As we slide into August, the bird soundscape here in Maine undergoes a major change compared to May and June when the morning chorus of bird songs can seem deafening. Now there are periods of almost silence. True, the cicadas, crickets, grasshoppers, and other sound-producing insects are reaching the height of their contributions to our natural soundscape. But their mostly higher frequencies are more of a sizzle in the ear rather than the full-throated, all-encompassing caroling of five robins, three cardinals, two red-eyed vireos, a song sparrow, and a house finch—those are some of the

So there has been some chatter around Lincolnville recently. On the social medias, on the Lincolnville Bulletin Board, about town. People are not getting their mail as expected.

We take the post office for granted. That center of every community which was founded in 1775, before even our Declaration of Independence from England, with none other than Benjamin Franklin appointed the first Postmaster General. It is just always there, even as most of us long ago moved away from writing letters to each other. We don’t think much about “snail mail” generally, until it stops coming on time.

Lincolnvi

Will the Camden Select Board be able to keep its promise that none of our property taxes will be used to remove Montgomery Dam and Spillway?

According to the wording of Article 7 that was approved by voters on June 10, “The Town is authorized to fund the work only from non-property tax revenue sources, e.g. grants and private donations.” 

Please note that there is no reference to “new” property tax revenue, so it obviously includes not only future property taxes but also anything that has been collected and budgeted for this year’s expenses as well as any property taxes that have accumulated

What do Baffin Island, South Florida, and Downeast Maine have in common?

One thing they have in common, as we write this column, are two birds of different worlds. A little over a week ago, a visitor from Florida was in Cutler, a small town along the coast of Washington County, Maine, and only 20 miles from the Canadian border. Perhaps they were enjoying seeing quintessential Maine birds like common eiders, herring gulls, and black guillemots when they spotted something pink.

Maine is not known for its pink birds.

It was a pink wading bird with a bill shaped like a spoon—a roseate

This past Friday, nearly in despair about the starvation spreading throughout Gaza, and outraged by the endless, childish finger-pointing, always blaming other countries and organizations while denying one's own responsibility to deliver food and water and medical supplies to save the lives of the Gaza people, I finally asked myself, "WHAT CAN I DO?"   

I don't know why it has taken me so long to ask this question. Perhaps because  the food and medical supplies are right there in Israel, just waiting to be delivered, so giving money wasn't the key to feeding the people, and I didn’t know what

Republican politicians in Washington are touting middle class tax cuts as a key feature of “The Big Beautiful Bill”. While I don’t deny the existence of a “middle class” tax cut in this bill (though minuscule as it is), omitted is mention of the overwhelming negative affects of this tax plan. I submit that plan dramatically short changes we the middle class tax payers, as well as those less fortunate among our citizenry.

It has been a lovely weekend. I spent the bulk of it reading.

In between running to the dump and grocery store, and driving children to and from work and friends’ houses, I was able to find the time to sit under a tree and read a bit.

I really am not the literary type, never was. Sure I’ve read a good few of the classics, but honestly, my taste runs towards fiction, and not generally the most challenging. I read for pleasure.

I read articles for work, and I spend far more time than I probably should browsing news articles and editorials, always reaching an unfortunate and probably not fully

It was a cool night for a hot event at Ash Point Estate in Owl’s Head, where the community gathered to raise funds for Trekkers, one of the most beloved nonprofit organizations in the Midcoast. Present were Primo, The Alna Store, Thomaston’s Barbecue Place Station 118, Wiley’s on Main, Buttermilk at Marriner’s, Chase’s Daily, and The Causeway Restaurant. For the second year in a row, The Causeway Restaurant from Spruce Head won the competition. 

Executive Chef Gil Plaster led the team, and cooked alongside Adrian Martinez and Sophie Brooks on a bite that proved more delicious than all the

As he does every August, Maine comedian Bob Marley is headed to the Camden Opera House, 29 Elm St. He has two shows set for Saturday, Aug. 9, 5:30 and 8 p.m. The later show has only single seats left; the early show still has some group seating in the balcony.

I have written before about Lincolnville’s agrarian past.

Subsistence farming is generally the best we have done. There is a reason we lost so much of our population in the years following the Civil War. The sons and daughters of Lincolnville went west — to the cities and factories of further down the coast, to the promising farmlands of the Plains. Our rocky soil just didn’t have much to offer.

But some remained, finding the niches; potatoes up the County, blueberries downeast. Following the example set by Helen and Scott Nearing, the 1960s and 1970s brought an influx of new Mainers seeking

Federal rebates on new and used electric vehicles will now expire at the end of September

When shopping for a car, one rule of thumb is to time your purchase so the seller is motivated to sweeten the deal in order to move vehicles off their lot, such as at the end of the summer when next year’s models start rolling in.

This year, shoppers considering new or used electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles might find deals are extra sweet before two federal tax credits go into early retirement on September 30. 

Some people think midsummer birding is boring.

Wow, are they wrong.

As we can personally attest, here's five reasons why you should go birding in July.

1) Odd Rarities: To paraphrase the great Forrest Gump, July is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you’re going to find! Just this week a fork-tailed flycatcher showed up at the Kennebunk Plains. A small flock (five juvenile) of white ibis appeared in York. A seaside sparrow made itself known in Scarborough Marsh. What’s next? You could be the one to make the next great rare bird discovery!

2) It’s Shorebird Season: Scan any area

 We have just celebrated the 249th Anniversary of the founding document of our nation — the Declaration of Independence. I have a direct family link to the facsimile text of the Declaration so widely published in recent days.  That text — carefully written out on vellum with a quill pen was the handiwork of Timothy Matlack, who is often called the Scribe of the Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia in 1776.

Timothy was a Quaker and sometime small businessman who was called upon to draft various legal documents due to his skill with a quill pen. He joined the militia in a battle

I watched the predictable ‘drama’ play out in Washington two weeks ago. Senator Collins, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, happily voted “Yes” to advance the “Big Beautiful” bill to the Senate floor; she could have stopped this abhorrent bill with that vote.

After making that critical “Yes” vote to bring the vote to the floor, she has gone on to make a big show about voting against the bill in the full Senate when she knew it would pass. Making her look like a “moderate,” something she’s not.

She knew this ““Big Beautiful” bill would cut Mainecare, leave more Mainers hungry, and

The first time you clearly hear the long, drawn-out whistled “weet-woo” of an upland sandpiper drifting into your ears across an open grassland or blueberry barren, you will be mesmerized.  Some have likened the sound to be as resonating as the cry of the loon, or howl of a wolf.

The upland sandpiper is a long-legged, long-necked bird roughly about half the size of a crow. It has yellow legs and a mostly yellow bill, with mottled brown-and-white plumage and a dark eye that looks too small for its small head.

Most other sandpipers are birds of wetlands, but the upland sandpiper nests in dry

Organizers of the Grindle Point Light Station Lighthouse Tower Celebration give thanks to all who attended the ribbon cutting. 

Walking our little black chug through the leafy streets of our neighborhood several times a day for years continues to give us an appreciation of the small things that can otherwise be easily missed in our daily lives. We notice when someone plants a new shrub in front of their house. We take notice when the first peonies start blooming.

Lately, we’ve noticed that the robins have started singing more vigorously again now that their first brood has fledged.

Over the years, we have tracked three cherry trees in our neighborhood, all within a mile of our house, that come into ripeness every

Senator Collins,

I know that you are under a lot of pressure to vote for this bill. I also know that it would be a stain on your reputation, and that of other Senators, to vote for the largest transfer of wealth in history from the poorest, most vulnerable to the richest, most selfish cohort.

The extreme gall of this agenda, the President’s finger to the populace, especially toward his own supporters, shows his indifference to the morals and American values he claims to support.

You have an enormously important position in the Senate through your hard work and successful career. Will you throw