Columns

When spring finally arrived one day in late May, it felt more like summer than spring. I sat in the car in the parking lot, baking in the afternoon sun with little appreciation for the small SUV's driving visibility.

I'm realizing that as I age, I still can prepare some recipes from memory, recall profound emotional events and remember joyful moments — oh, those escapades full of laughter that will be etched forever in my heart. I remember one spectacular moment in particular, when I was about 7.

By July, most people have mentally moved on from rhubarb. The first flush of excitement it brought in May and June has faded, and the spotlight is now on tomatoes, corn and berries. But if you live in Harpswell or cook with what's around, you'll notice that rhubarb doesn't always know it's supposed to be done.

Here we are in July, which means we are celebrating Independence Day. This means cookouts, family parties and fireworks!

Question: Is there any status update on the Eagle Island State Historic Site? It was closed for all of 2024 due to the January storms. Is there any hope of it being open in 2025? Are there still park rangers or video presentations about Adm. Peary available?

Hello from Cundy's Harbor! The summer season is fully underway as locals and visitors return to our little piece of heaven on Earth. Here at the library, we are checking books in and out, shelving and reshelving, and providing activities to accompany our story walks at Anna M. Tondreau Preserve, Cliff Trail, and Little Ponds Preserve.

I'm that person who falls head over heels for an ingredient and can't seem to get enough of cooking with it. The past few weeks, I have been in a zucchini phase. Last week, I made five batches of zucchini bread. Don't worry, I didn't devour all of it. I made most of it for my customers, but I did cut myself a slice or two.

Earlier this spring, Curtis Memorial Library screened a special presentation of "Free for All: The Public Library," a documentary about how the library became an American civic institution (now streaming on PBS). We were fortunate to be joined by Abby Van Slyck, an architectural historian featured in the documentary who is an expert on the history of libraries.

The birds kept coming, swarming in numbers I had never seen, flitting around in search of food. It was so intense that I could not maintain an accurate count of the visitors for my reporting to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology via the eBird app. Having just filled the feeders that morning, it was clear that I would soon be refilling them.

While pondering a theme for this month's column, I kept remembering the summers of my childhood. When we were in grade school, there wasn't a feeling in the world that could compare to hearing the last bell ring for dismissal and the start of summer vacation. It was pure freedom.