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God, Thoreau, and a mountain named Katahdin

July 3, 2018Life DowneastBaxter, God, hike, Katahdin, Life Downeast, lost, Maine, Mount Katahdin, Thoreau
By RJ Heller

To climb Mount Katahdin is a priority for many people living in Maine. Some people believe it is an official rite of passage and that until it is done you cannot consider yourself a true Mainer. Katahdin, the highest mountain in Maine at 5,267 feet, was given its name, which means “the greatest mountain,” by […]

Mothers, sons and a warm Downeast blanket

June 12, 2018Life DowneastDowneast, family, love, Maine, mom, Mother's Day, sons
By RJ Heller

Another Mother’s Day has passed, and my mom was treated to a week here in Maine. This got me thinking about moms and life here, Downeast. Mom loves coming to visit us here in Maine, Dad too, though not to the same degree. She has always said that this place allows her to take a […]

A Unit of Water, A Unit of Time …Book Review

June 11, 2018Maine ReadsE.B. White, Joel White, Maine, Maine reads, non-fiction, sailboats, sailing
By RJ Heller

This book is about a family, the sea, and the art of boatbuilding. Anyone who has spent time in or around a boatyard understands the marriage between family and boatbuilding. Just as wood breathes and expands over time, so does the boatyard. With its workers, its love of an art, generations of young and old, […]

Fog and lighthouse as mother and father

May 8, 2018Life Downeastfog, Life Downeast, lighthouses, Maine, mother and father, Portland Head Light, RJ Heller
By RJ Heller

Since the first time I spent any prolonged period of time in Maine, I have always said to other visitors to be sure to see both faces of Maine: the more popular face of blue skies and even bluer waters along the rock bound coast; the other, a misty, cold and mysterious fog-laced face. They […]

The Lightkeeper’s Daughters …Book Review

April 19, 2018Maine Readsbook review, Canadian, fiction, Jean Pendziwol, keeper, lighthouse, mystery, Novel
By RJ Heller

The written word is powerful and made more so by time. And if that time was spent manning a lighthouse, and what you have written is eventually found by family, well, there’s no telling the impact it could have on a life lived then and lives being lived now. On Porphyry Island in the Thunder […]

Puckerbrush, the outdoor experience with the strange name

April 6, 2018History Speaksancestral skills, archery, children, education, event, Maine, PRFGCA, primitive skills
By RJ Heller

In Maine there is plenty of ground in which to lose oneself and let’s face it, this is a big place. For many that arrive looking for a remote area to experience nature and that long ago life we all once had, well, Maine would be the place to do that. The names given to […]

Pinwheels

April 2, 2018Creative Workclouds, Downeast, life and death, Maine, prose, RJ Heller, sea, seagulls
By RJ Heller

If only for a minute I stand silently and think about things. The yesterday of a distant thought mingles with the sights and sounds all around me now. Bubbling to the surface with each breath I take, they bombard the senses in a dramatic and sometimes fragile fashion. I step with stretched neck and again […]

When life is confusing, I sit and watch the tide come and go

March 12, 2018Life DowneastChaucer, Downeast, Life Downeast, Maine, Nova Scotia, tides, time
By RJ Heller

“Time and tide waits for no man,” is a quote by Geoffrey Chaucer which many of us have heard at one time or another. We, as a family, have been coming to Maine for many years, but it was not until arriving Downeast that the essence of this quote became very real. Having spent many […]

Etta and Otto and Russell and James …Book Review

February 26, 2018Maine Readsbook review, Canada, Emma Hooper, fiction
By RJ Heller

‘”Otto,’ The letter began, in blue ink, ‘I’ve gone. I’ve never seen the water, so I’ve gone there. Don’t worry; I’ve left you the truck. I can walk. I will try to remember to come back. Yours (always), Etta.’” And with that stark opening, a journey begins not only for Etta and Otto, but also […]

Finding that handmade life while on a walk, Downeast

January 24, 2018Life DowneastBill Coperthwaite, handmade life, living, Machiasport, Maine, simple, yurts
By RJ Heller

It was a good day, that day long ago when the gentle prodding of friends prevailed, and I heeded their advice to go into the woods, find and experience the yurts they had been telling me about. I did. On a walk taken one day, I met a man who created a unique life in […]

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RJ Heller

RJ Heller

Having arrived here from Pennsylvania over three years ago, there has been plenty to learn and even more to observe. This place is different, but I mean that in a good way. Born and raised in Pennsylvania, I am a college graduate with a teaching degree, a business founder and seller, and a father of two children with my wife Stephanie; life has been full and somewhat adventurous, but finding Maine remains a high watermark in my life.

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