In Pursuit Of Maine: September 15, 2014 - The Kingdom of Ice

Monday, September 15, 2014

September 15, 2014 - The Kingdom of Ice

The change is here now in earnest. The chill is in the air. The vegetation is slowly dying back. Nothing is as it was. No amount of crying can stop it. No amount of denial halts the onward march to the Kingdom of Ice. Nature accepts it so readily and so easily. She yields to death because she knows its secret. Watch her carefully and you will learn it. She does not plant her seeds in springtime like mankind. She plants them in autumn in the season of death, and then they freeze and fall into the icy slumber of wintertime. It is the autumn and the winter that cradle the new seed, the new idea, the new dream--not the spring. And have you noticed that Nature’s seedlings always grow so much better than those we try to grow ourselves in the spring, no matter how much care we take?

When the time is right, the transformation will occur. It has always happened this way, and Nature shows no sign of changing things anytime soon. Accept it. Yield to it. Let go of the things in you that are old and worn out and no longer useful. Let them die gracefully. Do not force-plant anything. Just sleep and cradle the new seeds of your mind, for there are always new seeds. When the time is right, the transformation will occur. It is the way of things.

The cattail fades and bows to the Kingdom of Ice.

"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.