Many signs winter grip loosening

Here’s something you can ponder: A group of geese on the ground is a gaggle; a group of geese in the air is a skein.

And something else I never twigged to: Wet birds do fly at night. Last week when loading kayaks on the trailer behind Old Town High School where several of us had spent the evening honing or developing skills (in my case making a valiant attempt at both), I heard the distinctive honking of a skein of geese overhead. I strained my eyes trying to see them in the darkness, but to no avail.

It was enlightening, however, to learn that geese fly at night (I didn’t know that, don’t ask me why), and even more thrilling to know the geese were returning – yet another sign that winter is losing its grip. Who knows, by May we could have open water…

In anticipation of that, I spent all of last Sunday trying to make my kayak look new again and be ready for the coming paddling season. I removed deck bungees, safety lines, skeg line, and recessed deck fittings – basically clearing the deck for some serious polishing and cleaning. I used a light rubbing compound trying to remove scratches in the gelcoat (I did better making the ends of my fingers smooth), then polished the whole mess with wax. It’s not perfect, but it sure does shine!

Putting the perimeter safety lines back on proved to be a real challenge. They are tight when in place and kept there by a simple overhand knot in the ends of the line, which jam against the deck fittings. Trouble is, there is very little stretch in the line and not much there to tie into a knot. Two pairs of Vice Grips, some tugging, and grunting eventually gave me just enough slack to tie the knot and a vow not to tackle that task again.

As dusk settled in I hung the boat in the garage with hopes that I’d be taking it out real soon to explore some new waters.

The next day at work I received the April issue of the magazine Cruising World, and wouldn’t you know it inside was an article, complete with pictures, on “The Professional Way to Restore Gelcoat Shine.” This involved a lot more aggression than I’d have used on my kayak, but large sailboats have a much thinner gelcoat, I’m sure. The described procedure involved a variable-speed, random-orbit sander, wet sanding with 800-grit and finer paper, buffing with an electric buffer, lambs wool pad and rubbing compound, then finally waxing.

While I was wearing my fingers a little shorter, a couple of my paddling friends were out enjoying a sunny rendezvous in Camden. Karen Francoeur of Orono and Andrea Iverson of Washington met for coffee and a hike.

I’ll let Francoeur tell you a little about the day from her journal. (See if their experience compares to yours).

“Spring was in the air on Sunday and everyone and everything was out savoring the sweet fresh air of it. Our day of wonder began as we sat having coffee in town. Looking out the window, Andrea noticed something green floating on the breeze. Retrieving it, she discovered it was a $20 bill! The positive energy of spring was clearly in the air! Spring was evident the moment we drove into the Camden Hills State Park parking lot. Couples, friends and families with children were preparing for a romp in the woods lightly clad in spring attire. Some chose the road while others began [their hike] along the snow and ice covered trail.”

I don’t know about you, but with my luck that green thing floating in the air would have been a bill for $20.

“Our first sure sighting of spring was a large morning cloak butterfly, perched on a log slowly fanning its gracefully yellow lined black wings. We continued on to the first overlook where we stopped to explore the view of the bay and name its many islands sharing stories of our paddling adventures to many of them. As we ate, we were greeted to an aerial show of the returning migration journey of several groups of turkey vultures, two red-tailed hawks, and a broad wing hawk, all enjoying the warm spring thermals that the exposed rock created. Reclining on the rocks, looking into the sky, we noticed Venus emerge as a bright dot in the daylight brightness.”

She goes on to tell about a barefoot teen and groups of folks relaxing on the rocks in the sun, a hairy woodpecker and the screech of a pileated woodpecker, icy snow melt running in a stream, a “fat, happy robin … a meadow lark, with its remarkable bright yellow chest with black in the center, pulling a worm from the soft dirt … a purple finch” joining in the chorus with its quieter melody and flock after flock of grackles or redwings migrating north together. Later in the Castine area, she reported, a couple of deer bounded into the woods as she passed, a flock of Canada geese passed overhead, and an owl swooped across the road just in front of her Jeep.

How’s that for a bit of uplifting proof that spring really is trying to make a comeback?

From the mailbag come the following invitations:

Maine Audubon is seeking volunteers to survey frogs (you get a little clipboard and a packet of flies to offer as rewards to those who answer your questions). Actually, you’ll be asked to note the sounds of frogs from early spring through midsummer during three roadside surveys for the Maine Amphibian Monitoring Project which began in 1997 as a collaboration between Audubon and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. There are 60 road routes where volunteers will gather information on spring peepers and wood frogs, American toads, and northern leopard and pickerel frogs as well as gray tree, green, mink, and bullfrogs.

Volunteers are needed for routes in North Lebanon, South Parsonsfield, Wiscasset, Brooksville, Bethel, West Paris, Corea, Ellsworth, Deblois, Wesley, Sebec Lake, Springfield, Moose Mountain (Bald Mountain Township), Penobscot Lake, Patten, Advent Swamp (west of Bridgewater), Musquacook Lake, and Chapman.

Call Susan Gallo at 781-2330, extension 216, for more information.

Friends of Acadia is looking for volunteers on April 24 to spend the morning (8:30-11:30) celebrating Earth Day by picking up trash along the roadsides in Mount Desert Island. Last year 290 people cleaned along 74 miles of roads on MDI, in Trenton, and at Schoodic picking up 762 bags of trash.

The Friends group is asking local businesses and organizations to designate a volunteer group leader who will lead the effort to recruit staff, family, and friends and to lead these folks in an effort to clean up a mile or two of roadside. Friends of Acadia will supply safety vests, garbage bags, and T-shirts for all who volunteer. And (here’s the kicker for those of us who can’t pass up a free meal) you get lunch at the Hellman’s Great American Picnic at MDI High School.

Contact Mike Staggs or Marla Major at 288-3340 to sign up or for more information.

While you’re in the mood, why not join Starbucks employees and customers from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Ferry Beach Society’s annual Canoe-a-thon on May 9 when they’ll canoe and clean up the Saco River. You are asked to bring your own canoe or kayak and will enjoy a complimentary breakfast before the cleanup and a barbecue and raffle following your efforts. Starbucks Coffee will donate $10 per hour per volunteer (up to $1,000) assisting in this cleanup effort. No preregistration is required, simply show up on site. For more details visit www.starbucks.com.

Baxter State Park is celebrating spring with a cleanup of Park Headquarters grounds on April 22. And then, from 9 a.m. to noon on May 1, the park will hold its third annual BSP Roadside Litter Patrol. Building on last year’s success, this year’s goal is to cover the 20 miles of road from Millinocket to the park’s south entrance. If you want to volunteer for the fun, call 723-9616. There’s a barbecue lunch for all afterward.

And lastly (but certainly not least-ly) if you paddle, why not consider taking a basic navigation course designed for sea kayakers? This Level 1 course is being offered in three sessions by Karen Francoeur of Castine Kayak Adventures (the nature lover featured above). If you’re headed out on our waters, you owe it to yourself to learn how to use simple tools that allow you to navigate from the deck of your boat.

Enhance your ability to use a compass, read charts, and understand how to determine your location, some trip planning basics, and then some practical application on boats in the water. Paddling experience is necessary. The class is offered May 5, 11, and 16. Call Castine Kayak Adventures at 866-3506 for more information.

Jeff Strout can be reached at 990-8202 or by e-mail at jstrout@bangordailynews.net.