Installed a nice, old-fashioned, wooden screen door today. Wonderful it is to work with wood with one's hands! The installation reminded me much of Dad when he did carpentry around the house and as a child I'd "help" him. [Of course, when I got into my teenage years I wasn't really in the frame of mind to want to help.] Didn't realize it, but he was teaching me stuff I'd be using and doing later on in life, which of course I've been discovering / recovering quite a bit lately. "Too soon old. Too late smart." What a wonderful Dad he was to us! The memories intensified when I went over to the Bargain Barn -- a lumberyard outlet for, and across the street from, the Hancock Lumber Company (on Poland Spring Road in Casco). After pulling two 12-foot pieces for the cabin loft floor and looking for some other pieces, salesman Chris directed me to the back lot of the building where he said I could pick through the "reject" pile of lumber and take whatever I wished ... gratis. Wow. [Working with wood is a lot like working with people, which reminds me of a far-better Carpenter than I, Who seemed to delight in working with "wood" He found in the social "reject" pile.] Found 4 or 5 workable boards for the loft area. A short while later I was about to buy a box of 2 1/2" finishing nails when he said, "Wait a minute. I think I've got these -- loose -- out by the lumber." Sure 'nough, he did. He grabbed about a pound's worth, put 'em in a brown bag ... and didn't charge me for 'em. Double wow. Got the lumber loaded atop the car and headed home.

Heading 'round the bend on Lower Coffee Pond Road, a trio of gold finches flashed and darted in front of the car -- bright yellow bodies flanked by black wings in frantic flapping motion. Got back to 43 LCPR and was surprised to hear, then see, 2 woodpeckers tearing away at the Central Maine Power pole adjacent to the cabin. Don't know if that's a good thing -- nice to get the bugs out, but then there are all those holes left behind. Took some video as they made their rounds (literally) up and down the pole.

The birds I've seen and heard to date in the neighborhood:

gold finches
woodpeckers
blue jays
crows
mourning doves
black-capped chickadees (Maine's state bird)
white-throated sparrows
loons

red-breasted robin

hawks

Sauntered over to my neighbor's property to take a look at how he set up his jet pump and water tank. Both are located a short distance away from his well and a much longer distance from his house. Got some ideas and hope to get started on getting my well water running again.

One thing that's really surprised me is that I expected there would be a lot of bugs around here during the summer -- especially the ubiquitous, huge and notoriously pesky Maine mosquito. There haven't been that many (relatively speaking, of course) and that's been a really pleasant surprise. One bug I've seen a lot of is the dragonfly ... what a fascinating creature! As I was photographing it, this little red number actually blinked both its big eyes a few times -- lids moving from the bottom upwards.

A beautiful day for the 2nd Annual Lobster Bake Event, hosted by the Naples Grange #94 (http://www.naplesgrange.com/). Naples is near Sebago Lake in the lakes region of western Maine. Had a couple of soft-shell lobstahs (a 1 1/4 and a 1 1/2 pounder -- wit' seaweed!), drawn butter, a cahb a' corn, an excellent 3-bean salad, a baked potato (alongside an onion), a hot roll, a slice of watermelon and a large cup of ice tea. Fantastic! Sat under the big tent and listened to some live music and other entertainment and chatted it up with folks around the table and those nearby. A true delight to sit down at the table of a town I've never been to -- sitting there on the village green to share a meal with perfect strangers and jus' get' to know each other in the process.

Learn the fascinating story about granges in Maine with this MPBN video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEz5Cm0BkUQ

Walked back to the car on the other side of the causeway bridge (it opens to let tall-masted boats through) and stopped in to the bridge operator's "house" to chat things up. His name is Don and he explained how the bridge opens (it turns horizontally instead of going up vertically). He's also an animal control officer for the area (Raymond and Casco), and I had to ask him about there being moose in the area: "of course there ah." He's seen them in Raymond (which is the next town southeast of Casco). So that means there's a possibilty I may spot one someday. I asked Don if I could take his picture and he said "sure," at which point he stood up, turned his back to the camera and dutifully posed with his hands on the bridge mechanism control board. Later on in the conversation he let me take a photo of him facing the camera.

Been trying to identify the birds in the treetops around my cabin: so far I've seen and heard mockingbirds, cardinals, blue jays, chickadees, white-throated sparrows, crows, woodpeckers, mourning doves and finches; and have heard the loons up on Coffee Pond. Occasionally I heard the extremely elusive whippoorwill's quirky trill late into the night. There are a couple of bird sounds (I think they're birds) that are occasionally heard, and they've really got me stumped.

In a lot of ways, Casco, ME reminds me of Russell, NY -- the town where my Dad grew up as a child before tragedy hit the family. But Casco is a lot more vibrant (then again, I'm comparing mid-August southern Maine with early-November upper New York state). Casco bustles with a really nice small-town feel and has all the same quaint components as Russell: the band-stand in the center of town, the country store, the village church, the community center, the small library, shaded streams to fish, etc.

Slow down. Simplify. Savor. Settle in. Share.

But I'm getting "wow"-ed and "double-rainbowed" almost to the point of embarassment. Almost ...

Found out the sister of a good friend from a camp I worked at years ago (Streamside) lives just a few miles from my cabin and so I went to visit the farm she and her husband have. It's perched on a mountainside with an utterly astounding view of Maine's western mountains and I believe that's Mt. Washington in New Hampshire -- way off in the distance.

Got my USPS mail package matters settled with the Post Office today (I put all of the names of my extended family on the list as possible names for receiving mail at 43 LCPR should they need it in the future -- hope they don't mind). Redeemed my plastic bottles for a $.50 coupon at the quaint little AG grocery next door. Bought some deli hamburger, bacon and cheese by the pound. Drove by the Hancock Lumber Co. which reminds me of Dad's Dad's mill along the Grass River. Fascinated with their lumber mill on Route 11 a couple of miles out of town.

Casco has 15 sizeable bodies of water within its borders (lakes and ponds), as well as streams, brooks and a river or two ... or 3!

Last night I went out at 2:45 am to see if there were any meteors from that shower I'd heard about. Was not disappointed: saw 3 nice shooting stars. I also think I caught a faint glimpse of the Northern Lights which are supposed to be quite active with the solar flares of late. While watching the sky outside the cabin, a forlorn-sounding Maine loon (or maybe 2 of them?) sounded out 5 times out near Coffee Pond. "Double-rainbow." Went out the next night (around 3:45 am) and saw 5 shooting stars and heard the loon call once. Beautiful to see so many stars and the Milky Way (thought of Abram / Abraham) and lamented that while in the city, we don't really pay much attention to them. They're hard to see because of the city lights and there are so many other things going on at the horizontal level.

BTW: while I was watching for the stars and Lights, JaMaine pulled open the front door and slinked out, scurrying under under the cabin (which is pretty much just an open space). I quickly got a light and coaxed him back to me and whisked him inside -- but it was a scary 4 or 5 minutes. I'd like to think he's too much of an indoor cat to run away, but don't want to find out. Frankly, I think he was a bit of a scurredy-cat under there. The coolest thing: he goes after the occasional bug that tries to come through the cabin and the hunt is a hoot. Sheer entertainment.

One of my neighbors left some freshly-grown string beans, a zucchini and some reddish greens (beet thinnings) outside my cabin. It was Chip, who I met the day before, from whom I heard some unsettling things about a former resident in the area. Lots of animosity and legal proceedings that went on surrounding that person here in this small, close-knit community. When I got back from my successful hunt for the wild blueberry bushes Chip mentioned, the beans, zucchini and beet thinnings were arranged on a board by my front steps. "Double rainbow ... all the way." Posted a short video on Facebook. Stopped by to thank him and his wife and talked for a good while. As I left, they gave me a fresh-grown tomato. Wow. Walking back to my cabin along the darkened road, I looked up and saw the Big Dipper through the trees towards the west while a half moon adorned the southwest sky.

I looked out the cabin window early on August 17th (3:45 am) and saw the sky flashing. Got out of the sleeping bag and went out into the strangely warm night air. Sitting on the front steps, looking toward the northwest, the sky put on an extraordinary show -- somewhat muted but simultaneously amplified by the fog. Scores of crickets and frogs provided nice ambience, along with an occasional "thunk" from acorns falling in the forest. Mmmmmm ... Maine ...

Attended the Naples Grange #94 Lobster Bake on August 14, 2010:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aixuvMVa9qw