J u ly / A u g u s t 2 0 1 8 6 3 Clockwise from top left:courtesy jada fitch; american emu association; courtesy seattle sounders; maine coast fisherman’s association The Seattle Sounders FC, a professional soccer club based in Washington state, pro- fessed their love and adoration for the city of Portland, Maine, on a billboard they’ve rented in their rival’s hometown–Portland, Oregon. They even have Portland (ME) native and U.S. soccer star Roger Levesque on their side. The Sound- ers and Portland Timbers have been at it since the 1970s, but the “Seattle loves Portland, Maine” billboard was installed ahead of a game, which the Timbers won 3-2. The next game is on August 26th at 3:30 p.m. EST. We know who we’re root- ing for. Diggin’ In Seed Money Wildlife illustrator Jada Fitch, of Addi- son, is taking birdhouses to new heights. She and husband Philipp Willey are behind Home Tweet Home, intricately designed, wooden retreats for our feathered friends. For $99 you can buy one of two models, each adorned with bird portraits framed on the walls. Further evolutions are under dis- cussion. “My husband and I are currently working on a new design that has a chim- ney that you’ll be able to drop the bird seed into, and it will come out the fireplace,” Fitch says. A 19-year-old emu named Ralphie “The Bird” made a break for it at the Rocking T Equine Sanctuary in Lisbon. At five feet, four and weighing in at 100 pounds, this fugitive would be hard to miss, but executive director Janet Tuttle says this isn’t The Bird’s first escape. “This time, she turned around, clawed, and then ran across the river,” Tuttle says. “She swam back and went to visit the neighbors. That’s where we found her.” Re- ally. What have the neighbors got that we haven’t got? A rare sunflower-yellow lobster has been caught off the coast of Maine by the crew of the Short Fuse. Instead of the usual muddy brown shade, the lobster’s shell is a bright, sunflower yellow. The University of Maine Lobster Institute considers it a “one-in-30-million” catch. The Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association says, “The shell color is determined by pigment astaxanthin, which usually creates a brownish green color that turns bright red when cooked, but when it binds with certain proteins it can appear blue or yellow.” Vincent van Gold The Escape Artist