In Pursuit Of Maine: February 19, 2016 - The Old Pump

Friday, February 19, 2016

February 19, 2016 - The Old Pump

There’s an old water pump out in the field, still in use in the warmer weather. In the winter it just stands guard and waits patiently. The sun was going down as I snapped the photo, and the last bits of light hit the field along with our silent sentinel, who stood in stalwart salute to his old friend.

Waiting without complaint.

Since he is unneeded just now, no one comes to visit him. Oh, to be useful again. Come the warmer weather, though, he will croak and squeak out water once more and feel helpful again. For now, he faces the west and longingly watches where the sun sets each night on the horizon, with its location changing just the tiniest bit each time. No one notices it but the old pump.

Soon the long arms of the high summer sun will stretch all the way across the sky, and there will be much work and celebrating. No one will notice the sun’s ever-so-slight decline after midsummer, not even the old pump. But that’s a long time in the future, and for now, it is enough to rest and wait and watch the light slowly grow.

"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.