|
|
JOIN US!
Call for Artists: Paint for Preservation 2015
The Cape Elizabeth Land Trust has begun accepting artist submissions for our eighth annual
Paint for Preservation, to be held Sunday, July 12th. Our juried Wet Paint Auction,
|
| |
Jordan's Farm, by Colin Page, from our 2014 event
|
held that evening, is one of Maine's premier art events, and will be hosted this year at Garrison Field, a seaside estate in Cape Elizabeth, overlooking Pulpit Rock.
On the day of the event, juried artists will paint on site at designated public and private locations chosen to highlight Cape Elizabeth's natural beauty. The public is invited to watch participating artists work on location. That evening, the newly painted artwork will be auctioned at a cocktail reception. Proceeds from the event benefit the Land Trust's ongoing 'Saving Cape's Great Places' initiative.
The deadline for artists' submissions is Friday, March 27th; more information is available on our website.
|
|
Two Fun Events Planned for March - Please Join Us!
 Feeling a bout of 'cabin fever' coming on? CELT has two remedies for you this March. On Thursday evening, March 19th, we'll be hosting another of our very popular 'Owl Walks,' led by our own local wildlife experts, Lisa Gent and Erika Rhile. We'll start off the evening (7 p.m.) with slides and recordings of owl calls, then carpool to several sites (Robinson Woods, Crescent Beach), and using an audiotape of owl calls, we'll try to locate owls by sound and sight. Visit our Events page for details.
On Tuesday, March 24th, CELT will be the beneficiary of Elsmere  BBQ's nonprofit night. From 4-9 p.m., a percentage of food purchases (in-house or takeout) will benefit the Land Trust! For more information, visit our website and Elsmere BBQ's site, where you can see menus and get directions. (Elsmere BBQ is on Cottage Rd. in South Portland.)
We have other events already planned for this spring - stay up to date through our Events page or the Land Trust Facebook page.
|
|
Property Profile: Trundy Point
The origin of the name for Trundy Point is believed to trace back to George Trundy, born in 1805. After receiving an inheritance from his father, George moved to Cape Elizabeth to claim several hundred acres in the area now known as the Shore Acres neighborhood. George built his house near the point on what was, at the time, a remote stretch of oceanfront. Through the years, the surrounding area has undergone a near complete transformation, though the point itself has remained largely unchanged for generations.
In 2008, the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust was able to conserve the property after many decades of  debate regarding the suitability of the property for a residential structure (including one proposal to build a house on stilts) and generations of casual access by neighbors. The property owner, Paul Coulombe, donated Trundy Point to CELT, to ensure that its natural beauty would be conserved, and also that public access would be maintained in perpetuity. Rarely has CELT been the recipient of such a generous gift, nor has the town been so fortunate to secure an intact seven-acre oceanfront property for public use. Gifts like Trundy Point are exceedingly unusual and we are forever grateful for the commitment and vision of the Coulombe family and the Cape Elizabeth community.
The property offers commanding views atop the 'point,' or outcropping of rock, jutting into the Atlantic. Visitors can see five different lighthouses, including a dramatic view of the Portland Head Light down the bay. The property also features a sheltered pocket beach ideally situated for picnicking and swimming.
To learn more about Trundy Point, visit our Trails and Properties page on our website or view an interactive trail map of the property here.
|
|
First G raders Explore Great Pond Trails
The intense amount of snowfall we've received provided for a true winter exploration experience for our youngest naturalists recently, when our first graders trekked into Great Pond for their annual winter woodland walks.
CELT's Lisa Gent and Suzanne McGinn talked with students about seasonal wildlife and how plants and animals adapt to the cold temperatures and snow cover.
In this photo, children were recreating a 'deer den'; vital winter shelter for our four-footed friends.
|
|
Watching Wildlife in Our Own Backyards
Last year on Valentine's Day, instead of chocolates and flowers, my husband gave me a wildlife camera.* (How romantic!) We immediately set it up by our compost pile in the garden. It's been a great way to see the wildlife that visits our yard. Deer love to nibble at our broccoli. Squirrels and crows tend to trigger the camera during the day. Once a small field mouse was caught on camera.
My favorite is the almost-nightly visits of a fox (in photo). She(?) models for the camera quite often,  and we find her footprints whenever we have a fresh coating of snow. Her antics have been entertaining us for over a year; her den must be nearby. Our camera has caught her unimpressed with a raccoon visiting the garden simultaneously, jumping on prey, and whisking away (only her fluffy tail in the picture). We got a chuckle out of a succession of photos of her relieving herself directly in front of the camera - was this her way of letting us know how she felt about our photos?
We've moved the camera around, for example, trying to catch our hummingbirds at their feeder. Maybe they were too fast, since the resulting photos are all of the side of the feeder, but no birds. Finding the right spot can be difficult: our son's bus (over the rose hedge), the baby's swing in the wind, and our neighbor's dog raiding the compost bin have all set the camera off. But overall, it's been a great way to catch wildlife in action.
Erika Rhile
CELT Board Member and Education Committee Chair
*Search "trail camera" on Amazon; many choices come up. We went with an affordable model that offered infrared photos at night. Ours takes only photos when motion is sensed, but other models can take videos.
|
|
From our Executive Director...
The past several weeks of relentless snow blanketing the northeast have been to many, a lesson in adaptation to our environment. For much of the year we're able to travel about as we please without the need for a strategy to complete simple tasks, whereas lately simple tasks sometimes require herculean effort. This too shall pass, and in the wake of towering snow banks and buried mailboxes, our normal routines will surely resume.
|
| |
Winter in Robinson Woods by Claudia Dricot
|
So for now, enjoy this magical transformation of our familiar landscapes and consider not only our own resilience, but that of our natural environment, which seems to have solved the problem of adaptation some millennia ago.
The resilience of our natural systems are - after all - one of the many reasons the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust works so hard to preserve natural areas for the enjoyment of this, and future generations. Climactic variations and extremes demand flexbility, and the 29 properties we have preserved contribute to our local environment's ability to 'weather the storm'.
We encourage you to get out on the trails and enjoy these beautiful places, in all their white winter glory!
All our best,
Chris Franklin
Executive Director
Willa Antczak
Membership & Development Manager
(Thank you C.A. McCusker for sharing your photo of Jordan's Farm, in our masthead.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
