When people think of Maine, they mostly think of the coastline. I can’t deny its beauty. What most people haven’t experienced, however, is its stunning interior.
When Laura and I decided to move to Maine, I had yet to step foot in the state. Laura once vacationed in Canada, so she drove through via Interstate 95. After that vacation, she returned with stories of pine trees and long desolate roads. She said, “They’re huge! The trees! Once you make it north of Bangor, the trees seem exponentially larger than anything I’ve ever seen.” I’ll admit that Laura’s stories made me curious about the trees; I’ve always had an affinity for evergreens, especially Hemlocks. There are many Hemlock trees in Maine, but I think the claim to fame in the state is the White Pine. These majestic towers seem to be everywhere, shadowing everything. On my property alone, we’ve got hundreds. They certainly are lovely specimens.
I’m sure I was upset at something, the day we decided to move to Maine. I was in the midst of recovering my footing from a large project I had been working on. A few months prior I thought the time was ripe to move from Connecticut to greener pastures. My goal was to stay in Florida for just a few months and then move to Oregon to train Jiu-Jitsu under Roy Dean. I had recently received my purple belt and had decided the sport was that much a part of my life. I saw myself one day teaching others and living out my time on this planet watching those others progress. I never did make it to Oregon; I made it to Maine instead. If I had to guess, Maine is a better place. It’s too busy out west, too many people. Roy’s gym is too professional. Too organized. The whole idea was too everything. The day I decided to pass on our trip to Oregon, I asked Laura to find us a house in Maine. She did and we set out not more than a month later.
It took us three full days to make it from Florida to Maine. The days were exhausting. I would have liked to have made it in two, but between the pets and the traffic, it was impossible. When we finally crossed the border on Route 2 from New Hampshire, I could have cried. The way the sun shined through those White Pine trees onto that glistening, recently rained on road and the way the sign said, Welcome to Maine, the Way Life Should Be, well…I felt right at home. I’ve said it a thousand times – I should have been born in this state. It’s like none other.
We passed the Industry Town Hall around noon. We were headed a few miles north and just around the bend was the most beautiful lake I’d ever seen. I’ve seen many lakes in my lifetime, but none like this one. It’s called Clearwater Lake and it’s spring fed. It takes time to freeze in the winter because of those springs. The water’s a tad bit warmer than it’s supposed to be, but when it does get cold enough, the lake freezes over and the fishing shacks appear. Before the water freezes though, it’s clear and placid and the mountain on its north side is nearly overwhelming.
Sometimes that mountain isn’t visible though. Sometimes the fog is too thick. It’s foggy outside right now, the day I’m writing this post. I suppose that fog has something to do with the warming air and the blanket of snow we’ve got on the ground. I’ve never discovered how or why fog appears, but I do know the effect it can have on things.
This is Clearwater Lake today, in all her foggy glory.
If you look closely at this photo, just past the stones, you’ll see a tiny black speck. That’s a Hooded Merganser, a diving duck. It dove three or four times as I photographed it. Take a closer look.
It wasn’t easy getting these photos. I tried to make my way as close as possible, but let’s just say the terrain was tough. It was a very rewarding experience though and I’m thrilled to have had the opportunity to see this animal.
With this next angle, I captured some of the lake homes.
We’ve driven by this lake hundreds of times since we moved to the area. Sometimes it’s nice to stop the car to look around.
A Touch of Class
I’ve been wanting to visit Touch of Class in Farmington for some time. It’s been a few years since we’ve been and I was on the hunt for some wool sweaters and small table lamps. We usually search for bargains at a second-hand store right in town on Broadway, but one can’t visit a second-hand store too often and that’s what we’ve been doing as of late. Stock needs to rotate and if a store doesn’t have time to sell the old and bring in the new, the experience can become somewhat tedious. Since Touch of Class is off the beaten path, we don’t shop there nearly as often as we do the Farmington Thrift Store.
I must say, the two stores differ quite a bit. While Touch of Class doesn’t have nearly the expansive variety its competitor has, it makes up for it with its wildly lower prices and extraordinarily neat and clean atmosphere. Laura and I enjoyed ourselves during our most recent visit and I was even able to catch a few photos of some of the store’s Christmas decorations. You don’t see this sort of thing too much in second-hand shops.
Unfortunately, after trying on a zip-up fleece and two sport coats, I left with nothing. Apparently, not many establishments in the area sell the tall version of a large garment. I can’t even count how many deals I’ve had to leave behind because the sleeves on whatever it was I was trying on were too short. Either that, or my arms were too long. Either way, I wish the world would make more flannel shirts in the size large/tall. Is that too much to ask? I can live with leaving the fleece behind today, but the sport coats were made in England. One was houndstooth and the other was a beautiful dark green wool. The store was asking only $6.99 for each one. I could neither believe my eyes nor my misfortune. Having to pass on those sport coats will pain me for weeks to come.
The Dog Days of Winter
Every now and then, Laura watches a dog or two for some close friends. She’s been doing this for years and we’ve walked more miles than I can count with these dogs. They’re well behaved and give us the opportunity to hike the woods and do things we might not have done during the days they’re with us. Recently, I asked Laura if she’d mind taking a few photos of one of the dogs and me. The one in the photo below is named Scout. He’s a mix of Labrador Retriever, Weimaraner, and Pit Bull. He’s a very sweet guy who apparently doesn’t mind being photographed.
The photos came out better than anticipated. I have a tendency to ruin any picture I’m in because, at times, the universe is against me in this regard. I’ve watched others have their photos taken with no issues at all. Great smiles, wonderful stances – not me. Perhaps I’m being too critical, but at times like these, I’ll take what I can get.
We walked Scout for a while and then let him sleep in front of the warm wood stove as a reward for being such a good sport. Laura and I headed back outside to take a look at the stream that runs the length of our property. It had been frigid the night before, so we were sure the surface of the stream was frozen. We weren’t mistaken.
When the surface freezes over as it is in the above photo, we’re able to walk up and down the length of it and appreciate the different perspective the walk offers. It’s not often we can do this, so when we can, we take advantage of every moment.
I’ve heard people complain about the cold winter weather – that they’re stuck inside for months. I actually used to do the same thing. Through the years though, I’ve learned to avoid letting the weather dictate how I spend my days. When I was younger, if it was raining outside, I’d hide myself away in anticipation of the returning sunshine. Today, I slip on a raincoat and go do whatever it was I was going to do before the rain began falling. If it’s cold outside, same thing – add layers to stay warm and then head out for a snow hike. Windy, wear a hat. Do those who love to ski complain that the winter has arrived? Snowmobilers, too much snow? Not at all. I suppose it’s the way a person looks at things that allows them their happiness. Yes, there are times when I look through the window and affirm the fact that not even I’d venture out in what I was looking at, but for every other occasion, I remind myself that life is short and that time wasted…well, here’s a good saying for you: There is no greater harm than that of time wasted. Someone wrote that. I don’t know who, but it makes perfect sense. I can’t imagine using my final breath to mutter, “Boy, I sure am glad I stayed inside during that snowfall. Better safe than sorry.”
I’d like to thank you very much for reading this blog post. I think I’ve settled on compiling my thoughts through the week, capturing photos of this and that, writing it all down on this wonderful blogging platform I’ve been enjoying for years, and then releasing the final product to you on Monday morning at 3am. I’ve been reading about the optimal times and frequencies to send out posts like these. The experts tell me that too often can get annoying. Too infrequently can lose trust. Once per week – that’s the sweet spot. So that’s what I’ll do.
I’d also like to let you know that this is the way I used to blog. I’d have my camera in hand at all times. I’d take pictures of the strangest and most beautiful things and then write a post about whatever it was I captured. Times changed and the internet forced me into writing long-winded articles of a much higher quality than I ever had. So I’ll reserve my longer posts for that sort of thing. With this type, I’d like to maintain a running commentary of the more interesting goings on of my life. Or better yet, the life of the world around me. After all, it’s not me who’s most interesting, but everything and everyone else.
Western Maine
I’ll leave you with this – a few photos I recently took while driving around some of our local roads. We had no idea where we were going, but we sure did see some wonderful views. Enjoy the pictures.
This brings me to the end of another post. I sincerely hope you enjoyed it and, if so, I invite you to leave a comment down below to let me know your thoughts. It’s always nice to get feedback on the things I share.
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If you did any of these things, I can tell you right now that you’d truly make my day. Thank you so much and with that, I say adieu. Or at least, until next time.
Pssst…can you do me a huge favor?
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