Farm Progress

Commentary: A trip to New England underscores cultural and location differences.

Tom Bechman 1, Editor, Indiana Prairie Farm

August 25, 2018

2 Min Read
DON’T FEED THE WILDLIFE: They technically may be just gulls, not seagulls. But the general public, even in Maine, calls them seagulls.

I recently had the chance to travel through several states on the way to eastern Maine. My wife, Carla, and I chaperoned a team of FFA members competing in a national wildlife contest held near Acadia National Park near Winter Harbor.

Here are signs along roadways and in public places that you won’t likely find in Indiana. They should bring a few chuckles, and give you a feel for the differences in climate and lifestyle.

• Moose crossing. This is a yellow highway sign, similar to “deer crossing” signs you might see here. Except there’s an image of a moose. The wording varies, but the message is clear: You just might find a moose in the road!

Actually, moose are more common in the upper part of Maine. We didn’t see a moose — at least not a live one. We were on the southern edge of the area they call home in the Northeast.

• Don’t feed the seagulls. You need an ocean to see this sign, and Indiana doesn’t have one. This one was spotted on the back of a bench overlooking a rocky shore in southern Maine.

Technically, as pointed out by wildlife experts in Maine, most gulls aren’t really seagulls. They don’t venture far out to the sea at all. “Seagull” has become a popular term to describe many different types of birds that are really just gulls.

• Don’t dump lobster water on the grass. No fooling! It’s a real sign in a pavilion area of the Schoodic Institute, a nonprofit research facility adjoining Acadia National Park which hosted the wildlife event. You can boil lobster there and serve them to guests in the shelter house. You just can’t dump the water on the grass — it’s seawater full of salt.

• Text park ahead. Say what? It’s what it says it is — instead of a rest park with bathrooms and such, it’s just a place along the tollways to pull off and text on your phone. They obviously frown on texting while driving in the states where we traveled. The only vehicle I saw at a text park was a tow truck, obviously waiting for a call for someone who had crashed — possibly while texting!

• Park at home, not in the left lane. OK, that may not be exactly what the electronic signs along interstates and tollways in New England say, but it’s close. They’re quite creative with their electronic signboards for motorists. The message is clear: If you’re going to travel in the left lane, then get a move on and don’t dawdle!

• Watch for plows. These are also yellow highway signs. And they aren’t talking about moldboard plows. The area along Lake Erie on the way to Maine and along the coast in Maine can get incredibly large snowfalls. Snow plows are a way of life. Snow days for schoolkids are not. According to local residents, it takes more than a few inches of snow to catch a school official’s attention.

About the Author(s)

Tom Bechman 1

Editor, Indiana Prairie Farm

Tom Bechman is an important cog in the Farm Progress machinery. In addition to serving as editor of Indiana Prairie Farmer, Tom is nationally known for his coverage of Midwest agronomy, conservation, no-till farming, farm management, farm safety, high-tech farming and personal property tax relief. His byline appears monthly in many of the 18 state and regional farm magazines published by Farm Progress.

"I consider it my responsibility and opportunity as a farm magazine editor to supply useful information that will help today's farm families survive and thrive," the veteran editor says.

Tom graduated from Whiteland (Ind.) High School, earned his B.S. in animal science and agricultural education from Purdue University in 1975 and an M.S. in dairy nutrition two years later. He first joined the magazine as a field editor in 1981 after four years as a vocational agriculture teacher.

Tom enjoys interacting with farm families, university specialists and industry leaders, gathering and sifting through loads of information available in agriculture today. "Whenever I find a new idea or a new thought that could either improve someone's life or their income, I consider it a personal challenge to discover how to present it in the most useful form, " he says.

Subscribe to receive top agriculture news
Be informed daily with these free e-newsletters

You May Also Like