Mon, 01/13/2025 - 5:51pm

Ed O’Brien

Ice fishing on Norton’s Pond on a Sunday morning. (Photo by Tracee O’Brien)

“We don’t have a project for this year, so....” Words spoken between my wife and mother as they spent a Saturday afternoon together, while snow fell on Lincolnville on a January day.

They left midday. Ma — Diane O’Brien to most of you — had spent the week loading her pickup with detritus from the Schoolhouse Museum, destined for the dump. My wife added the household garbage and recycling and they set off together, hitting up Scott's for lunch. A hotdog on a snowy day always hits the spot.

While I was puttering around and driving kids to the high school (first one for the freshman basketball game, and later his older sister to play in the pep band for the varsity game against Oceanside), my wife and mother sat with their box of seeds and the FedCo seed catalogue, plotting the summer’s garden.

FedCo Seeds is a Maine-based, worker-owned company that was founded in 1978 and is known for catering to those of us in more northern climes. One of the holdovers from Maine’s back to the land movement of the 1970s.

It is a great catalog, full of black and white drawings and exuberant descriptors of the seeds and fruit trees. It is clear to see why FedCo is so beloved by the garden nerds of the Northeast.

In the midst of the coldest and bleakest time of the year, the seed catalogue is a respite, a time to imagine the warm earth and growing things. Where will the pea fence go this year? Should we bother with potatoes or are they more work than they are worth?

It appears that this year much of the discussion was on turning parts of the back deck into garden space for potted vegetables. My wife, with a little help from me, had replaced the deck last summer, and yanking up rotten boards in the heat of July made it clear to her how much good sunlight washes on that part of the homestead. And the climbing vines of cucumbers, tomatoes, and beans would serve as shade on hot summer afternoons. A project.

There is always a project here. A henhouse to be built, a woodshed. Last summer, while my wife tackled the deck, Ma, at 80, rebuilt the greenhouse off the barn in front of the house, adding a heating system beneath the beds inside, greatly increasing the growing season at Sleepy Hollow.

It is fair, if mildly uncomfortable, to acknowledge I married a woman a heck of a lot like my dear old Ma.

The two of them are a force to be reckoned with. Strong, stubborn, independent women. It was the two of them that cooked up the idea of renovating this old place into a two-family home, in that year after my father’s passing. Like a couple barn cats, they stake out their territory, find their spaces, and when they work together, amazing things happen.

In the late afternoon, I went down to Ma’s house to find them with the seeds spread out and both of them brimming with ideas and plans. My wife reminding Ma and her elderly dog Fritz that whichever of them went first, she would be there to care for the survivor, so they better behave.

Not many things are certain in this life. But spring will come, and gardens will need to be planted. And maybe I should take responsibility for the potatoes. My old man would have wanted that.

Camden Hills Regional High School

On Tuesday, the citizens of the five towns- Camden, Rockport, Lincolnville, Hope, and Appleton- are being asked to vote on a $7.3 million bond referendum for the High School. This would allow the school to borrow funds to address maintenance needs that have become necessary. The HVAC system needs repair and replacement, and after 25 years, there is a need for the replacement of siding and windows, Also included are funds to install artificial turf on the Don Palmer Athletic Field, due to it being unusable most of the Spring, and updates to the Strom Auditorium.

It’s a lot of money, and we have faced a number of increases in our property taxes for our schools recently. To put it in perspective, though, it works out to around $14 per $100,000 of assessed property value for Lincolnville homeowners. Not nothing, but to my mind, a worthy investment. We are blessed with one of the finest high schools in the state. The opportunities afforded to our students are incredible, and I can accept that this comes with a cost.

The polls will be open Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Town Office, so make your voice heard.

Library Happenings

Tuesday will host needleworkers from 3-5 and an open painters studio from 6-8. All are welcome to join. From 2-6 on Wednesday will be Mah-Jong, with lessons available for those who want to learn. On Friday, the library is welcoming LCS grades K-2 for stories and a nature walk. And on Saturday will be the Coastal Femme Collective Image Board event from 2-4. What a great resource in our little community.

Have a wonderful week, Lincolnville. Bundle up and get outside. It is too easy to just hide away this time of year, but as a professional, I can say with authority it is not good for us.

Have a cup of coffee at Green Tree or Dots or Owen’s General. Chat with your neighbors at Drake’s or Western Auto or the Beach Store.

Appreciate the winter beauty that our summer visitors never get to see. And reach out to me at ceobrien246@gmail.com with any Lincolnville news you might have.

Municipal Calendar

Monday, January 13

Land Use Committee, 4 p.m., Town Office

Recreation Committee, 6 p.m., Town Office

Select Board, 6 p.m., Town Office

Tuesday, January 14

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

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

Heart and Soul Team, 12 p.m. Library

Five Town CSD Referendum Voting, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Town Office

Wednesday, January 15

Financial Advisory Committee, 10 a.m. Town Office