Though we are prone to complain about what this winter has thrown at us—brutal cold, ice, and plenty of snow—there are some redeeming features. Especially to a photographer. To a photographer, snow brings instant contrast, instant reflection, instant light. It remakes our landscape in a dramatic way, covering up much of what is dingy and
Penobscot River closed to lobster, crab harvest
AUGUSTA — State officials have closed an area of the Penobscot River to commercial fishing after mercury was found in lobster and crabs caught there. The Department of Marine Resources announced the closure on Feb. 18, to be effective Feb. 22. The closure will be in place for at least two years. The mercury is
From faking a broken bone to gravestone leveling, volunteering offers broad range of experiences
Since I’ve been back living on the island, I’ve taken up a regular volunteering gig at the Long Island Community Library. This past Saturday I was there, and somewhere between the two patrons, I started thinking about all the other volunteering experiences I’ve had on the island. I’ve done a lot of volunteering over the
Growing a taste for yellow tail
PORT CLYDE — Last week, a pick up truck backed up to Port Clyde Fresh Catch’s processing facility where a group of students from the Herring Gut Learning Center eagerly waited. In the back of the truck were the 150 pounds of just-harvested California yellowtail or amberjack, which the students were ready to unload. California
Lobstermen take health insurance plunge
Even though the state’s fishermen work in physically demanding and dangerous conditions, a sizable number go without health insurance. The seasonal nature of lobstering and the cost of insurance often make coverage prohibitive. A 2006 Gulf of Maine Research Institute study on the economic well-being of lobstermen found that nearly a quarter carried no health
Keystone pipeline decision kinked by politics
Last week, the State Department released its final report on the environmental impacts of the Keystone Pipeline amid intense media coverage. The reason many people in Maine are paying attention to how the Keystone decision plays out is that if this $7 billion pipeline project is approved, the immediate likelihood that the Portland pipeline will
North Haven’s Waterman joins 1,000-point club
NORTH HAVEN — Even the opposing team’s fans erupted when Avery Waterman scored his 1,000th point. The North Haven Community School junior point guard likely will remember the moment for the rest of his life. “I think I got it off a steal,” he said modestly. Dribbling down the court at the head of the
Learning to open up to friendship is a lesson learned
My cynicism began at a young age. Why get too emotionally attached to the kids in my elementary school when I was going to be moving to a new town once my parents finished building their house? I used the same thought process over and over. Why get too attached to the people in my
Snowy Owls visit an island off Boothbay
They’ve been seen, often in numbers, in Maine, on Cape Cod, in New York City and even as far south as Florida. Snowy owls, which typically live and breed in the tundra areas of northern Canada and Alaska (as well as in northern Europe and Asia), are known to migrate as far south as New
Island isolation is a relative thing
Over the past four years I’ve divided my time living between two towns—Long Island and Farmington. Now, it’s pretty easy to see the differences between the towns (there are a lot of them), but when I really think about it, they’re all surface differences. Farmington is definitely bigger. The University of Maine at Farmington alone