It's Time: Summer in Maine

Midcoast Maine at It's Finest

It's time...to plan summer in Maine. Although spring comes late to mid-coast Maine, now is the time that visitors book up the best weeks of summer at waterfront cottages throughout the state.

Are you a motor sport, lake kind of person? Try Sebago Lake. Solitude and fishing? Moosehead Lake. Seashells by the seashore? Wells or York. Dining, Dancing, famous lighthouse? Portland. National Parks and bicycling? Acadia NP. Classic Maine fishing village and Maine Lobster? Georgetown.

The list could go on and on and you'd think that with so many fabulous waterfront locations in Maine, you could wait around for a last minute special. After all, the great recession isn't really over yet. DON'T COUNT ON IT. This is Maine after all.

The Maine "camp" (also known as vacation rental or cottage) season is very short. Some folks only open their places from July 4 - Labor Day, and many others just from around Memorial Day to Columbus Day. If you want to vacation in July, August, or on a holiday you might already be too late in some locations.

We're booking much later than we did prior to 2008. At that time, April 1 was our "sorry booked" date. With the internet, things have changed, and people wait a bit longer. If it's Reid State Park & beach, fresh boiled lobster and clams, midcoast Maine, hiking, a deepwater dock for your boat, a quiet cove for kayaking, or just peace and quiet...we still have good availability at our Five Islands area Georgetown ME cottage.

If you are looking for another Maine experience we recommend VisitMaine.com.

How about a little Whoopie for your Valentine?

Photo Credit: Cranberry Island Kitchen

Promise: your Valentine won't be disappointed even if you're a bit late with this gift: Whoopie (Pies) in the shape of X's and O's direct from Cranberry Island Kitchen in Portland Maine. Nothing says "I Love You" like chocolate, and a little reminder of that last summer vacation in Maine will put a smile on everyone's faces.

Vacation Rentals Today from BETTER Vacation Rentals: Preview "Maine Vacation Rental Taxes Explained in New Bulletin"

Vacation Rentals Today from BETTER Vacation Rentals: Preview "Maine Vacation Rental Taxes Explained in New Bulletin"

Vows - Beth Ashley and Rowland Fellows - NYTimes.com

This is one of the most beautiful stories of love and my beloved Five Islands Maine. The photo shows joy in a way that I hope we can all experience in life.Vows - Beth Ashley and Rowland Fellows - NYTimes.com

For the bride's column back in CA read this: Since You Asked by Beth Ashley


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The Bounty of Maine

It's not too late to enjoy the bounty of Maine. Farmer's markets are still running and local artists are showing the bounty of the season as well. Enjoy the harvest while it's available in Bath and Brunswick.

Bath Farmer's Market - Runs every Saturday through October 31st at the Waterfront Park from 8:30 am to 12:00 pm

Bath 3rd Friday Art walk - Runs from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm on September 18th with over 30 area artists being shown.

Brunswick Farmer's Market - Runs every Tuesday and Friday through November 27th on the Downtown Green from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm

Brunswick Family Arts Festival - September 26th throughout the day featuring music, workshops and art demonstrations for all ages on the Downtown Green and Maine Street.

MaineBusiness.com | Maine News Direct

When the kids were younger one of my favorite activities on vacation in Maine was to read picture books to them that were set in Maine. Maine has a unique way of making that perfect setting and speaking to each of us. They still talk about "Blueberries for Sal."

We have a new picture book we'll need to add to our cottage collection this year: "The Scallop Christmas" by Georgetown's own Jane Freeberg.

Read more about this lovely book and the October 10 reception in Georgetown Maine at:

MaineBusiness.com | Maine News Direct

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50 tasty, satisfying, fun, yummy, surprising, finger-licking, scrumptious, enticing finds - The Boston Globe

Robinhood Free Meeting House is one of those restaurants that many associate with a special occasion, but for us, it's just a neighborhood restaurant when we are at our cottage in Georgetown Maine. Now we can share another little taste of Maine with others and at home. In addition, this great Boston Globe food article gives us a few more things to try while here this summer. We do think the author missed Main Sweets, also here in Georgetown where you can get great whoopie pies and Needhams for dessert!

50 tasty, satisfying, fun, yummy, surprising, finger-licking, scrumptious, enticing finds - The Boston Globe: "Hot From Your Oven

Chef Michael Gagne’s award-winning 72-Layer Cream Cheese Biscuits – drawing patrons since 1996 to his restaurant, Robinhood Free Meetinghouse in Georgetown, Maine – are now distributed (they’re frozen in six-packs) in retail outlets, including Hannaford supermarkets. At all Hannaford markets in eastern Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine"

Weekly Events Around Bath Maine June 4 2009

The information below is taken from the Main Street Bath weekly newsletter. I'm not in Maine yet, but if I were my picks for this week would be:
6/5 Friday Night Jazz at Solo Bistro in Bath on Front Street (who can resist wine and live Jazz?)
6/6 National Trails Day - Weber Kelly Preserve work in Georgetown


Kennebec Estuary Land Trust celebrates National Trails Day

Schedule of events:

Friday, June 5

Workshop - 5:30-7:30 pm. Nancy Sferra, Director of Science and Stewardship at the Nature Conservancy in Maine, will describe how to protect trails from erosion and streams from siltation with the use of water bars and stream crossings. She will discuss building techniques out on the land at Sewall Woods Preserve, Whiskeag Road, Bath (click for directions).

Saturday, June 6 (National Trails Day!)

Work Party - 9:30-11:30 am. Apply what you learned at Friday’s workshop to the wet spots at Weber Kelly Preserve, Bay Point Road in Georgetown

* Construction of water bars on all of the steep slopes using materials on-site (either logs or rocks)
* Build bog bridges at several wet spots along the trail. Bring a drink, gloves and tools. Marnee’s Cookies is donating treats for us!

Work Party for Bath Trails - 9:00-11:00 am. Help build the first section of a new 5 mile multi use trail connecting the Bath YMCA to the Thorne Head Preserve. Meet at the Bath Y parking lot with gloves, tools and enthusiasm for helping create the next great trail in Bath! Contact Bill Milam at wmilam@suscom-maine.net for more details.

Hike Green Point Preserve, West Bath - 3:00 pm. Hike with Morse High School Environmental Science student, Jill Brown. A KELT volunteer, Jill is researching the land use history of this preserve?which has lovely views of Brigham’s Cove and down the New Meadows River, in addition to a curious geologic bedrock inclusion. Route 209 to Campbell Pond Road, 1 mile turn onto Birch Point Road. Roadside parking on the left.

FMI contact: Alicia Heyburn, Outreach and Communication Director Kennebec Estuary Land Trust

207-442-8400 www.kennebecestuary.org

Celebrating 20 years of conservation in the Kennebec Estuary!

Whatever Floats Your Boat at Maine Maritime Museum

Behind-the-Scenes Tours of BIW—one of a kind opportunity

The Boston Globe touts these “not to be missed” trolley tours so come now before all the tourists arrive and then bring your house guests when they get here. Call 443-1316 ext 0 for reservations. Museum members enjoy free admission and significant discounts so sign up on-line at www.MaineMaritimeMuseum.org

NEW and FUN: Beginning Thursday, June 11, 3 pm

“Basically Basement: The Museum Storage Tour”

Have you always wanted to explore what the Museum visitor doesn’t usually see? Do you want to see the “rest of the iceberg” in our cool collection storage. Join Museum Curators for a one hour voyage through maritime artifacts, from the sublime to the outrageous. Tours are once a week, Thursdays at 3 pm.
Call 443-1316 ext 0 for information or reservations…

SPI Open Houses, Hidden Gardens Tour coming June 13th

The 7th Annual Open Houses, Hidden Gardens Tour in Bath, Maine, presented by Bath Savings Institution for Sagadahoc Preservation, Inc will be Saturday June 13th, 2009 from 10:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M.

The tour originates at the Winter Street Center at 880 Washington Street in Bath, Maine. Each ticket for the self-guided tour includes entrance to a dozen architectural gems and gardens in Bath’s North Historic District including the homes and gardens of Garden Street. Tickets for the complete tour are $20.00 presale (prior to 6/13) and $25.00 at the door. More information is online at www.sagadahocpreservation.org.

The Bath Historical Society’s Hooked Rug Show is also on June 13 from 10am to 4pm at 906 Washington St. (Minnie Brown Center) in Bath. So make plans to spend the day or the weekend in Historic Bath enjoying its wonderful architecture and gardens in bloom!

Friday Night Jazz June 5th at Solo Bistro, 128 Front Street

This Friday in the Wine Bar the doctor will be in — two in fact, the Doctors of Jazz: Tim O’Dell on the sax with his Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Iowa, and Richard Nelson on guitar with his Doctor of Musical Arts from Columbia. These guys are definitely gonna be good for what ails ya!! Office hours begin Friday night at 6:30 and continue till 9:30!


Goat Milk Gelato… have you ever had any? It is all organic, goat milk gelato from ‘Painted Pepper Farm’. Come sit in the bay window area overlooking the beautiful ‘Spirit of the Sea’ Fountain and Winter Street Church, sipping on Kismet Inn’s Tea while conversing with a friend. There are other offerings such as group spa day with tea, yoga with tea, dinners, exfoliation and….

Please, check my website http://kismetinnmaine.com/ for more detail on other services.





Marnee’s Cookie Bistro introduces new lunch fare, 23 Elm Street

Because life is simply too short to only eat cookies… we are pleased to offer yummy sandwiches, delicious deli salads, green salads and seasonal soups to savor from Wild Oats Bakery of Brunswick. Prepared and ready to go if you are on the run, taking a break from work, for a picnic at the beach or for a boat ride on the Kennebec. Or simply enjoy a leisurely lunch at the bistro or in the park next door.

Along with the usual bistro beverages, we are now offering aero-press fresh ground coffee, iced coffees, fresh brewed iced tea, sweet tea, and lemonade.

Top off your lunch with one of Marnee’s cookie-licious desserts. Choose from the regular 16 scrumptious cookies or the ’special’ cookies of the day. Try our ice cream desserts; we are proud to feature a collaboration between Marnee’s Cookies and Smiling Hill Farm Ice Cream of Westbrook; “Nirvana”- the ice cream is the first and a wonderful combination of vanilla and “Nirvana” cookie tidbits.

Marnee’s Cookie Bistro - now more than your cookie destination!

June Bistro events:

* Bistro Blues: Friday, June 5th - 6-9 pm
* Kids’n'Cookies: Saturday, June 20th - 11 am - 2 pm
* Ice Cream Social Sundays: Every Sunday - all day
* Bistro Birthdays: Anytime even after hours
* ‘Twilight’ Thursdays: Starting June 18th

FMI: 1-207-371-8017 / http://www.marnees.com/visit.asp

Marnee's Cookies-Bath, ME "The Cookie House Song"

Ok - It's corny - but it's so very Maine and small town America. I cannot wait to try Marnee's cookies. Everything she does turns to gold. I'll have to wait until June when I head to Georgetown for my annual escape to our future retirement home and current vacation rental!

YouTube - Marnee's Cookies-Bath, ME "The Cookie House Song"

Cannoli and Lobster Claws

Sometimes you just have to share your favorite things with others. I was on Facebook this morning and noticed a friend (Italian) and her sister had been chatting about a pastry for St. Joseph's day, and of course conollis and Maine Whoopie pies came up. Got me thinking about my last trip to Boston and the North End and good old Mike's Pastry. For those of you needing some Italian pastries or cookies take a look. Me, I'm headed to a local San Clemente shop that makes them...

mikespastry: Pastry: "'Mike's Famous Cannoli: Handmade Shells, with a Favorite Fresh Yellow-Cream Filling – 10CT'
Code: CANNOLIYELLOW10CT
Price: $25.00







'Mike's LobsterTails (La Sfogliatella): Handmade Shells, with Fresh Cream Filling – 4 CT'
Code: LOBSTERTAIL4CT
Price: $20.00

Portland Museum of Art sets record attendance - Examiner.com

Portland Museum of Art sets record attendance - Examiner.com: "PORTLAND, Maine (Map, News) - The Portland Museum of Art has discovered that there's nothing like a little rock 'n roll to bring in the crowds.

The museum in Portland, Maine, drew a record 17,839 visitors in February, thanks to the popularity of its exhibition 'Backstage Pass: Rock & Roll Photography.' The figure broke the mark set by an Ansel Adams exhibition in 2000.

'Backstage Pass' draws from the nation's largest private collection of photographs of rock musicians. Many of the 268 photographs of artists including Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, the Clash and Madonna have been rarely seen in public.

Chief Curator Tom Denenberg says the exhibition 'exceeded all of our expectations.' It remains on view through March 22.

Fresh Lobster Photo from Five Islands Wharf

TrekEarth | Lobsters Photo: "Some of the most beautiful views of the Maine Coast and its fishermen at sea are available from the dock at Five Islands.

The wharf at Five Islands is a working wharf used by local lobstermen. A fishing village on the island of Georgetown, Maine and is known as the “prettiest harbor in Maine”, and is truly one of the most picturesque spots anywhere on the coast. The Five Islands harbor and wharf is part of the community of Georgetown, sits on the Sheepscot Bay, opens up to the Gulf of Maine. The waters are some of the deepest and coldest on the coast, which makes for the most sought after lobsters anywhere."

For the Love of Birds

Fascinated by the rare and beautiful Puffin? Learn more at an article by by Suki Casanave '86G(UNH) and at Project Puffin


For the Love of Birds: "For years afterwards, Schubel spent every summer working on one of Audubon's seven Maine island sanctuaries, sometimes alone, sometimes with a couple of other scientists. Her world was a rocky, treeless outpost, surrounded by sea. And birds. She didn't mind the constant calling of the gulls, the severe weather, the isolation. She didn't even mind the fact that most of the time she was covered with bird poop. Or the oily, fishy vomit that came up when an adult bird she was handling was nervous. It was all part of being Seabird Sue, the name she's earned through the years for her passionate love of her work."

Do Lobsters Travel from NH to Maine or MA?

Caption: UNH Ph.D. candidate Jason Goldstein holds a lobster with a temperature logger, an ultrasonic transmitter and a return tag. These items are secured to the lobster like a lightweight backpack to help UNH researchers learn about their migration patterns.
Credit: Rebecca Zeiber, NH Sea Grant

Traveling Lobsters?
Questions: How far can a lobster travel?
Answer: about 10 miles in a couple of days...or so say researchers at my alma mater: University of New Hampshire at Durham.


Below you'll find and excerpt of an article on research on the subject of migration of lobsters. Why might the Maine traveling public care? Why not - I don't eat lobster myself, but I find them fascinating and know that my neighbors rely on them and many savor lobsters. To learn more and why it matters check out this link: UNH Researchers Track Lobster Migrations to Improve Population Estimates: "UNH Researchers Track Lobster Migrations to Improve Population Estimates
Media Contact: Rebecca Zeiber
603-749-1565
NH Sea Grant
December 9, 2008

DURHAM, N.H. - Jason Goldstein checks his lobster traps in New Hampshire's Great Bay Estuary once a week, but not for tasty crustaceans to sell. Instead, the University of New Hampshire Ph.D. candidate is fitting these lobsters with transmitters and tracking their migrations year-round.

Goldstein has tracked lobsters along the New Hampshire coastline and into Great Bay throughout the past two years. This research, funded by N.H. Sea Grant, will provide more accurate information about the sources of juvenile lobsters and interactions between the population stocks in New England. The information could improve the management of this economically valuable fishery, thus allowing lobster to remain front-and-center among the New England menu choices.

Goldstein and UNH professor of zoology Win Watson are particularly interested in the movements of 'berried' females, those carrying eggs. This year, they are comparing the berried females' movements with those of the large- and small-sized males and females without eggs. Where the berried females go, so go their eggs, and those movements likely have implications for New England lobster populations.

'We often go diving one day and there are a lot of lobsters"

TRAPPED: Maine lobster towns try to weather a global economic storm | Portland Press Herald

Lobstering isn't as fun as it sometimes looks to summer tourists. Take a few moments and learn more about the current plight of Maine fishermen - these are our friends and neighbors in Georgetown - same story.

TRAPPED: Maine lobster towns try to weather a global economic storm | Portland Press Herald: "The cold November winds have Mike Floyd wondering if it's time to surrender to the stock-market plunges, bank collapses and credit freezes.

Someday soon, Floyd knows, the costs of steaming from home on Long Island and hauling his lobster traps will exceed the income he and his helper can earn selling their catch in a market scuttled by the global economic crisis.

'What it's going to come down to is how long we're going to keep doing this at this price,' he said.

There are still lobsters to catch, but lobstermen up and down the Maine coast have been hauling their traps back to shore as much as two months earlier than usual. Many in southern and midcoast Maine are now fishing for other jobs to pay the bills, while those in more isolated parts of the state are simply hunkering down for a long, lean winter.

The plunge of prices since early October has lobstering families and communities closing ranks and buying time. And what worries lobstermen even more than the approaching winter, they said, is the chance that the market won't recover by next spring or summer."

Potato candy? That's sweet.- Mainsweets-Georgetown

Oh MY GOSH! Now I'm craving these darn things! We have a cottage in Georgetown and I only get these Needhams once a year when I visit there. The rest of my family goes crazy for her Whoopie Pies, but me, I covet these delicacies! This is worth the drive from anywhere...and I don't even like candy much!

Potato candy? That's sweet. - The Boston Globe: "GEORGETOWN, Maine - 'What's a Needham?'


MAINSWEETS 284 Five Islands Road

(Route 127), Georgetown, Maine. 207-371-2806. www.mainsweets.com.

That's a question Patty Mains gets countless times a week at her trailer-sized candy shop and bakery in this woodsy coastal town.

For the record: Needhams are chocolate candies - Mains dips hers in dark Belgian Callebaut - filled with coconut, confectioner's sugar, butter, vanilla, and mashed potatoes. You read that correctly. A key element is potato - a fitting secret ingredient in a state famous for its spuds.

Also called 'potato candy,' Needhams are a vanishing treat, but they're still beloved for many native Mainers. The vegetable tempers the sweetness, and the butter and coconut add richness.

'The mashed potato makes it much more moist and not so sticky-sweet,' says Mains.

Mains got her Needham recipe from her grandfather, and the chubby little chocolates have become a signature item. She launched the business two summers ago after retiring from Bath Iron Works, where she had worked for 32 years.

For much of her life, Mains was known as 'the little candy girl,' the relative and co-worker who brought sweets to family gatherings and office events.

Before opening MainSweets, she took....

Prime time in midcoast Maine - The Boston Globe

Prime time in midcoast Maine - The Boston Globe: "There's a sign outside Rock City Books & Coffee in Rockland, Maine, that reads:

The air has a freshness . . .
The mornings are cool . . .
The light . . . well, it makes everyone
Want to be a painter or photographer
This is autumn's love song

Nowhere is that song more sweetly sung than in midcoast Maine, a region that encompasses such postcard-pretty communities as Camden, Rockport, Rockland, Lincolnville, and seven others. Through Columbus Day and often beyond, activities include sailing, golf, visiting world-class museums, browsing shops for everything from antiques to kitsch, and consuming the state's fabled lobsters."

Shedder - Lobster Photo

Red Moon Antiques - the Vintage Blogger: Photo of the Day - Lobster!!!

Maine's Bounty: Lobster, Literature, and Dahlov Ipcar

It's funny, my first reaction to this article headline was "No Fair" - that little school in Maine gets to have the First Lady (Bush I thought) AND a magnificent artist read to them? At my children's schools, much larger than Georgetown Central, got me as a guest reader on these "reading days" - never famous people! I did get chastised once though for "rumpus-ing" too much while reading "Where the Wild Things Are" since the teacher next door could hear me!

I wonder if anyone has ever chastised Dahlov Ipcar - the wonderful artist and illustrator for being to rowdy while reading?

Read the article here (it's Maine's 1st Lady by the way):MaineToday.com | News Update: First Lady, Dahlov Ipcar, read to students

Or take some time and explore the works of Dhalov Ipcar who resides in Georgetown, Maine. The art of this fine woman is not what you expect of Maine artist check it out at Dahlov Website

Maine, Five Islands and 6 Degrees of Separation...

While checking my ranking (which now stinks after enjoying a top 10 position for a year or more) for my vacation rental web site on Google, I came across a new listing for "Five Islands Maine" that I'd never seen before. It's a personal reflection written in 2006 by a woman related to the Pinkhams of Five Islands ME. It's nice to know that some things really don't change. This area of Maine is still pretty rural and we still drive past the homes of her memory to reach our summer cottage - which ironically is next to a Pinkham home...

Read on if coastal Maine and Five Islands is in your heart:
Maine.gov: Facts & History: Maine History Told by Mainers