What bird is more iconic here in Maine than the common loon? In summer, there’s nothing more stirring than hearing the wailing cry of a loon echoing across the still waters of a Maine lake on a summer evening. Thousands of people eagerly keep track of the presence and success of the loons on their favorite lake.

Not everyone knows, though, that those birds of summer, with their lush black heads, black bills, and neat black-and-white checkered backs, are also one of our most regular birds of winter, just wearing a different costume. In winter, all along Maine’s coast, a more modest

You see why I don’t bet on … anything! Last week’s column is a case in point. I predicted right two out of four NFL games. Fifty percent, and if I bet, I probably would have come out even. So we now have Buffalo at Kansas City and Washington at Philadelphia this coming weekend. Your choice … I am not putting myself out there again. But I do hope the Bills win!

I did predict the winner of the college football championship game correctly. The Buckeyes handled the Fighting Irish.

*****

Thank you, Garry Blackman, former burner/furnace repair man. He kept telling us to use K-1 instead of regular

We cannot take credit for all the good things that have happened around Wiscasset in 2025, since announcing plans here to list five good things per month. Connecting the two would be presumptuous, and incorrect of course. But it does seem interesting, Wiscasset schools' enrollment has ticked up (very) slightly, school basketball has had much to cheer about, and hope has even been uttered for a rowing club.

Coincidence?

This week's snowstorm was not all that much and, the week's cold snap aside, it so far seems this fairly easy winter continues. Another for the "w" column. 

And how about

On Monday, Donald John Trump, 78, became the 47th president of the United States.

If the pundits are right, and they probably are in this case, he has a fat laundry list of executive orders ready to sign implementing his campaign promises. Top of the list is a pledge to go after undocumented immigrants, and that should spark outrage on the left and confusion in the top ranks of the MAGA crowd. It seems a pair of POTUS pals, Elon Musk and Steve Bannon, are squabbling over immigrant visas. And that will play out in due course.

For those not invited to the gala celebrations, it is a time to

Let’s say you’ve been a nurse in Minot, North Dakota, long enough and seek to enjoy the balmy mid-winter experience of Midcoast Maine. And you respond to an interesting position as advertised by one of our notable area hospitals. But you can’t just walk in the door of one of these facilities and declare your willingness to take the job. Somebody needs to review your skills and confirm that you are in fact qualified. Have I got a deal for you!

Your new employer needs to know, that you know what experience and training you are bringing to the hospital. After all, this isn’t “Whack-A-Mole!”

The next public supper will be Jan. 22. The meal consists of corn chowder, salad, biscuits, baked ham, mac & cheese, peas, and hot fudge pudding cake. The cost is $10 for members and $12 for nonmembers. Additional meals may be purchased for take-out at the same cost when reserved. Takeouts should be picked up at 5:45 p.m. For more information or to make a reservation, call 882-8230. Please join us for this delicious meal. 

Cribbage results for Tuesday, Jan. 14 with 24 players: First place: Ruth Gilbert, 838. Second place: Duane Rolerson, 836. Third place: Stuart Wyman, 834. High Hand: Pam

Dear Editor:

The angry white men who have flocked under Trump’s banner have every right to be angry. We have seen the American dream slowly evaporate. Our standard of living is in decline while minorities seem to enjoy an unfair advantage. Their outrage is righteous.

But it is also misdirected. The decline in living standards in the USA has many causes. The job market has soured due to off-shoring of jobs and technological displacement. Our tax laws favor the wealthy while shifting an ever greater burden onto the backs of the American wage earner. And the reduction of protective regulation

Dear Editor:

A frequent contributor to these pages reassures us that global warming is, in the memorable words of Vivek Ramaswamy, “a hoax.”

Selecting a particular city’s record high temperature (e.g., on July 12, 1936, it was 120 degrees in Seymor, Texas), he concludes from this that Maine’s efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change are baseless and “will be an expensive nightmare to dismantle and bury.”

I would like to introduce him to America’s foremost writer on global climate dynamics, Bill McKibben. In his latest New Yorker essay, “Hotter and Hotter,” he states, “As 2024 began

Getting tickets to top concerts is tough – don’t let scammers make it harder. With most concert venues switching to digital tickets only and concert demand through the roof, criminals are producing more counterfeit tickets than ever. Here are three tips to avoid buying a fake ticket.  

1. Stick to known ticket sales sites or visit the National Association of Ticket Brokers (natb.org) to ensure that you are dealing with a verified reseller. Always type the web address of the site you want to visit into your browser rather than clicking on a link that could take you to a copycat site.

2

We are fortunate here in Maine that winter brings an abundance of waterfowl, including some species that can’t be seen in many other states. Common eiders make their downy nests on the ground on islands along our coast; during winter, they are joined by common eiders from farther north. During these winter months, a few of the much more northernly king eiders show up along our rocky coast. The male king eider has a powder blue head, orange face shield, and pink bill—an almost shocking burst of color to see bobbing in the waves. 

The eiders are joined by other striking sea ducks like the

Between the expanded college football playoff, bowl games and NFL’s 18-week season, and now the divisional round of games this weekend, it has been a busy fall, and now winter, for TV football viewers.

Eight NFL teams will now try to move on and make the conference championships and eventual “big game” on Feb. 9 in New Orleans.

My heart is with the Detroit Lions to win it all. This franchise has never been to the “big game” and suffered many losing seasons. I am hoping having the past week off gave some injured players time to heal and that they will be at near full-strength for their game

In 2025, look here monthly for five good things that happened in or for Wiscasset or its neighbor towns. Had this idea come in '26, it would have likely been six good things, and still can be then. But as a pilot theme, five is plenty to start with and sets the pattern of the number of noted items reflecting the year we are in.

We are only mid-January, but since this mini project involves you, too, let's get it rolling with just a couple of good things as examples, which may be reused or replaced by the end of January tally.

Evan Goodkowsky, a new Lincoln County commissioner who may be best

Photographer Michael Giglia’s image of an osprey lifting up off the water carrying an alewife in each talon was creating quite a stir last week. I went to see the show at Southport Memorial Library last week and I have to say, the photographs capture the essence of the subjects beautifully. 

Now, I know what some of you are thinking right now: Hey, this is my chiropractor. Yes, yes, it is. Michael and Susan Giglia opened their office, Damariscotta Chiropractic, 40 years ago over on Bristol Road in Damariscotta. There are many of us here in the Boothbay region, and beyond, who are, or have

A couple years ago, there was an ad in the local “Marketplace” for firewood end cuts. When wood processors cut logs to a specific size like 12”, 16” or 24” there is often a small chunk of the log that is left over. Sometimes these smaller pieces of wood are discarded into a pile of random lengths which are perfectly good, just not ideally fitted to a specific length. Many times, these piles of “nubbins” sit around for a long time doing nothing but drying and being in the way. Frequently, to clean up and make room for more logs, these piles of discarded shorts are available for sale, often at

Next week, the 45th president of the United States will become the 47th. Our nation wishes him well. Me too.

But as he moves back into the White House, he will find an 800-pound gorilla hiding in plain sight. For all his rhetoric about grabbing Greenland and the Panama Canal, and deporting millions of undocumented aliens, for all his plans to slash taxes, cut government spending, and bury Democrats and the non-MAGA Republicans, he faces a dire, immediate problem. And how he meets and solves it could determine the success or failure of his presidency.

I am referring, of course, to the effect

Dear Editor:

We are hoping friends and acquaintances wish Dr. Steve Feder an upcoming significant birthday. His youthfulness is infectious.

Birthday wishes will reassure this rock star pediatrician that you can grow older and not up. Or maybe that was a Jimmy Buffett song. Either way, he will be forever young.

Send cards to: P.O. Box 561, Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538.

Happy birthday Steve (aka pop pop)

Love

Amy and Josee

Dear Editor:

The concept of consensus has no place in science. The test of a theory is the continuing support of the hypothesis. No scientist would say, “the science is settled”.  There are two sets of scientists in the global warming debate. One set, call them the “CO2 group,” are trying to prove man causes (and can fix) global warming. The other group, the “regression analysts,” are trying to understand what drives our climate and what the future looks like. It is a race, both sides have the opportunity to make their case.

The CO2 groups represented by over 50 computer simulations are

Two brothers warmed themselves by the roaring brush fire. An inch of snow had fallen across the peninsula overnight–welcome precipitation during a dry winter that had followed a dry summer. They chuckled at the idea of global warming. Not in Maine. Not today. One of them pulled his collar close as a frigid gust moved the open-field stubble and fanned the flames.

A clump of leaves, semi-frozen but flammable, rose and floated, quietly settling into an ancient fir, laden with pitch-infused Witch’s Broom.

An hour passed.

It was the deer that told a neighbor something was amiss. Sure, he’d

With temperatures dropping in many states, scammers are turning up the heat on their deceptive tactics. Each winter, criminals pose as utility company representatives, claiming a missed payment and threatening to shut off service unless payment is immediate. 

If you get a surprise call from the “utility company” threatening to shut off your service, hang up the phone. The goal of these scammers is to create a sense of panic, making it harder to think logically and verify their claims. Their hope is that we stay in that state of panic long enough to complete a payment. 

To verify the status

Wiscasset is a foody town, an art lover's town, and many more things, such as with the latest dealership looking likely for Route One, even more of a place to car shop, too. Recent months' and years' movement on dormant, for sale or lease properties is a big step in the right direction. 

And the more business, the bigger the business magnet the town stands to be. Look at other towns that have gotten on a roll, like Brunswick. Wiscasset has at times lost out to Brunswick; Wiscasset does not have the intestate going for it, which as we have seen can be a pretty big factor, but maybe Wiscasset's