When we had the house inspected, the inspector told us we needed to put a fire door between the garage and the cellar. It’s required by building code and by insurance companies. The idea is that the fuel in a car (and other things that are likely to be in a garage, like a power …
Author Archives: deanb
Sheepfest
On Saturday (4/15) we went to the Denmark Sheepfest. It’s a small-scale event, as you would expect in as small a town as Denmark, Maine. The feeling was very different from the Gore Place sheep shearing event we went to last year. That one is more, “Well, Gore Place has a few sheep, and they …
Grand-Nephew
Millie, Joel, David, Rachael, and Jared were up in Casco with us last weekend. I’m not sure what I have of Jared after his baby picture in a pre-blog journal entry. Now, at 2 years and a couple of months, he gleefully says “cheese!” all by himself and mugs for a camera whenever one is …
North Pine Hill Road
On April 8 Matt and I took our mountain bikes out for (what seems to me in my out-of-shape state as) a good long ride. Back in the winter Joel and I had started out to get a fire door for the cellar on a very foggy evening. The map showed what looked like a …
Vesper Sparrow
On the way back from walking up Mayberry Highlands road (and George Hannon road, and back down Mayberry Highlands road) we saw a little bird with white on the sides of its tail. When it landed facing towards us we saw very fine streaking on the top part of the breast. We thought “vesper sparrow”, …
Bicycling
I went to work by bicycle on Monday and today. Monday was of course the first workday after daylight saving time started, when it would be good daylight when it was time to come home. Rain was predicted for Tuesday. Actually, it was raining very lightly when I went home Monday. All I have to …
Crash
Two weekends ago (was it? whatever.) Anne and Matt rented a couple of DVDs in Cambridge and brought them up to Casco. We watched Good Night and Good Luck on Friday and Crash on Saturday. I’m just a little too young (!) to remember the McCarthy era as such. I do remember my parents being …
Beware of God
I didn’t resume reading Everything is Illuminated as I had planned. We had heard two separate stories by Shalom Auslander on “This American Life” on NPR which I liked. I checked on Amazon after hearing the second. His book Beware of God was out in hardback and was due out in paperback on March 28. …
Sugarhouse Tour II
The sign we had seen advertising Maine Maple Sunday was at Harvest Hill Farms farm stand on Route 11. We had stopped there just as they were closing the first time we drove home through Gray, just in time to get some delicious maple hard candy. Their farm is up Megquier Hill Road in Poland. …
Sugarhouse Tour – I
Maine Maple Sunday is a regular event on the fourth Sunday of March, which is usually at the peak of the maple sap run. Besides pancake breakfasts sponsored by every organization that has the energy to do them, maple sugar farmers around the state set up tours of their operation and try to attract the …