“The Cranberry Island Series” by Donald Wellman; Dos Madres Press Inc., Loveland, Ohio, 2012; 108 pages, trade paperback, $17. Summering on the coast of Maine is a tradition going back at least into the late 19th century, and the atmospheric memories generated in those week-long, month-long or season-long visits seem to persist lifelong and
There’s nothing like ‘home’ restaurant cooking
Visitors to Swan’s Island are often shocked by the lack of options when it comes to eating anything that didn’t start out in your own fridge. Restaurants here vary seasonally as well as year to year. At the moment, we’ve got a couple options for dining out. The Carrying Place Market has takeout, and the
Oceans whisper in weathermen’s ears
The ocean provides not just food and inspiration, but real information that helps us get through our daily routines. For example, much of the weather we experience on a daily basis is driven by the ocean. In the Gulf of Maine region, oceanographers, meteorologists, and hydrographers are working with universities and other partners to feed
Robots sound ‘Thar she blows’
Timing is everything when it comes to managing areas in the Gulf of Maine where endangered North Atlantic right whales gather. The sooner the whales are spotted, the sooner NOAA officials can restrict fishing and shipping to protect them. On the flip side, the sooner it’s established that whales have left, the sooner ocean commerce
EU takes on fishery reform
The European Union is taking on fishing reform. Its parliament voted 502-137 in February on a package that protects endangered stocks and ends the practice of throwing unwanted, dead fish overboard, the BBC reports. Such discards are believed to account for a quarter of all catch. The changes could become law next year. A spokeswoman
Insider, outsider a matter of intent
We Island Fellow are asked to submit monthly reports to the Island Institute. Largely, the purpose of these reports is to give updates on current projects and to relay stories about life on an island. One question we are asked to address each month assesses our integration into the community. It is presumed that, as
Chebeague students join effort to track cottontails
CHEBEAGUE ISLAND — Brambles are often a nuisance to be avoided, but a handful of Chebeague Island students braved the densest thicket this winter to find evidence of New England’s answer to Br’er Rabbit. Shortly after a fresh snow, the students and a few intrepid adults sifted through the brambles on Greater Chebeague Island to
Fools and fooling around, island style
With April Fool’s Day just around the corner I’ve been thinking about some of the hijinks that are part of Islesford’s oral history. In the 1940s, when Irving Spurling used a horse and wagon to deliver ice and coal around the island, a group of pranksters took his wagon apart and reassembled it on
Black and white raker blues
The Raker’s Progress: Photographs by David Brooks Stess The lives of Mainers have inspired some of the finest documentary photographers America has produced. A short list would include Berenice Abbott, Kosti Ruohomaa, Madeleine de Sinéty and Susan Meiselas. The work of these and other photographers has been marked by an earned authenticity: they lived among
‘Topless’ shrimp nets reduce bycatch
A few years ago, regional scientists with New Hampshire Sea Grant created some innovative trawling gear designed to reduce groundfish bycatch. Studying the differences in swimming behavior of both fish and shrimp, they created a “topless” shrimp trawl that allows fish to escape easily. In shallow waters, the design works great, reports David Goethel, a