Hello friends and neighbors!

The recent warm spell has been ideal for me to complete some outside projects like painting doors and trim and taking mildew off porches and decks. The deer have been enjoying our vegetables and flowers more than we have this year, so I decided to spray some of that horrible smelling animal repellent on the colorful chrysanthemums that I brought home. We tried putting soap on sticks near the plants as a deterrent to no avail. We shall see if Bambi and his mother leave the mums alone.

I’m looking forward to learning about the history of eight of Westport Island’s accessible cemeteries next Saturday, Sept. 23. Meet at the Old Town Hall at 10 a.m., where members of the Community Association, Cemetery Committee, and History Committee will join you in a driving tour that is expected to last 2½ hours. Free refreshments will follow, and non-perishable food items are always welcome for Helping Hands Food Pantry. For more information, visit www.westportcommunityassociation.org.

In the afternoon, get your shopping done at Ames True Value while helping Team Casco raise funds for their third trip to the World Championship Dock Dog Competition next month! Buy some goodies at the bake sale to support Erin Bailey and her super athletic black lab Casco, who recently broke another personal record by jumping 25”4’ in the Big Air competition! Congratulations and best of luck to these Westport ambassadors!

Nita Greenleaf is one of our local angels. Her sister’s great-niece is a cancer patient who could really use financial support trying to navigate her horrible diagnosis. Nita is planning two bake sales, a bottle drive, and a benefit supper to contribute whatever she can. Please bring any baked items that you can or purchase what you like at Ames True Value on Saturday, Sept. 30, from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. or on Saturday, Oct. 7, at Roger’s Hardware in Bath. You can also drop off any returnables at Nickels Back Redemption Center at 685 Bath Road in Wiscasset for Nita until the end of the month. Details about the benefit supper will follow. For more information on how you can help, contact Nita at 882-7139.

Have you had a chance to visit Westport’s newest land preserve? Are you interested in our feathered friends? Saturday, Sept. 30, as part of this fall’s Great Maine Outdoor Weekend, join local birding enthusiast Robert Carnicella at the Segerstrom Preserve at Squam Creek from 8-10 a.m. to scout for both migrant and resident birds. The Preserve includes field, forest, and wetland habitats and contains a two-mile relatively flat hiking trail that winds along historic cemeteries and cellar holes. The Kennebec Estuary Land Trust received funding from the Land Trust Bird Conservation Initiative to create a bird monitoring program in the Preserve and to promote the use of eBird, an online birding observation tool. Bring binoculars and wear footwear that can get muddy to this free event. You can sign up by calling 442-8400.

The fog is thick as I write today and rain is expected this week. Last week’s sunshine was a welcome respite, yet we do need more rain to catch up. Stay dry and please contact your newshound pat-dick@midcoast.com with news items and upcoming events.