These archival articles are presented “as is.” Except for minor corrections or clarifications, most have not been updated since they appeared in print. Thus, some details may be out of date, and some hyperlinks may no longer work.
The Secrets of Autumn
Orange and yellow leaves catch the rays of the setting sun along the shore of Great Pond.
by Esther J. Perne
Autumn! Breath-taking foliage! Placid lakes! Scenic views! What you see isn’t what you get….
The beauty of autumn is more than leaf deep: It is an experience — constantly changing, inviting, comforting; the last hurrah before the whites of winter; the long reward between two more bustling seasons.
The lakes in autumn are inviting — for peacefulness, quiet and adventure. There are still warm days to swim, wade, paddle, sail, explore the shore, retrieve treasures — and trash — and bask in the rays of the slanted sunlight.
The berries that linger into autumn are sweeter; so is the other bounty of the season: the produce, flowers, late season concerts, theatre and art shows.
People are friendlier in autumn. (Not true!) They are as friendly as ever but the pace is more conducive to friendliness. A conversation edges out a hasty “Hi!” Greetings become exchanges of information. Faces form personalities. Now that’s friendliness.
Exploring is more rewarding in autumn: a trail, a park, a campus, a cove, a historic site. It’s the best time to venture out with no particular plan and to venture back with a much more specific knowledge of a trail, a park, a campus, a cove, a historic site.
Mountains are easier to climb in autumn, paths are clearer, views are better. There is exhilaration and motivation in going up. There is a feeling of great accomplishment in coming down. The mountains are waiting.
Mountains of yard work, house work, and paper work are easier to tackle, too. Yeh!
Fundraisers are more fun, special benefits more special as the energy and beauty of autumn complement the seriousness and sometimes sadness of the cause.
Camps are cozier in autumn, cozy with sunlight streaming through windows and fires sending out a cheery glow and the scent of wood smoke.
Indoor activities seem more sensible in autumn: libraries, story time, craft time, computer time, book time, and indoor exercise are easier to put on the dwindling daylight agenda.
Back-to-school is backwards. The school year is forward-facing, filled with newness, hopes, plans, expectations, goals, and the boundless enthusiasm of energetic students.
Apples, the great fruit of autumn, are amazing - to pick your own at an orchard, to munch, to pack for school.
As the summer of 2016 winds down, it is time to take a look back at an outstanding season.
Looking back is rewarding. The summer offered some ideal vacation weather — Yes, some do love it hot — the calendar of events presented a tantalizing overload of enrichment activities and recreation outlets, and our advertisers — the shops and businesses, entertainment and eateries — had a lot of happy visitors.
That’s the way life should be.
Here at Summertime in the Belgrades we received overwhelming compliments from our readers — all very good, all very much appreciated. Our columnists and writers — especially Pete Kallin, Dale Finseth and Rod Johnson — supplied some extraordinary articles about the area. And, it was great to receive so many notices about events and opportunities that groups, organizations and institutions are sponsoring and supporting.
Once again, we thank our advertisers, who are the mainstay of Summertime in the Belgrades, we thank our readers who tell us time and again that Summertime is what connects the region (and let’s them know what’s going on), and we thank our staff who work very hard in a very short amount of time to produce and distribute the best of the Belgrades and beyond.
We wish everyone a great off-season. Until next summer….
George needs a ride to the Alzheimer’s day care center three times a week so his wife can have a little relief from the full time job of caring for him. Margaret is blind and has an appointment to get root canal done on one of her teeth. Betty would like to visit her sister whom she has not seen in six months. Esther has 10 therapy appointments in the next 30 days. Millie needs to go to the food pantry.
What do all these people have in common? They do not drive, they live in Mount Vernon, Fayette, Belgrade, Rome or Vienna and they are receiving rides from volunteer drivers through a program called Neighbors driving Neighbors.
Neighbors Driving Neighbors began in 2012 with concerned citizens from the towns of Vienna, Fayette, and Mount Vernon coming together to discuss the problem of transportation for rural seniors. Citizens from Rome and Belgrade had also identified this as a problem and in 2014 joined the ongoing effort to organize a volunteer driving program. We received a planning grant from Maine Community Foundation.
After a year of planning, form development, insurance investigation and bylaw development, we became our own non-profit 501(c)3 corporation. We were ready to go with helpful start up grants from The Bingham Program and The Betterment Fund in 2015.
Since November 2015, we have trained and vetted 25 volunteer drivers and given more than 122 rides. Our volunteers have traveled more than 5,543 miles and given more than 300 hours of service. We provide free rides to residents of the five towns listed above who do not drive. Riders can request a ride for any purpose within a radius of 30 miles.
We are excited that our program is growing as more people hear of the service. If you or someone you know would like to participate in this program as a driver or a rider please contact Irene Goff, our coordinator, at 860‑0677 or neighborsdrivingneighbors@gmail.com. Our web site neighborsdrivingneighbors.org also has great information and pictures!
Well folks, it’s time. I’m speaking of the inevitable process of when one summer season takes a bow and heads off stage. Sometimes they disperse rather grudgingly and other years they are gone in the blink of an eye.
Oh yes, as we the audience clap or perhaps feel a little sad, she steps back on the stage for a curtain call. It may be for a nice long September weekend or occasionally for what we call an Indian summer.
In our hearts, we know the summer play is over — but wait, at the same time a new cast is in the wings. We lose our sadness about summer’s passing and become confident that the fall season will take the stage and give us a great show.
In thinking about the seasonal changes, especially summer into fall, we conjure up many scenes, noises and smells that mark the annual transition. Here are some that may ring a bell for you:
I’ll start with cooler nights as August nears its end, bringing cooler water in our lakes that puts an end to swimming.
Along the brooks and bogs, the swamp maples are showing their first red leaf or two, hinting that full blown foliage is not far off.
Shorter days are noticeable now with both sunrise and sunset somewhat shaved.
People are wearing sweaters and light coats in the morning, showing plaids and corduroys as the summer shorts have been stowed for another year.
Perhaps last but not least, it is the yellow school buses that have reappeared each morning and afternoon, reinforcing the fact that summer is all but gone.
Life moves on and we accept the new fall season. As we move well into September with October not far off, the leaves are becoming colorful in the higher elevations. We might go north for a “foliage ride” on Sunday to view the colorful vistas provided by Mother Nature.
Our central Maine area of The Belgrades is practically empty now; the tourists have returned to places like Boston, Connecticut, New York and others. Some may return for a curtain call of their own during the Labor Day weekend, and perhaps a second call for Columbus Day. The leaves are now in their most spectacular dress, and we know that the annual phenomenon of seasonal changes is marching forward. Have a great fall. We’ll see you next summer.
THE END
Author’s Notes:
A question for all our readers: If you could only spend 30 days a year in Maine, when would it be? I’ve been pondering this for ages and fortunately don’t have to decide. If I did, it would be the last half of September and the first half of October.
Many thanks to you all for reading the Luckiest Boy stories again this summer. It’s been a pleasure for me to write these. For 2013 and 2014 stories in book form, visit Day’s Store in Belgrade Lakes, Maine. Also, thanks to friends Ralph and Jean Pope for their editing and to Esther and Erle for publishing the Summertime News! Until 2017, enjoy life and be well.
Kelly, Marty, and Sophie McKenzie on The Mountain.
by Pete Kallin
Suddenly the days are getting a little shorter and I am beginning to notice leaves beginning to turn red in the wetlands and yellow high on the hillsides. It is still quite warm during the day but the nights are growing cooler. Soon it will become easier to find a parking place in the village.
Like the birds and squirrels, I am double checking my summer "to do" list and trying to make sure everything gets done. My wife helps by leaving me friendly notes and reminders such as, "Call the chimney guy," on the kitchen counter.
I have spent a fair amount of time foraging for blueberries, blackberries, and elderberries. Soon I will be brewing my annual batch of blackberry-elderberry wine.
I have also managed to squeeze in a few hikes here and there. On The Mountain last week, I ran into Dick and Sue Greenan hiking with Dick’s sister. It was good to see my friend, Dick motoring along pain-free on his new hips. Hopefully he will be ready for some skiing this year when the snows come.
I also met the McKenzie family from Andover, MA, who were renting a camp on Long Pond for the week. Kelly and Marty were hiking with their 6-year old daughter, Sophie, and the family dog, Cooper. Sophie was very excited as she told me all about the fun things they did while "living on the lake," including all the stars she could see at night through the skylights of the room she slept in.
The Orup children and their cousins practice diving from their 3-meter platform.
The bass fishing has continued to be excellent in Long Pond as the bass are gorging themselves on landlocked alewives. The alewives typically remain deep during the day but come up to feed near the surface at night. They come into the shallower coves to spawn. I like to go out early in the morning or in the evening on calm days when these schools are easy to find. Casting a fly or other lure (e.g., a small floating Rapala) that looks like an alewife into the school is an exciting way to quickly catch a lot of fish.
The water is still warm and I’m seeing lots of people out swimming and otherwise recreating on the water. My neighbors, the Orups, from Sudbury, MA and Peninsula Drive in Rome recently had a big family get together and kids were getting in some practice on the 3-meter diving platform in preparation for the 2020 Olympics.
It is hard to believe that this is the final issue of Summertime in the Belgrades for this year. I hope this column has inspired some of you to get out and explore the outdoor recreation opportunities the region has to offer and I hope you took a kid or two along. Until next year I encourage everyone to "take it outside."
Over the years I have often referred to the LakeSmart program. It is a voluntary program where shoreline landowners on some lakes have their property evaluated to review its impact on the lake water quality.
The intent is to identify properties on the shore that exhibit the "LakeSmart gold standard" practices to control erosion and phosphorus runoff, also called "stormwater runoff control." It is also the case that LakeSmart practices also do an excellent job of protecting shoreline habitat.
It is a demanding evaluation that sets a very high standard. Everyone who has a LakeSmart review, learns about what they can do to minimize their impact on their lake or pond. It’s all about cleaner more healthy water conditions and minimizing how your use of the property might adversely effect the water quality.
Landowners who meet the LakeSmart standard receive a "LakeSmart Award" sign which they can place on their property. People cruising by in their boat can see which properties meet those standards. It is hoped that these examples will be copied by others around the shoreline with the goal of improving water quality.
This does NOT mean that only LakeSmart practices will protect the lake’s water quality. It is entirely possible that a properly engineered stormwater control system may also minimize stormwater runoff into the lake and intercept runoff. Many of you may have seen an industrial park with manicured lawns, armored sediment ponds, and even underground stormwater runoff holding tanks. These may be very effective. They are usually inconsistent with LakeSmart standards. There remains the question of whether these methods also protect shoreline habitat. But that is another issue….
So … during recent weeks I did a few evaluations in the Belgrades. The properties have been very different. All have effectively protected water quality given the way owners use their property. But not all have been LakeSmart.
The LakeSmart designation is based upon a set of standards that are heavily reliant upon vegetative buffers. Those vegetative buffers need to be between the lake and the areas of human activity such as recreation areas and the structures. For LakeSmart those vegetative buffers are determined as the more effective means to intercept and filter stormwater runoff.
As I’ve said earlier, LakeSmart methods are not the only effective methods, but they are the methods prioritized by the LakeSmart program. On my return to the office I’ve come to realize that the most important reason why a property protects water quality is the landowner’s attitude. How focused are they on ways to minimize the impact of their land-use on the lake?
If the property is referred to me for an evaluation, it nearly always means that the landowner is very interested in behaving in a manner to protect the lake. It is just a question of whether they have chosen methods that meet the LakeSmart criteria. Remember… It’s all about protecting water quality.
Editor's Note: For more information about LakeSmart, go hither, if you live on one of the Belgrade Lakes, or hither, if you live in a different watershed.
