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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
“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 […]
‘”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 […]
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 […]
