Do you have some items, people, or anything else to be thankful for in 2024? I sure do.
With apologies to Lizzy BB: “Let me count the ways.”
For some strange reason, I have been…
Columns
The holiday deals have already begun, but not all those great deals you see online are legit. The start of the online holiday shopping season means that online scams intensify with it.Here are the…
A Bird's Tale
How many Maine people know, we wonder, that there are two species of cormorant that occur regularly in the state? If they do know that both double-crested cormorants and great cormorants occur…
Salt ’n Spar
Presidential campaigns just aren’t what they used to be. Listen, campaigning using television, radio, social media, telephone calls and knocking on doors are child’s play compared to…
Joe's Journal
Fox News said it, so it must be true. Right?
It was said by the slick-haired talker on a roundtable chat show that hurls smarmy insults at Democrats, college grads, educators, and most…
Where It’s At
Have you been to see the 2024 Art in the Square at Boothbay Region Art Foundation? My advice: Get there for yourself and any art lovers on your holiday, birthday, or "just because" lists. Fifty-…
The sun might be shining on solar energy, but buyers beware – costly solar panel scams could leave you in the dark with massive loans and higher bills. Here’s what you need to know to stay in the…
A Bird's Tale
It’s pretty bizarre by any standard: a bird species of the southwestern U.S., Mexico, and the Greater Antilles appearing in numbers in late fall in…
Joe's Journal
Once upon a time, in the great city known as Chicago, a black lawyer named Harold Washington was elected mayor. It was 1983, a time of major political and racial change for that city. Washington…
The next public supper will be Nov. 20. The menu will consist of cheese soup, herb rolls, salad, roast turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, peas, squash, and pumpkin cheesecake. The cost is $…
Joe's Journal
Sitting at my desk on Sunday, I can’t tell you who will win the presidential election. If you spent time reading the newspapers, watching the paid pundits on the morning chat shows, and scrolled…
Two Spoons: On Eating in Midcoast Maine
New England boys know a thing or two about road trips, and apparently…
A Bird's Tale
The city of Cali, nestled as it is in the green valley between two mountain chains in southern Colombia, is incredibly busy this week. That’s because Cali is the host of a meeting of most of the…
Joe's Journal
I am not going to echo the great Heather Cox Richardson and present you a long and detailed essay, with appropriate historical annotation, telling you who you should vote for on Nov. 5 (or earlier…
'Round Town
Madisyn and Hayden, grandchildren of Garry Blackman, learned to play instruments at Southport Central School. They both learned to play the ukulele and Hayden added the piano. For Garry, an…
Garden Club of Wiscasset’s next meeting will be Nov. 7. We are excited to have as our presenter Dr. Irene Brady Barber, who previously was director of land conservation at Coastal Maine Botanical…
The next public supper will be Nov. 6. The menu will consist of pumpkin soup, salad, Anadama rolls, baked beans, ham, cole slaw and apple crisp a la mode. The cost is $10 for members and $12 for…
A Bird's Tale
There are many ways to enjoy the outdoors. We birders often do that by hiking a trail through a forest, strolling a boardwalk over a bog or marsh, or perhaps scanning an open field or the ocean…
Joe's Journal
"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes—and ships—and sealing-wax—
Of cabbages—and kings.”
(From Lewis…
'Round Town
It’s a good thing the weather gods in our neighborhood have been considerate of late because the last rain we had motivated me to repair a big section of roof that I have put off for too long. It…
The next public supper will be Nov. 6. The menu will consist of pumpkin soup, salad, Anadama rolls, baked beans, ham, cole slaw, and apple crisp a la mode. The cost is $10 for members and $12…
Joe's Journal
Well, dear readers, despite distractions, like another hurricane and the sight of the northern lights in our backyards, the calendar says Election Day is just three weeks away. Some folks are…
'Round Town
Captain Bill Campbell has worked on the waters in and around Boothbay Harbor for 50 years.
He started with Captain Bob Fish at the age of 15 on the Maranbo II, then operating as…
Community of Hope
Voting empowers citizens to choose candidates they feel will best represent their vision of a just society. It is a basic human right. For victims of domestic abuse, basic freedoms and liberties…
When it comes to fraud, knowledge is power. But how can we spread that knowledge so more people are empowered to protect themselves?
…
Joe's Journal
Well, kiddies, did you watch the great vice presidential debate?
Who won? Was it JD, the best-looking veep candidate since J. Danforth Quayle? Or your rumpled old Uncle Timmy, the friendly…
'Round Town
Jim Jellison, resident interesting person, never imagined growing an 800-pound pumpkin. It was not his life’s goal nor a project he had ever investigated. He just did it because he could and…
A Bird's Tale
To most birders in the U.S., a roseate tern is a special bird that takes some effort to see. They can be seen regularly in only a few places where they nest in the United States. Roseate terns…
The next public supper will be Oct. 16. The menu will consist of Borscht (Beet Soup), Salad, German Rye Bread, Knockwurst/Bratwurst, German Red cabbage (Rotkohl) & Apples, Spaetzle, Broccoli…
Where It's At
This summer I received a copy of a memoir written by a man who had been a member of a small band that was part of the original stage production of “The Rocky Horror Show.” Martin Fitzgibbons was…
Joe's Journal
The other day, my landline rang and, as usual, I just sat in my favorite chair and let it ring.
It was about 10 a.m. The time I usually hear a disembodied voice asking for money for a worthy…
'Round Town
What do you think these fellows have in common? It’s not their hairstyles or their fancy clothing. It’s not their magnetic personalities. It’s not because they all get up at 5 a.m., and it’s not…
Salt ’n Spar
Nine years ago, I first told you about Wiscasset’s Eaton Farm Preserve, a part of Chewonki Foundation’s Back River Trail System. Bo, my dog and I returned there recently to see how the network of…
A Bird's Tale
Author’s Note: This column was written from Jeff’s perspective following a recent work-related trip to Newfoundland.
Ever since Nanny and Grandfather Chase returned from their one…
The next public supper will be Oct. 16. The menu will consist of borscht (beet soup), salad, German rye bread, knockwurst/bratwurst, German red cabbage (rotkohl) and apples, spaetzle, broccoli and…
It’s hard to believe that we could have repeated our amazing Wharton Point good luck from last month but, somehow, we did. We ran a series of errands in and around Brunswick and, without…
Research shows that people who are familiar with how a scam works are 80% less likely to engage in it, but how can you stay up to speed when criminals are constantly changing their tactics? One…
The next public supper will be Oct. 2. The menu will consist of turkey Soup, pumpkin dinner crescent rolls, salad, beef tips over noodles, green beans, and mocha chocolate cake.
The cost…
’Round Town
I think that “Woodstock” was the zenith of my tie dye exposure, for those who remained under exposed. The over exposed shall remain nameless. It was sort of the hey day of personal expression and…
Joe’s Journal
I recently got a message from a faithful reader known as the Duchess of Day’s Ferry. She wondered why, given the election season, I was ignoring Ms. Pigette.
Many readers and summer…
TEST1-6-1 - Winter is upon us and with temperatures plummeting in many areas, keeping the heat on is critical — a fact that fraud criminals try to take advantage of. Each winter, utility scams…
