It’s been an eventful month here in Maine, considering November is normally a quiet month in off-year elections.

Medicaid expansion won the approval of Maine voters. The legislature will…

Old timers, and some not so old, like to grouse about the changes happening in our little towns. They seem to pine for the “good old days.” Last week, they got their wish.

Starting late…

Even before we moved to Southport in 2001, the Cape Newagen area was a well visited location for me.

Over the years, in all seasons, I have enjoyed the…

Okay, I’m done fooling around. Last week after blabbing on and on about Jud Strunk performing his hit song, “A Daisy a Day,” for a bunch of drunk cowboys out in some backwoods bar in Colorado,…

Last month a new study was released that captured the attention of many science reporters in media outlets around the world. The headlines were usually some variation of: “Bird Feeding Found to Be…

Hello friends and neighbors,

What a wild week it has been for Westport Island and so many folks in New England. By now I hope your power has been restored and your life is returning to…

There is a phrase that the Lyme community uses that has upset the rest of the medical world: Lyme-Literate Doctor. This phrase has been developed and used to specifically highlight those who are…

Back in the day, when I lived at Sugarloaf in the winter and Boothbay Harbor in the summer, part of a group we called “The Route 27 Club,” as Route 27 will take you from Southport directly to…

Sitting in our cold, dark house without heat or electricity, as many Mainers have been doing following the “Halloween storm of 2017,” we’ve found our minds wandering to memories of warm, sunny…

“I thought I looked just smashing in my Wonder Woman Halloween costume. Don’t you agree?” Ms. Pig said the other day as she eyed the tiny Snickers bars scattered on the front seat of my car.…

As October fades into November, I am getting asked questions about Maine’s tick season and I feel strongly about sharing updated information, applying it to what we are dealing with today and not…

With the summer-like temperatures extending so late into the fall, many birds have extended their stays. We’ve also noticed what seems like more birds singing later in the fall then normal. Here…

I think swordfish is my favorite fish. I love haddock. I love tuna. I love halibut. I love salmon. I love mackerel, as long as I don’t have to catch it and cut its…

Last week, Jim Hunt invited me inside his “man cave” to see his ship models.

The first thing I noticed was the “cave” itself.

Now, when I think of a “man cave,” like the basement…

Almost exactly two years ago this fall the image above found its way into my viewfinder shortly after departing Wiscasset airport, in a Cessna “172” puddle jumper. I had a good…

“No one told me that this was going to be difficult. I never fathomed that our primary care doctor would not be able to properly diagnose and treat him. Some days I wish her battle would just end…

Hello friends and neighbors.

Halloween is the only day of the year you can earn a prize for dressing silly or scary! The Westport Community Association is hoping for a good turn out of fun…

Come on out to the next community supper on Wednesday, Nov. 1 featuring lasagna with meatballs, sausage, soup, salad bar and cake for dessert. November birthdays will be celebrated after the meal…

Like most birders we could probably count on one hand the number of northern saw-whet owls we have seen in the wild. Sure, we’ve heard quite a number of them giving their repeated “toot-toot-toot…

It seems like every restaurant in the area has oysters on the menu. For a long time, in the Harbor at least, Ken Brown, seemed to be the only place in town that offered them, just…

Leftovers vs. gourmet dinner, in or out. Cheap vs. expensive. Delicious vs., like, totally awesome. Sitting on the couch, alone vs. in a nice restaurant with friends, or a date. OK, friends.…

Next fall, state officials plan to replace the little hand-operated steel bridge linking Hodgdon Island to Barters Island.

The 86-year-old structure, called a pony truss swing bridge,…

Cool fall weather and the change in colors lends to familiar sounds of frolicking in leaf piles, haunted hayrides and the scent of warm apple pie and hot cider. As a child, I looked forward to…

Hello friends and neighbors!

If you own a dog, it’s time to get it licensed again. Maine law requires dogs to be licensed in their hometown at six months old or within 10 days of ownership…

On Monday, Oct. 23, my colleagues and I will travel back to the State House to convene for a special session that has been called by the governor to address a few specific concerns.

The…

Looking for some good food and happy camaraderie? Look no further than the next community supper on Wednesday, Nov. 1 at 5 p.m. at the Wiscasset Senior Center. The menu for the evening will…

We had the pleasure to give the keynote presentation at the annual meeting of the Stanton Bird Club in Lewiston last week on our new book, Birds of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. We…

Chicken soup: When was the last time you made a big pot full? It's one of those simple things to make, but because it's so simple, I just keep putting it off. “Ah, I can make chicken soup …

Marylouise Cowan, the late owner/publisher of the Boothbay Register, was a buddy of ours who we admired and enjoyed. I'd photograph a party for her now and then or maybe she would…

Last week, I joined Barry Sherman, Jim Singer, and Phil Chapman on a quick trip to Augusta to view a small exhibit based on letters and artifacts from World War I.

Barry, a USMC Vietnam…

Hello friends and neighbors!

Our Voter Registrar and Town Clerk Gaye Wagner reports that she now has the ballots for the state referendum election on Nov. 7. Therefore, you can vote in…

The Wednesday, Oct. 4 community supper featured a New England boiled dinner and we celebrated October birthdays with a yummy apple spice birthday cake for dessert. Happy Birthday Newman Kelley!…

Humans gave the little osprey chick the name “Bailey.” The bird was the last of the three chicks of the osprey pair that has nested for the last five years on top of a building at Hog Island in…

Heretofore unavailable results of Mitchell's Rorschach test have surfaced, and it's confirmed — massive inconsistencies, but an unwitting willingness to try.

Sushi is one of the most sought after items on restaurant menus these days.

The word brings to mind raw fish, but sushi, though it can, and sometimes does, contain raw fish, is always made…

Having supported the state firefighters convention arrayed in turnout gear, Ms. Pigette has turned back to her first love – politics.

Actually, that is not right. Her first love is herself…

Imagine being sick and your doctor unable to figure out what is wrong with you. Imagine being sick and nothing relieves the growing pain and debilitating symptoms that you struggle with every day…

Hello friends and neighbors!

Westport Island is home to a number of small business owners. I am happy to use this column to help give these small businesses some publicity! This week allow…

On Sept. 7 Equifax announced that its computer systems had been hacked and as a result the identifying information of about 143 million of us had been exposed.

In response to the incident…

As we watch the brilliant PBS documentary “Vietnam,” we are told stories of valor and tragedy, brilliance and stupidity, honesty, corruption, and sacrifice.

Let me tell you another Vietnam…

If you were a bug on a blossom in somebody's beautiful flower garden, you'd probably be quite amazed to hear the chatter associated with these two ladies. No need for a defoliant…

Three tall white birds danced along the muddy shore of the Kennebec River in Gardiner last week. They were great egrets, birds just a little smaller than the familiar great blue heron, but all…

With an increase in Lyme and tick-borne cases, patients are reporting a variance in how they are or are not being treated. Why? The simple answer is that there are two standards of care, however,…

Hello friends and neighbors!

A big shout out to all the folks who helped make Westport’s Cemetery Tour a great success! The Community Association, History Committee, and Cemetery Committee…

The next community supper on Wednesday, Oct. 4 at 5 pm will feature New England boiled dinner with veggies, bread and cake for dessert. October birthdays will be celebrated after the meal.…

Fall is upon us and the mindset is that with the change in weather, we are safe from the onslaught of ticks. However, that is far from the truth. Ticks thrive in…

Here in Maine we are in the midst of the fall migration of birds. Waves of warblers, sparrows, thrushes, and other species are passing through daily—and nightly, as most birds migrate at night. We…

We try to get out to Monhegan every year. It's one of our most favorite places (of the places we have seen) on the planet. But with schedules and obligations, we are not always able to make the…

I had trouble getting to sleep the other night after watching the MPBN TV documentary on the discovery of the wreck of the USS Indianapolis, a heavy cruiser torpedoed in the last months…