MeInMaine Blog

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  • Amazing Woodpiles, Bountiful Maine Vegetable Gardens.

    Vacationing In Maine Is Year Round, All Four Seasons.
    Try A Slice Of Maine, Explore, Discover Vacationland.

    The days in Maine happen under mostly cobalt blue cloudless skies with sunshine lately.

    And as you drive around country roadways to local festivals and town celebrations you notice the route is in remarkably good shape for Maine, a state this big with just a tad over 1.32 million people.

    On those treks to differents regions of Maine, gardens, woodpiles in the local back yards show up with pride.

    Part of the family survival of eating well, nutrious and keeping the homestead warm as toast all winter long.

    Long rows of cut, split wood destined for a furnace or maybe just a kitchen cook stove to take the chill off. Next years wood supply being worked on right on schedule. Green, unseasoned wood that is twenty minutes old has no business in a Maine home wood heater of any kind. Can you say chimney fire? I knew you could.

    Some of the gardens in rural Maine are just extensions of the farm operation. The real cash cow is a crop or two grown in volume. But the garden is a special project with many going over the top for variety, for care and maintenance. Survivors we Maine people are. Making a game of it, embracing it. But not whining or talking about what we need to do.

    And living pretty green, long before the simple tread lightly, good stewardship lifestyle became in vogue.

    Before simple living in moderation was given a color to identify the lifestyle choice.

    I was lucky enough to hit the Downeast, Washington County Eastport Pirate Festival this weekend. Then take in a tour of Lubec Maine, West Quoddy Lighthouse on the coast.

    Like in renting, a deposit for security is given up front. As I weaved down through the roadways of Downeast and notice more rock formations than a lad growing up in Aroostook County is used to, I saw lots of pretty grandiose gardens, plenty of stacked like winter waiting soldier regiments of wood piles. Getting your chores done, work first before play priorities evident in Downeast Vacationland like in the Crown of Maine.

    Are you lamenting the end of summer?

    Maybe this is the best time to Vacation in state or from out of state Maine. Without the crowds, throngs of knick snack tourist item seekers. Have you ever been to a Maine coastal tourism rich town in the fall, winter and noticed the major contrast in the atmosphre, feel of the place? You get more of a sense of having the area to yourself.

    Oh sure, many of the shop keepers have packed up the mini van and high tailed it to Florida, Mexico or where they flit to before snow flakes start depositing. But the businesses still open, keeping the local town lights burning have some pretty neat people at the helm, running them. Holding down the fort. Shifting gears for the upcoming winter season. Like turning the page on a worn out, spent calendar month, the long list of outdoor winter recreation is planned for. Right after the fall foiliage fireworks of color bursts that is next up on the Vacationland carousel slide show. Get to Maine any time you can. There is no bad time.

    I’m Maine Broker, Andrew Mooers ME REALTOR
    207.532.6573
    info@mooersrealty.com

  • Pirates Festival, Head To Eastport, See The Invasion From Lubec Maine.

    Secure Downeast, Pirates Sighted Off Shore, Heading For Lubec, Eastport Maine.
    See You Landlubbers In Eastport Maine Matey.

    Every year in September Eastport and nearby Lubec Maine get invaded with rowdy, boisterous pirates.

    This weekend September 9-11, Eastport Maine will be invaded by pirates of all ages. Lobster boat races, with American and Canadian vessels are part of the Eastport Pirate Festival. Come see, hear, participate in the fun to cheer on the fastest lobster boats.

    Bed races with prizes of $1000 dollars on Main Street another popular annual element of this Eastport Pirate Festival too. Costumes in pirate garb are encouraged all weekend long. Two hundred years ago, Lubec and Eastport were one community.

    This summer a Eastport Lubec ferry service was established to make things easier, more connected Downeast.

    The ferry service also takes passengers to Campobello Island and the cottage of US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. See some history and learn more about this special Maine coastal area of Washington County and Canada.

    Come see the porpoise, whales, fishing boats, eagles and yes, pirates this weekend in all sizes but all loud with lots of personality. All looking for fun which should not be hard with the hard work local festival planners in Eastport have planned this weekend. Food, fun, something for the entire family.

    Witness the Pirate invasion of Lubec and the festival in Easport Maine. Visit Downeast.

    The Eastport-Lubec Ferry operates Tuesday through Sunday, leaving Eastport at 10 a.m., noon, 2 and 4 p.m. It departs Lubec at 11 a.m., 1,3, and 5 p.m. Round trip tickets are $19.50, half price for residents of Lubec and Eastport. Bikes are $6; dogs and cats are free. For more information, call 853-2635, or go to www.EastportFerry.com.

    Shiver your timbers, hob nob with pirates in Eastport and Lubec Maine this weekend in Downeast Washington County. Maine, big state, lots of water, woods, friendly people and plenty of wildlife.

    I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker
    207.532.6573
    info@mooersrealty.com

  • Pre Buying Maine Winter Home Heating Oil, Should You Do It?

    Maine Is Four Seasons, Saving On Home Heating Costs One Hobby, Sport We All Try To Master.
    Maine Lower Temperatures Mean Turn Up The Heat On Home Fuel Oil Conservation.

    To pre buy or not pre buy Maine home heating oil, that is the quandry, question.

    I usually do but as you wheel and deal and add in the quarter per gallon to follow the price of Maine home heating oil down if it drops, you have to scratch your head.

    On the one hand, it is a safe, secure, yes “warm” feeling that there. My house is going to be toasty warm this winter in Maine.

    My family is not going to have to wear snow suits inside to watch “Wheel of Fortune” and reruns of Law and Order. (Dum Dum sound)

    Once you pre buy, lock in you stop thinking about Maine home heating oil prices because you have that winter concern all nice and tidy, squared away. But in my travels with a fellow that owns a heating oil company in the Bethel Maine area, he pointed our while showing him Maine farms last week something to consider.

    Over the last eight of ten years, Maine winter heating seasons, the guys and gals that did pre buy came out behind the curve.

    Lost on money on what they negotiated for but ended up with when the final home heating oil numbers were in. The price of oil last March was lower than mid summer, the traditional bottom of the barrel cost time for number two Maine heating oil. He says there is a glut of oil currently. Consumption is down.

    So he has me thinking. And usually before June wraps up I have the home heating oil puzzle all figured out, put to bed for the upcoming Maine winter. But not this year. I have dawdled, dragged my feet on the pre buying oil exercise. How about you? Or do you heat with wood, the special cut log pieces or in the bag, pellet size? Here are at least 50 ways to modify habits, cut your love for heating oil consumption routine.

    Have heated exclusively with wood in the 1980’s with a home wood furnace but not ready to add that option to the current Maine home I raise a family in. So the focus always comes back to in addition to buying the lowest priced heating oil, to make sure the home you are heating is as tight, buttoned up as you can.

    Using less oil, but being comfortable and getting a deal on the cost of it is always a topic of conversation among Mainers due to our location up here in the right hand corner of the country. Parked pretty cozy to the New Brunswick and Quebec Canadian provinces.

    But I have found like fishing stories, vast exaggerations on the actual per gallon price of Maine home heating oil that individuals say they pay and actually do.

    It seems everyone wants to hit a home run on the bottom line price they pay for Maine home heating oil. But the fact remains Maine oil consumption has fallen by more than a third in the last five years as conservation measures get brought on line to reduce the dependency on the black gold that oozes from the ground in some places on the planet.

    I’m Maine Real Estate Broker Andrew Mooers, ME REALTOR
    207.532.6573
    info@mooersrealty.com

  • Flying In To Maine, Airports To Consider.

    Flying In To Maine, Easier Than Your Think.
    Many Airports In Maine For Flights, Just Think Smaller, Easier To Get In And Out Of.

    You have a destination to fly in to, are looking for flights in to Maine and wonder about airports.

    You realize Maine is not the population center of an Atlanta, Boston, Chicago or Los Angeles. But with a population of just over a million people spread out around a state as large as Maine, you quickly realize, hey, there are not going to be hundreds of flights per hour in to any burg or ville in to Vacationland.

    Obviously if Santa had brought you an airplaine, you had an FAA license, you could land in a myriad of small airports dotted around Maine.

    But if he did not, and you don’t hold a an FAA license to fly from the airplane cockpit in to Vacationland, here are the highlights of what Maine airports to consider. Even if you are pretty skilled at Halo when you are lucky enough to get the Banshee for a test drive.

    Lots of flights, lower costs and a willingness to do a little driving means Portland Maine, PWM is a major consideration for an airport to fly in to the jetport. I just took the youngest son to Portland Maine to head back to college, and the location near the Freeport Maine store outlets.

    But Bangor Maine, BIA is an option for flying in to interior Maine. To avoid having to rent a car for long treks. Maine is a big New England state. Not in the size state category of a Delaware, Rhode Island. Big enough for lots of flight options, times of arrivals, departures. But small enough for ease of getting in and out without the overwhelming size of a LAX.

    For Northern Maine, PQI airport is the one choice to fly in to Presque Isle in Aroostook County. Smaller planes, lots of flight options to service a less populated area known as “the crown of Maine”. Many of Maine’s airports were strategic during World War Two like the one in Houlton Maine’s airport known as KHUL. There are many smaller Maine airports to consider if you pilot your own plane.

    Maine, we’ve got your connected with air flights, service to Vacationland.

    And many folks coming in to Hancock County, to Bar Harbor Maine airport have options too. For when a silver bird brings them to and from the area, rather than a cruise ship.

    When someone asks me if you can fly in to Maine, I tell them sure, not thinking just domestic airline flights. There are many Maine airports for private pilots, a growing segment of folks accessing the magic of Vacationland. Maine, like Ben Franklin kinda sorta said, God made Vacationland like beer to show all he loved us. Access it by air. Maine, one big place, not over crowded, some kind of friendly people.

    I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker
    207.532.6573
    info@mooersrealty.com

  • Fishing, Hunting In Maine

    Maine Humming Birds Take A Pit Stop For A Little Lunch.
    Rare To See Them Parked, Their Wings Not At 8500 RPM.

    Those two terms fishing and hunting in Maine are pretty loaded.

    The pair do not define what the person doing each of their endeavors is after. In my job as a Maine real estate broker, often the buyer of a property listing is looking, hunting for a waterfront parcel. Fishing for a deal on that Maine land on a lake or river.

    Not everyone shoots with a rifle, pistol, bow and arrow either. Photography of Maine places is pretty popular among folks that are elbow to elbow city dwellers who are thirsty, hungry for open spaces. Shooting landscapes of something with Maine water in the still image or video is a hobby of many crossing the state line in Eliot, Kittery.

    And when you find a hunter of four legged game, he may have completely different desires, habits than the ones in orange going after birds, foul.

    Or bear hunters with the dogs and radio collars are different cats than moose and deer hunters.

    Or those crouching in a waterfront blind waiting for a bunch of ducks to decide to park it right by one of your floating decoys.

    Same with the fishermen. Some have the 150 horsepower sparkle metal flake fast, sleek boats where you must need to troll at 60 and 70 miles an hour to catch certain fish species.

    Or to hit an unmarked rock the locals knew all about that rips off the outdrive’s lower unit.

    And those fisherman thrown from the boat in the impact make the front page of the Maine newspaper nearest the scene of the accident.

    So hunting, fishing in Maine can mean many different things depending on what the individual is coming to Vacationland to do for outdoor recreation. The vacationer could be hunting for river rapids to shoot in a kayak. To wedge themselves between the side of a rubber raft and the thwart, grabbing the short security rope to hang on for dear life in the wildest part of the Kennebeck, Dead, Penobscot Rivers aboard a screaming crew of white water rafters.

    When someone says Maine, what do you start hunting for, itching and fishing to tackle on your next trip to this state in the upper right hand corner of the nation?

    I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker
    207.532.6573
    info@mooersrealty.com

  • Moosehead, Sebago, Grand Lake Maine’s Biggest Waterfront Heavy Hitters.

    Maine Has Over 2500 Lakes, Ponds But Only Three Big Heavy Hitters... Moosehead, Sebago And Grand Lakes.
    No Little Puddles, Small Ponds, Maine’s Moosehead, Sebago, Grand Lakes Are HUGE!

    Waterfront in Maine is very clean and pretty plentiful.

    Vacationland, Maine has 2500 lakes and ponds and about another 1000 rivers and streams. But of Maine’s vast collection of lakes scattered around this nation’s state in the upper right corner, Moosehead, Sebago and Grand Lakes are the largest, biggest.

    Moosehead, Maine’s biggest lake is the source of Kennebec River and dotted with over 80 islands.

    The largest island in Moosehead Lake is Sugar Island. The 700 foot Mt Kineo is also part of the majesty of Moosehead Lake. In acres, Moosehead weighs in at 74890. With over 400 miles of shore frontage, Moosehead lake is 40 by 10 miles in surface area. The Moosehead Historical Society documents the early days. The maximum depth of Moosehead Lake is 246′. Fish swimming, waiting to be caught in Moosehead Lake, in Piscataquis County include bass, perch, trout, salmon, and togue.

    Maine’s second biggest waterbody, and deepest at 316 feet is Sebago Lake.

    The primary water source of the city of Portland Maine, Sebago Lake is twelve miles long with 105 miles of shoreline. Sebago Lake is in Cumberland County, covering 28771 acres with twenty eight species of fish. Brook trout, lake dwelling Atlantic salmon, whitefish, trout, burbot, smallmouth and largemouth bass, chain pickerel, white and yellow perch, black crappie, redbreast sunfish, pumpkinseed, rainbow smelt, American eel, brown bullhead, white sucker, longnose sucker, fallfish, creek chub, common shiner, blacknose dace, golden shiner, three spined stickleback, nine spined stickleback, banded killifish, and slimy sculpin. Sebago Lake’s watershed covers 24 Maine towns. Fyre Island, 800 acres large and a Maine town is in Sebago Lake along with nine natural sandy beaches.

    Maine’s number three largest waterbody is Grand Lake, in Washington and Aroostook Counties.

    Part of Grand Lake lies in York County in New Brunswick Canada on the east. Grand Lake’s depth is 128 feet, its length 22 miles and its widest point is four miles. Fish species swimming in Grand Lake include landlocked salmon, lake trout, yellow perch, white perch, smallmouth bass, American eel, brook trout, and many others. Grand Lake, the northern most Maine top three largest lakes enjoys what is known as “The Million Dollar View” along US Rt 1 elevated from its central western shores. Two US Canadian border crossings are on Grand Lake at Orient and Forest City Maine on the American side of the International Boundary. Learn more about Northern Maine’s Grand Lake area. Grand Lake is over 16000 acres large.

    I’m Maine Real Estate Broker, Andrew Mooers ME REALTOR
    207.532.6573
    info@mooersrealty.com