KITTERY, Maine — Have you heard about the herds of cows that have taken up residence around town? They have udderly confounded some people. Is Ben & Jerry's coming to town? Is there going to be a cow parade?

KITTERY, Maine — Have you heard about the herds of cows that have taken up residence around town? They have udderly confounded some people. Is Ben & Jerry's coming to town? Is there going to be a cow parade?



Lawn signs picturing cows have been appearing here, there and everywhere across town in the past week, the clever idea of the Kittery Land Trust to remind residents to vote on its bond measure June 11.



Question 3 on the ballot asks voters to approve a $150,000 bond that will be put toward the purchase of a conservation easement on Rustlewood Farm on Wilson Road.



This is the first open space appropriations request that KLT has put before voters. The purchase and related costs amount to $1 million, and if Question 3 passes, the KLT will be within $80,000 of its goal.



According to KLT Executive Director Christine Bennett, the idea for the cow signs came from a brainstorming session with KLT staff, board members and volunteers.



The lawn signs are a smaller version of the large sign in front of Rustlewood Farm, created by Gordon Carlisle of Eliot.



The signs went out last week, although they were temporarily confiscated by the town's code enforcement officer, who thought they might be an advertising gimmick.



"We were able to tell her that, no, they were ours," Bennett said. "We were able to round them up pretty quickly and get them back out to graze."



"We have a blast with this," she said.



Here are some bovine bullets:



Only 100 signs were made, representing the 100 cows at Rustlewood Farm, the last dairy farm in Kittery. They are grouped together in "herds," and the herds will move in the next week or so leading up to the election. Over the weekend, a slightly larger sign of a cow took its place in the herd, with a thought bubble saying "Vote Yes on 3." After the election, the signs will be auctioned as part of fund-raising efforts toward the easement purchase.