New Welcome Sign on Calderwood Island
 

Calderwood Island, just off of North Haven Island in the East Penobscot Bay, is a narrow island with rocky beaches, stone cliffs, spruce forests, and large open areas covered in juniper shrubs. Arriving to the island, it is not unusual to find harbor seals hauled out on nearby ledges.

Harbor Seals Harbor Seal
 

In the summer of 2015, we were surprised to find large areas of the island burned; we eventually learned that this was part of a series of controlled burns implemented by the Maine Heritage Trust to reduce the amount of juniper shrubs that have overtaken open areas, and to allow native plants to thrive. The picture below shows signs of new growth emerging from the charred landscape.

   New Growth Emerging from the Charred Landscape
 

Further efforts toward this end have included adding three resident sheep: Cracker, Barrel, and Jack. Cracker and Barrel (both ewes) are the light-colored sheep, while Jack (a ram) is the brown sheep.

Cracker, Barrel, and Jack
 

The sheep surprised us by coming down to the edge of the beach to graze, just as we were leaving the island.

Cracker, Barrel, and Jack New Ewe on Calderwood Island
 

Having sheep on the island is not new; while there is no known history of permanent residents on the island, the Calderwood family previously used the island for sheep grazing, and the addition of Cracker, Barrel, and Jack mark a nostalgic return to the island's history.