DEAR SUN SPOTS: I am writing to see if anyone has any turkey feathers they don’t want or have found during turkey season. I need the tail and wing feathers — lots of them. 

I am willing to pay for postage. Send to me at P.O. Box 188, 418 Auburn Road, Peru, ME 04290 or call 207-562-8472 or cell, 207-418-0988. — Edith Garvey

ANSWER: Sun Spots trips over turkey feathers all the time, but she never thought to collect them. She will start picking them up for you.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: On Sept. 12 you published a letter from Tommy’s Feral Feline Friends requesting spruce and fir boughs. We use the boughs to make winter homes for the feral cats for which we care. We have found spruce and fir hold up best.

Unfortunately, the response was less than we would have hoped. Does anyone have any boughs we could collect for our cats? Cold weather is rapidly approaching, and the cats will appreciate having a safe, warm place to eat and sleep.

Please call me at 650-8374. Thanks. — Norm Blais, Greene

DEAR SUN SPOTS: Please explain why so many raccoons killed on the road lately. Is it the season? On a road trip from Lewiston to Richmond to Bath I counted nine dead raccoons. Thank you. — Lisbon Resident

ANSWER: This is not the type of question that Sun Spots can really research, but she speculates that it has to do with population levels. If lots of raccoons are born, they have to move around to find new territories for their home range, thus exposing them to vehicle traffic.

Perhaps readers have other theories.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I have a suggestion for the lady who is wanting to know where the chickadees have gone (Oct. 5).

Black oil sunflower wild bird food is an oil-rich, high-protein choice that appeals to almost every seed-eating species, especially smaller birds such as finches and chickadees.

I buy my 40-pound bag of the seed at Tractor Supply and have never been without many species of birds, which I feed year-round.

Hope chickadees come to you. — Judy Lagasse, Wilton

ANSWER: Sun Spots feeds black oil sunflower seeds and still her chickadees vamoosed. Her theory is that the small birds are fleeing the family of hungry ospreys that arrive each spring.

Another possible reason for their absence is offered in the next letter.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: Odd that you should bring up the subject of birds (Oct. 5). At the Fryeburg Fair I was talking with a game warden because we have found four dead crows near our home.

He said not to pick them up or let pets take them or carry them around as they are most likely infected with West Nile virus. He said that the Center for Disease Control used to pick them up to examine them but not anymore.

By the way, there has been abundant feed due to not having a frost yet, and the birds have been staying in the fields and woods. Just this week the blue jays are eating the feeders out of house and home and the chickadees are coming back. — No Name via email

DEAR SUN SPOTS: In response to the Oct. 5 request, organic compost can be obtained from Ralph or Deedee Caldwell at 212-8945 or 754-3871. They had a disastrous and distressing barn fire this month, so I am not sure what their delivery status is at present. — Marilyn Burgess, stocker7@fairpoint.net

This column is for you, our readers. It is for your questions and comments. There are only two rules: You must write to the column and sign your name (we won’t use it if you ask us not to). Please include your phone number. Letters will not be returned or answered by mail, and telephone calls will not be accepted. Your letters will appear as quickly as space allows. Address them to Sun Spots, P.O. Box 4400, Lewiston, ME 04243-4400. Inquiries can also be emailed to sunspots@sunjournal.com

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