Category Archives: Massachusetts

WMEO Breaking News from the Nature Desk- Baby Raccoon Rescued

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2 cats acting as anchors for the WMEO news room, one orange and one black

🐾 WMEO 9 – BREAKING NEWS ALERT

Baby Raccoon Rescued on Cape Cod

From the Nature Desk — We Meow, You Listen

Banner (opening): Good evening, viewers. Banner here at the WMEO Nature Desk with another summer headline from Cape Cod — and this time, it’s all about one very determined baby raccoon who found himself in a storm drain and in need of a hero squad.

 When animal lovers reported the trapped raccoon, Team Raccoon assembled fast — Fire & Rescue, Police, and Public Works all converged on the scene. It was a full‑scale operation for one tiny trash panda.

Balboa: And when even this elite squad couldn’t free the little guy, they didn’t give up. Nope. They removed the entire storm drain and transported it — raccoon and all — straight to the medical staff at the Cape Wildlife Center. That’s what I call VIP service.

Rescue workers wearing gloves carefully work to free a baby raccoon whose head is stuck through a metal storm drain grate, with tools, a traffic cone, and a vehicle visible in the background.

Image: Cape Cod Wildlife Center

Large yellow plastic container of Wellsley Farms canola oil with a green-and-white label showing product details such as “100% Pure,” “Cholesterol Free,” and “5 Quarts.”Banner: At the Wildlife Center, veterinarians used modern rescue techniques to safely free him. After sedating the baby raccoon, they applied canola oil and wrapped him in garbage bags to gently ease him out of the grate.

Balboa: Canola oil and garbage bags? Banner, that sounds like the start of a delicious recipe. Proper preparation is everything.

📢 Public Service Reminder

Banner: Before we continue, a quick safety note from the Nature Desk —this rescue was  performed by trained professionals. If you ever encounter a trapped or injured wild animal, do not attempt to free it yourself. Call local authorities or a wildlife rescue organization. It keeps you safe, and it keeps the animal safe.

Balboa: Exactly. Leave the storm‑drain extractions — and the questionable cooking techniques — to the experts.

Banner: Despite Balboa’s culinary commentary, we’re happy to report that the baby raccoon is now resting comfortably at the Wildlife Center. He’ll remain under observation, but the rescue was a complete success.

Baby raccoon sitting inside a beige pet carrier lined with a towel and mat, looking out through the open doorway.

Balboa: A round of applause — or paw‑plause — for everyone involved. Teamwork saved a life today.

One ornage cat and 1 black clat signing off the WMEO news room desk

This has been a WMEO Breaking News Alert from the Nature Desk.

We Meow. You Listen.

 

You Know You’re From Massachusetts if:

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A two‑panel meme comparing reactions to snow. The top panel shows cars and trucks stuck on a snowy highway near signs for Birmingham and Tuscaloosa, with the caption “The South be like ‘We’re all gonna die!!!’”. The bottom panel shows a person sitting outside in deep snow while grilling food, with the caption “Meanwhile in Massachusetts ‘How do you want your burger?’”.

Ten Quirky Things Massachusetts People Do

Seasons change, and with the change, folks in Massachusetts swap out habits — at least a little. But some things stay the same no matter the weather. Here are a few more quirks that Massachusetts natives do that make outsiders scratch their heads and wonder how we function.

1. We refuse to turn on the heat until Halloween.

It can be 48 degrees in the house, we’re wearing two hoodies and a blanket, and we still say, “It’s not cold yet.” The thermostat doesn’t move until October 31. It’s tradition and stubbornness and  it’s pride.

2. We save winter parking spots with random household objects.

Shovel out a spot after a storm? Congratulations — it’s yours until spring. And to make sure everyone knows it, we’ll guard it with:

  • a kitchen chair
  • a trash barrel
  • a traffic cone
  • a busted fan
  • or something so weird it becomes a neighborhood landmark

Everyone respects the system. It’s unwritten law.

3. We give directions using landmarks that no longer exist — and we always tell you to “bang a Uey.”

Ask a Massachusetts person how to get somewhere and you’ll hear:

  • “Take a right where the old Friendly’s used to be.”
  • “Go past the building that burned down in ’92.”
  • “Turn left after the Dunkin’ — not that Dunkin’, the other Dunkin’.”

And if you miss the turn? No problem. They’ll say, “Just bang a Uey,” like it’s the most normal driving instruction in the world. ( That’s a U-Turn, legal or not)

4. We call highways by names that haven’t been used in decades.

Nobody says I‑95 or I‑93. Nobody says Route 90.

We say:

  • “The Pike”
  • “The Expressway”
  • “128”
  • “The Artery”
  • “The Braintree Split”

Newcomers think we’re speaking in riddles.

5. We will drive 20 minutes out of the way to avoid paying a toll.

Massachusetts people will zigzag through back roads, hit three rotaries, and add fifteen minutes to the trip just to avoid paying $1.25 on the Pike. And we’ll brag about it like we outsmarted the system.

6. We treat Dunkin’ like it’s a public utility.

There are towns with one Dunkin’ on each corner, and somehow they’re all busy. We don’t ask, “Where’s the nearest Dunkin’?” We ask, “Which Dunkin’ are you going to?”

7. We think rotaries are perfectly normal — and we insist they are rotaries, not roundabouts or traffic circles.

Other states panic when they see one. We glide through them like we’re in a NASCAR warm‑up lap.

And if someone from out of state calls it a “roundabout,” we will correct them immediately. It’s a rotary. It has always been a rotary. It will never be anything but a rotary.

If you hesitate, you’ll get honked at by someone who learned to drive on the Bourne Rotary.

8. We pronounce town names in ways that confuse everyone else.

Gloucester?

Worcester?

Leominster?

Peabody?

We say them like we swallowed half the syllables and decided the rest were optional.

9. We have strong opinions about which Market Basket is “the good one.”

Every region has at least one Market Basket that’s:

  • cleaner
  • faster
  • better stocked
  • less chaotic

And we will drive past three other grocery stores to go to that one.

10. We treat weather like a competitive sport.

If someone says, “It’s cold today,” a Massachusetts person will immediately respond with:

  • “You think this is cold?”
  • “You should’ve been here in ’15.”
  • “This is nothing.”
  • The Blizzard of ’78? That’s nothin’

We don’t just endure weather — we brag about surviving it.

If you’re from Massachusetts, you probably nodded at least once. If you’re not… well, now you know why we are the way we are. We got some wicked , quirky habits. Lets bang a Uey and grab a cuppa iced coffee at that Dunkin up ahead. By the way, where are you from and what quirky habits make your state special?

 

The Green Monster: Fenway’s Most Famous Troublemaker

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A sunset view of Fenway Park with the Green Monster in left field, packed stands, and an outfielder positioned near the wall under warm evening light.

🟢 The Green Monster: New England’s Favorite Wall

If you know the Green Monster, chances are you’re either from New England or you’ve spent enough time in Massachusetts to develop strong opinions about chowder, rotary etiquette, and the Red Sox. And no — it’s not Cookie Monster’s cousin. He’s blue. This one sits proudly in left field at Fenway Park, the oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball. (That’s MLB for anyone still living under a rock.)

🟣 A Wall So Famous Even Presidents Notice

I have no doubt the success — and notoriety — of our beloved Monster hasn’t gone unnoticed by the current president. After all, Boston’s Green Monster is a wall, and for more than a century it has done an excellent job keeping ticketless spectators out of Fenway. It’s iconic, adored, cursed, photographed, and defended with the kind of passion only Red Sox Nation can muster.

Maybe that’s what they’re aiming for with the border wall? A structure people complain about but secretly love? But I digress. Let’s stick with the wall that actually works and doesn’t need congressional hearings to stay upright.

🟢 Why the Monster Exists at All

No other ballpark has anything quite like it — and no other ballpark would embrace such a quirky obstacle with the same enthusiasm.

When Fenway Park was being designed in 1911–1912, the layout of Boston’s streets boxed the left‑field boundary into an unusually short distance — only about 310 feet from home plate. That was far too close for comfort, since routine fly balls could easily sail out onto Lansdowne Street and let people watch the game for free. To fix the problem, the team’s owner, John I. Taylor, decided the only solution was to build a wall tall enough to make that short distance meaningful.

The first version wasn’t the green giant we know today. It was a wooden fence perched on an incline known as Duffy’s Cliff, and for years it was actually more of a dark blue than green. A fire in 1933 destroyed much of Fenway, including the old wall, and the replacement was a steel-and-tin structure that eventually gained the hand‑operated scoreboard still used at its base. It wasn’t painted green — or given its famous nickname — until 1947, when all the advertising signs were removed.

Today, at 37 feet high and only 310 feet from home plate, it remains the tallest outfield wall in Major League Baseball. It turns easy fly balls into doubles, doubles into heartbreak, and occasionally gifts a home run that would be an out anywhere else.

🟣 Pesky’s Pole: Fenway’s Other Trouble Spot

As if the Monster weren’t enough drama, Fenway has another quirk that keeps players humble: Pesky’s Pole, the right‑field foul pole. Balls that might have stayed fair in any other park smack that pole and bounce foul, leaving batters muttering words not fit for family‑friendly broadcasts.

The pole is named for Johnny Pesky — beloved player, manager, coach, and lifelong Red Sox ambassador. Though he wasn’t known for power, he occasionally curled a rare home run around that tight right‑field corner. His teammates teased him about it, calling the pole “Pesky’s Pole,” and the name stuck.

There’s also a quirky little tradition that’s grown around Pesky’s Pole over the years. Fans on Fenway tours often leave their mark by signing the pole — names, dates, quick messages, declarations of Sox loyalty. It started as a bit of harmless mischief, but it became so beloved that it’s now practically encouraged. The grounds crew repaints it from time to time, but the signatures always return. Red Sox Nation is nothing if not persistent.

🟢 Why Red Sox Nation Loves the Chaos

These quirks — the towering Monster, the mischievous foul pole, the unpredictable bounces — are exactly what make Fenway Park so beloved. Red Sox fans are famously rabid, and Fenway’s personality is part of the charm.

So next time you head to the park, remember: You’re stepping into Red Sox Nation. A home run might turn into a double thanks to the Monster. A perfect hit might clang off Pesky’s Pole and go foul.

It’s all part of the extra drama that makes Fenway Park unforgettable.

 

WMEO 9 – GOOD NEWS ALERT- Shell‑ebration on Cape Cod

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🐾 Sea Turtles Released on Cape Cod!

Anchor: Banner, WMEO Nature Desk

A person wearing gloves and a light blue shirt with a logo gently holds a sea turtle near a coastal area, preparing to release it. Several people stand nearby, some taking photos, as part of a wildlife conservation effort to return rehabilitated sea turtles to the ocean.Good evening, viewers. Banner here with a splash of good news straight from the shores of Cape Cod. The New England Aquarium has just released four rehabilitated sea turtles back into the ocean after months of specialized care. That’s right — Dumpling, Jumble, Lucky, and Old English are officially back where they belong: gliding free in the Atlantic!

These Kemp’s ridley sea turtles — one of the most endangered species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act — were rescued last winter after washing ashore cold, weak, and injured. Thanks to the dedicated staff at the Sea Turtle Hospital in Quincy, each turtle received treatment for pneumonia, dehydration, and trauma. Now, they’re healthy, strong, and ready to swim again.

 

Field Correspondent: Balboa, Reporting Live from the Box

Thank you, Banner. Balboa here, tail twitching with excitement! Scientists from the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life have fitted Lucky and Dumpling with tracking tags to monitor their adventures — collecting data on habitat, behavior, and survivorship. And yes, some of these turtles will appear on the Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Tracker, so the public can follow their journey in real time.

That’s right, folks — you can cheer them on from your couch while they paddle toward new horizons. WMEO calls that science with heart.

Banner (closing)

With 38 turtles released this summer, the ocean is feeling a little more hopeful tonight. From the WMEO newsroom, we salute the rescuers, the scientists, and the turtles themselves — proving once again that compassion makes waves.

End of bulletin. Please resume your regularly scheduled purring.

 

WMEO Predictions for Fall- A Great Color Season this Year

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WMEO 9 Newsroom — We Meow, You Listen

Morning Edition: Fall Is Tiptoeing In (Even If the Calendar Says “Simmer Down, It’s Still Summer”)

Yes, technically it’s still summer. Labor Day hasn’t strutted in yet with its “last hurrah” energy, but the back‑to‑school chaos has begun, the A gray squirrel clings to the side of a tree trunk, its bushy tail arched behind it. The squirrel faces to the right, alert and wide‑eyed, with textured bark and soft green foliage in the sunlit background.final BBQs are warming up, and King Richard’s Faire is polishing its turkey legs for opening day on September 5.

Meanwhile, the squirrels have already declared it fall. They’re doing high‑speed acrobatics across the yard like they’re auditioning for Squirrel Cirque du Soleil. Banner and Balboa have filed several complaints with management.

Speaking of complaints…

Balboa’s Breaking News:

There was ONE sunbeam in the entire house this morning. Just one. And Banner took it. He didn’t just take it — he spread out in it like a smug croissant, soaking up every last photon while Balboa sat in the shadows, muttering about injustice and poor resource distribution.

Banner claims it was “first come, first serve.” Balboa claims it was “a hostile takeover.”

We report. You decide.

 

🍁 WMEO Fall Foliage Report 

Banner & Balboa, your feline field correspondents

Picnic anyone

Banner:

Good morning, leaf peepers. Last year’s foliage was… well… meh. Muted colors, blink‑and‑you‑miss‑it peak, and one maple that tried to turn orange but gave up halfway through.

This year? Oh, it’s looking much better. The forests got a long winter soak, and spring melt fed the roots like a spa day.

Balboa:

Also, we had those surprise all‑day rain events this summer. I hated them. My fur hated them. My emotional stability hated them. But apparently the trees loved them, so fine.

Banner:

All that moisture means the woods are primed for bright, dramatic, show‑off leaves that linger longer than last year’s sad attempt.

Balboa:

Red Tree

Watch the maples first — they’re the drama queens of autumn. When they start flashing those bright red leaves, the season has officially begun.

Banner:

We’ll track the color wave as it rolls from Maine down to Rhode Island. Get ready for nature’s grand finale.

Sponsor Message

This Foliage Update is brought to you by VSGO, camera gear for photographers who want clean lenses, crisp shots, and fewer “why is that smudge THERE” moments. 

WMEO Disclosure: Affiliate links ahead. If you buy something, WMEO earns a small commission at no added cost to you.  Banner says it keeps the newsroom lights on. Balboa says it keeps him from staging a coup. Both statements are technically true.

Stay Tuned

More foliage updates coming as the season progresses. Until then, please resume your regularly scheduled scrolling — preferably while sitting in a sunbeam, if you can find one. Balboa cannot.

End of bulletin. Please resume your regularly scheduled scrolling. Banner thanks you for your attention. Balboa would thank you too, but he’s still upset about the sunbeam situation.

Fall leaves