Hello friends and neighbors!
The recent warm spell has been ideal for me to complete some outside projects like painting doors and trim and taking mildew off porches and decks. The deer…
Columns
A Bird’s Tale
As we send good thoughts to the human victims of hurricanes Harvey and Irma, we consider also the other lives that are affected by these massive storms. Keeping to the topic of birds, we’ll start…
’Round Town
Ron was filling a car tank from an inside pump on the outside island at the “Good ’N You,” on his cell phone while trying to tell me about this fella’s riding lawnmower with two…
Joe’s Journal
Dave Patch is an old sailor whose naval career began at Annapolis. After graduation, he opted to fly jets until a problem with his inner ear grounded him.
Then he went to sea, where he…
The Wednesday evening pot roast supper was a yummy success as we celebrated a September birthday with homemade cupcakes iced with chocolate buttercream and sprinkles. Happy Birthday Gail Burke!…
From the Senate
Over the past seven years, the state of Maine has made enormous strides in reducing the tax burden on its citizens. But tax relief at the state level, as we all know, is only…
Hello friends and neighbors!
The deciduous trees are finding it harder to make chlorophyll with the shorter, cooler days. Of course that means we will be treated to the annual display of…
Lyme Time with Paula Jackson Jones
It’s not easy being an advocate and talking with sick people every day, hearing similarities between your own journey and their struggle and trying to find the right words to not only comfort but…
On Eating and Loving Food
Well, folks, face it: Summer is over. Labor Day has come and gone, and supposedly, the “ceremonial end of summer” has happened.
But really, it isn’t officially over till Sept. 23, at 1:32…
Identity Theft and Fraud
This column usually tries to provide helpful hints or stern warnings so that readers can protect themselves from some of the unfortunate consequences associated with modern technology.
But…
A Bird’s Tale
When the sharp blue-sky days of September begin here in Maine, many people start looking for a beautiful orange and black creature with wings. Nope, not a bird. We are referring to the monarch…
’Round Town
We lived on the same street as Shirley for more than 10 years.
Sherman Street is one of the Harbor’s hidden gems. It's a dead end street that goes up the…
Joe’s Journal
Are you mad for Mozart?
When you hear the name “Carmen,” do you think of a New York politician, or a former Red Sox infielder? Or, do you immediately flash on a grand stage where a…
Hello friends and neighbors!
Labor Day has come and gone; school has started again. Please be extra cautious driving, as traffic patterns will change and children will be out and about…
LYME TIME
This week’s article, I’m calling my Lyme Rant, is based on the outcome of my week-long stay at the Union Fair, from all my community interactions with people and…
This morning we heard the calls of a loon reverberating around the neighborhood. We normally don’t hear loons in our area (we are miles from a true lake) so it was a surprise. Loons occasionally…
On Eating and Loving Food
Ok, it's time for a story about manhattans. I've mentioned them in practically every one of the almost two years' worth of columns I've written, but I've never devoted the whole thing to them.…
’Round Town
Last week had a different feeling to it, sort of.
Things started out on a little…
Joe’s Journal
Now that many of our summer friends are closing their cottages, packing the car and heading for home, the Boothbay roundabout construction project is about to resume.
Yes, as the tourist…
The Garden Club of Wiscasset resumes monthly meetings at the First Congregational Church in Wiscasset, on Sept. 7 after a summer hiatus. Flower design practice is at 11 a.m. The business meeting…
Hello friends and neighbors!
Has anyone lost a gray furry friend that meows? Our Deputy Animal Control Officer, Gary Webber, found a gray male tabby cat on East Shore Road on Aug. 22. Said…
LYME TIME
As I sit writing this week’s article, I am six days into the Union Fair and oh, what an emotional week it has been. I truly enjoy talking with people. I always have. My grandmother used to tell me…
The next community supper on Wednesday, Sept. 6 will feature pot roast with veggies, soup, salad bar, bread and fruit crisp for dessert. September birthdays will be celebrated at this feast. Since…
We enjoyed experiencing and watching the solar eclipse recently using a variety of safe techniques (including the use of some eclipse glasses that arrived at the last minute, courtesy of our…
This is a test. Not of the emergency broadcast system, and not involving questions about columns I've written to determine how popular I am. The last one flopped. Luckily, for me, my ego is still…
’Round Town
Everyone pretty much knows about seagulls. They are a quirky bunch. Can't ever quite predict their next move.
I will always recall the time we took some out of town visitors to what was…
Joe’s Journal
The other evening, we had dinner with summer friends from Charlottesville, Virginia. The ladies chose a crisp white wine, I had a G&T, the host had something in a can and their grandson sucked…
LYME TIME with Paula Jackson Jones
We are preparing for a very busy week ahead, when we will be spending the entire week at the Union Fair (Aug 19-26), educating fair goers about ticks in Maine, the diseases that they carry and how…
Hello friends and neighbors!
I am continually amazed by the incredible opportunities we Mainers have to enjoy the great outdoors. If you have never visited Hidden Valley Nature Center (…
On Wednesday, Aug. 16 the Wiscasset Senior Center was the site of the annual chicken barbecue. In addition to the chicken, homemade broccoli cheese soup, potato salad, corn on the cob and…
Hello friends and neighbors!
It’s summertime, and the livin’ is easy! By all reports, last week’s old fashioned Ice Cream Social hosted by the Westport Community Association was a huge…
On August 8, the daughters of the Pemaquid Chapter hosted special guest, D.A.R. Maine State Chaplain, Earlene Chadbourne. She discussed the state of the union during the lives of brothers Rufus…
This time of year brings many visitors to our beloved state of Maine and that includes lots and lots of birding enthusiasts. Many come with family and combine traditional seafood-eating, swimming…
On Eating and Loving Food
Aug. 8 was National Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day. I was enlightened of that news thanks to my friend, Judie Webster. She’s always up on the newest, and oldest, food trends.…
We received a call from a client this week that raised an interesting question about the behaviors of some businesses.
The caller was concerned because they had received an email saying…
Being on the coast of Maine without a boat, it seems to me, is a bit like living in the Alps without skis. I'm sure many people do without.
As a photo person, my landlubberishness,…
From the Senate
On Aug. 2, the Legislature was called back in to session one last time to vote on two dozen bills that were vetoed by the governor and address all outstanding business. This…
On Eating and Loving Food
Pesto: That green stuff that I used to refer to as oobleck, the green gooey stuff that fell from the sky in the Dr. Seuss book, “Bartholomew and the Oobleck,” when King Derwin of Diddare grew…
Mary’s Musings
On any given sunny summer’s day the view from our deck overlooking Linekin Bay provides a wide variety of picture-postcard scenes.
Colorful kayaks circle the cove, some…
’Round Town
Hi everybody. Don't mean to be a downer, but felt, in the peak of summer, it would be nice to share an image with our summer guests. How thoughtful of me, you might say!
A helpful gesture…
Joe’s Journal
Goodbye, old friend.
It seems like yesterday when I was standing next to a skinny blond baritone on a shaky stage at the old Rendezvous on Southport. It was a shade more than 50 years…
A Bird’s Tale
We had the pleasure of relaxing on a porch overlooking a favorite central Maine lake over the weekend with family. In the late afternoon light, the forest on the far shore seemed impossibly green…
Lyme Time with Paula Jackson Jones
As summer stretches into August, our battle with ticks remain strong and so must our attention to prevention practices. It may seem like repetitive information but as the number of new cases of…
Chef Julie prepared a delicious meat loaf dinner for the Aug. 2 supper, followed by the August birthday celebration. Happy Birthday to Cyndy Lewis and Jim Spurlin.
The Golden Oldies Senior…
Hello friends and neighbors!
I recently had the opportunity to visit Islander Sandy Besecker and her three beehives. Several years ago Sandy signed up for Bee School, which is held each…
A Bird’s Tale
We’ve written before about some of the amazing recent discoveries in bird migration that have resulted from the availability of new research technologies. Smaller and smaller satellite…
’Round Town
Sometimes I feel that people I've loved, who are gone from this earth, float back into my life from time to time.
My mother, for example, fed chickadees from her hand at home, in her…
On Eating and Loving Food
Well, summer in Maine is in full swing, folks. Now – what's for suppa?
It’s a lot easier to come up with something ridiculously delicious during the summer, when fresh stuff abounds, than…
Joe’s Journal
In case you have been living under a rock, there was a major political battle in Washington, D.C. concerning the nation’s health care system.
A key issue central to the debate is over who…
Hello friends and neighbors!
The Carl and Barbara Segerstrom Preserve at Squam Creek will celebrate its official opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 1 pm on Sunday, Aug. 6. Come and…
