In Pursuit Of Maine: April 29, 2014 - Here Be Dragons

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

April 29, 2014 - Here Be Dragons

I'm going to have to rethink my opinion of the pitch pine forest. This is the second dragon I've seen in a few days, which indicates to me that the forest is simply peppered with them. If you look back to a few days ago, you'll see the picture of the other dragon I posted. I usually only see a few dragons in a whole season and I thought that was lucky, but I think I'm in for quite an interesting summer. I used the zoom feature on my camera, so I wasn't quite as close to him as it appears. However, my camera is not very good, so I wasn't as far from him as I ought to have been. I know he saw me but I stood completely still, so he may have mistook me for a fairy. In fact, I'm sure of it because if he had believed for even a moment that I was human, we would have had to play a game of riddles. Dragons love riddles and they're quite good at them, usually eating the poor unsuspecting person who can't guess their riddle. Of course, if we all lived as long as dragons did, we'd be good at riddles ourselves. As it stands, I'm not half bad at them, so if worse came to worse, I might have been able to hold my own. If not, I may have been able to beguile him with a photo of himself. Dragons are so conceited.

"The Plain Maine Cookbook" is my own collection of vintage Maine recipes that will immediately bring you back to a simpler time, a less confused time. These recipes are more than just comfort food. They're family food, traditional food, simple food, plain food. One bite and you'll say, "Ah, yes! I remember my grandmother used to make this. I had forgotten all about it!" Recipes for whoopie pies, funnel cakes, fried fiddleheads, haymaker's switchel, coffee can bread, glogg, and much more are in these pages. There is even a recipe on how to render lard. So open the door and go back to some simple, time-tested foods you can prepare easily. You'll find that you save money and waste less by "making do" with commodity cooking. What's in the pantry or in the garden is what's for dinner.

"So You Want to Move to Maine" is an invaluable little book in helping people to make a permanent move to Maine. It will save you a ton of time because all the initial footwork is done for you, including 100 links on how to find work and living quarters, getting your driver's license, pet requirements, programs for people with disabilities, programs for senior citizens, getting married in Maine, hidden taxes and expenses, hospitals, health insurance, handling a real winter like a pro, etc. Stop being "just a number" or another face in the crowd. Walk away from the rat race. Become boldly individualistic and make your mark in life. You can still do that in Maine, one of the last holdouts of ordinary, old-fashioned, kind, and decent American living.

I’ve chosen 37 unique fairy tales that will be loved by both adults and children as they can be read and interpreted on many levels. But if you are looking for only sweet tales that end in joy and fairness, you may want to pass this book by. Some fairy tales are simply “dark,” and that is because sometimes life is simply dark. Not always, of course, but often enough. Sometimes the hero lives; sometimes he dies. Check out my book, “Fairy Tales of Maine,” in the photo link below. If you are brave, you might just meet yourself in one of these tales.