I live in Maine, near the coast. Just far enough inland to NOT smell the saltiness in the air or feel the sea breezes. For that, I have to drive twenty to thirty minutes, down spits of land that thrust into the ocean, almost like islands, surrounded on three sides by the Atlantic. Lovely views…and gives me the feeling of being on vacation, even if it is just for a few hours. Plus, a yummy candy shop on the way (Island Candy Company – with handmade chocolates — and they SHIP!)
Island, Atlantic Ocean, and Beach Plums
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Inlet Leading to the Atlantic and Filled with Anchored Boats |
Although I do live blocks from a major river that flows from
our western mountains into the Atlantic. As the river winds between my town and
the town on the opposite bank, we do get some strange weather patterns. Just upriver it can be thundering at this time of year or piling up the snow in the
winter. And by the time it reaches us, the weather has shifted. It happens all
the time, that twenty miles inland they can have a blizzard, and we might get a
few flakes. Looking at a map, it is as if this town sits at the widest part of
a funnel. And the weather changes on either side of our funnel.
Our weather has changed a ton in the almost 35 years I have
lived here. The winters are milder. And the summers are hotter. Since I moved
here from a hot and heavily humid area so many years ago, I’m not so sure I
appreciate the increasing heat. However, it is nice to have a cookout in July
in Maine where I’m not still wearing knee socks and a sweater, as I did when I
first moved here.
So now, the living is definitely easier during the summers
in Maine.
As the song "Summertime" circles my head, I think of lazy rivers and
sunny days, where one wipes one’s forehead constantly, to dispel the effects of
that new version of summer heat in my neck of the woods. I think of lunches on
the deck at a restaurant situated in the renovated brick factory that overlooks
the rushing water that has spilled over the falls within sight of the deck. The
water that now rushes to move the river toward its destination of the Atlantic.
That lazy river above the falls, turns into a churning frothy rush of water.
Beside the falls is a fish ladder, built to allow the alewives to “climb” the
waterfall and travel up the river to spawn.
When I first moved to this town, the brick buildings were
still in use as factories. On those still, hot days with no breeze, or a day
with the wind blowing toward town, the stench of factory smoke was overwhelming—like
a zillion eggs rotting on a sunny day. They now hold numerous condos and businesses,
each with beautiful views down the river, where in the winter, when the river
freezes over, sit the little wooden houses sheltering ice fisherpeople.
Now, as we move into summer and the living seems easier, we can enjoy so many things that were not here in this small town when I first moved in or have been greatly improved.
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Farmer's Market and Town's Famous Tall Pines |
We have a downtown green space with a gazebo that is large
enough to hold a small orchestra. In the summer there are Wednesday concerts,
when folks bring their lawn chairs and a picnic. We have the farmers market set
up every Tuesday and Friday mornings on that green and in the winter if the
weather permits, they flood that area with water for ice-skating. The town
hosts first Fridays, where businesses stay open late and offer specials. We
have lovely, small-town parades on certain holidays such as Memorial Day and
the 4th of July.
My town is building more housing and retail, that now stretches farther away from downtown. We have welcomed refugees. We have a private 4-year college, as well as a satellite campus for the state’s university system, which means our population increases at certain times of the year.
Also on the campus is the infamous Maine State Music Theater, where
actors clamor to be chosen to work the summer theater plays. I recently learned
that the nine singer-dancers, aged eighteen to early twenties, were chosen from
casting calls that started out with a pool of over 3,500. Coming to Maine for
the summer to work with seasoned actors, many from Broadway, is a dream job.
You have to be very special if you are one of the nine chosen.
We have a population of almost 22,000, up at least 3 to 4K
from when I first moved here.
So, to say … summertime and the living is easy … might be a
slight exaggeration as we all carry on with daily life as usual. But the
special moments of gathering as a town or taking advantage of the wonderful
summer offerings, certainly do feel as though the living is easy.
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Lobster Boat at Dawn |
Oh…except for the increased traffic and the crowded grocery
store. But hey, that’s what taking a breather is all about. Driving to the
coast to watch the ocean flow around the islands dotted along the shore or waking very early to hear the chug of the lobster boats and observe the lobsterpeople
haul in their catch and reset their traps. Or listening to the seagulls squawk
at the first signs of sunrise, awakening those who have summer rentals and
might want to sleep beyond early dawn. Or watching the gulls swoop in and pluck
out a fish. Those same seagulls have a nasty tendency to interrupt a picnic
table dinner—hold on to your food, folks!
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Seagulls Scavenging for Food After We Tossed Lobster Shells into the Water |
But yeah, the living is much easier and more fun in the
summertime.
No shoveling!
Does summertime seem to be easier?
Or harder? And why?
Amazon: (also in print)
~ cottages to cabins ~ keep the home fires burning ~
Delsora Lowe
writes small town sweet and spicy romances and contemporary westerns, from the
mountains of Colorado to the shores of Maine.
Author of the Starlight Grille series, Serenity Harbor Maine novellas, and the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series, Lowe has also authored short romances for Woman’s World magazine. The Love Left Behind is a Hartford Estates, R.I. wedding novella. A Christmas novel (The Inn at Gooseneck Lane) and novella (Holiday Hitchhiker) were released in late fall 2022. Look for book 3 of the cowboy’s series, as well as book 2 of the Hartford Estates series, in 2024.
Social Media Links:
Author website: www.delsoralowe.com
Facebook Author page: https://www.facebook.com/delsoraloweauthor/community/
Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Delsora-Lowe/e/B01M61OM39/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Books2Read Author page: https://www.books2read.com/ap/8GWm98/Delsora-Lowe
BookBub Author Page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/delsora-lowe-93c6987f-129d-483d-9f5a-abe603876518
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16045986.Delsora_Lowe
Instagram:
#delsoralowe
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IMAGES:
Lazy
River: clipground.com/pics/get / clipart of a river 10
free Cliparts | Download images on Clipground 2024
Conga Line: https://www.clipartkey.com/view/xhRoJi_conga-line-conga-line-clip-art/
Lobster Boat, Seagulls, Farmers Market, Ocean and Landscape Views: photos
taken by the blog author
6 comments:
Great post, Delsora. Maine just moved up on my must-visit list!
I agree that summer is easier--I get tired of ice and snow in the winter.
Lynn - Maine is so beautiful, since we have ocean and mountains, and lots of sweet small towns. plus, Portland with world-renown restaurants, museums, the waterfront restaurants, a ferry to some islands with nice walking trails, a near-by lighthouse and beaches. Truthfully, fall (known here as leaf-peeping season) is my favorite season, since the highways are "almost" back to normal. The kids are back in school, and the "from-away" tourists are not as numerous, etc. Holler, if you come this way and we can meet!
Deb, If I make it to Maine (it is on my "would most like to see place" in the U.S., I'd come in the fall (after the heat of summer and before the snows of winter) and when the ground isn't yellow with pollen. You are closer to the ocean than I am by 30 - 45 minutes (depending on traffic) and about the same travel time to Multnomah Falls and the Columbia River Gorge. We are so fortunate to live close to nature in it's natural habitat.
Deb, you make me homesick for the Northeast. When my kids were young, we vacationed several times in Maine, sometimes at Acadia and sometimes inland in the woods. It was so beautiful. (except for those danged flies and mosquitos)
Janet
I love your descriptions, Delsora! Actually, I love your word choices, too - basically, I love your voice! I want to visit Maine and see Alewives and fisherpeople!
Janet - yes... those black flies are vicious. Maine is a beautiful state with the mountains to the sea and everything in between.
Sarah - thanks so much on the voice comment. WOW - that is so nice to say. If you or Janet or anyone else ever gets to Maine, give me a holler.
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