June 26 – July 2, 2020Vol. 22, No. 3

Laura Darrell looks out over Moosehead Lake in "Oh For a Muse of Fire," one of eight Maine Shorts to be presented at this year's Maine International Film Festival. More


On the Cover

25 Years Ago: A Milestone Year

Golden sunshine, clear blue skies, warm scented pine carpets and clean refreshing waters…The Summer of 1995 seemed like any other beautiful summer in the Belgrades, except that change was afoot. More

Movies

MIFF Presents Maine Shorts

As per usual, the Maine International Film Festival will present a new batch of recently made short films that were all directed by Mainers or filmed in Maine. Collectively, the eight Maine Shorts, comprising two documentaries and six works of fiction and averaging 8½ minutes in length, represent the best of new Maine cinematography. More

Conservation Too

A Focused Watershed Group Helps

The level of expertise that exists in a watershed group and the effective manner in which they can communicate to their neighbors is a great way to educate the people who live around and use a lake, pond or stream. It also serves as an excellent way to introduce new ideas for how to protect water quality and sometimes provides a way to change misguided or erroneous beliefs or practices. More

Dams Report

Another Drought

I know that this is already sounding like a broken record, but we're into the beginnings of another drought. Belgrade has only received 0.16" of rain in the past eleven days. Not nearly enough replenishment for our ponds or our gardens. More

The Luckiest Boy

Mrs. Herling's Helpers

Growing up in a rural Maine town during the 1950s and '60s, we were expected to help out around our own family homes. In addition, in keeping with our parent's expectations, getting small jobs that earned money happened fairly early in life, usually around the age of 10. More

Book Review

Settled in the Wild

I found Susan Hand Shetterly's Settled in the Wild: Notes from the Edge of Town in our Belgrade Public Library in May 2019 and quickly checked it out. Rereading the author's immersion in the out of doors helped me to adjust to my summer home on the lake after a long winter away. It always seems so quiet here. Shetterly notes the same stillness around her coastal home near the mudflats and marshes in Prospect Harbor and Surry. More

Take It Outside

Summer Arrives

Although summer has barely begun, it seems to be flying by. As COVID infection numbers have dropped and testing capacity has increased, there has been a careful and measured loosening of the restrictions. Restaurants and most businesses are open on at least a limited basis. Some of the summer camps and sporting camps are beginning to host clients. It is good to see our friends from away and people seem to be carefully complying with restrictions. More