Oven's Mouth, Boothbay, Maine, October 2020

We are blessed to live in Maine during these Covid times, where there are lots of things to do outdoors, and for free. The Oven's Mouth Preserve in Boothbay is one such thing. I wish this video could be scratch & sniff! The piney woods, the briny rivers; you can just feel the tension leaving your body at the scent. 

My favorite thing about Oven's Mouth, though, is the incredible teal color of the water of the Back & Cross rivers. 

Enjoy! 

Bike Acadia!

Somehow I grew up in Maine without knowing about the Acadia Carriage Trails. I love biking so this was

an oversight of some significance! My husband mentioned them to me on our way home from a visit Downeast. I looked into it and it turns out they are a well-known hiking and especially biking destination. They are on the National Register if Historic Places, having been built by John Rockefeller in conjunction with the National Park Service, in the early to mid 20th century. 57 miles of packed crushed gravel roads wind between the ponds and mountains.

Acadia is not a compact park. It consists of several separate areas, and even the main area is an irregular lobed shape that winds in and out of the settled areas of Mount Desert Island. The town of Otter Creek is completely surrounded by parkland, for example. We entered the park at the Hull Cove Visitors Center. 

We took the Witch Hole Pond Loop, and the Eagle Lake Loop on purpose...and the Paradise Hill Loop by accident. I don't know which of the ponds was Witch Hole! But they were all beautiful. 

My bike (on the left) is at least 25 years old. I bought it used in 1994 for $200 - it seemed like an extravagant amount at the time but has earned its cost many times over. Doug's bike is also secondhand. One of the reasons I love biking is, you don't need fancy gear or special shoes or dedicated clothes. Any bike, any shoes, (almost) any clothes, and you are in business. 

We saw these two turtles basking together. They are Painted Turtles - the larger on about as big as those get, in Maine, the small one the smallest I've ever seen in the wild. 

When we found ourselves at the Duck Brook Bridge we declared ourselves officially lost. This was a little alarming - you can get pretty lost in 57 miles of road, and it was getting late in the day. Luckily there was a map kiosk at the bridge, that showed us where we went wrong. 

There's still so much of Acadia to see! Next time I will print a map, though. :)

Day of the Dad

It is said that in November the veil between the world of the living and that of the dead grows thin. In Mexico, November 2nd is the Day of the Dead, a festive celebration to pray for and remember loved ones who have died. I admire this tradition, as the taboo of death in American culture makes loss and grief more isolating.

I'm not especially religious, nor do I subscribe to any woo-woo philosophies. Despite efforts to embrace both of those idea sets at different times in my life, my thinking remains pretty firmly evidence-based. That said, no one can say for sure if there is or isn't a next life, and it can be a comfort to think there might be; that out loved ones are not lost to us forever.

My Dad passed on January 1st, 2001, a single day into the new millennium, by some accounting. If time is a dimension, like spatial dimensions, in a way he is not gone, like a person who is spatially out of sight is not gone. Anyway, sometimes I want to talk to him. I can do that anywhere, I suppose; if there is a next world it's unlikely our spirits would be tied to the resting place of our physical bones. Nevertheless, sometimes I go to the Scarborough Marsh, where we scattered his ashes, to visit. I stand on the footbridge and talk. The first few times I felt silly, but it comes more naturally to me now.
I visit a few times a year, kind of randomly; a couple years ago, I did because we were having a solar eclipse, and my dad was blessed with a great intellectual curiosity, and I deeply wished he were there to see it with me. 
It's a beautiful place, never more so than on a sunny day in late autumn, when the colors are gold an

bronze vibrating against the blue sky and water. It's accessible via the old Eastern Road, now a bike/walking trail with entry points at Black Point Road and at Pine Point Road, among several others (it's a pretty long trail, nearly 30 miles from South Portland to Kennebunk.) It's a flat, easy trail - easy to walk or jog, and you can ride a street bike on it, and it takes you through some of the most beautiful landscape in Southern Maine.
Don't let your outdoor activities end in September! Late fall landscapes have an austere beauty all their own, and cooler temps are quite conducive to delightful hikes.

Belfast Arts in the Park

Looking for something do to this weekend? Maybe a visit to Belfast, Maine, is just what the potter ordered! On any given weekend, Belfast is a nice day trip - it's a working and recreational port, with lots of great shopping, not to mention eating & drinking. This weekend, though: this weekend is Belfast Arts in the Park! Over 100 makers of craft and fine art will be showing in the waterfront park, with live music daily and unique food offerings.

Make sure you visit Booth 111! That's me, Fine Mess Pottery! This will be my first time at this event & I am so excited to be there! Some other faves:

Lori Austill Encaustic Paintings
Lacey Goodrich
Jody Johnstone

Check out the map here. See you in Belfast!

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! 

Dicker for Deals

I visited a Woolwich (pr. Wool-Itch) landmark yesterday: Ed's Stuff. If you spend much time in Maine - above Cumberland count, that is - and you're like me, you've probably driven by it a hundred times, each time thinking, One of these days I'm going to stop there.

Well, the day finally came! I was driving between two craft galleries - both, somewhat confusingly, called Stable (The Stable Gallery in Damariscotta, where you can find my work, and Stable on Front, where, sadly you no longer can. Both are cute little shops, though, and you should visit.)

Ed's Stuff bills itself as an antique shop, but that would be in the Sanford and Son mold: "We buy junk and sell antiques." But if you are willing to sift through the trash, there are surely some gems.

Lots of trunks, in varying conditions

A big stack of metal bedframes

Buoys

If you want a buoy, Ed's is your place. Buoy oh buoy.

More buoys

Still more buoys

These were a few of the finer used toilets available. 

Ditto, toilets. Some in a functional state, other, not so much.

SOOO many windows. You could build
a boho greenhouse!

If ya want doorknobs, you've come to the right place!

And lastly, this invitation

It was a fun visit! I was looking for stools, though, to go under my kitchen island (the one I haven't finished yet - but I've made a lot of progress!) But I know where to go if I need a doorknob or a buoy.

Snowshoe Hare, Newcastle, Maine

All photos by Carrie White

I was leading a group firing at the Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts last weekend, when we encountered this guy! This is a snowshoe hare. They are found throughout Maine but not commonly seen. They don't want you to see them.
It did what hares do: froze in place when it saw my student, and then sprinted away. Here are a few more shot she took:

I've seen them before in other years, at Watershed. Meaning no slur on the rabbit, it always strikes me how un-cute they are. Like, this is NOT the Easter bunny, or a bunny of any kind! Its proportions seem off, compared to rabbits we are used to seeing. Its head is small and legs long. A few other fun facts about snowshoe hares:

• They aren't really rabbits at all! They belong to the same order of mammals -  Lagomorpha - but they are different species, like foxes and wolves are both canids, but different species. 
• These are the kind you've heard about which turn white in the winter. 
• They eat meat! They don't hunt of kill but will eat dead animals if they encounter them. That gives me the creeps, a little - it just seems so wrong. 
• Eastern Cottontails - Maine's other lagomorph - are endangered but apparently snowshoe hares are still hanging in. 👍

We see all kinds of cool things at Watershed! I'll detail the firing adventure over at my other, pottery-specific blog, once the pots are out of the kiln.

February at Kettle Cove, Cape Elizabeth, Maine

Photo by Derek Davis of the Press Herald

Who says beaches are only for summer? Not Hugh Sharp.

Belfast, Maine after the Storm

Photo by Ben Holbrook of The Republican Journal.

The View Across the Scarborough Marsh

I grew up in Scarborough. The marsh with all its attendant wildlife was ordinary to me; cormorants and heron and egrets were just birds. I didn't know what an amazing place it was until I moved away.

My first awareness of environmental issues came because of it. I was six, and my family had just moved to Scarborough from Brewer, an inland city in Central Maine. One we drove by an abandoned building - more of a shack, really - bordering the wetland. Someone had painted this graffiti: Save the Marsh! - The Gull.

My mother explained that there were people who wanted to fill in the marsh, to build houses and businesses. I pondered on that: houses and business were good, right? But where would the thing that lived there go? Some other marsh? What if that one got filled in also?

This was before environmental laws protected areas like the Scarborough Marsh, but blessedly the marsh survives. I visit it frequently; my father's ashes are scattered here, and I go to smell the salt air, watch the birds and think of him.

My Favorite Lunch Spot, South Portland

On Monday afternoons, I often find myself in the Portland area with some free time. If it's a warm day, I like to grab a sandwich and head for Spring Point Light. There's a nice shore walk to get there, or you can park nearby the campus at SMCC. The granite block breakwater is about 300 yards long, and provides many spots to sit, dangle your legs, and watch the passing boat traffic. On any given day you can see the ferries on their way to the islands of Casco Bay, and some times The Cat, the giant double-hulled ferry which runs between Portland Harbor and New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, as well as innumerable fishing and recreational boats.

As the weather turns, the jetty will become treacherous! Enjoy the Big Light walk before the snow falls. If it's Monday afternoon, I may see you there.

"I Love This Place!"

I had the nicest interaction this morning! I walked the greenbelt to Portland's East End beach. As I was standing at the fence overlooking the water, a young Ethiopian man stopped beside me. 
"Is this the ocean?" he asked.
"Yes," I said, "that's the Atlantic Ocean."
"Is it cold?"
"Yeah, it's pretty cold. "
"Too cold to swim?"
"Probably right now."
"But you can swim? It is safe? If I swim, I won't get sick?" 
"It's clean. People swim in it all the time."
He broke out in a huge grin: "I love this place!"

So do I, friend. 

Then Leaf Subsides to Leaf

Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf,
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day
Nothing gold can stay. -

Robert Frost

I've been meaning to take photos for this post for over a week, and I almost missed the window: the brief hour of gold. 

I took a walk today on Macworth Island, just north of Portland. A causeway leads to the island, which houses the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf. It's an easy hike, about 2.2 miles, with lovely views. It's good to go early in the season - Macworth has a very small parking lot, and when that lot is full, no more visitors are allowed. Even today, only one spot was open when I arrived, although there were more by the time I left. 

Must Eden always sink to grief? Maybe. But Macworth abides. 

Some Beach, Somewhere

I loved this sign, when I was a kid. Avenue 5 Extension leads only one place, and that is to Pine Point Beach in Scarborough, in my humble opinion the finest beach in Maine. Contiguous with the more famous Old Orchard Beach, Pine Point boasts whiter, finer sand and smaller crowds. It's pure beach - no games, rides, or shops - but the hullaballoo of Old Orchard is a pleasant two-mile walk down the beach, if you feel the urge. I did, on Monday, and made the walk from the jetty to the Pier.

One nice thing about living in Maine is that a beach day does not require a big plan; a hot day, a few hours free; that's all it took.

The view from Pine Point.

...and there's the Pier, off in the distance.

Getting closer!

And here's the view, from the Pier!

This is also a great walk on that odd sunny day in February when the temp gets above 45F.

Lonesome Rowboat

Deer Isle, Maine

Starfish Like Jewels

at the reversing falls, Blue Hill.
The photos don't do them justice; they are peach and amethyst and ruby. So beautiful!