Snowshoeing: Jamie's Pond, Hallowell

 

Shed Pond, Readfield

 

The autumn colors were subdued but nevertheless beautiful on our Sunday hike to Shed Pond. 

Blue Dasher, Apple Valley Pond, Winthrop, Maine

Also called the Blue Pirate!

Where the Road Took Me: Tandem Glass Gallery & Studio

Yesterday was a glorious day in Maine - sunny and dry, mid-70s. It was a fine day for a little road trip, and I happened to have one on my list: I needed to deliver pots to a new shop in Wiscasset, Mid-Coast Craft. More about them later! Today I want to tell you about my unexpected find.

It being said glorious day, and me in no hurry, I planned to stop at the numerous yard sales one always finds on Route 27 between Augusta and Wiscasset on a fine summer Saturday. The first sign I saw pointed the way down 127, which runs between Dresden and Woolwich (pronounced wool-itch, which always makes me laugh, as wool usually does itch.)

I was surprised to discover the advertised sale was at this amazing glass blowing studio, Tandem Glass. The upper floors arr living space, the lower is studio and gallery. I was immediately hit with a pang of jealousy. Look, there's even a outbuilding which would make a stellar kiln shed! I wouldn't want to mow all that lawn, though.

Inside was even more amazing: a sunlit gallery space glittering with beautiful handblown glass:

And the studio! I admit I am a sucker for a tidy studio - I should probably keep my own cleaner. The furnaces were cool the day I was there. And look at the enticing rack of canes! Materials are inspirational, all on their own.

It's maybe a mile - no more than that - off 27 in Dresden. Worth a trip! 

Outbuilding, Vassalboro Water Compnay

Outbuilding, Vassalboro Water Company
Douglas Watts

Dresden Dreaming

It's 9° here, with a thick dirty blanket of snow on the ground. This came through my facebook feed today! McKeen's Riverside Retreat, an AirBnB beside the Kennebec. It's in Dresden, so though it will feed like a rustic getaway, it's a quick drive to civilization, like grocery stores and restaurants and shopping, and your cell will (probably) work. Like lots of Maine cabins, it's the House of Many Beds, so even though it's small you could squeeze in a pretty big family. And are those canoes I see?

I want to go to there.

Sleighing It in Downtown Augusta

Thanks to the good folks at Cushnoc Brewing for the photo, taken - I think? -  from their doorway.

Born on the Kennebec

Exciting happenings in downtown Augusta: this week saw the opening of our first brew pub, Cushnoc Brewing. 

I'd love to tell you that we checked it out, and the beers on offer were amazing, as was the wood-fired pizza; and maybe they are! But I wouldn't know because though we tried to check it out - the beer anyway - last night, we were unable to find a seat. Or rather, we were unable to find an appropriate seat: if you were there for beer, you could sit here but not there, or you could stand, unless of course you were also getting pizza, in which case you could sit there or there. It seemed complicated.  I was hoping for more of a Three Dollar Dewey's experience: sit where you want, order what you want, food or drink. Cushnoc shares with Dewey's the long communal tables that patrons share with strangers as well as their party so I imagined a similar casualness.

No matter! I was glad to see they got a rousing turnout for their fist Saturday night. The pizza smelled amazing, and though I don't often have money to go out to eat, I can sometimes scratch up enough for a couple of beers. Looking forward to visiting on a less crowded evening. Here are some photos I grabbed from their Facebook page:

BTW, we ended up at the Black & Tan instead last night, a smaller pub with an Irish bent. As they do most weekends, they had live music last night. The bartender was wearing a kilt! Possibly for some seasonal reason - it was the Halloween pub crawl last night - but since I cherish in my heart a hope that kilts will one day again come into fashion for men, I chose to believe otherwise. The B &T is another relatively new addition to the previously-almost-non-existent Augusta nightlife, which now includes not just the aforementioned eateries (drinkeries? Is that a word?) but also Circa 1885, a wine bar (most unfashionably, I hate wine, but still), and Otto's on the River, a high end restaurant. The Riverfront Barbeque and Grill is still on Water Street, as well.

I'm excited to see all these new establishments downtown. I feel like downtown Augusta is on the cusp of becoming what I always thought it could: it has the architecture, it has the river, it has a potential client with decent jobs nearby. It just needed a critical mass of happenings to draw people in.

Anyway! Welcome to Augusta, Cushnoc Brewing! Now we need some good shopping. Like, City Drawers? Or something akin to the old Kennebec River Artisans? Maybe Kennebec Chocolates could be persuaded to move a half mile for better walk in traffic.

While I am waiting for all that to happen, I am delighted to have more places to drink good beer. 

Loon Chicks, Toddy Pond

Totes adorable, right? I snagged the photos from Avian Haven's Facebook page.
Avian Haven is a bird rescue and rehabilitation organization in Freedom, Maine. They have extensive facilities, including compounds for owls, other raptors, and aquatic birds, including a dedicated indoor pool for loon rehabilitation.

Though these guys were born on Toddy Pond, their next stop is the ocean, as loons typically spend their first two years as marine birds, before returning to their fresh water origin point to nest and raise chicks of their own.

Free Table Score!

Hey there, World's Cheapest Human here (btw, that puts me in the running for the galactic title. JUST SAYIN) You know what the World's Cheapest Human really loves? Free stuff!

This free thing was sitting on a concrete block next to the giant recycling bin where the City of Augusta asks us to drop our plastic and paper trash. Clearly someone was downsizing but didn't want to actually discard a perfectly good item. Thanks, someone!

We feed the birds. Mostly sunflowers - tons of birds love sunflower seed - but also thistle (finches!) and suet (woodpeckers.) I've had a hummingbird feeder before but no hummingbird has ever touched it with a ten foot pole, or a pole of any length. or touched it at all. We maxed out on hummingbirds with two, this one time, but we usually do get one, and she prefers monarda and trumpet flowers. (And also scarlet runner beans, but we don't have any of those this year.) Before this things bloom. Nada. No hummingbirds.

But that's all changing now. My old feeder was pink (and so ugly it hurt to look at it, I'd take a photo but it might be considered vandalizing the internet.) I'm told they really only like a red feeder. But no red dye in the food, please, it isn't good for them, I'm told.

I'm waiting for my sugar syrup to cool right now. Here's the mix:

4 parts water
1 part sugar

They like cane sugar better than beet sugar - if your bag of sugar doesn't specify, it's probably beet. I just used what I had in the house, if this doesn't bring 'em I'll try cane sugar next.

Maine Beer News

I was delighted but unsurprised this morning to read that Portland recently ranked the #1 city in the WORLD for craft beer. YOU GO, Portland! I love Portland, and I love a well-made beer, favoring IPAs & lagers - less interested in pumpkin-spice and blueberry varieties, but hey, whatever floats your teeth.
Portland is an up-and-coming tech hub, and those lads & lasses have expensive tastes and the money to satisfy them. Craft beer tastes, and craft beer budgets = 😋😜!!

I was surprised, and even more delighted, to read that Augusta is getting a craft brewery of our very own. Cushnoc Brewing is set to open a location on Water St. this fall. I've been waiting & waiting for the booming economic health in Southern Maine - and especially Portland - to reach Augusta, in the same way that the economic health of Boston crept north to Portland in search of more affordable living options. I may have a long wait yet, but at least soon I can enjoy a craft beer half a mile from my house to pass the time!

Not to mention a wood-fired pizza.

March 26 in Central Maine

Photo by Monica Castellanos

Last year at this time I was biking the rail trail. 😑

First Crocuses, 2017

For 11 years now I have been marking the end of winter - the emotional if not the literal end - by watching for the day my crocuses poke their tender heads above ground. Ladies & gentlemen, that day was yesterday! In an amazing coincidence, yesterday was also the coldest day of the winter so far. at around 5°F. This wouldn't have been my choice, if I were them, but I trust that they know what they are doing.

I made sure to replace the blanket of dead leaves I pushed aside to get a peek.

The earliest I've seen crocuses come up in those 11 years was 2012, on February 29th. The latest was March 23. This year is a little on the early side, probably because we got a deep blanket of snow before the real cold came, and because last week was unusually warm.

Spring is coming now! There's no stopping this train.

Maine Musicians: Sonny Probe

This is maybe my favorite Sonny Probe song of all time: 

Colliding Galaxies 

And that's saying something. I'm so fond of Sonny Probe I married him.

They Always Come When it Snows

Cardinals and mourning doves. They come for the sunflower seeds; then I have finches on the thistle feeder, but they are more timid, so I couldn't even get this good a shot.

I have a suet feeder as well, but the squirrels - clever little bastards that they are - figured out how to open it, so that never lasts long.

That Awkward Moment

Near Millinocket, Maine

...when you wake up and there's a moose standing on your car.

Success Story - American Bald Eagles in Maine

I grew up in Maine. My family are an outdoorsy bunch - camping, fishing, hiking, boating - so I spent a lot of time enjoying the natural beauty of Maine. One thing that I never did see, growing up? A bald eagle, in the wild.

That's because, when I was growing up, bald eagles were nearly extinct. The pesticide DDT interfered with the success of the eggs. Their habitats were infringed and badly degraded. Their food sources were poisoned by pollution. Though the Bald Eagle Protection Act of 1940 prohibited shooting them, there was still some illegal hunting, as eagles - pushed out of their preferred food sources - would sometimes take chickens or lambs.

In 1967, eagles south of the 40th parallel were protected, and in 1972, DDT was banned. Eagle populations did not begin to recover until after they received the full protection of the Endangered Species Act in 1978. It was listed as endangered in 42 states and  threatened in six others.

Today I live a quarter mile from the Kennebec River, and I see bald eagles almost every day. They glide over the river. They hassle osprey to drop fish

Photo by Greg Stephens

they've caught. They land on the sand bars and pick at their prize. I see them at Hatch Hill - the town dump - where they prey on the seagulls attracted by the trash.
Eagles are back. But they never would have come back if not for the ESA. This is the story for many species, and many more - Kennebec Salmon, for example - are still struggling.

Now Republican lawmakers want to roll back the Endangered Species Act. This came as something of a shock to me, because I don't know anyone who is not in favor of the act, which has been such an obvious success. In 1973 it passed almost unanimously.

But it's not 1973 anymore, and it seems like the Republican agenda has just become to roll back anything that liberals like. That's Republicans in Congress; as I said, every Republican I know personally favors the act. Anyone who hunts or fishes usually does.

If you think this is a horrifying idea, now would be an excellent time to call your Senators and Representatives and tell them so.

Pumpkin Breakfast Smoothie

The familiar One-Pie label has not changed in half a century. It reminds me of childhood holiday baking, literally the only time cans of pumpkin puree were found in my mother's shopping cart. One-Pie has been canned in West Paris, Maine for 50+ years.

Pumpkin is having something of a resurgence, though: not just for pie, anymore! Pumpkin soups are often found on menus at trendy restaurants throughout the cold weather months, and I see pumpkin bread & muffins everywhere. Not to mention the so-trendy-it's-comical Pumpkin Spice Latte.

While I like my pumpkin pie and bread and muffins as well as anyone, I am something of a smoothie fanatic. Thick, sweet, creamy smoothies make healthy breakfasts seem like dessert. One of my requirements for my breakfast smoothie is that it not have any weird-ass ingredients like chia seed or pollen or spirulina (what even is that?) Nothing, in short, that I would have to make a special trip to Lois's for. (Nothing against Lois's - I just don't want to have to plan ahead that much.) So my version of a pumpkin smoothie is pretty simple:

Lori's Mostly-Maine Pumpkin Smoothie
1/2 cup One-Pie pumpkin puree (West Paris!)
1/2 cup apple cider (from The Apple Farm, in Fairfield)
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1 tsp honey (from a beekeeper friend in Southern Maine)
1 good shake of cinnamon

So good, and good for you!

Hunker Down - Nor'easter Coming!

If you look really close, you can see me there in Augusta, in the 10-16" section, starting late Thursday night. This is said to be a true Nor'easter, bringing moisture from the ocean to inland Maine and dumping it in a huge white heap.

Snow storms are almost always over predicted so I am expecting the lower end of that range, but still: ten inches is a lot of snow. Not a life-threatening amount - we aren't going to suffocate in our homes, snow covering the windows - but it's sure going to shut Friday down.

But hey! It can be fun having an enforced day off (if you don't lose power. That sucks.) Get a good book (and some batteries or oil for your lanterns, just in case) and settle in.

Check out my Pinterest Board: My Town, Augusta, Maine

I collect images from in and around Augusta, so others can see it as I do. Check them out here.