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  • Maybe Maine Black Flies And Mosquitoes Won’t Come This Year.

    Maybe Maine Black Flies And Mosquitoes Won’t Come This Year.

        The little black yard and deep woods varmits may be more determined than ever to tap your blood this year.

    I always figure the intensity of the black flies and mosquito was directly tied to the severity of a Maine winter and whether there were breeding pools from an above average wet spring. How many extra buzzing flies will be here to take part in your BBQ? Not sure what the farmers almanac says on the subject. But I do know for about two weeks in late May, the black flies and state bird, the mosquito, come into action quickly and then after those two weeks things settle down.

    Black flies, mosquitoes die down and you and I get used to them. It is a bit of both. The birds that eat them kick into gear and are home from southern climates by spring.  Plus the life expectancy of a black fly is about a day! Fish harvest the bugs too. So do dragon flies that look scary but do a lot of good.

    In the open areas, not bad for this transition period but in the deep deep woods, you better keep moving.

    What's That Whining, Buzzing Sound That's Getting Louder?
    What’s That Whining, Buzzing Sound That’s Getting Louder?

    They can drive some animals crazy and many car accidents in Northern Maine happen  during hunting season, mating season or bug season.  All the above get the animal population riled up and moving out on to the highways and byways of Maine!

    If buying land, something with a little elevation and breeze will keep them down wind…but too good a view and elevation and hey..where are my roof shingles going in December (whiz whiz)?  There is a happy medium.  Actually with mosquito’s my research shows the males don’t take blood and nibble instead on plant nectar. The females  blood feed to obtain a protein source for their eggs.

    Every real estate broker is asked often in the spring…How are the black flies?  If a broker says, no problem, no black flies or bugs in his/her part of Maine he is fibbing. Or next to something with drums and skull / cross bones that also with further research shows he/she does not have birds, bees or any other wildlife now that you mention it!

    The bugs exist but not half as bad as the Maine humorists and fly repellent people would lead you to believe. 

    If you search the internet often the problem is blown way way out of proportion and then the kicker is the site brings up a new super duper eighteen letter product that knocks them six ways into next Sunday.  These articles and products create a need that a bottle of Avon’s skin so soft will cure anyway!

    Some folks are just sweeter or more aromatic or magnetic or something…some folks are bug magnets.  The population sector that gets it the worst?  Little kids playing while black flies dive bomb for the tender spots on the back of their neck under their hair while parents realize later at tub time that night “Oh Oh…” the first time out with the new born.  Once is all it takes to fortify for the next trip outdoor. Visit link for black fly news in Maine, for lots more on the pesky subject.

    Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers 

    207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com  | 

    MOOERS REALTY 69 North ST Houlton ME 04730 USA

  • Snowmobiling Pumps Alot Of Revenue Into Maine!

         The Linneus Maine snowmobile club is needing to update their groomer and all local businesses in Maine need to lend their support when this grand writing effort requires a helping hand. This is an open letter of what we think of the grant money being awarded. Here’s the letter….

         Thank you for bringing to my attention the desire of the Linneus Sno-Sports, Inc. to apply for a USDA grant to aid in the purchase of a new trail grooming machine and the associated equipment needed to make safe, flat and enjoyable trails for all to enjoy.

    I have been told the average snowsledder spends at least $100 per day in the area they are snowsledding through. I think this number is probably conservative because by the time you fuel up with today’s prices, stay somewhere at a lodge or a motel, eat and entertain yourself, I would put the figure closer to $150 on average.

    In addition to those new dollars that turn over six times in the local economy, we are exposing Maine to snowsledders who might decide to locate a business, a factory or a distribution facility here. I have heard over and over in my job, from folks who have snowsledded through, how friendly the people are, how nice it is not to have a million people, and the ones that are here are friendly and helpful. That’s the kind of location a future business owner is going to want to locate. Add in the work ethic from everybody picking potatoes and making money on the local farms growing up, this is an area ripe for economic development. Snowsledding is economic development, from the exposure it gives to folks vacationing through and for those who come back numerous times a year, year after year.

    I think the use of a USDA grant to purchase a snow grooming machine to make the trails not only safe, but to attract more snowsledders to the area is a great use of taxpayer dollars. In this day in age where we hear about abuses and waste of government spending, this definitely is one that hits home. The volunteers at the Linneus-Sno Sports and other sled clubs around the state, work long hours for no pay … only for personal satisfaction. Whether they are twitching new trails, taking out dangerous sharp curves or building new bridges, there is nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer snowsledder.

    I have seen the trails first hand, have four snowsleds, and we use them a lot in our job to show property and to access land. You can get places on a snowsled that you cannot get to by car and the view and wildlife is what people are after. This new groomer will make those trails accessible, safer and help bring in dollars during a slow time in the economy … the dead of winter. Local restaurants, local motels, gas stations, new and used snowsled sales and parts sales will all benefit from this tourism! We’ve got the trails, we just have to make them safer and flat so folks will come back and tell all of their friends what a great time they had in the greater Houlton area.

    Respectfully submitted,
    Andrew F. Mooers
    MOOERS REALTY
    69 North Street
    Houlton, ME 04730
    207.532.6573 – Voice
    207.532.6574 – Fax    Email info@mooersrealty.com
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    P.S.  This will specifically help my business and keep our revenues generated from folks looking for recreational land.  We meet them because of their passion for snowsledding, but they decide to come back for the other three seasons and spend money.  If they buy property, they build on the land.  They drill wells.  They put septics and power in.  Those are all dollars that turn over six times that we did not have in the local economy before.

  • Maine Winter Living Does Not Mean Hibernation.

         We get out and enjoy the great outdoors of Maine. Snowmobiling, down hill and cross country skiing, ice fishing, ice hockey. Just a few of the past times and spring skiing especially can be fun. Watch another in the Maine community video series we shoot, edit and upload to show the beauty of

    Maine Winter Fun In The Sun And Snow!
    Maine Winter Fun In The Sun And Snow!

    “Vacationland”. Big Rock ski area in Mars Hill Maine is right next to the Canadian New Brunswick border. One of if not the first place the sun rises and hits in the United States due to the elevation.

    Snowmaking, state of the art groomers, friendly staff and 28 trails, 5 lifts in place. Besides skiing at affordable, family friendly prices, the home made soup, sandwiches and snacks make this a winter entainment home run. Try the snow tubes, tackle snow boarding or strap on some skis to feel the sun and wind as your gravity swish swish to the base lodge for something warm to drink!

    Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers

  • What Makes Maine Great, Special, Different?

    Land…there is lots of it in the world, in North America, in Maine. But what makes an area stand out from others beside just rolling land, woods, fields and the local terrain? The people. Folks raised on Maine farms, fish along the Maine coasts or that own their own small business struggle against life’s forces . But they are determined to make a living for their families and provide jobs for area neighbors.  It is not for the money, they live here for the quality of live.

    I recently blogged about Smith and Wesson’s Houlton Maine plants news of producing the six millionth handcuff.  There are many Maine success stories. Ward Log Homes is located in Houlton Maine too and is the oldest

    Six Million Handcuffs Made So Far At Houlton Maine S and W Plant

    log home / cabin manufacturer in the country! 

         Why the success? Quality products or services provided by hard workers that have pride in their area, their jobs, themselves. Putting your all into an effort. Lazy is not a Maine tradition and these people want to live here, raise kids here and have very very low or no job turn over. Mainer’s are content, happy, where they are suppose to be. In the “Pine Tree State” or “Vacationland ” up here in the left hand corner of the country called Maine.

    Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers

  • Capturing Maine Digitally Is Like Trading In Your Bow And Arrow For A Gatlin Gun.

         The gatlin rapid fire gun was introduced during the civil war in 1861 to reduce the number of deaths and the size of the northern army.

         The digital camera revolutionized picture taking in the same dramatic way. With a high pixel resolution the new images are the size of a barn or one of the smaller fifty states. Instead of accurate camera aim to capture the subject, new point and shoot cameras take in the subject and everything within three miles around it.

         You can now shoot elephant with the typical hand held and with a simple learning curve image editor, crop all

    Hey, Come Back Here With My Frenc Fry Bird.
    Hey, Come Back Here With My French Fry Bird.

    what you don’t want with the remaining section of the image plenty big enough for clarity, size and application. Without concern for the cost of processing and the actual film expense per roll of unexposed medium, digital allows rapid fire image taking increasing the odds of a quality shot.
         I like to capture Maine both with a still digital camera and video clips to later edit into a movie that shows the flavor of Maine. The colors of the seasons, the sounds of a Maine spring, summer, fall and winter are so varied and special. Natural lighting during the magic twenty minutes before sunset or just after sunrise enhances the lake, ocean, mountain, woods or field scene. And when coupled with the unique hard working, down to earth character of Maine people, anyone can collect, post and share the essence of Maine.

         Salt and peppered in this MeInMaine blog, I hope to stock the shelves with bits and pieces of imagery, video, and copy that conveys my piece of Maine, what Maine means to me. This Maine video explains why I live in Maine, what my life journey has been so far. Our video efforts show everything from youth picking Maine potatoes video, to a local 4th of July 4 day Houlton ME celebration video, a Maine 14 inch snowstorm, local Maine tournament baseketball game or a local Maine hockey contest and everything in between. We also pay the bills with local Maine real estate videos mixed in between the community videos too. Scan roughly 900 of my Maine images over over 750 Maine blogs posts with video and imagery attached or embedded at ActiveRain and eventually in this home grown Maine local community living blog, MeInMaine.
    Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers

  • Picking Maine Potatoes, My First Entry Level Job As A Kid.

    Picking Maine Potatoes, My First Entry Level Job As A Kid.

         Everything I apply to life I learned in the Maine potato field. Sort of.

     

    Where I grew up, a 300 acre Maine potato farm that I still own.
    The 300 acre Maine farm I grew up on and now own.
    Maine kids pick potatoes during fall harvest.
    Maine youth help area potato farmers get the spuds into winter storage during school fall break.

    Seriously, you start each  morning, listening to the radio to see what time the Maine potato farmer is going to dig today.

    A little frost or rain over night means a delay, or no picking. A reprieve from above in the food chain. But when you do get to the spud field after a big breakfast and carrying your lunch and water jug, you have to pick out a section.

    A section is basically, how long a responsibility in the field can you handle?

    If the rows are long, and one digger proceeds at a slow pace back and forth uncovering spuds to pick, you have to judge what is doable. To still stay caught up. You don’t want to be waiting for the digger. You need to avoid being hopeless behind, rows and rows out of uncovered potatoes waiting to be picked. That is discouraging but so is life sometimes. The best lessons are mistakes or miscalculations. Taking ownership, responsibility and stopping them from happening over and over. And wondering why.

    Four baskets fill a 165 pound Maine farm potato barrel.

    You put your ticket on the barrel and it gets plucked. Placed in a can as the barrel is hoisted onto a flatbed farm truck. The potatoes head to storage, your ticket to be counted that night. Sixty cents a barrel was the pay when my four kids picked a few years back. Before graduating to work in the potato house or on the harvester for an hourly wage. Where they thought now we are cooking. Have really arrived.

    Kids spend the money if they think the item is worth six barrels of potatoes or whatever the exchange is as they contemplate a purchase. I have seen my kids pick something up, put it back on the store shelf and utter the word’s “Dad, that’s not worth six barrels of potatoes”. They worked too hard to part with their hard earned proceeds for something deemed an unfair exchange or quality for the work required to buy it. Maine potato picking video I posted.

    No one leaves the Maine potato field until everyone is picked up.

    No one left high and dry. If you find yourself behind due to poor section selection or the hot sun slowing down your production, others will show up to pick up your section. To add to their daily barrel tally. If you run out of barrels, you pick tops off the rows you get behind so when you get barrels, you can pick your section faster.

    Digger pulled by the tractor breaks down? You head to the woods to do your business, make a nature call. Or have a snack and enjoy the break. Put it to good use to rest up. Or if hustling for a new bike, you trot down to a section that is behind that has barrels. You pick one or two barrels to tag with your ticket. You stay busy. You make good use of your time.

    Famrsteads In Maine Start With Small Scale Homesteading
    Another Generation Of Farmers In Maine. Remember, No Farmer, No Food!

    Being outside in the Maine fall scenic foliage is exciting and beautiful. Blue skies, cold mornings, blistering hot afternoons. That’s a lesson in picking potatoes, my entry level job that was the blue print for every other job after that.

    Growing up on a Maine farm was a valuable experience. And you are needed by the grower, shipper. You and he both are at the mercy of the biggest unknown, the Maine weather. Your section may grow or shorten too depending on the division marker of your neighboring picker. Who may be an ambitious little red hen or become lazy in the afternoon sun like a slug.

    The field section markers may mysteriously re-adjust between where you end and your neighbor starts too.

    End rows also can grow as the field lengthens. You find grass, tough picking, sods on the ends as a rule. Those are the picking ABC’s of mastering a Maine potato field. Watch the operation first hand with this Maine potato picking video .

    Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers  

    207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com |

    MOOERS REALTY 69 North ST Houlton ME 04730 USA