The mission of Wisconsin’s Just Jess Foundation is to provide families from Wisconsin who have a parent with a medically confirmed critical cancer diagnosis the chance to go on a vacation. When Jeremy Zahringer was accepted by foundation his wish was to go on a fishing trip with his wife and four children. More…

Welcome to the world of Farmington’s Changemakers. The organization is young — created in the spring of 2018 — as are the participants, ages 10 to 24. Its mission is to educate them to thrive as business and community leaders. More…

Across the Belgrades, we continue to mostly be having a great year for water clarity. Phosphorus in lake sediments is the key driver of algal blooms, but this phosphorus only becomes available to algae when there is no oxygen at the bottom, a condition which hasn’t been met this summer! More…

The total lack of afternoon showers has added to the challenges for our beloved farmers, gardeners, and water levels. We have received a paltry 0.11″ of precipitation in the past ten days with nothing forecasted for the next ten! We are very short of our normal 3.25″ for the month. More…

Just as I was about to submit last week’s column, a volunteer and lower Long Pond resident reported, “My sister just kayaked over and saw the 2 loon chicks and the adult loon, so all is well.” Well, it turns out that there is so much more to this story! More…

Recently in the New York Times, Alice Elliott Dark reviewed this historical novel about an “old house” built by a ship’s captain on the coast of Maine. Now I will look for it ASAP. More…

I spent much of the past week out in the woods foraging. Later, as I put my bounty into the freezer, I thought that what I was doing was similar to what others have done around lakes for a long time. It reminded me of a column that I had written over a decade earlier in which I shared long-ago observations on land and lake conservation. More…

As the end summer is in sight, soon it will be time for many Mainers and seasonal residents to close up their lakefront camps. Closing up properly isn’t just about tradition, it’s about protecting your property from the harsh realities of a Maine winter. Here’s a handy guide. More…