Op-eds

Blog Category: Op-eds

Description:

A black lab poised at the bow of an old sailing ship

How the Maine Bow Dog Got its Name

One hundred years ago this week, a noteworthy event took place off the mouth of Fish Bait Harbor just where...
Barnaby Porter at age 14 with a juvenile seagull

Tweedledum

In nature films and in books about birds, a great deal is made of the Herculean efforts of the parents...
image of a painting of men in a lifeboat pulling toward a listing ship in a storm

Life Boat

I was seventeen. I was making my first crossing of the Atlantic aboard the S.S. America, once queen of the...
a wide mouth jar on the grass with a spotted frog in it

A Jar

“When is a door not a door?”... “When it’s ajar.” That was just about the first joke I ever heard....
Full moon setting over a wintry river, framed by tall pines

The Moon

Been there a mighty long time, that old moon of ours. Four and a half billion years just keeping planet...
An old weatherbeaten house in disrepair

The Random Rough Hand

I have many times been struck by the irony of the raucous and even violent end that so often befalls...
shrub wreathed in twinkle lights and covered in snow

They All Look Alike to Me

They talk about snowflakes. No two are alike, they say. Isn't it remarkable, we think to ourselves, that there should...
a large burning brush pile at dusk

The Brush Pile

It began with a few small firs, pulled out by the roots and tossed in a pile sometime last July....
Dog lying by a woodstove

A Wintry State of Mind

On this cold winter night, with the thermometer and the clock both reading lonely single numbers, I find myself wondering...
pile of leaves with a rake resting on top

Raking Leaves

If you live in a place where there's lots of wind, you shouldn't have to worry much about raking leaves....
Barnaby Porter, geared up and ready for action

A Bona Fide Geezer’s Kit for Every Day Life

Looking out my window, it’s the first day of autumn – a beautiful, sunlit view of gardens and lawn, open...
dramatic clouds over the Damariscotta River and forest

The Goldilocks Zone

Sitting, as I do often these days, surveying this world around me, I am without fail moved with a full...

Op-eds

All trails tagged accessible

Op-eds

All trails tagged accessible
all persons trail at Castner Brook Community Forest

Damariscotta

Castner Brook Community Forest

A flat and smooth all persons trail through hemlock-shaded woods leads to Castner Brook. On the other side of the brook is a one-mile intermediate mountain bike loop through the...

Damariscotta

Round Top Farm

Gently mown trails wind through the rolling hayfields of a former dairy farm, with views of the upper Damariscotta River and lovely sunsets. An accessible trail connects to a neighboring...
accessible trail at Whaleback Shell Midden

Damariscotta

Whaleback Shell Midden State Historic Site

Wander down to the shore through a historic apple orchard and learn the story of the huge ancient shell heap that once lined the shore. A great spot for a...