In Pursuit Of Maine: July 7, 2014 - Party in the Meadow

Monday, July 7, 2014

July 7, 2014 - Party in the Meadow

Did you know there was a party going on in the meadow today? I didn’t either. I usually stick to the coolness of the forest because the sun is too hot for me, and I am more familiar with the creatures of the woods. But today the Sun reached out his long arms and coaxed me into the meadow. Everywhere I looked there was blazing, brilliant color! Millions of insects were flying about. Bees were buzzing everywhere. Butterflies were floating and drifting and dancing. There were hums and whistles with hundreds of things I could identify and just as many that I could not. There was so much intensity of life occurring everywhere that it took my breath away.

I stayed for a while and filled my eyes up to the brim and beyond. Eventually, the coolness of the woods called me back. The Sun was too brilliant and hot. When I last looked, I saw him dancing with some rye grass. Back into the woods I went, stumbling at first because my eyes were blinded. Then the cool moisture crept back over me, and the heady scent of the forest floor enveloped me once again. I breathed a sigh that was filled at once with relief and loss. “Moderation,” I whispered to myself.

I looked to the horizon in the west where I knew the sun would set in a slightly different spot each night. Even now, it was slowly creeping back, but I decided I would say nothing to the frenzied meadow creatures. Not yet. Soon there would be time enough for them all to sleep.

"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.