MaryAlice Musings and More

  I often write my blog in the evening, sometimes in the afternoon but seldom if ever in the morning.   Today, as I am enjoying what I feel is "bonus time" on my porch I thought I would bring out my laptop and see what happens as I think about today.    I have quite a show all around me as I sit on my side porch.  The birds are very loud this morning,  I can see squirrels chasing each other around tree branches, the wind is orchestrating beautiful sounds with the leaves.   It rained last night and the air is still soft, but there is a coolness to the breeze that was not here yesterday.  There are leaves on the ground.  Yellow leaves.  The sun is breaking through every now and then.   My tea tastes just right and I am marveling at how many leaves turned colors while I slept well last night.   Earlier this morning I was thinking about the fall harvest,  I am feeling in tune with these seasonal pulls, I keep preparing jars filled with goodies and putting them on the shelves in

 Monday brought a hint of rain and more warmth.  It is almost tropical here, not a climate one evokes when thinking of Maine.  It allows me another delightful porch time in between my errands and tasks!  All of this with more and more color surrounding me.   Even in enjoying the soft, moist warmth of the day, I was restless.  I was up and down all night long,  not feeling well, and it was early this morning when I began to feel better.  So the day had a tug of sleeplessness and the omnipresent worry that are these days.   I took to roasting again.  This time apples.  I found an inviting Italian recipe for roasted applesauce and I roasted an entire baking sheet of apples.  The applesauce is delicious and I will make another batch to freeze tomorrow.   Then I took a nap,  it was just right for napping.  The softness in the air seemed to be like a blanket and I slept long and hard, and awoke with a fun dream just dancing at the edge of my consciousness.   I made a cup of mint tea and  can

What a weekend, warm breezes,  leaves turning colors so fast you can almost watch them turn, and reaping the joys of the fall harvest.    Yesterday I decided to drive up to "the county" of course the county is really only about a mile away from my house, but I decided to go to the farmer's market in Houlton and then drive US 1 to Presque Isle and visit the Micmac Farms and buy some trout.  The bonus of the drive - fall foliage which is almost at peak here in the north end!  The sun was shining, the sky blue and the colors were great.  I got to visit with Roz and Fred and Tessa at the market.  I picked up my Rosie the Riveter mask and headed for Presque Isle.   I plugged Micmac Farms into my google maps and off I went...there was great color and I got to see one planet before my plan was upended.  My gps was re-routing off of 1 and taking me south and east,  I was needing to go north and west.  After this re-routing I drove maybe another 5-10 miles, not sure....then I coul

 It is Friday.  Time is is so so warped in this time of chaos and the pandemic.  I used my new washer and dryer again today.  They are so quiet and so much quicker than the old machines that were in my house when I bought it.  I had never bought a washer and dryer before.  So at 70 I get to feel very grown up and my laundry gets done quickly and well.    My kitchen garden has served me well this summer, and now I find myself enjoying the light as it shines on the frosted and barely standing greens.   The spring and fall light is exquisite.  I am captured and delighted often.  I still am surprised.  I am so very grateful for these feelings that are evoked as I notice and appreciate and feel buoyed by these rays of light.   Today as I sat on my porch the green that enveloped me all summer long now has orange, yellow, gold and red interspersed between the green.  Some trees are almost all orange.  Some of have not changed at all.  But they will.  The leaves get to have their final glory,

RBG died and I could not write.  I was with my dear friend Kathy and we were in Lubec, Maine.  A long planned safe time together-then one more horror of 2020 occurred the notorious RBG left her body.  The republicans could not contain their glee and the same guy that said 9 months was too little time to confirm a justice said he would move to confirm a new justice before the election!  It was all too much, so we hiked the coast trail at Quoddy State Park.     After coming home I still could not imagine what I could say, my heart hurt, the daily assault of such vicious lies continues and fall has arrived. The light is exquisite, the sky has comforting blues and puff clouds.  I have roasted sun gold tomatoes, made applesauce and simmered soups on the stove.  Today I went to the Blum-Evitt’s to press cider.  Rick and Sara arrived and Alisha, MaryLou, Ron and I were like an old (emphasis on old) well oiled machine.  The cider tastes great.  The simple task of making the cider was so satisf

No Words.  What a women.  What a loss. 

Today my laundry is all done and it is CONSTITUTION DAY!   The National Constitution Center     Today is Constitution Day,   and only about 32% of students and adults can name the 3 branches of government - Legislative, Judicial and Executive.  In my idea of a new normal.  Civics classes would be held every year, bringing together current events,  legislative action (local, state, and federal),  how government works.   Since moving to Maine I have had more people tell me than ever how they distrust government and doesn't think it works.  (I think that they are talking about politics - which is not a branch of government).    What about amendments,  we sure are hearing people take a new and novel take on the first amendment - "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a re

I have spent the entire day in preparation.  Preparing for Kathy's visit.  Preparing for cooler weather.  Preparing for the washer and dryer to be delivered tomorrow, and more... Matt not only came over to mow the lawn, but he graciously agreed to help put my new porch rockers together....they look and feel great and the front porch with windows, new chairs and good books - it is ready for fall.  I hauled more canning down to the basement.  I brought up several bins of winter clothes.  I took summer clothes bins downstairs.  The upstairs is all vacuumed and tidy and the remnants of summer are all put away for this year. My 'misfits' box was delivered and I have a a beautiful head of Romanesco Cauliflower,  beautiful peaches not quite ripe, fennel and leeks.   I am looking forward to a little cooking, and lots of women's basketball!   WNBA Playoffs, Lynx in the hunt for the 10th straight year!   It is Tuesday.  Tomorrow I get my new washer and dryer I do not think I have

  I felt compelled to start today's blog with a little glimpse of my time at Millinocket Lake and the New England Outdoor Center on Saturday.  Turn up the sound, take a breath and enjoy.  I listened several times before I started typing away.  It was a day, so unlike my last week where I woke up to the smell of the ocean, watched the tides and enjoyed the softness of the fog.  I am past that initial feeling of appreciation for being in your own bed and enjoying all the comforts of home sweet home.   What a day, Monday and a new week, and lots to do! This morning I woke up really early,  fell back to sleep, and then had to step up my pace to be ready for the first day of my fall Tai Chi class.  Besides the class,  I had several folks who were coming to the house for appointments and several packages from UPS and Fedex!    Besides the comings and goings that kept occurring at my house today, the wind was gusty and relentless.   Mark, who was here cleaning the furnace, told me about a

  I didn't really mean to take a few days off....it just happened.  September 11th was an idyllic day, poignant with memories, and somber with realities.  I drove out to Golden Ridge to go to Ada's, the sun was shining, the green was really green, and the air, the air was very clear.  So different than the air on the West Coast and traveling across the country on the airstream impacted and a part of the thousands of acres of wildfires.     When I drove up to Ada's, it was fun to see that Don and Candy had also stopped to pick up some goodies.  Then I look at Candy and she has her right arm in a sling.  She was so understated and matter of fact when she said that she had broken her arm the day before on the treadmill at the school.  They were off to Presque Isle, she would need surgery to get it set properly.  We gave a little elbow bump, left handed (good news Candy is left-handed) and I wished them both well and off they went.   I am always so happy to see Ada, she lights

I left behind the softness of the coastal air this morning.  I woke to the sound of the fog horns and my phone sending texts about the heavy ground fog in the area.  As I did the final packing and bringing my "too many things" to the car the sun burnt away the clouds and the fog and I got to say a good farewell to the Lubec Channel.   It was a good day for driving,  not too hot and not very bright.  There were very few cars on the road, I saw hardly any for almost all of the ride home.   I enjoyed the ride,  the terrain changed, there were a few spectacular vista views.   There were stretches where I could see the road stretched out through the woods like a ribbon.  The closer to home, the more woodss and less water.   On the way into town, I stopped at Ash Hill.  The cows were happy,  the mountain range was still there, and the vista was all around me.  Next stop the post office and then home.   It felt wonderful to walk back on my porch.  The porch welcomed me back home,  i

 I have spent this past week looking out to the east from my loft windows and deck, at one of the Schoodic sculptures.  Public art is so precious and nourishing and I will take home my memories of this sculpture sharing the shore with the Narrows, in the Lubec Channel.  "Five sculpture Symposia from 2007 to 2014 resulted in a world class collection of large granite works of art that make up the new Sculpture Trail of Maine. The Schoodic International Sculpture Symposium was an artist in residency program that gave sculptors from Maine and around the world the chance to focus on a single piece of public art created in Maine granite. The six-week symposia provided a stipend, materials and technical support to each artist, in a communal working space open to the public. The finished works are now part of an outdoor collection that spreads throughout the region. The project was supported through donations from the local communities, general fundraising, grants, and in kind s

Fog and the International Bridge     Sunflowers, Fog, and the Bridge     Walking Another of the Cobscook Trails - The Coves -- Low Tide   Woodland Trail on the Cove Today I drive down Old Farm Point Road.  Some majestic old Victorians,  a beautiful old cemetery, and old general store.  Beautiful coastal homes on Cobscook Bay,  at the end of the road one of the organic farms, where I stopped at their little stand and got some fresh micro greens and a little garlic.   These trails are such a gift.  Wonderful signage, well marked trails,  picnic tables, and majestic views.  Today, I had unwelcomed visitors.   I have not had insect bites, not one since I arrived on the coast.  Today,  I was swarmed as soon as I got out of the car at Pike Lands Cove. They were vicious.  I itched as I hiked.  The "Pike" lands are beautiful and the first Mr. Pike brought a number of different trees and fauna to his precious land on Cobscook Bay.  It was a good little hike and I managed to forget the

  What a lovely last day of this holiday weekend.  The low tide this morning was very very low, and the morning moved from brilliant sunshine to fog rolling in from seemingly everywhere.  Dense at first then lifting exposing more and more of the narrows and it’s flats.   I listened to my Ruth Reichl Save Me the Plums Audiobook as I washed the dishes and brewed my tea. It was another morning where I could feel the deep appreciation that comes from these simple moments.  Enjoying hearing Ruth's voice tell tell enjoyable story of food, people and life.  Smelling my favorite blend of tea as I sipped and watched the fog moving thickly around the narrows.  Moments like this are timeless.  I put them on along with a sweatshirt as I got ready to leave the house and take a morning hike while the tide was low.   I headed out of town to the Parklands of Cobstock Trails.   I have not walked any of these trails before and I was not disappointed.  Another conservation effort of woods and waters