Rollins Boatyard, York ME

Boatbuilding is one of the few growing industries in Maine. From Downeast to the mid-coast to southern Maine, boatbuilders are thriving, crafting elegant sailboats, refurbishing antique boats and building schooners.

Eye TV visits the Rollins Boatshop right here in York. Ever wonder how a wooden boat gets those graceful curves (not by aerobics we found out)? This video will show you.

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Katahdin Land Deal Almost Complete

The Trust for Public Lands still needs to raise $1.8 million dollars by December 15 in order to add Katahdin Lake to Baxter State Park. If they don't meet the goal by December 15, the offer to sell the land will be rescinded by the owner.

To date, the trust has raised $11.2 million and they have a million dollar pledge that will be given once donations reach 13 million dollars.

Adding the lake to the state park fulfills Percival Baxter's original vision for the park. Baxter called the mountain "the greatest monument to nature that exists east of the Mississippi River" and he spent much of his life buying land and donating it to the park. He made 28 separate purchases that total more than 200,000 acres.

The Trust has a web site, and will accept donations on-line.

Man is born to Die, His Works are Short-lived Buildings Crumble, Monuments Decay, Wealth Vanishes But Katahdin in All Its Glory Forever Shall Remain the Mountain of the People of Maine.
--Percival Baxter

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Maine Eagle WebCam

The Maine Eagle Webcam followed a nesting pair of Bald Eagles during the spring of 2006. In April of 2006, triplets hatched, a rare occurrence in Maine's harsh climate.

The site is courtesy of Biodiversity Research Institute and some generous donations. They also have a blog that's been quiet for a while. We're hoping that it will be resurrected in the spring.


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Good Morning

Manana, Maine

Free The Lobsters

Alternate Title: Only in California
Or I Can Think of Far Better Ways to Spend $200.oo

This article from the American Spectator leaves me speechless:

Lobster Brisk

Douglas Tabler is the president and only member of the Lobster Rights Watch. He has just won a major victory on behalf of his mute crustacean friends -- or so he thinks. Several weeks ago when California's North Coast Co-op opened its big, snazzy new supermarket it had a tank to hold live lobsters. The fresh water burbled through day and night. The lobsters' claws were clamped shut, lest they eat one another before the customers got them.. Mr. Tabler happened upon this tableau and looked the lobsters in the eye. Like George Bush seeing Vladimir Putin's soul, Doug saw their fright and loneliness. He reasoned that he'd be frightened and lonely, too, if he were about to be boiled in someone's cooking pot. Not one to shun a fight, he set up a one-man picket line in front of the Co-op. When the tank's occupancy dwindled to four lobsters, he decided to take more direct action. He bought the four lobsters, after first making contact with a chap in Maine who agreed to release them back into the Atlantic, from whence they came. Resourceful Doug plunked down $200 to send his lobsters to Maine by FedEx. The man at the other end dutifully released them into the ocean. Doug and his numerous sympathizers cheered the lobsters' freedom. Apparently, no one was cruel enough to point out that the lobsters would soon end up in another lobsterman's pot (trap) on the ocean floor and go right back to market. Blithely ignorant of the realities of lobster harvests or not, Mr. Tabler wasn't finished. He said would continue picketing until the Co-op shut down its lobster tank for good. Many letters to the editor appeared in local newspapers, praising him for his humani -- err -- lobsterstarian deed. Some were cynical. A few even suggested that his $200 would have been better spent on food and medical supplies for the children of Darfur. Never mind, the doughty Doug continued picketing. That brings us to the regular board meeting of the Co-op, held last week. The board is elected by the Co-op's 10,000 or so members. Everything is very democratic. Friends of Mr. Tabler lobbied board members. The board voted to remove the lobster tank. The store manager was unflappable. He said it had been placed there because customers wanted it and they bought about 43 pounds of lobster a week. Perhaps he can make up the lost lobster sales in mung beans and organic brussels sprouts. Doug was elated at the outcome of the Co-op board meeting's vote. But wait. There is a much bigger challenge ahead. Dungeness crab season is about to begin. It is one of the mainstays of the north coast economy. Several million pounds of the succulent ocean crawlers is caught and sold every year. They are boiled, just as lobsters are, but in commercial markets, not on the home stove. The lobsters' champion has a big job on his hand. How can he picket all the fishing boats and fish markets between, say, Monterey and Portland, Oregon? If he hadn't sent his four lobsters back to Maine, he might have kept them around to picket with him. Alas, they probably ended up in drawn butter. He'll have to find some new friends to march with him this time.

Do you think the chap in Maine released those lobsters, or threw them in a pot and ate them for dinner?

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Wish Granted

It's snowing. It doesn't look like it's going to accumulate much, but no matter. It's our first snowfall of the year.

We Now Return to Mainelife

We're sorry for any inconvenience that our service interruption may have caused.

It's Go Time, Baby

It's official. The Ohio State University will play the University of Florida in the BCS National Championship Game.

For the record, the University of Michigan got hosed and Michigan fans should be wicked angry at God and everybody.

But the most annoying thing about Michigan fans is that they never do get wicked angry at anyone.





For further updates and entertainment between now and January 8, we recommend that you check Every Day Should be Saturday a most excellent sports blog that just happens to be written by some Florida guys.

Plowing the Ground in Aroostoock County

The county, as Mainers call Aroostoock County, is getting ready to turn on the turbines at New England's first major wind farm. Twenty windmills are already in place and eight more are still to be added.

The Portland Press Herald has the full story, and has included a wonderful slideshow--those turbines are taller than the Statue of Liberty. Who knew? According to the article, the 28 windmills will be spread more than four miles across the ridgeline of Mars Hill. Each stands 262 feet tall at the hub, with three 115-foot-long blades sticking out.

I'm thinking road trip to see this.

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Script Ohio

In honor of BCS selection day:
The Band (aka The Best Damn Band in the Land) is as important to Ohioans as the football team. Here is Script Ohio performed before the 2006 OSU Michigan Game, with a little bonus footage at the end....

If you take time to watch this, notice how the crowd goes wild when the Drum Major picks up the tuba who will dot the i, and then listen to 105,000 people sing along with the band. It's a sacred tradition, unlike no other for us Buckeyes. Michigan, you can keep The Victors. We've got Script.

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Replica Ship Launch

In December 2005, the yard crew at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard (formerly Sample's) began work on a replica of a 17th-century sailing vessel.
The original Discovery was the smallest of three vessels that landed in Virginia in 1607 to found Jamestown, America's first permanent English settlement. The new Discovery, which will be launched Dec. 11, will join other replicas at the Jamestown Settlement history museum in time for the 400th anniversary of Jamestown's founding.

The public is invited to attend the launching of Discovery on Dec. 11, at 2:30 p.m. at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard, 120 Commercial St.

Un-Maine Day

We're going to spend our day doing a decidedly non-Maine activity.

We'll be obsessively reading every single Ohio State, Michigan, and Florida sports blog, while anxiously waiting until 8 pm tonight when we will find out who Ohio State will play in the National Championship Game.

The choices are either the Florida Gators, who won the SEC championship last night or our hated arch-rivals from the state up north. We already beat the Wolverines once, won the Big 10 Championship outright and if life were fair, would not have to face them in a rematch. However, life and college football are not fair and Michigan is the second best team in the country.

Why the anxiety? Because we're torn. We do not want to play Michigan again (been there, done that, do not want to do it again) but if we do, we will be sitting in Glendale, AZ on January 8.

UPDATE:
More on the BCS National Championship:
Why Florida Should Play Ohio State
Why Michigan Should Play Ohio State
Llllloyd takes a shot at Urban (and for once, we agree with Carr. Urban needs to stop talking. Like now)
Scout.com says Florida should be in the game
MgoBlog has an in depth analysis of the merits of Michigan vs. Florida

So, while we're being un-Maine, here are a few Maine places to visit. We'll return to regular programming tomorrow.

The Lobster Trap Tree in Rockland
Tobagganing in Camden
Country Christmas in Bethel (featured travel desination in the NYTimes)

Enjoy. And Go Bucks!
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Maine Says No to Santa's Butt Winter Porter

The state of Maine has decided that a Massachusetts beer distributor can't sell Santa's Butt Winter Porter in the Pine Tree State.

According to the English company who makes the beer, the name comes from a well-loved children's storybook:

"And Santa sat on his great butt, enjoying a hardy brew..."

The brewer also wants you to know that in England, "butt" refers to a certain sized barrel, in fact, holding 108 Imperial gallons. Back in the day it was quite a normal thing for a brewery to put its beer up in a large butt for storage.

The state of Maine doesn't care, however, and said that the label violated a regulation stating that alcohol advertisements cannot contain “undignified or improper illustrations." Under the same law, Maine has also rejected two other labels, including one that uses Delacroix’s painting “Liberty Leading the People,” which hangs in the Louvre.

The ACLU has sued.

Good Morning

Isle au Haut, ME
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Wishful Thinking

Oh for a day like this.
It's time, but someone forgot to tell Mother Nature. 68 degress and sunny just doesn't feel like Christmas.

Good Morning

Blogger's a bit wonky this morning so the good morning picture will have to wait until after Christmas shopping.

I Brake For Moose Part II

In response to the post I Brake for Moose, I received an email from a good friend who has a cabin up on Lake of the Woods, Canada. He also brakes for moose, because he's witnessed just enough to make him scared to death of any moose/car interactions. He included a few pictures just to scare me (He wasn't involved in this accident, nor does he know what happened to the woman in the car. I'm thinking that best case, it hurt a lot).

Bono's message for World AIDS Day

Not only is it Trap Day. It's World AIDS Day. If you can, join ONE or Join Red.

Better yet, buy red...

We especially like the Product Red Nano.....not only does Apple contribute money from the sale to a good cause, it's very Christmasy...and cute. And the screen doesn't scratch like the last generation Nano screen did. And it comes in a 4 gig or 8 gig model.

UPDATE: If you can, make a quick call to Congress and ask your Representative to fully fund the President's $2.8 billion request for PEPFAR.

The President asked for $2.8 billion for PEPFAR. The Senate cut this number by $312 million and the House cut the number by $266. This won't be a political blog, I promise, but this is one issue I'm passionate about. Forgive the little public service announcement.

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TRAP DAY On Monhegan

It's Trap Day!

Today, provided the weather cooperates and all lobstermen are healthy and able to set traps, the 17 lobstermen of Monhegan Island will open their lobstering season. If one person can't go, they all wait. The decision is made by consensus (never a vote) at a meeting in the Fish House. Only lobstermen attend. No sternmen, no wives. No reporters.

Monhegan Island is a small (and rather famous) island off the coast of Maine. It has approximately 60 year round residents, and in the very early 1900's the island did something unusual. The island fishermen asked the state of Maine to ban lobster fishing within two miles of the island from July to December.

So while most of the rest of Maine's 7000 lobstermen have pulled up their traps and put up their feet by a warm fire for the winter (just kidding--most of those guys are all plowing roads, doing carpentry work or some other kind of work), Monhegan is just beginning to lobster.

They do it for a couple of reasons: Monhegan has one of the most vibrant summer tourist businesses on the Maine coast. Some of America's most famous paintings are of Monhegan scenes and on any summer day, multiple painters set up easels and paint (undisturbed) the Monhegan beauty. Fishing in the winter allows the lobstermen to work lucrative summer jobs and fishing in the winter assures that there's a sizable (by Maine island standards, anyway) winter population on the island. While other Maine islands are becoming seasonal communities, Monhegan is still a healthy, year-round place to live.

Secondly, Monhegan lobstermen have long been one of the leaders in lobster conservation and management of their business. Fishing in the winter brings higher prices for the hardshell lobsters that the catch.

Because there are no cars (only a few pickup trucks are allowed) on the island, and because the town dock has limited space it takes a coordinated effort to get each lobstermen's 600 traps down to the dock and set. Family and friends come from the mainland to help on trap day and all the islanders who are able, pitch in. Today, everyone cooperates.

Toward the end of the day, someone will observe another Monhegan tradition--one of the lobstermen will present the island's oldest resident with the first lobster of the season. 95 year old Rita White never asks, but she always gets the first one.

If you want more detail on Lobster Day, Colin Woodard opens (and closes) his excellent book The Lobster Coast with Trap Day.

Lobster Stew Recipe

We first had this version of lobster stew on a blustery November Saturday night four years ago. Served with a fresh green salad and good friends, it warmed us physically and mentally.

This comes from a real Mainah.
She says:

My family went to the Pemaquid--New Harbor area every summer for years and this is one of the recipes that I have continued to make as a result of those memorable summers on the coast of Maine. We were always able to get lobsters right off the boats. All amounts are estimates and as long as there is a lot of lobster, then it will be a success. I am sure that my mother never really measured any of the ingredients, but just made sure that there was ample lobster meat in every bowl.

We know that we love it, and more complicated recipes don't taste any better . In honor of Trap Day, we present

Joan's Easy Lobster Stew

5 or 6 cooked lobsters (anywhere from 1 to 1-1/2 lbs. each)

6 cups of milk

2=1/2 cups of light cream (can use heavy if not on a diet--or sometimes my mother even used evaporated milk)

2 sticks of butter

salt and pepper to taste

Steam the lobsters and pick out the lobster meat. Cut the lobster meat into large chunks and saute in butter over low to medium heat until it turns a bright red.

While the lobster is sauteing, put the milk into a large pot and heat on low heat making sure it does not boil. When the milk is hot, add the lobster and slowly add the cream. Continue to heat over low to medium heat until hot...being careful not to boil. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve with oyster crackers.

This lobster stew is even better when left to cool and then reheated.

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