Snowshoeing: Jamie's Pond, Hallowell

 

Belfast, Maine after the Storm

Photo by Ben Holbrook of The Republican Journal.

Snow Days are Soap Days

Something about winter weather puts me in a mood to make soap. I work in small batches - limited editions, you might say - of 7 to14 bars. Sometimes I repeat a design, but, as with pottery, no two are ever quite alike.

This batch is called Green Granite and Onyx, but I debated calling ti Sharp-dressed Man, because it has a light, slightly musky but definitely masculine scent.

Will be available around March 10. Depending on the method, soap needs some time to cure, and for the lye reaction to fully finish. Will post the link here when these are ready!

Meanwhile, it's still snowing. I need to shovel, but I still feel that urge to saponify! Maybe peppermint, this time.

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.

The Maine Winter Car Kit

I spent several years in St .Paul, after which I swore I would never complain about a Maine winter again. And I haven't....much. After all, it's rare for temps here to drop below zero; double digits below are almost unheard of, at least in southern and central Maine, where I have spent most of my time. (The western mountains are another story.) Maine winters are highly variable, though; sometimes they are placid as Belties; other times, we get, well, belted. Maine was rated by Thrillist as #5 on their list of shittiest winters, by state.

Snow or extreme cold can both be dangerous for travelers, and I do a lot of driving. Not only that, but I drive thousand-dollar cars, so my chances of breaking down are better than most, even in fine weather. With that mind, I drive prepared to be stranded.

From January to March, you'll find a shopping bag in my backseat, with the following items:

• Blanket

  

  My winter traveling kit

• Knit hat
• Wool sweater
• Half full jug of water
• Jar of peanut butter, with spoon. 
• Flashlight
• Book

A cell phone is nice, too, but we have some big blank spots where you can't get service, and even if you can call to let someone know where you are, weather may prevent them coming to get you immediately.

You might wonder why you'd need water, but you can't always count on clean snow nearby; and if you are stuck in extreme cold, it's better not to get out of the car. It's far more dangerous in blizzards or extreme cold to go in search of help than to just hunker down and wait. Maine is not the Yukon, and you are not the Donner party. It will not snow forever. The State police will find you sooner than later.

The jug of water needs to be only half full, because when it is not busy saving your life, that jug is just going to be riding around in your car, repeatedly freezing and thawing. Water expands when it freezes; if the jug is full, it will split.

The peanut butter is another story. The suggestion I usually read is to keep a candy bar in your car for such emergencies, but I find the emergency that usually happens is, I really want a candy bar. I'd have to be awfully damn hungry to just start scooping peanut butter, if I had other options.

You want a book, because you may be stranded for hours, and you don't want to die of boredom before you are found.

My kit serves as a kind of talisman: whenever I have had it, I have not needed it. [Knocks wood]

Only nine weeks - probably - 'til first crocus! Stay safe, stay warm, drive carefully. 

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.