Bird sightings

We’ve heard from Joan Ashley about the birds she saw in her latest visit to Kettle Cove, Cape Elizabeth. She saw several brants again (we have written about them), and, when she walked up on the grassy path beside the beach, she looked over at the cove and was delighted to see several killdeer, of the plover family. Our Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds gives this description, and a picture of a killdeer:

“Robin-sized. Brown above and white below, with two black bands on the breast and a blackish bill. In flight, tail appears bright rufous. Often bobs its head. Voice: Clear kill-DEEE, repeated endlessly. Range: Breeds from British Columbia and Newfoundland south to the West Indies, Mexico and Peru. Winters regularly from New Jersey and Ohio southward. This is probably our most familiar shorebird. Not only is it abundant and conspicuous, but its loud call compels attention.”

The picture was fascinating. I must get out to Kettle Cove soon and hope to find killdeer there. I thank Joan for her reports. She really knows her birds.

Some scenes of America’s parklands

We attended another of the Maine Charitable Mechanic Associations’ travelogue lectures March 23, “America’s Parklands,” a tour of 24 of our national parks as filmed by Gray Warriner. The parks were mainly in the scenic West, with a few elsewhere.

Warriner’s photography is outstanding, and includes flowers, birds, and views of the fascinating and huge rock formations we don’t see here in the East. It was an excellent show.

Warriner grew up hanging around the set of the TV series “Sea Hunt,” for which his father was one of the principal divers, in charge of safety. He has a business creating films for many national and state parks, to run at the visitor centers. What we saw was largely cut and pasted clips of those films.

His technical skills and equipment are top notch, and everything was beautifully shot, well lighted and sometimes stunning.

At the New River Gorge in West Virginia, which he said is the second oldest river on Earth, people are permitted to bungee-jump and parachute off an old railroad trestle. It’s also the most popular white-water rafting in the world.

At the Everglades in Florida, created in 1948 in part as a preserve for dwindling alligator and crocodile populations, there’s a tragedy little talked about: Despite its wildness, runaway development of the rest of Florida has drastically cut the teeming bird life once seen there to only 8 percent of the numbers there when the park opened.

At Crystal River in Florida, manatees – “sea cows” whose closest living relative is the elephant – still swim, though 200 out of the 2,000 left are killed by boat strikes every year.

Badlands National Park’s strikingly eroded hills and gullies, with 225 feet between highest hill and deepest cut, are as scenic as far more monumental parks with thousands of feet between canyons and clifftops.

Guadelupe Mountains National Park in West Texas is an outlier of the Rockies, high peaks in the middle of dry, flat desert, and the mountain snows provide water that makes it an oasis. It was the private playground of a Mr. Pratt, a founder of Humble Oil, and the family gave it as a park.

At Point Lobos National Park on the Big Sur coast of California, the massive surf on rocks looked like some places in Maine, gulls included. One shot of a mother sea otter there, lying on her back in the calm water as her pup lounged across her belly, was especially touching. Fishermen thought otters competed for the dwindling sardine catch, and used to club the pups to death. Only 50 otters remained when they were finally protected.

Redwood National Park in California was established in the 1960s as loggers raced to cut the last of the redwoods, the world’s tallest trees at 370 feet. What remains is 4 percent of what once stood.

It’s not a national park, but Warriner showed us some air photos of Mount St. Helens and the dead trees still standing in part of the 50 square miles its eruption destroyed. Warriner was on the mountain, filming it for a Seattle TV station, the day before it blew.

Olympic National Park in Washington has a large number of rare plants and animals. The Olympic mountains stopped the glaciers and turned them out to sea, where they carved Puget Sound.

Warriner showed many Indian cliff dwellings in the Southwest, including a 90-foot-high, nine-story tower house, “the first skyscraper.”

Dinosaur National Monument, with wonderful river scenery as well, would have been under 500 feet of water had the Sierra Club not given tours to congressmen, who consequently voted down an Eisenhower Administration plan to dam it.

At Glacier Bay in Alaska, a driftwood stump on the shore is over 100,000 years old. It is among things that have melted out of the glaciers, which have receded 45 miles since the first steamships arrived there.

There are two more lectures in this year’s Mechanic series, one Monday, April 6, on Sweden, and one on April 27 on Africa and China. They are at 7:30 p.m. in the Catherine McAuley auditorium, Stevens Avenue, Portland. The Mechanics welcome potential new members to come see them, at no charge.

A century of Grange

What a nice celebration North Scarborough Grange had on March 16 for its 100th anniversary (1909-2009), with several people from other Granges attending, too. Before the meeting, everyone was treated to a nice feed, real Grange cooking.

Words of welcome were given by Master Adrian Griffin. The Grange officers were introduced, and Stanley Douglas read the history of North Scarborough Grange No. 495.

State Master James Owens spoke. Eugene Libby sang “Always” beautifully.

Those present sang “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” and “Blest Be The Ties That Bind.” Debbie Ivers sang, also beautifully, “Let There Be Peace on Earth.”

On the Anniversary Committee were Stanley Douglas, Barbara Griffin, Martha Varney and Beatrice Straw.

This Grange, like many others in Maine, has seen the number of members decline. North Scarborough is looking for new members.

Recipe rerun

Today’s recipe is one we used last year, in September. We’re repeating it this soon as Phyllis Bailey of Westbrook has asked for a repeat. She had lost her recipe, and perhaps other readers would like to try it too.

APPLE BROWN BETTY

2 cups soft bread crumbs

A?1?4 cup margarine (surely butter in old times)

3 cups apples, sliced (they need not be peeled, says the author)

1?2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

A?3?4 cup water

In a skillet, saute the bread crumbs in the margarine (or butter). Add apples, sugar, cinnamon and water. If the skillet is oven-proof, cover and put it in the oven. If the skillet is not oven-proof, transfer apple mixture to a greased casserole dish. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes, until apples are translucent and tender. If mixture becomes too dry during baking, add A?1?4 cup water. Serves 4 or 5 people.

The author writes, “Apple Brown Betty is a less complicated dessert, probably more popular among the ordinary folk than the aristocracy. Its simplicity makes it perfect for today’s tastes.” This was from a collection of Colonial-era recipes.