Getting in the Tree

Good morning everyone. Four inches of snow on Saturday ushered in the holiday season Currier and Ives fashion. We spent the day scrambling to get everything covered or off the ground before the snowfall. Lately we’ve taken several trees down around the yard trying to get some more sunshine to the house so we have been chipping branches and stacking wood like crazy. I have also generated a number of logs for the sawmill in the process.

But this being a day of “rest” we decided to take a walk in the woods and get our Christmas tree and enjoy a big family dinner. The late day sun cast golden light on the treetops and the winds which had blown so hard at the height of the storm eased to just a whisper. Woodpeckers were calling deep in the woods. The kids dragged the tree most of the way to the house. Dad did jump in on the last uphill. After pruning and adding a few branches to what was the top of a thirty foot fir the tree now stands trimmed and lit filling the house with the scent of balsam. Ours is not a fancy tree by any stretch but that is just fine with this family. Already it has given us a day together, the greatest gift of the season.

Have a great day. Be well. Do good.

Hail Mary

My heart is heavy with sadness as I write this particular blog. Since the beginning of August our dear friend and cook for the last 12 years, Mary Barney, had been struggling with cancer. I have intentionally respected Mary’s privacy and I apologize to you for not sharing any news about Mary’s health sooner. On Monday afternoon Mary passed away very peacefully at home, surrounded by friends and “family”. Her departure was as graceful as the rest of her life. Many people, including Jen, have been doing heroic work to support Mary these last few weeks. Oddly enough Mary was never very excited about transitions though this was about the fastest transition she ever made. And as I struggle to let go of Mary I realize I am terrible with transitions as well. We used to joke about how we liked things just the way they are, thank you very much, so why change what is working already even if it might be less labor intensive. Hard works is its own reward. I used to joke about getting Mary a Cui...

Marketing Successes and Challenges for Historic Maine Windjammer Published January 16, 2012 Happy Monday! Today’s Maine Maven is Captain Barry King, co-captain of the beautiful schooner Mary Day in Camden with his wife Captain Jennifer Martin. Barry and Jen are both Coast Guard licensed masters and have extensive sailing and educational backgrounds. Barry has voyaged to Bermuda, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, and along the Canadian maritimes to Newfoundland. Jen’s sailing career took her to Florida and the Bahamas before becoming captain of Figaro IV, a classic ocean racing yacht, here on the Maine coast. Barry is a Registered Maine Guide, and a Nationally Registered Wilderness EMT. He also sails as an officer aboard the 1877 barque Elissa. Jen is a nationally certified Wilderness First Responder. Jen and Barry met as students with the Audubon Society’s Expedition Institute while earning master degrees in experiential environmental education. This program gave them in-depth experience ...

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