A Story by Diane Roesing O’Brien

Sun, 04/20/2025 - 11:52am

Ed O’Brien

Cowslip, a kind of primrose, emerges for the season. (Photo by Diane O’Brien)

The dooryard here at Sleepy Hollow. (Photo by Ed O’Brien)

Last years sunflowers, along the chicken yard fence. (Photo by Diane O’Brien)

Certificate of Recognition awarded to Corelyn Senn for her many contributions to this community.

Cowslip, a kind of primrose, emerges for the season. (Photo by Diane O’Brien)

The dooryard here at Sleepy Hollow. (Photo by Ed O’Brien)

Last years sunflowers, along the chicken yard fence. (Photo by Diane O’Brien)

Certificate of Recognition awarded to Corelyn Senn for her many contributions to this community.

Ma has been musing on the cultivated environs of this old place. Here is a little piece she put together.

The rain seems to have stopped for now, the goldfinches have changed into their summer feathers, and even the last bit of snow has melted away. No more excuses; it’s time for the annual spring clean-up, AKA facing last season’s failures – and yes, successes.

Ten-foot-tall sunflower stalks are still tied to the henyard fence, their dead heads hanging down. The asparagus ferns I meant to cut down last fall lie shattered all over their bed, and the tomato fence that should have been stored away last October is tangled with string and zip ties and withered vines.

Bad housekeeping? Indeed.

Dashed dreams? I find them everywhere I look on this one and three-fourths acres we live on. The rock garden meant to cover a ledgey slope with tiny, flowering Alpine plants, blue gentians, and creeping thyme has never materialized. Instead, I battle back goutweed every year and cheer on the little clump of cowslip I found growing wild and the intrepid speedwell Hoppi Graham gave me decades ago.

At least the grape arbor got built and reliably produces grapes for juice, assuming we pick them in time and actually make the juice. It’s sour without sugar and the grandchildren love it.

The picket fence that was supposed to enclose a riot of hollyhocks, delphiniums, and foxgloves across the front of the house is long gone. So is the riot of perennials, another dream dashed. A cozy dooryard flower bed actually only existed in my mind. I salvaged bits and pieces of that fence for years in other parts of the garden, but all that’s left is a little gate that keeps the dogs out of the inside sunroom.

At the other end of the house a sort of swale – wet and rocky like so much of our town’s land – was to be a woodland garden full of dogtooth violets, lungwort, gooseneck loosestrife and ladies’ hat-trimming (Myra Polan’s name for wild campanula). I even dug a trench from the gutter downspout on the house to channel rain water into the pool I thought belonged there. Some pool. When I wasn’t paying attention bamboo jumped in and promptly took over that imaginary woodland, wild flowers and all.

Bamboo, AKA Japanese Knotweed. Tracee has waged war on those indestructible bamboo roots for years now, and will still be at it when I’m long gone.

I read way too many gardening magazines back in the day, you know, with their gorgeous photos of so and so’s backyard, where everything’s in bloom, grassy paths leading one to shady glens or cozy dooryards. Garden porn. I fell for it.

But all the while, thanks to the poop of hundreds of animals – hens, cows, a pony, many pigs, a few geese and turkeys – our heavy clay soil has been transformed into soft, friable dirt. The vegetable beds produce plenty of garlic, onions, asparagus, green beans, corn, potatoes, greens, raspberries. It’s a garden I couldn’t have imagined 55 years ago when we planted our first one, fighting off black flies and heavy sod, neither of us knowing what we were doing.

I still have dreams. Of sweet peas growing in our old canoe, swaying this a way, that a way with the breeze like Bert Dow’s did. Of a neat strawberry bed, each plant producing a quart of berries – just like the catalog promises. Of well-behaved rows of dry beans – Jacob Cattle, Kidney, Pinto – enough to last a year. Of a stately line of giant sunflowers against the henyard fence. And of more dill than I can use.

Library Happenings:

The needlework group will meet Tuesday from 3-6 p.m. All skill levels welcome.

On Wednesday the library will host Spring Vacation Arts Activities, designed for all ages, from 2-5 p.m. Projects will include pastel drawing, origami, stained glass art, mosaics, and paperboy puppets.

And if you are new to the library, check out their Saturday open house, from 2-5 p.m.

Help the Grange:

There is a lot of work being done on the Grange Parking lot out on Route 52, just out of the Center. All of this is thanks to donations of material and machine time. Currently, the Grange is looking for donations toward good gravel to complete the project, and they are hoping to raise $1500 as soon as possible.

Contributions can be sent to Lincolnville Tranquility Grange, John Luft Treasurer, 160 Green Acre Road, Lincolnville, Maine 04849.

The current Grange building was erected in 1908, and is one of our more significant historical building.

Congratulations Corelyn:

Corelyn Senn was recently awarded the Spirit of America Foundation award for her ongoing hunt to uncover our history, locate the forgotten places, and keep us all supplied with photos of the more elusive creatures lurking in our woods and waterways. Truly a great citizen of Lincolnville!

Budget Committee Public Hearing:

The School Committee and Select Board have voted on the budgets for this coming year, and they have presented their recommendations to the town’s Budget Committee. Before the Budget Committee votes on its recommendations for the 2025-2026 budget, the townsfolk are invited to a public hearing. All municipal meetings are open to the public, of course, but the Budget Committee Hearing is designed to offer a final chance to go over the budget before it goes to the Town Meeting.

The hearing will be held at the Town Office, Wednesday at 6 p.m. Hope to see you there.

Alright, Lincolnville. It’s school vacation week, so my best thoughts go out to the parents trying to figure out how to entertain the kids. Mine are generally old enough to look out for themselves, but we will have to readjust to not having my oldest helping with transportation, as she takes her first steps into the wider world with a CHRHS sponsored trip to Ireland and Scotland.

Hopefully we will get a little more sunshine than we have over the last few week. Be good and reach out at ceobrien246@gmail.com.

Municipal Calendar

Monday, April 21

Patriot’s Day, Town Office Closed

Select Board, 6 p.m. Town Office

Tuesday, April 22

Library open 3-6 p.m. 208 Main Street

AA Meeting 12:15 p.m., Community Building, 18 Searsmont Road

Select Board Workshop, 6 p.m. Town Office

Lakes and Ponds Committee, 7 p.m. Town Office

Wednesday, April 23

Budget Committee Public Hearing, 6 p.m. Town Office