In Pursuit Of Maine: December 27, 2014 - Two Loons

Saturday, December 27, 2014

December 27, 2014 - Two Loons

Two loons were out near the rocky shore singing their haunting songs. They are so very strange, so very eerie. When I hear a loon, I have to find it and follow it if I can. I have to. How different, then, are they from the legendary Sirens? It is a maddening, romantic, eerie, frightening, exciting, and otherworldly song they sing. I cannot get enough of it.

I heard these two loons long before I saw them, and this is as far as the zoom lens would go on my little camera. (Someday I will have a better camera.) They were singing in that eerie lilt again. Sometimes I have to stop myself from just walking out into the ocean . . . and walking and walking. They call to people, swimming back and forth and teasing us. They know the power they have over us.

When you hear the sound of a loon, you put everything down. Everything stops, and you wait . . . wait . . . wait . . . for that next sound to come. The Sirens sang their songs and drove men insane, causing them to shipwreck themselves on the rocky shores of distant waters. Did they sing like loons? Were they as enchanting, seductive, and yet frightening? Because if they were, it is no wonder the helmsmen conned the ships straight for the jagged cliffs. I could do no different myself.

Two loons teasing the human on the shore.

"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.