-12 librarian in Yarmouth, ME and I think that your books are great, and the way that you engage readers is wonderful. I have seen you present at conferences and think you’d be quite the hit at my school. My funniest, or at least most ironic, wildlife encounter was nine years ago. I somewhat begrudgingly moved to Maine with my husband from suburban Massachusetts, where I spent most of my life. I made him promise not to settle me “up in the woods somewhere in Maine.” Our first trip back to MA, a few weeks after we’d moved, was to the overly-developed and highly-populated city of Newton. We were driving to meet friends at a tavern when two majestic deer stepped out in front of our car! It was the first time in my life that I saw deer “in the wild”. We marveled at them as they moved off into the night. Now, I LOVE the woods anywhere in Maine though I still have rarely seen deer “in the wild”.
Oh my goodness? Newton? My daughter is now living out your way. 🙂 She’ll be glad to know she can still find wildlife in that area.
Thanks for sharing, Jill! Your name is entered.