Tag Archives: maine

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I love my town.

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In the continuing series Small Town Life Be Different…. here are the latest missives from mine.

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This was so sweet. Our local UPS man… who distributes doggie treats on his route… is in the hospital with pneumonia, so all his four legged customers posted pictures.

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Because traffic alerts in the country are less about speeding and more about manure.

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Every year the women of the Historical Society sew a quilt with local scenes to be auctioned off.

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The Town Office bought the first one where it still hangs proudly.

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Yes, I showed this to the husband. And no, he hasn’t removed his absolutely no chickens ban.

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Yikes. Critters that crawl under your house and die are the worst. But I can’t say I’ve ever known one to stink of garlic. And speaking of stinking…

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Word to the wise… if you think it’s your year? It most definitely is. 🤢

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As he predicted, this man’s post got a whole lotta hate. He’s new to the area… and I’m guessing he isn’t going to be very popular. Buying a house in a rural part of Maine means generations of the previous owners might still be inhabiting your back 40. A man up the road from us has a cemetery from the late 1700’s on his land. He doesn’t know the family or their descendants, but lovingly cares for the plot all the same. It’s called respect.

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You show me yours, I’ll show you mine.

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Now, now… don’t get excited. I live in Maine, I’m talking lobster.

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There was a state wide contest and even our local pub co owner joined in.

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Ooh… a blue!

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If you’ve never done it, or even thought about it? Trust me, lobstering is hard work.

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You battle the weather, the equipment and the ocean. Fisherman die or are lost at sea every year. I’ve personally known two.

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And yes..

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Lobsters really are this small in the beginning.

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Cuddly? Not so much.

But damn, they sure are tasty.

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I love my town… Part who cares anymore.

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Our town has come up with some marvelously creative ways to keep kids active and engaged during the Covid months. This is the latest.

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Businesses and public areas are all displaying clues.

In other news, people are offering free treasures.

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Dirty, smoke stained old cups from a discontinued set? Christ, don’t tell my husband.. he’d be on them like white on rice.

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An icicle contest. Most excellent!

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Our big one had grown to 5 feet so I proudly entered it to take the lead…..

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Until Robert showed up.

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Damn you Robert. You and your massive projectile.

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Random winter clutter

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In Maine, in the winter…. the shrubbery arms itself.

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Come at me with that hedge trimmer now bitch. I dare you.

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Cow on a plow. Take that you flakey little green troll.

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Lord Dudley Mountcatten enjoys the morning sun shining through my filthy windows and likes to relax on the back of the sofa.

He’s so relaxed that sometimes he falls sound asleep and lands on the sill.

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And tries to pretend is was on purpose.

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Nice try Dudley, but I know better. I heard the plop.

Next up, Maine wisdom from The Flatlanda in Fairfield.

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And speaking of winter, we’ve had a decided lack of snow this season. Mere inches that melts shortly after it falls. In previous years March looked like this:

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That’s my husband walking the road in front of our house.

This year, we have green soggy grass. No climate change my *ss.

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Snow globe dining.

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Maine people have always known how to work around the weather. And though this winter has been mild compared to previous years, Covid restrictions have required businesses to use their imaginations like never before.

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Pineland Farms started life as a state run institution for the “idiotic and feeble minded” in 1907. Many horror stories floated out of those buildings, some from my cousin who worked there with mentally handicapped children in the late 70’s. It was closed in 1996 due to scandal and rumors of unsatisfactory care and has since undergone an amazing transformation.

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Nature trails, event weddings, a farm cooperative and store. They sell the beef they raise and the produce they grow. They make wonderful cheese and have a tasty little restaurant.

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But now?

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They have life sized snow globes as well.

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What’s not to love?

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Well that was (not) fun.

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When your roof is leaking in the middle of a Maine winter and you have no idea why…. there’s really only one solution.

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You chip the ice and snow from around the door, set up a ladder….

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Climb up on the roof where you have to chip away more snow and ice…

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And lay a giant ass tarp. ( We’ll be the envy of all our neighbors now, so stylish! ) Then if you’re my husband, you leave a large part of it flapping in the corner.

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What?

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With a storm moving in, I had to fight him to secure the damn thing before it blew halfway to the next county.

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One little string, through one little grommet was all he would do.

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The snow came, turned to rain and miraculously the roof didn’t leak. But we’re due for strong winds in a few days so things are apt get interesting.

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Because everyone needs a hobby.

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We have wild turkeys that visit our backyard bird feeders to scrounge what’s fallen on the ground.

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We’ve had flocks for decades and it’s never been an issue. They’re goofy…. and honestly, I find them quite comical to watch. But this past year, in which my husband has been home 24/7 hogging all the bandwidth teleworking… he’s taken an interest in feeding the birds.

The man who used to complain I bought too much seed and spent too much money on suet nuggets now glares at me if the 50lb pound bag falls below a quarter. And since he gets up at an unfathomable time of the morning ( pre sunrise people… WTF? ) he’s usually the first one out the door to fill the feeders.

If the turkeys visit in the spring, summer or fall? Fine. But in the winter their prodigious piles of poo land on snow and ice which is not nearly as absorbent as dirt and well…. let’s just say Tiny Tim isn’t going to be singing about tiptoeing through that anytime soon.

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Hence the never ending battle my extremely stubborn husband wages on a daily basis.

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This will go on for hours.

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Even when he’s on the phone for work dealing with a man in violation of FAA regulations.

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He chases them, they run to the edge of the property line and wait for him to go back in the house, they return, he chases them…etc, etc, etc.

If you think you’ve never met anyone more stubborn than a retired Marine? You’ve never met a Maine wild turkey.

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The funniest part of his new hobby? As soon as he gives up and goes back in the office….

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The turkeys call in reinforcements and descend en masse. He chased a dozen…. 26 came back.

And so it goes.

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Winter visitors.

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Winter snow and cold has finally moved in to Maine and I for one am pleased.

It’s winter!

I want snow!

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Our deer are only coming at night now and it’s hard to get pictures through the windows.

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The least bit of movement on their part overwhelms my iPhone’s shutter and results in furry blurry blobs.

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Along with the cold and snow has come the wind, which I could actually do without. Menopausal heating only goes so far, and while I’ll walk outside comfortably in 20 degree weather with only a light shirt… the wind cuts like a knife and even my interior furnace is working overtime.

Just ask this poor cardinal.

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Brrr!

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