Cabin World

Very Pinteresting Indeed

2012-02-04T21:57:00.004-05:00

Have you heard of the program Pinterest? If you like cabins and cabin decor, you should check it out. Pinterest (www.pinterest.com) is a free program that allows you to organize images (photos, drawings, etc.) according to your own categories. And then you can share them with your friends, and pin up the images you like on your boards. You can 'repin' what other people have posted on their boards too.

One of my nieces invited me to join. (It takes a bit of time time to get approved if you request to join without being invited.) It is a fantastic way to collect ideas about cabin decor and design. Personally I have a 'board' where I pin everything rustic, another one for 'cabin dreams', another for decor ideas using twigs and branches. The only down side is that it gives you a bad case of cabin fever! Here is a photograph of what looks like a cabin bedroom. This has been 'repinned' by more than 5,000 people. It appears a lot of folks would like to be sleeping in a cozy cabin just about now.

Source: 29.media.tumblr.com via Kay on Pinterest

Really old camp shirt

2011-11-05T14:09:00.001-04:00

What's your oldest camp shirt? Mine is more than four decades old. OK so I'm dating myself, right? When I was 15, my dad bought this camp shirt for me. It's really not a camp 'shirt', it's a wool Pendleton-style shirt you wear as a fall jacket. At the time, he told me that I'd have this shirt forever. It's something you just keep for a long time. And he was right. There were many years when I was abroad, and many years when I never wore it. But it has lasted beautifully.

So after all this time, it's back in fashion. It's a blue 'block plaid' wool with a vintage straight fit. It keeps me toasty warm on these cool fall days. The label inside has my maiden name and 'camp nickname' still written in indelible marker. The commercial label reads "Rough Rider Clothing" by Woods Base Canvas Company Ltd., out of Toronto and Winnipeg, Canada. I can't find anything on-line about this company, so perhaps it went out of business. In any case, this year, after all these decades, it fits more beautifully than ever before. I put it on, and it keeps the chill away, and makes me think of my late father. How many times we raked leaves together and I'd be wearing this shirt. From now on, it's going to get a lot more use.

Migrations

2011-10-03T21:40:00.001-04:00

The last weeks before we close up the cabin are here - it seems like we just got here. However, the leaves are turning fast now. The days and nights are cooling dramatically. We'll get a possible frost by the end of the week.

In our area, many seasonal camp owners have been gone for weeks. Now, the last of the summer people are departing for southern climes. We went to a bonfire the other night - circling the fire in camp chairs was a huge group of 'snowbirds' taking off in the next few days. They were already making plans to meet up at restaurants in Florida.

The birds in our 'stream' - Canada Geese, ducks, teals, herons and loons, are coming and going on their migration south...until this morning when shots rang out, announcing the beginning of bird hunting season. It was a rather noisy day here today, and I wonder if any more migrating birds will even bother stopping here, if they get the word that it's not a safe rest stop right now.

Up the lake, a couple of beavers are making a massive beaver hut. They slap the water when you get close to them. They're piling up carefully trimmed sticks and they're patting mud on the outside of it. They are clearly planning to stay over the winter.

Not us, though. Our cabin, like many others up here in the woods, is not made for wintering over. When the day comes to leave, we'll be more than ready. But the moment we get home, we'll start longing for next spring.

Edmund Ware Smith Book Discussion

2011-09-20T11:03:00.000-04:00

Recently we traveled an hour by car, through mists and rain, to get to a book discussion. Hosted by the historical society of the Maine village of Grand Lake Stream, the discussion focused on the works of Edmund Ware Smith (EWS), our favorite Maine woods author.

The visit was well worth the drive through moose territory. When you drive in late afternoon and night time around here you have to keep a sharp eye out for moose in the road. Unlike most animals, when headlights hit moose eyes, they don't glow - and the dark brown hulk of a moose can be hard to see. So it's a bit risking driving out at night on the quiet roads of Downeast Maine.

No worries though for the program. Enthusiastic fans of EWS packed into a small room. We sipped mulled cider and discussed his work, his prose and the stories of the author's time in the lakes that surround Grand Lake Stream.

All his works are out of print now, which we all agreed was a shame. They are engaging, beautifully written, charming, funny and poignant. His love of the north woods and the characters in it shines through in every sentence. He brought the area around Grand Lake Stream - all the lakes in the Grand Lake watershed - to life and put them on the map.

Most iconic is the essay he wrote about the day one of his sons drowned in Sysladobsis Lake (known as "Dobsy" or "Dobsis" for short). It's quite mysterious, this particular essay, and tragic. Yet the incident solidified the author's deep ties to the area that would last for the rest of his life. That essay is from his A TREASURY OF THE MAINE WOODS.

Attending the book discussion was a fellow named Harry Bailey, whose great grandfather and grandfather were caretakers at the Dobsis Club where the incident happened. Mr. Bailey passed around a letter from the author to his grandfather, and included in it was a photograph of Mr and Mrs. Smith with their son.

Here is a list of his book-length works. You can find them on e-bay and amazon, and at your local public library. He published many of his essays in national magazines.

The list above was found on outdoorsportinglibrary.com - it has an excellent account of his life.
The link to the website is here.

The storm passing in the night

2011-09-05T11:06:00.002-04:00

Last night we could hardly sleep. The still air was saturated with humidity. We noted that it might be the last warm and humid night of the season, but noting this didn't help us. A while later, having never quite fallen asleep, I turned over. Distant lightning lit up the woods like a swarm of papparazi. It flashed again and again, silently, but each time, it lit up the entire sky. The cat watched from the window sill. I wondered what the moose and owls and mice and voles were doing? Were they awake watching, or ignoring it and doing whatever they usually do at night? Finally a distant echo of thunder rolled down the lake. When it grew louder, I got up and shut most windows and unplugged the computer. Then I stood on the porch in the dark. The storm would pass us by, just to the north. The thunder only grew so loud, and the breeze only blew a little. After a couple of perfunctory rain showers, the storm was gone. Then we fell asleep.

A link to the photograph above can be found here..

Amazing hostess gift

2011-09-02T17:53:00.000-04:00

Recently we had some friends over for lunch, well, 'dinner', the big meal of the day, at noon. One couple brought a nice bottle of wine, which matched the entree, happily, for I didn't have the right kind in my cupboard.

The other couple, the wife of whom is never to be outdone in the creativity department, arrived with a basket in her hand, saying, "I brought some ladies to tea!" A photograph of the 'ladies' is below. Needless to say, this is about the best hostess gift ever given or received in the State of Maine. Underneath the little plate (the 'tea table') is a jar of home made wild apple sauce. Note the parsley hair, and the little elastics tying the gingham 'napkins'.

Thanks to our lake neighbor Julie who stopped in from a marathon solo kayak voyage and took a picture of it for us.

Nothing stays the same

2011-08-23T16:49:00.000-04:00

I've been gone to the city for a couple of weeks, and returned to 'camp' to find that even in late August, the season has begun to shift...in very subtle ways. The strawberry leaves are brown at the edges. The bunch berries have 'berried out' brilliantly. The goldenrod are blooming, and the crickets are quieter now. Hardly any sign of the hummingbirds, which usually stay until just after Labor Day. This reminds me that nothing stays the same up here, as in life. We've got a new neighbor building a log cabin, and a new family has bought a place over in the next cove. They shoot off fireworks and play their boombox loud at night on the weekends. Has the neighborhood gone to the dogs? Hardly. But it's different. Yet the blueberries are super-abundant this year, and the loons laugh in the early morning as always. Still, the cool breezes today seem to have banished the doldrums of summer overnight.

Campworthy Car is No Car

2011-07-30T22:57:00.003-04:00

After a few weeks of study, comparison and test drives, we decided not to buy a new 'campworthy' car to preplace my 1993 Saturn. Why? Nothing seemed just right. Of the small SUV's and Crossovers we looked at, nothing hit the sweet spot. Mileage, good repair and maintenance reputation, adequate road clearance, heated seats (yes that was my one 'must have'), cargo space and price never converged in one vehicle.

So instead, I'll take my husband's Ford Escape, and he'll get a used pickup. Actually, he's been talking about doing this for a long time, but I had it in my head that I would find the perfect nice small SUV that would be 'just right'. Instead, all the cars we looked at seemed 'just wrong'.

I will continue to be on the lookout for a small crossover SUV with the following: highway mileage over 30mpg, heated front seats, decent road clearance, a good reputation for maintenance, sun/moon roof, and good cargo space. Oh yes and it should be priced around $20,000 with all these features.

Until then, I'm sticking with the Escape. Which suits me just fine!

Most Camp-worthy Car

2011-07-02T17:24:00.001-04:00

My beloved 1993 Saturn bit the dust this week. I am still in mourning for this car that saw me through so many years - 16 years of ownership (I bought her used). Many trips to the north woods and the big city. It just plumb rusted out underneath...and the 'ball joint' went out. The verdict from the repairman was that it is no longer drivable.

So, I am on the lookout for a camp-worthy car that can take punishment on dirt roads, with errant rocks and ruts and puddles. And that will get good mileage so that my 30 mile drive to buy groceries doesn't cost a bundle.

They closed down the Saturn brand in 2008 or 2009, so I don't want to go with a used Saturn, though I will remain loyal in my heart to that car concept and company forever. So far, I have looked at Subaru Outback and Forester, as well as Honda CRV. I was ecstatic with the mileage of the Ford Focus and the new Ford Fiesta, but their clearance is so low I'd be damaging the undercarriage on my first trip to camp. But the Honda's and Subaru's have much lower mileage than my dear old Saturn which easily got 38 mpg on the highway. Other suggestions from friends have been the Mini Cooper Countryman, and the VW Golf Diesel.

My ideal would be a slightly larger Honda Fit with a higher clearance, or an Outback with good highway mileage.

Will update you, faithful readers, on what I find. But as a female driver, with a life in the city as well as the woods, a compact SUV would be ideal. I would take a Honda Fit in a heartbeat if it wasn't so low to the ground.

If any of you have suggestions, post a comment. I'm thinking this topic might even be worth a newspaper or magazine article.

It's that time, at last!

2011-04-28T11:48:00.000-04:00

We are in the final throes of packing to open up the cabin for the season. We just backed the trailer into the garage. The post mistresses on both ends are all set.To-do lists are everywhere, and piles of things are starting to appear in the house. Big plastic square bins are the best for packing. You can snap their lids on and stack them up nicely.

Friends from the cabin are checking in; and the snowbirds are slowly driving north. Warblers have arrived here and are singing like mad, which means we'll be up north in time for their arrival there. Strong southerly winds are likely propelling them along. We hope to get there before the hummingbirds arrive.

Seasonal migration is a big undertaking for humans. I wonder how the migrating birds prepare; probably they gorge themselves on bugs as they fly north, trying to keep up their body weight. At least they don't have to worry about to-do lists.

First night at the cabin

2011-03-31T19:44:00.029-04:00

Some close family members bought a cabin today. They called us from their new place as they sat before the fire, savoring the moment.

There is nothing like the first night at your cabin. The air is filled with a wild sweetness, and the night sounds of the woods keep you awake. The cabin logs expand and crack. Spring peepers and choruses of frogs sing all night. A couple of owls may pay a visit and hoot for a while. Loons laugh in the far cove. Who knew it could be so noisy in the middle of the woods in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night?

Soon, though, those sounds become a lullaby, and not just when you're at the cabin, but during the months when you're away, in the city. How many nights I've laid in bed at home, or even traveling far from home, lulling myself to sleep with thoughts of a summer night at the cabin with the windows open to the night sounds.

That very first night in your cabin is a special milestone. So, here's to you, new cabin owners! May you make many wonderful memories in your well deserved piece of paradise!

Excellent Essay in Downeast Magazine - "Cabin Noises"

2011-02-04T12:51:00.000-05:00

Meg Adams has written a beautiful essay in the February, 2011 Downeast Magazine about waking up at her family cabin when sleeping in the loft. Bravo, Meg!

Here's the link to the story: "Cabin Noises" by Meg Adams

Midwinter

2011-02-03T16:24:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow it's midwinter. It's about 90 days until our big drive north to the cabin. That's assuming the snow melts and the mud dries enough for us to make it the last mile into camp.

Until then, near Boston winter is at its most robust. The deepest cold periods are done and now it's all about the snow. It's piled up to about four feet beside the roads. Ice dams glisten on the roofs. We're out shoveling so often we don't need to greet our neighbors anymore. Yet there is gradual melting, and we can feel more power in the sunshine each lengthening day. Today goldfinches appeared at our feeder, the yellow in their feathers still muted. But when they chirp and fly in dipping arcs, they're singing of the spring to come.

Meantime, we read our books about the north. We connect with our cabin friends by e-mail and phone. We're already planning the season.

For Old Time's Sake - Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T09:22:00.000-05:00

Tonight we say goodbye to 2010. Many of us will sing "Auld Lang Syne" but few of us will understand its meaning. In Scotland it is sung not only at New Year's but also at funerals, graduations, changes of government, and so on. The song asks: Is it right that old aquaintenances be forgotten forever? It then answers: we...'ll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne (for old times' sake).

So, Happy New Year, and may you create many wonderful memories in 2011, the kind worth remembering in song, verse, or just in your own grateful self.

Woodsmoke from Old Cabins - A Fantastic Story About Log Cabins by Edmund Ware Smith

2010-09-16T09:19:00.003-04:00

The late writer Edmund Ware Smith is one of our idols. He wrote many stories and books about the northern Maine woods, capturing its mystique perfectly.

We just came across a story he wrote for Sports Illustrated in 1954.

Enjoy, enjoy. This is vintage Edmund. The link is below.

Woodsmoke from Old Cabins

Waiting for Earl

2010-09-03T08:30:00.000-04:00

It's been a very dry and warm August up here in northern Maine. We and our very patient houseguests have coped with the hot (90 degree F) days by eating dinner early, cooking meals that require little additional heat, and going out to enjoy the cool evening air on the lake. Yesterday I went swimming twice off a friend's dock, which helped during the afternoon. After supper, the men went fishing and in the process came upon a mother and baby moose. We women watched the sunset from the screened in porch of a neighbor. After dark, a soaking rainstorm passed through, and this morning, a mist is rising over the 'stream' in front of our cabin. In the mist, the loon parents are teaching their baby to call. So far, it's only making airy squeaks, but even those sounds carry over the still water. Tonight, Hurricane Earl will pass by off shore and will hopefully leave lots of rain for us. Meantime, the hummingbirds (females anyway) are still here. Some warblers, migrating south no doubt, are twittering. And groups of Canada geese gather in the stream. We can't wait for the predicted cooler weather to follow Earl.

The Best Show of All

2010-07-05T09:56:00.000-04:00

Up here in the north woods, the Fourth of July is a homemade celebration. And that makes it quite special. Given good weather, even in bad weather, everyone makes an effort to celebrate. If not for themselves, then for the sake of grandchildren and teenagers visiting from the city. This year it was a vintage Fourth. The weather was perfect - 80F with a temperate breeze from the north that kept the bugs away. The sun was shining, but gave us occasional relief behind beautiful puffy clouds.

On our lake, we have a 'boat parade' at 1PM. Mind you, the boats on our lake are not yachts. They are primarily aluminum fishing boats (aluminum due to the boulders), a few small pontoons, and 'Grand Lakers', a style of fishing boat that looks like a long canoe with a straight stern to hold an outboard motor. Everyone dolls up their boats with flags and streamers, and wears Uncle Sam hats and waves flags as we drive around the lake, counter clockwise in a caravan. A parade needs an audience, so others stay on shore, spraying the paraders with water guns, waving, shouting "Happy Fourth" and cheering. It's all over in 45 minutes and the parade boats disperse. This year we had 21 boats.

After that, everyone visits, and most have some kind of cookout and try their luck at fishing for bass, white perch, and pickerel. As darkness falls, one hears the booms and sees the brilliant color displays of fireworks. But those are unofficial and in some cases, not exactly legal. But there is something uniquely American about the whole day here, where citizens organize themselves to have a good time.

This year the day was special because the boat parade passed by a pair of loons with their new chick.

Then after the parade, when we were sharing a glass of lemonade with folks from a neighboring lake, a friendly yearling moose paid a visit.

Come to think of it, no matter what we humans do, Mother Nature always puts on the best show of all.

A pair of eagles floating in a Maine lake!

2010-06-01T18:14:00.000-04:00

Just came across this amazing blog entry on the blog about the birds of northern Maine.
Apparently a pair of bald eagles was seen floating in Bottle Lake, and, well, you just have to read it. Great story, and the photographs are fabulous. Truth is stranger than fiction sometimes!
Amazing blog posting about a pair of eagles floating in a Maine lake

Launch of the man-made loon nest

2010-05-27T08:50:00.002-04:00

Inspired by the Audobon Society, G. decided to build a loon nest to help the nesting pairs that come to our part of the water each spring. He consulted many websites about design, and went with a simple square version using hemlock logs, some old chicken wire left at an abandoned campsite, an old piece of plywood that he once spray painted with the words 'loon nests' to keep boaters from swamping them in years past, as well as sticks, branches and grassy soil. He also used some pieces of old fire hose to make two little slides so loon chicks can get onto and down from the platform.

This week we launched it, amid a stiff breeze from the south. We tethered one end to a concrete brick, and tied the other to the root of a half-submerged stump. It is visible from our dock, and we hope that within a couple of weeks the grass will grow up around it. Gary also added the feature of sticks as poles in the corners to keep eagles and other raptors from swooping down on the nest. A young nesting pair is in the area, and we've seen them scoping out the grass alongshore near the spot where it's tethered.

Here is a link to an amazing live webcam of a man-made nesting platform in use. Live loon webcam in central Minnesota

Season's Beginnings

2010-05-14T20:16:00.004-04:00

Spring arrives each year in northern Maine for me, with the occurrence of certain events. They seem to cascade all at once. It's like an orchestra gathering on a stage. Gradually, each player arrives, tunes up and warms up, and the sounds get louder and louder until the moment when the conductor raises his baton and the music begins. Well, the music has started up here, at last.

We had our inaugural fishing adventure. We went fly fishing with friends yesterday on a remote rushing river. On our way there, we stopped at a bakery in a small town near the river, in an old victorian home. After loading up on fresh bread, cookies and muffins for later, we made it to the river and picnicked on rocks near the water, then fished the rapids, hooking some bass . It was our first complete day spent outside. Fortunately, there was a fresh enough breeze to keep the black flies away.

This morning, coffee mug in hand, I sat on the porch and watched in awe as a yearling moose ambled across the 'front yard' along shore. The birds are back, singing like crazy; warblers, vireos, white throated sparrows, flycatchers and thrushes. A young pair of loons recently arrived in our waters, seem much younger and smaller than the pair that was here last year. Today, the motorboat and dock went in the water. It was warm enough to leave the windows open at the cabin all day. Our lake friends are arriving, one by one, driving hundreds and even thousands of miles to get here. And like them, the hummingbirds made it back to their summer home in the woods. Today, one of them sat for a long time drinking and drinking at the feeder. It must have been a long flight.

So the elements are here: friends, birds, moose, fish, boats, and black flies. The music of spring has begun.

Letting Magic Happen

2010-03-10T19:33:00.002-05:00

The March, 2010 issue of Cabin Life Magazine contains an article by K, about entertaining friends at the cabin. Here is the link to it. Letting Magic Happen

Midwinter Thoughts of the Forest

2010-02-03T20:03:00.004-05:00

It's midwinter today; we've got 45 days until the first day of spring, March 20th. Now that it's February, I start listening to recordings of birdcalls and forest sounds to get me through the last weeks of winter. These sounds are a great accompaniment to writing. My favorites are a CD called "Golden Pond" by Relax With, as well as an old cassette by the Nature Company called "Morning Songbirds."

Today we received a letter from our friends at the 'camp' who live up north full-time. They don't have e-mail, so we engage in actual letter writing with each other. Their latest missive was a card with a note, a clipping from the local paper, a cartoon, and a small photocopied sheet with a quote typed on it. It looks like it had been typed a long time ago on a typewriter, then photocopied about 2,000 times.

THE PERFECT SENTENCE

The following has been called, by some literature professionals, the most perfect sentence in the English language. It appears on pages 114-115 in Thoreau's MAINE WOODS.

"Once, when Joe (Aittean) called again, and we were listening for moose, we hear come, faintly echoing, or creeping from afar through the moss-clad aisles, a dull, dry, rushing sound with a solid core to it, yet as if half smothered under the grasp of the luxuriant fungus-like forest, like the shutting of a door in some distant entry of the damp and shaggy wilderness." Thoreau adds, "If we had not been there, no mortal had heard it. When we asked, Joe in a whisper what it was, he answered, 'Tree fall.' "

Rushing Wind

2009-11-10T08:52:00.037-05:00

I think we can all agree that the U.S. needs to reduce its dependence on foreign energy. Increasing our energy independence will entail a combination of the wise conservation of existing sources while exploring alternate sources. It will include both personal behavior and government involvement. There is no panacea.

Here in Maine, wind power has become a very controversial issue. Governor Baldacci has declared the development of wind power a priority of his administration and in this State, what the Governor wants, the Governor gets. He has expedited the permitting process for industrial wind projects by eliminating certain requirements. Maine currently has 18 industrial wind projects either online or at some stage of approval.

But let's pull in the reins a minute. Maine is known as "America's Vacationland" because of its unspoiled natural beauty. Many of us have bought or built cabins in pristine areas as an escape from urban lights, noise and traffic. We love the land and respect nature. Clear-cutting the mountain tops and ridge lines to erect 400' tall industrial wind turbines would do irreversible damage to Maine's greatest asset, its pristine beauty. Why are we rushing into it?

There is plenty wrong with the way Maine has charged ahead toward the Governor's stated goal of becoming "the Saudi Arabia of wind" but rather than explain how ill-conceived his plan is, I'm going to take a more positive approach. I want to present a quick list of questions that should be asked and answered before any industrial wind project is approved.

1) Does the site make sense? The government has completed extensive and detailed studies of wind levels across the country. The resulting maps can be seen at:

www.windpoweringamerica.gov/wind_maps.asp
and
http://rredc.nrel.gov/wind/pubs/atlas/

The American Wind Energy Association warns that "a site must have a minimum annual average wind speed in the neighborhood of 11-13 mph to even be considered".

2) Zoning. Is the site in an area zoned for industrial development or will zoning variances have to be granted?

3) Who's behind the project? Is it a public- or a private sector project? If it is private sector, we need to keep that in mind at all times. Who are the backers and what are their motivations?

4) Does it make financial sense? The project needs to make both short-term and long-term financial sense. If it's private sector, does the developer have sufficient capital? Will it be profitable? More importantly, would it be profitable without any taxpayer money going into it in the form of subsidies, tax advantages or other preferential treatment from local, state and federal government?

5) Are the projections valid? If the investors claim they will be profitable, are their projections based on realistic data? Every figure must be questioned and defensible. The burden of proof must be on the project's backers. Is there a ready buyer for the power generated? If so, is the projected sited near existing delivery lines that can handle the additional capacity?

6) Local impact. What impact will the project have on the environment, local economy, and the health of nearby residents? How many permanent jobs will be created? How will nearby property values be affected? Hard facts and trustworthy studies from existing projects are now available.

7) What impact will the project have on the current grid? Will the responsibility for building new grid capacity fall to the citizens? What impact will the addition power lines have?

8) Study the developer's reputation. Are there allegations of improper dealings associated with other projects? Any history of lawsuits or indictments? Have its other wind projects met their power-generating objectives?

9) Scrutinize those in favor. Which supporters have a financial stake in the project? Which ones have a less direct vested interest in it? Which ones support it because they believe "wind is green so wind is good"? Which ones intelligently back it only after careful consideration of the short- and long-term costs and benefits?

10) Scrutinize those against. Which opponents are against the project because they don't want it in their back yards (a.k.a. NIMBYs)? Which ones intelligently oppose it only after careful consideration of the short- and long-term costs and benefits?

11) Scrutinize the decision makers. This would be the officials of affected towns, the State DEP, Corps of Engineers, and others. If any individual with a vote in any stage of the approval process has any kind of relationship or stake with the project's developer, ethics demand that he declare that relationship and recuse himself.

12) Is it a net green gain? Setting aside the political and financial issues, will this project be a net gain in terms of 'going green'? Keep in mind that fossil fuels are used to start and stop the blades. Turbines also consume enormous amounts of grease and oil for lubrication and cooling. When the power generated is forced into the existing grid, the traditional power plants will by law have to throttle back and operate less efficiently, thereby creating more pollution.

13) What if the wind doesn't blow? Should the project fail to deliver as projected, will the developer be required to remove the towers and return the land to its pre-project condition through soil replacement and planting? If the developer has confidence in his projections, writing such a clause into any permit should not be a problem. If he refuses, consider that a red flag!

Well, that's my quick & dirty list. Before you ask, no, my cabin is not threatened directly by any industrial wind project. Yet I feel very strongly about the irreplacable value of a clean lake and a wooded ridge line whether it's outside my window or not. I'd just like to see wind projects subject to thorough, open, honest and ethical evaluation. Is that too much to ask? Let's not rush like lemmings to the cliff.

October's First

2009-10-01T13:23:00.006-04:00

Last night, dear friends came for 'supper', as it's called in northern Maine. One friend brought a lovely bouquet that captures the colors of a woodland autumn. She started with a few store-bought mum's and one sunflower, then added cuttings from the trees and bushes in the woods near her camp. She's captured the delicacy of fall's beauty. Here is a photo of it on our deck with some driftwood.

Click on the image to get a more detailed view of the bouquet. Perhaps a course in flower arranging would be in order for me this winter.

Two Articles Out on Cabin-Related Things

2009-09-14T13:12:00.008-04:00

Here are links to a couple of stories I wrote about cabin living - good and bad. First, is an an essay in Down East Magazine, about the summer ending.
http://www.downeast.com/magazine/2009/september/strolling-for-the-mail

Second, a short story published in the current Aroostook Review, about a retired couple from Boston who pick up a hitchhiker on a country road in northern Maine.
http://aroostookreview.umfk.maine.edu/v4su09/fiction/campbell.htm

The last of the houseguests have departed. Everyone caught fish, saw some moose, and enjoyed rusticating in the woods. The camp record for a smallmouth bass was broken. And, as usual, we ate too much and didn't get much work or writing done. Now that the summer is winding down, our thoughts turn to work. I for one am ready for it. Our summer friends are migrating south, and it's getting very quiet. This was an unusual summer, and perhaps we're all more ready to let this one go. More on that later.

Witnessing Weather

2009-06-15T17:53:00.011-04:00

We are at the cabin now, blessed with a highspeed internet hookup and projects. The spring is blooming into glorious summer. Even though we have electricity, plumbing, and our dsl line, we are so much more aware of weather here than in the city. It's not like we're living in a tent, but for some reason, it feels close to that.

A lot of it is our metal roof; even the slightest sprinkle announces itself. Beyond that, thunder is louder here. The wind rushes through the pines and hemlocks with great drama and sweep. A fog envelops the water and veils us from even the edge of the woods. Trying to read or write, I get distracted when a weather front comes through, or when the sunshine bursts out from behind a cloud lighting up the trees across the stream at sunset. In the suburbs or city, I'd never even notice that. Here I track the times of sunset and moonrise, checking out the sky many times each day to assess what is going on outside. Of course, we have to guage whether we can go hiking, boating or fishing based on the weather, that's certainly part of it. But I think being out here, away from dense clusters of dwellings, I'm drawn to consciously witness the weather here. Looking out the kitchen window at the shed during a sudden shower, I imagined what it would have been like 150 years ago, whether people in the Maine woods always had weather on their minds, or if they just took it as it came, without much comment. For me, up here, it's a constant source of wonder.

"There's a Porcupine in My Outhouse" - a great cabin read

2009-05-10T20:47:00.018-04:00

Just finished Michael Tougias' 2002 book, There's a Porcupine in My Outhouse - Misadventures of a Mountain Man Wannabe - about the author's misadventures in his primitive A-Frame cabin in Vermont in the 1980's and 1990's. Michael Tougias has gone on to write more than a dozen books, most recently about tales of daring rescue in New England. He's got a new book coming out next week, The Finest Hours: The True Story of the U.S. Cost Guard's Most Daring Sea Rescue". In contrast to the topic of his new book, "There's a Porcupine in My Outhouse" is a light-hearted memoir of his early days communing with nature as a new cabin owner. Even in its most introspective moments, the book never gets preachy. He learns to appreciate the natural world around him while experiencing a series of hilarious mishaps. I found myself laughing out loud at so many incidents in the book, most when the author was with his friends, getting into all kinds of trouble. While his interactions with nature are full of wonder, as soon as other humans get involved, the laughs aren't far behind. Despite all the misadventures, it was the cabin that got him started as a writer. The first story he sold was about a fishing trip he took with his two buddies. Highly recommended cabin read.

Calling on Neighbors by Boat

2009-05-05T10:37:00.009-04:00

We'd owned our cabin several months before learning the etiquette involved when calling on lake neighbors by boat. We have a small aluminum motorboat. Sometimes it's most convenient to jump in the boat and run up-lake to return a book or an empty piepan. But there are rules. I think they're a throw-back to the days before telephones, when people used to call on each other unannounced. But there's a charming subtlety to it.

1. Approach your neighbor's dock slowly, assessing whether they're home or not.
2. If you think they're home, do not shout or call their name.
3. Instead, you should slowly circle or wait just beyond the end of the dock. You try in this subtle way to attract your neighbors' attention. If it's bad weather, it's OK to pull up and hold onto their dock, but most people won't tie up. Just hold on and wait to see if your friends come out to greet you. If they don't appear you'll know they are not free to talk, and you can be on your way.
4. Most importantly, do not get out of your boat and knock on the door, unless it's an emergency or you're leaving something for them.
5. If you're leaving something for them, leave it inside or next to their 'front' door (the door facing the water).
6. If you're just stopping by to chat, and you see your neighbors are home but they don't come out, just pull away. Usually they'll tell you they saw you, but they were on the phone or in the middle of something very important.

We learned these rules the hard way. We were having dinner at our dining room table that has a view of the lake. Our place is far enough from the water that we can't usually tell who or what is at the end of the dock. A boat circled back and forth several times as we ate, and a woman in the boat waved. Since they didn't come up to get us, we ignored them. We learned later that they wanted to tell us that the mother loon on the lake we'd all been watching had just hatched her chick and was parading it on her back. This was a big event for birdwatchers like us and we missed it. But our friends didn't want to break the rules by running up to the house to tell us, or shouting. Now we know to come outside if someone pulls up to the dock, or makes a couple of passes by.

NYTimes Column - "Natural Happiness"

2009-04-29T15:31:00.009-04:00

The April 15th New York Times had a wonderful column by Yale Professor Paul Bloom about why humans need to spend time in nature, the most important being it's essential to our happiness. You can read it here. (Photograph by Reuben Cox).

My Favorite Screensaver

2009-04-07T21:54:00.004-04:00

It's pretty much self-explanatory.
(Right click to save it if you like)

Sporting Camps: A Great Way to 'Cabin' in Maine

2009-03-25T21:01:00.025-04:00

If you're considering renting a cabin this summer, why not book a week's stay at one of Maine's storied resorts known as sporting camps?

Maine sporting camps are remote resorts built near a body of water, usually comprising several log cabins and a main lodge where meals are served. The name 'sporting camp' has nothing to do with sports like tennis, or golf. A 'sport' is a century-old term for a city person who used to travel to Maine in summer and hire a guide to take him fishing or hunting. There are about a hundred sporting camps left. Most have an 'American' meal plan, i.e. they provide all your meals, so your family cook gets a much-deserved vacation too. (While some camps don't provide meals, others give you the option of cooking your own meals.) The beauty of these sporting camps is that you're in the wilderness, but you're not alone. You can spend your days enjoying the rustic setting, or exploring the water and woods. You can socialize with others, but not have the duties of entertaining. You can make new friends, and your kids can play in a safe environment, unplugged from cell phones, internet, e-mail and texting. Sounds like a paradise! And the prices aren't bad. Most folks book themselves for a week. Check out the Maine Sporting Camps Association Website, or the wonderful guide, Maine Sporting Camps by Alice Arlen from Down East Books.

Cabin Fever... Help!

2009-03-24T15:15:00.013-04:00

It's sixty-one days 'til Memorial Day and the official start of cabin season. I'm not sure I can wait that long. This year's strain of Cabin Fever has been particularly resistant to the usual vaccine. And it keeps getting worse.

When I closed the cabin last fall, I brought home a list of cabin-related projects to carry me through my convalescence. I also had an armload of cabin-related books to read. The projects are now done and the books have been read. I guess the only tonic remaining is to watch cabin-related movies.

With over a hundred channels of TV, Netflix and the public library's stable of videos & DVDs you'd think I could get through the remaining 8 weeks, right? While I was watching PBS run 'Alone in the Wilderness' for the fourteenth time, I started making a list of 'cabin movies'. Sadly, most movies that take place at cabins have to do with axe-murderers and the like. Anyway, here's what I found:

On Golden Pond: Who hasn't seen this classic? Both Henry Fonda & Katharine Hepburn won Oscars for their performances. Filmed on Squam Lake in New Hampshire.
Alone on the Wilderness: Watch an eccentric but likable character build a log cabin by hand in the Alaskan Wilderness.
American Values, American Wilderness: A documentary by Christopher Reeve.
Adventures of the Wilderness Family: An L.A. family (the Robinson's) decides to move to the Rockies to build a cabin and live off the land. Might appeal to the under-10 set.
The Lodge: Young lovebirds check into a lodge run by a creepy guy. How many times has this story been told? Skipped the theaters and went straight to video.
Great Lodges of the National Parks: PBS documentary series billed as the perfect remedy for cabin fever. I haven't seen these yet but they're on my list.
Adventure Lodges of North America: This one's also on my list.
Cabin Fever: Some college kids party in the woods where a hermit gives them a lethal virus.
June Cabin: A group of friends has a reunion at a remote cabin. One of them goes missing. One of the worst movies I've ever seen.
Wilderness Survival for Girls: Three high school girls at a remote cabin, a strange man arrives, etc. (Is it just me or is there a recurring theme here?)
Sam's Lake: Following the death of her Father, a girl invites a bunch of girlfriends to a remote cottage haunted by a decades old murder.
Ghost Lake: Following the death of her parents, a girl retreats to her family's lakeside summer house... wait a minute! This sounds just like Sam's Lake!!

Do you have a favorite cabin movie? If so, please leave a comment. Sixty-one days is starting to look like forever.

Eric Sloane, Renaissance Man 1905 - 1985

2009-03-23T10:32:00.004-04:00

Bill has a camp uplake from us. Whenever he comes calling he compliments me on the improvements I've made to our cabin. Bill is a retired pattern-maker and is amazingly handy himself. His own camp predated the road so he had to mule his building materials in on his back, on a sled or by boat. Having no electricity (still doesn't) he built his camp without benefit of power tools. I value his opinions and suggestions.

On one visit he asked if I'd ever read anything written by Eric Sloane. I had not. He then loaned me his well-read copy of 'Diary of an Early American Boy'. I devoured the book and have since bought every Eric Sloane book I can find.

In addition to his obvious talents and work ethic, Sloane repeatedly benefited from being in the right place at the right time. In that way his early life reminds me of Forrest Gump. Sloane took an early interest in art. He learned how to draw numbers and letters from a neighbor, Mr. Goudy (designer of the popular Goudy font) and started painting signs for money. Living near Roosevelt Field on Long Island, he painted the names and numbers on many planes and got to know many of the pilots. He learned to fly from none other than aviation pioneer Wiley Post, the first pilot to fly solo around the world. He quickly became obsessed with the sky and clouds, themes that would become central to his art. His first cloud painting was bought by none other than Amelia Earhart and another covers an entire wall at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

At age fourteen Sloane ran away to become an itinerant sign painter. He worked his way across America, painting signs on barns, buildings and stores. He studied America from a vantage point few people experienced.

Fascinated by weather, The Farmer's Almanac and the early American farmer's ability interpret "weather signs", Sloane is credited with being the first television weatherman, having come up with the idea of having farmers from all over New England call in their weather observations to a Dumont, New York TV station where they could be broadcast to the regional audience.

Over the course of his eighty years, Sloane wrote thirty-eight books and created nearly 15,000 paintings.

In the early 1950's, while restoring an antique farmhouse in Connecticut, he discovered a boy's almanac, inkwell and diary dated 1805. The contents piqued his interest in the life of early American settlers. By adding commentary and illustration, the diary provided the framework for the book Bill loaned me, 'Diary of an Early American Boy: Noah Blake 1805'.

While he may be best known for his paintings, it's his fascination with the lifestyle and ingenuity of early settlers that appeals to me. He is a recognized authority on Early American rural architecture, tools, folk wisdom and meteorology. Through his paintings and his books, Sloane's spirit lives on today as if he's determined to keep the invincible Early American Spirit alive. For this I will always be grateful to Eric Sloane and my thoughtful neighbor, Bill.

For a list of Sloane's books, go to www.townsendbooks.com/sloane.htm

Already There

2009-03-11T17:33:00.001-04:00

We all need to escape from our overbooked lives once in a while. What better refuge than a cabin, cottage, camp, or lodge, somewhere in the woods, on a mountain, or near a lake or river? Even if we really can't go to a place like that, we can dream about it. And in dreaming, we're already there.

It's the kind of place where.....

the office can't contact you since your cell phone hardly works and there's no e-mail.
you wear the same jeans and old flannel shirt for a week and no one notices.
you run errands in a motorboat or an old pickup.
you can't get any television reception so you start to read, and make conversation.
you spend a rainy day tackling an impossibly complex jigsaw puzzle.