Chased by Otter!

Eighteen.  Kym turned eighteen yesterday.  College apps are in the works. This lovely woman/girl who has been my daughter for just a few short years is getting ready to fly. She is doing it so sensibly, testing her wings before jumping off  the branch, examining them for possible modification. I am so impressed. I jumped without caring if my wings were ready or not. She is not sure she is ready, but she is. Happy birthday, Kym.

Nature Log  Walking through the woods from the South Ridge trail of Cadillac Mountain in Otter Creek we had to go around the paths, they were so full of water. Cutting through the mossy woods, a late Sunday afternoon, sun piercing the woods in rays, the quite was broken by a running animal, I looked, amazed, at a beautiful otter, running away from us. I called to Dennis, but he had heard it and stopped, and was watching as well. " oh  a camera" I wailed, the otter had stopped and turned, his beautiful otter face  peering at us. I had never seen one so close. he was about 15 feet behind me, Dennis about 20 feet ahead of me. And he stated to run right at me. A funny bounding, determined advance. I backed up, he came on. I caught up with D. and we turned to look. The otter stopped and looked at us. We started to walk on, he began to chase us. We stopped and turned, he stopped, then came after us. we zigged, he zigged We zagged, he zagged after us, Dennis picked up a long branch, and fenced with it, keeping the otter from passing him and running up to me. What on earth did he want? It was not an aggressive attack, but it was very determined, he wanted SOMETHING!  I'll probably never be chased by an otter again, but I am glad I was.

Two Peaches make a Pear but they Cantelope

Wonderful October, and time to harvest. Pears, apples, potatoes and then of course making chutney, apple sauce and potato many ways. We gathered the last of the chard, and made chard, anchovy, garlic, bean and pasta soup. Recipe. I actually increased the anchovy and it just enriched the broth without being intrusive. But then we really like anchovies. A local restaurant has created a Karen Salad. Not on the menu, but it is getting a small local following: start with the house Caesar, add roasted garlic and double anchovies. You’ll find it at Mama DiMatteo’s in Bar Harbor.

I am a Camera Otter Creek

Looks like a mighty wet ride. This may be the new bench for skating parties, as this is the skating pond in the center of Otter Creek.

Oysters Oysters Oysters

Maine Destination: Pemaquid Oyster Festival

Oyster Festival, cocktail sauce not allowed.

Glidden Point Oysters, firm, crisp, as tangy as the water they were raised in– and as many as I wanted to eat! How many was that?  About 16, 12 raw with nothing or a small scoop of pico di gallo, and then four, one broiled with cheese, one Rockefeller, one barbecued, and I cannot remember the fourth cooked style. Raw is the way to go. I could have eaten that many again, but it was a good place to stop, content and functional.

I don't care for cocktail sauce on my oysters, I don't think many people do, and yet I hear people trying them for the first time frequently smother their oyster in it. No wonder then,  if they're not enchanted with the crisp, briny, I am swallowing the ocean, magnificence of a raw oyster. And so I heard with a bit of awe and a great deal of respect that the Pemaquid Oyster Festival has banned cocktail sauce. The range of flavorings offered instead was impressive: Lime-Sake Sauce from Swan's Way Caterers; Sea Bean Slaw from Primo Restaurant; Cider Mignonette from Francine Bistro; Pico de Gallo from Amalfi on the Water; Lemon-Leek Mignonette from Newcastle Publick House; Jalepeno Relish from the Anchor Inn/Damariscotta River Grill; Prosecco Preserved Lemon Mignonette from Atlantica; Green Tabasco Mignonette from Augustine's and Lemon-Fennel Salsa from the Bradley Inn. 

Boats were taking happy oyster eaters down the river to the oyster farms, where we could see the very simple mesh containers where the seed oysters spend about four years of their lives, growing from thumbnail size to ready to eat. The trays get rotated every day to keep algae from forming, according to our guide. These oysters are then dumped on the river bottom near shore to enjoy the last few months of their lives out of captivity. Batter flavor, again according to our guide, much like a free-range chicken.

The festival is a great place to learn about the Damariscotta region. Booths manned by members of area organizations provided information about the fish ladder–a stone waterway allowing alewifes to make a 42-foot vertical ascent to their spawning grounds, river trails, and the shell middens–mounds of oyster shells, one of them once more than thirty feet deep, 1,600 feet long and 1,650 feet wide, evidence that people ate oysters from 200 BC to 1000 AD, and many of them. There was also a touch tank with small scallops snapping their way through the water, nudibranches, hermit crabs, starfish (watch out oysters!) and enthusiastic young marine biology students (outside the tank) showing specimens and explaining life-cycles, identification, and who eats whom.

The grey day was brightened by all the yellow and orange slickers, and the line of oyster openers with dull blades flashing  in and out keeping up with the hungry crowds. Good food, happy oyster eaters, a boat ride, and oyster lore combine to make the Pemaquid Oyster Festival a great Maine destination. Think about this: the oyster shells in the bottom layers of the midden ranged from 12 to 20 inches in length. Don't think I'd eat 16 of those!

Medium Friday, supersizing not available.

Rev. Michelle Love offers spiritual connections at the Hall, on Fridays in the summer.

Wenches, Scallawags and Ribbon Fries

A full schedule of exciting Pirate adventures filled the poster of the Pirate Festival in Eastport Maine. I was hooked.

The dance performance was a small dance school recital, and anywhere else would have had me looking for a book to read or a magazine to thumb. But ten 5-7 year old girls in tap shoes and glittery red sweaters over black tights bumping into each other, or gamely concentrating on getting the routine right was touching against the backdrop of tall masts in the harbor, and buildings looking a bit down at heel.
Eastport is a city on the edge. In 1900 the population was 5,311. In 2000 it was 1,640 and today is 1,556. But the spirit at this festival was optimistic, and the community spirit was so permeated with love for neighbor that I was ready to pack my bags and head north.
Pirates were everywhere. Kids, grandmother's and pets were pirated up, and some pretty grand costumes there were. And the pirates didn't just look like pirates, they jeered swaggered and threatened. I couldn’t wait to don my pirate garb and atrocious Irish pirate accent, and join the crowd. I proclaimed perhaps a few too many times Anne Bonnie’s last words to her spouse awaiting the gallows, "If ye'd a fought like a man, ye needn't die like a dog!" But no one ran me through.
Looking for a light bite before dinner we saw the sign Ribbon Fries. I don’t usually eat fries, but pirates really like them, so we ordered. While we were waiting a huge platter of greasy potato chips, piled precariously high and shimmering in the heat, was handed to the fellow in front of us. Incredulous, I asked if those were the fries. Indeed yes, and no, too late to change our order. We wandered on, munching a few, and I looked wistfully at the nearby truck selling smoked salmon on a stick. Next time.

The canon boomed, there was an attack by ship from the city across the harbor, and we had the best crab cake ever at the Chowder House Restaurant. Danced all night, and even Lee Southard’s rendition of Y-M-C-A (Ayuh, A-Y-A-H) was perfect for this boisterous evening.


Inches of wet hemlock needles make a wonderful cushioned path.

Nature Log Torrential rains during the night. We hiked Shackford Point in the morning, splashing through the trail. A seal near the fish weirs, moss was soaked, drips sounding loud in the quiet woods. Roads washed out, erosion in places on the way home.

We decided not to take this road by the river.

Otter Creek Badminton Classic

The first annual OCBC was held on a warm and sunny Saturday afternoon, hosted by Menna and Kurgan.
Three teams played.
First game: Barbara and Nancy won, Zee and Dee lost.
Second game: Darlene and John won, Barbara and Nancy lost and that was it. Since we did not have a clear winner, the Golden Birdie Award will remain with hosts Larry and Barbara. Badminton was called hit and scream in the 1800's.
I think miss and scream a bit more apt.

Giant puffball, slice into steaks and saute in olive oil until golden.

Nature Log Heard a raven in the morning. Swimming at Seal Harbor Beach we saw a school of thin green eel-like fish dart all together one way, then all together another.The very rainy summer has made the mushroom growth greater than any I have seen in the last 25 years.Variety, size, and sheer abundance are astonishing. Hiked up Cadillac and down. The North Ridge Trail runs too close to the road for my enjoyment, but the South Ridge Trail goes through pitch pines, ledges with views of the outer islands: the Cranberry Islands, Sutton, Baker.

Watersheds and MDI Birds

The Lyceum Lecture series, this year consisting of one lecture, was this evening. Lemonade, rosemary butter cookies, and a good general presentation of how dams have changed our watersheds and impacted fish and so bird populations. Michael Good was the presenter, and he is a gregarious speaker. He confessed he was really not all that prepared for the lecture, but winged it (oh so sorry) endearingly. The next ten years will see 1,000 miles of the Penobscot River waterway reopened through the removal of dams. Anadramous fish populations can increase, and they are bird food. That makes birds happy. The lecture series is one of several fund raising events we hold, hoping to keep the building (The Otter Creek Hall, formerly the church) maintained. And to make it available for people to rent, and to present things the community, both immediate and beyond, will benefit from. And perhaps someday have a small repository of historical artifacts to preserve Otter Creek history. Otter Creek Hall website coming soon, complete with donate on-line function.


Nature Log Dashed out of work to bike the Regular, 28.75 minutes, dead milk adder in the road.