A frog’s croaking outside tonight. He better get in under his mud covers.

 Mud covers indeed. That’s Corelyn Senn reminding us, as she does almost daily, of the wild creatures living all around us. Yesterday afternoon she sent us – the Lincolnville Bulletin Board, the LBB – a photo she took of a baby bobcat that she spotted strolling along Sand Hill Road. It’s getting pretty late in the season, she worried, for such a young kitten to be out on its own.

Fall seems to be catching me unawares as well, even if all the signs are there. The maple leaves turned brilliant right on schedule, then blew off leaving behind the duller oaks to finish up the season. The cider is pressed, the grapes ripened. Pumpkins have moved from their vines in our gardens to decorate front doorsteps or turned up in pie.

One after another Lincolnville Beach restaurants finished up as well this past week, emptied their larders and closed for the season, all but the Pub which keeps its doors open and fireplace blazing throughout the winter, including lunch on Saturdays and Sundays. After a well-earned break, the Youngtown Inn reopens Nov. 21, for week-ends through the end of February, including Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Eves, as well as during the week for parties of ten or more. Call ahead.

Sadly Nanette Gionfriddo is closing Beyond the Sea, her wonderful bookshop, and most recently café, where Don and I have eaten many a lunch this summer. We’ll miss it.

This afternoon Norm Walters realized he’d better get after Wally’s maitake mushroom today or it would be too late. Sometimes called Hen of the Woods (not to be confused with Chicken of the Woods, another edible mushroom found around here) Wally’s maitake grows back every year at the base of a certain oak tree. He found it years ago and brought it home for me to clean and cook. Though he showed me where it grew, he also took Norm to the tree, as if, Norm says now, he wanted to make sure someone else knew where it was. Luckily he didn’t trust me as I’ve never been able to find it.

Norm took Liz Hand along as well, another lover of mushrooms. I stayed behind. Sure enough, they went right to it and returned with this year’s Hen of the Woods – it weighed 20 pounds! Of course we took a photo, then cut it into thirds. They’re tedious to clean with numerous leaf-like protrusions, but oh so good to eat. It’s also been shown in a human trial to stimulate the immune system in breast cancer patients. Read about it if you’re interested.

Today I’ll empty the trash barrels at the Beach for the last time, and Wayne Heal will haul them away. According to the tally I keep in a little notebook I picked up 4,532 cigarette butts this season and rescued 2,264 returnables from the trash barrels. Wally used to promise me a hot fudge sundae if he got $200 in cans and bottles; guess I’ll have to get my own this year.

The snowbirds have planned their departures and Election Day is within sight. David Kinney has already posted a link to a sample ballot for Lincolnville. More about the election next week.

The upstairs family is firmly settled in; last year at this time their new home was just a gleam in the eye. Demolition of the existing rooms and barn was done, and Sam Cantlin’s Consider It Carpentry crew spent their days shoring up, reinforcing, and stabilizing this 146-year-old place. The occasional thumping and bumping of three kids – two young boys and their big sister – hasn’t brought down the ceilings yet so I guess Sam’s guys did their job well.

“How’s it going?” people ask now, a subtle change from last year’s “how are you doing?” the latter asked solicitously, the former rather cheerfully. What’s it like living under the same roof with a grown son, his wife and their three school-age children, they want to know? Come on, what’s it really like?

Good, I say, really good. There are surprises. Like the day I came home from a week-end away to find the front yard transformed into a Halloween fantasy: a witch hanging by one skeletal hand from the basketball hoop, a hideous clown popping up out of the toilet (which itself had been a somewhat twisted housewarming gift, a planter to join the canoe overflowing with marigolds and nasturtiums), tombstones and glowing skulls, a too-realistic rat on the doorstep, and orange lights illuminating our mutual entry way.

I’ve become fond of Noah and Emma, formerly layabout indoor cats who’ve quickly morphed into outside, hunting cats. Most mornings we meet at the door, me stepping out to check the weather, one or the other of them slinking back after a night on the town. Fritz, who is most definitely a downstairs dog, had a dramatic run-in with Emma one evening, sending her to the top of the tallest tree she could find. She creeps downstairs (the hall stairs are still intact) after she’s sure he’s asleep and, hopefully, will get my mouse problem under control.

Don’t the children drive you crazy? Actually, no. The thumps, the shouts, even the occasional tears, sound like life to me. The lights on at night, the washing machine humming away up there means I’m not alone.

Last night our family celebrated a birthday upstairs. We’re heavily weighted to fall birthdays. Eight out of twelve of us (our three sons, their seven children, Wally and me) were born between September and January. We celebrated the girl turning eleven with pumpkin soup, bread she’d made with her aunt that afternoon (bread stuffed with salami and cheese!) and her mother’s lemon meringue pie. Facetime with the Bali-based family (who were eating their Monday morning breakfast) made for a raucous meal.

Moments like these bring him back, the one who’s missing. Especially seeing the tiny little girl sitting up at our table for the first time – the seven-month-old cousin who certainly hadn’t been a gleam in her parents’ eyes that night, nearly two years ago, when we saw Wally slip away from us. Time (or at any rate, time as we experience it) stopped for him at that instant, while we’ve gone on to live every moment since. A lot to think about.

Town

As usual, the polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day, November 6 in the gym at the school, 523 Hope Road. Contact the Town Office to vote absentee, 763-3555.

Some 20 years ago Lincolnville began televising the Selectmen’s meetings on the local cable channel. Did you know that those meetings are now streamed? Go to the town website https://www.town.lincolnville.me.us/ and on the home page, right side is a link to the live stream as well as a video archive of past meetings.

Under discussion at present is a proposal to make the packet of information each selectman receives before the meeting available to the public electronically. Stay tuned!

School

Congratulations to the cross country team: the girls team placed first in the Busline League championships and the boys’ team placed second!

Students in grades 6-8 will see an interactive performance at LCS on Oct. 25 of The Bus Stop, portraying positive behaviors kids can use when confronting bullying behavior among their friends. Following the performance the three actors/educators will moderate a discussion to help reinforce points of the play.

Library

Librarian Elizabeth Eudy writes: “Escape to the library [Tuesday, Oct. 23, 4-6 p.m.] - enjoy the charming atmosphere for a friendly, sometimes lively, gathering of talented fiber-loving enthusiasts.   Bring a project – knitting, crochet, felting, embroidery – all needle crafts are welcomed.   

Wednesday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. Bob Sewall and Mia Mantello will be at the Library to talk about their organic apple orchard, making cider and making apple cider vinegar – its many uses both in cooking and medicinally.

A talk titled “How Invasive Plants Affect Our Environment” will be presented at noon Thursday, Oct. 25 by Aleta McKeage, which invasive plants are present in our area, how to identify them, what new invasives to watch for, and how to control these plants on our own properties and in our communities. The talk is co-sponsored by the Waldo County Soil and Water Conservation District and our own Goodwill Gardeners. Speaker Aleta says, “Controlling invasive plants is critical to the health and biodiversity of Coastal Maine ecosystems as well as our own yards, farms and woodlands.”

Elizabeth adds this: “As the holiday season approaches, I wish to remind you that if you shop with Amazon, you can opt for AmazonSmile and designate a non-profit/charity to receive 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible items. If you haven't a favorite charity or non-profit, might I suggest the Lincolnville Community Library? It may not sound like much, but every little bit helps in meeting our operating costs. Thank you for considering us.”

Red Cross Blood Drive

A blood drive will be held at the Community Building, 18 Searsmont Road, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Monday, Nov. 5. For an appointment visit redcrossblood.org and enter sponsor keyword Lincolnville CB or call 1-800-733-2767. Walk-ins are welcome as well.

Christmas by the Sea Coming Up

An organizing meeting for the Beach bonfire and party will be held at the LIA building, 33 Beach Road, Thursday, Nov. 1 at 6:30 p.m. Please come if you can help out with set up, decorating, baking, cookie decorating and clean up. If you can’t come to the meeting, but want to help contact Briar 802-318-6185, Maureen 974-7210 or Andy 323-1334 to volunteer.