Look around, drive around. These lands so occupied with new growth trees and lakeside communities were once dominated by farms. There still is a time when farms are open and available for the public to enjoy, when farmers share their special way of life. This day, the fourth Sunday in July, is Open Farm Day. More…

The Union Church of Belgrade Lakes has many community outreach projects. These include providing accessible swings and picnic tables for play and gathering spaces, making lifeguard chairs available for increased safety at the pool, donating a Gaga ball pit, and funding art classes for homeschooled children. More…

Among the letters, I found in the attic of our old farmhouse was a booklet, “The Abenaque”. Dated 1926, this booklet was a souvenir for the campers of Camp Abena, Belgrade Lakes. It was written by the campers and describes their time at the camp and had individual pictures of all the senior campers. More…

Jonathan Godbout dreams big. To him, the now vacant Sacred Heart Catholic Church at the corner of Gilman and Pleasant Streets in Waterville is not just an empty shell but a potential community gathering space, offering concerts and classes and selling food — a secular reprise of its once religious role. More…

Six Colby students have been putting their chemistry, physics, and math skills to use this summer. Splitting their time between water quality monitoring on the lake and analyzing samples in the lab, they gain invaluable field experience researching everything from algae to sediment to large-scale modeling. More…

The third Saturday in July is the annual loon count in Maine, coordinated by Maine Audubon. Every year, for the past 43 years, over 1000 volunteers, of which I am one, attempt to count all the loons on over 300 Maine lakes at the same time. More…

We all have heard stories of attempted rescues of wild animals. Most of these do not have a happy ending, but this one does. We received a call from a neighbor about a loon in distress. Apparently, the female of the pair had decided it was time for the male to vacate the nest, as clearly it was her turn to sit on the eggs. More…

Recently, I was once again reminded of an old phrase, which was a very common reply from my mom for just about everything: “That’s water over the dam, honey!!!” So that got me laughing, as we are always up to our ears in this dam business!! More…

Good writing is memorable and Alex Prud’Homme certainly does his best in this very environmental, scientific book, The Ripple Effect. Very little about power from Maine rivers, but more about water quality within its pages of research. More…

Fresh vegetables and fruits, breads, meats, baked goods, produce, preserves, ice cream, eggs and dairy products, flowers and friendliness, advice and information and sometimes children’s activities and entertainment….take a scenic destination drive or stroll and visit a farmers’ market almost any day of the week. More…