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Open Porches, Sun Rooms, Open Decks And Patios In Maine Homes.

Spending time outside more but closer to the Maine home base.

Was one of your New Year’s resolutions to park it on an open porch, use your sun room, the deck or patio more this year? Or to add one if none in your life now? Open air living room, not Maine black bear’s den like seems to be what your body, mind, spirit are craving.
Maine Porches, Free Therapy, Shelling Fresh Peas, Naps Happen Here. Coffee, Ice Tea Tastes Better Here.

Back and forth freely put together talks are one reason.

Not texts, not emails, not during commercials when locked on with the thousand yard detached stare in the recliner or horizontal on the sofa.

Click the power to blip off. Silence. Get away from the tube.

Keep your hands where we can see them and head to bright light, fresh air. Open communication of the special areas to enhance the daily routine and used creatively.

Flowers, Bees Buzzing, Birds Singing, Easy Conversations On A Maine Home Porch.
Growing up the Maine farm home porches got used a lot. Nightly summer conversations and how about a snack to go with the chit chat? Early morning coffee just tastes better when the new Maine day sunshine promises to be spectacular.

With Maine song birds in perfect pitch, weaving their own special solos. Bees buzzing. Walkers to stopping by to say hello and ask how everything is.

You return the same query to get up to speed with the what’s new in pair of lives. The budding, blooming flowers and fragrant greenery adding to the eye candy of just so glad to be in Maine.

Talking about what makes you some kind of happy, grateful living day to day in Maine.

Or sharing what has got your done, worried, concerned. Those conversations in a porch glider, rocker to figure it out. Process it all with family, friends, sometimes alone with your thoughts. With a cold refreshment in your hand and company is healthy. What’s going on in your life is shared. Comparing notes, suggestions from others to factor in your own life direction does a person much good.

No Walls, No Roof, No Ceiling. No Limits. Maine.
Reading scripture to prepare your heart, quiet it or expand it happens easier, more natural on a porch, deck, patio. Space, surrounding you in Maine opens you up. Untangles the knots, helps make you a better blogger. More interesting writer too. (Smile)

Where do you park it when close to home, camp in Maine? What perch kinda outdoors but used a lot daily, weekly, seasonally works best to keep you balanced, feeling alive and pumping?

As a kid you had to be practically dragged back indoors for supper, bedtime from playing outside in Maine.

What happened?

Adults are more fun when time is spent outdoors. You’ve committed no crime, why the self inflicted house arrest? Make yourself go outside. See what you are missing. You are not the best version of you stuck inside hiding out.

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

April 1, 2014
Cabin Fever In Maine, Some Of The Cures.

Unless you are house bound in Maine due to an injury, surgery, extreme old age or a streak of less than stellar weather patterns, you are outside all four seasons.

Sometimes for pleasure. Other times for a labor of love on a Maine farm. Shoveling new fallen snow off the roof of a woods cabin, a lake cottage. Or removing the porch snow load of your dwelling.
Always Outside, Maine Fun Happens Outdoors.
Helping a neighbor or shut in with the same duties around their house with snow loads. But spring comes hard in Maine. Not a clean predictable start like a Labor or Memorial Day signal.

But often the end of a Maine season like winter is the hardest transition.

Because you are ready for spring. But hold your horses. Can’t do outside yard work with those won’t let go go go disappearing snow banks. Where the snow is not white and fluffy, new. But more dirty snow cone, ice mix consistency. So no raking the lawn. Washing off the house grime off. Or starting the gardens of flowers and vegetables. Outside anyway. Can you rent a flame thrower?

The black potting soil, white perlite specs in the brown peat pots. Line card tables, kitchen and glass porch window sills covered in old newspapers. The green peppers, tomatoes are started inside. To transplant into the tilled garden when it has dried out and a seed bed is created for the tasty inhabitants to check in. Many to stay, hang around until the fall harvest canning, preserving routine.

But Maine cabin fever happens when you have skied, snow shoed and sledded, ice fished, pond hockey ice skated enough.

Same with moving, shoveling winter snows to clear driveways, parking lots. Enough. And ready for green grass, spring canoe and kayak races to start populating the weekend calendar slots. Budding trees, early flowers, lilacs and returning spring songbirds as the sunshine is longer, stronger.
Maine Spring Green Itching To Release. Explode When Winter Surrenders.

Wanting, longing to wash outside windows, rake gravel from snow plow trucks off the lawn. To pull out the patio furniture, gas grill and screw on the outside water hose. But not yet.

Some folks decide to zip away for a vacation where the water is blue and green. The music island like with steel drums.

Drinks sweet, rum based. With a leaning umbrella or piece of fresh fruit hitch hiking on the rim. Yeah mon. Nice tourist shirt colors you’re sporting Bub. Or being disciplined to do inside painting, remodeling, wallpaper jobs at the Maine home.
Cabin Fever In Maine Retreat When Spring Teases, Stays Away. Flirts, Plays Hard To Get.
If outside weather means you are in a no fly zone today. Something other than short stints on the couch to watch a movie, sporting event, heavy duty snacking out of boredom.

Take a walk through a small Maine town.

No matter what the current weather. I don’t know about you but I love being out “in the weather”. Dressed for it. But whether a down pour of cats and dogs rain buckets in summer drenchings when the clouds open up wide. A blinding curtain of big, heavy fat snow flakes in sheets, waves.

When you can barely see the hand in front of your face. As you walk to the movies, play production. Window shop without customers to compete with or bump into. Go out to eat in a small Maine downtown during a Maine winter Northeaster. Or windy fall gusts howling with crackling dry orange, red, yellow leaves whipped, stirred around. Swirling as trees get bent over backwards, undressed, stripped of foliage. We live in Maine, not amateurs to weather maps of all kinds. Bring it.

The Maine Maple Syrup Sundays at nearly 100 sugar shacks fill the down time away from work all help. So does time at that Maine camp playing cribbage, making feeds for the family, buddies. While a center wood stove heater or cook stove drives you out. To shed clothing. Makes you leave the outside door open because too many logs thrown into the fire box. And you dream about the next season in Maine when stuck in the in between of one that comes hard after one that does not give up easily.

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

March 30, 2014
Rabbit Ears For The Cartoons Saturday Mornings In Maine.

Adjusting those rabbit ear antennae to have less snow, static in the Maine television picture.

You must be living in a part of Maine far from the television station, no cable hook up. Before Dish or Direct TV was invented to bolt on to the side of your Maine house at the right angle to pick up a signal on the horizon.
Picking Up The Signal Loud And Clear In Maine.

Maybe a rotor was hooked to that antennae array on the top of the Maine home roof that is guy wired to take on a Northeaster.

Or strapped tightly to a brick chimney to rock and roll, shimmy and shake. The antennae straining for a strong signal directional gain can be turned to dial in the station’s broadcast frequency. Today the expression “300 channels on the television but nothing to watch” is the norm in the abundance of crystal clear, noise free digital offerings.

When growing up in Northern Maine was one American station, two Canadian signals and public broadcasting added in to round it out.

Sometimes that rotor stopped rotating. Rusted motor quit taking the turns, sweeps back and forth. Channel surfing with four channels. If the weather conditions allowed the broadcast to drift in. Like smoke signals that work best if no wind. Less garble, missing communication happening.

It was appreciate what you have. More than enough. That is all there is and accepted gratefully.
Outside, Moving, Catching A Ride To Maine Adventure.
Plus not tons of time spent on the couch watching television. We were outside playing, working. Had chores and fresh air was a big part of the daily diet. Still is. Need that oxygen combined with outdoor living, all that scenery, wildlife.

And Saturday morning, cartoons tomorrow morning thought about all day Friday.

And don’t miss them… only in the mornings is your one shot Partner for a week’s dose to tide you over. It was a big deal to head into town from the country. To watch NBC’s full living color peacock fan the plume too at my Aunt Hettie’s home cable feed. On Franklin Avenue for a holiday celebration. Because not regular, standard viewing fair like when watching a cherry picker television station in Presque Isle Maine. When your Maine home was out in the country, not in town where cable wired the village because of more houses per mile to make it feasible.

When you live in Maine it is not fun watching television, movies for hours on end. You want to be outside instead. To step into, be part of that outdoor picture. That four seasons scenery Maine photo folks from out of state drool over. Fantasize about the 51 weeks they are not lucky enough to be in Vacationland a year.

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

March 28, 2014
You Get My Drift Easily If Raised, Live In A Small Maine Town.

When you are raised in a small Maine town, there is always a spot deep inside burning brightly.

Fierce pride that never fades or forgets the faces, places, all the space around the community. Small things hit your harder because life is simpler, what is important more in focus in small Maine towns.
Lots Of Public Suppers Happen In Small Maine Towns.

It is not living without struggles to keep the local economy healthy though.

Everyone in the town makes the spark that glows inside and has more at stake in the Maine community.

Because everything in the Maine town is lasting, home grown, natural not glitzy, store bought, temporary or artificial.

When a local Maine sports team wins a town, county, state championship, the games are played up in the stands as much as out on the field, court, rink.
Shiretown Houlton Maine, Aroostook County.

Because support comes from the area that gets behind the youth effort up through the ranks. Beyond just sports, extending like wildfire to other events where everyone steps it up a notch.

Because the whole village raises the kids in the Maine town.

Has a hand in the shaping whether family blood related to the kids or as teacher, pastor, coach, employer, neighbor that all play a role.

In a small town the freedom of having your license, that first drive into town, around the community behind the wheel with the radio on. Looking for other friends with their ticket to drive around town too. Stopping in parking lots to shoot the breeze. Flirt, brag, exchange gossip or plans for later on. Hitting the local dairy bar or driving out to a local lake in the summer. Less worry about crime, more moving around freely and independence.

Small Maine towns are all about local parades, bands, floats, holiday celebrations.

Small Maine Towns, Wholesome Locally Grown Food.
Helping area farmers plant, cultivate, harvest and get their crop ready to ship to market starts early. Goes hand in hand with work ethic learned growing up.

Good wholesome food is abundant because it grows in your backyard garden. Or available low cost or through a bartered service, home made goods you trade for it.

Folks that grow food for their own table take what they need. And what’s left after canning, preserving and stocking the shelves in the pantry, the root cellar is given away.

It is a take what you need, leave the rest for others sharing attitude that drives a small Maine town population.
Farmer Uncle Finley Mooers Proud Of His Spud Yield.

What else makes a small Maine town great?

In a small Maine town it is not about highly specialized and more cross trained. Keep it simple. Don’t complicate life because the clutter bogs you down, interferes with living it fully. Enjoying it to the hilt.

Maine folks are more self reliant. Strive to be self sufficient.

They’re frugal. They care about each other. Think about service for the greater good. Actively seeking what is there they should be doing. What role is best suit for their skills, abilities in the small Maine town.

Because there are less people, you are always closer to wildlife, nature, country living. The outdoors is your playground. The four season individual personal settings, destinations are respected, preserved, protected. Traditions passed down like good stewards. For the next generation to carry on the torch, the small town special Maine lifestyle.

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

March 25, 2014
Put A Little Maine Maple Syrup On It.

Maine is ninety one percent trees and that means lots of maple hardwood ridges. Sweet.

Growing up our Maine family tapped large maple trees along the long driveways leading into the farm house. Located west of Houlton Maine where I grew up with my three older brothers, parents.

A family eighty acres woodlot in Ludlow Maine exploded with lots of maple trees that Dad tapped for the spring sap.
Sunday Is March’s Maple Syrup Sugar Shack Open House Time.Hop Off The Couch.
To boil down the 40 to 1 ratio to get the clear as water sap to turn into the golden nectar that words don’t begin to describe.

Plans for an elaborate pipe collection network, a sap house, public suppers with pancakes swimming in the local tap boil down refinement.

Candy production. Open house tours. All dreams, something Dad envisioned but never got beyond the collect by bucket I helped him with in spring.

By hand, on the ground using the blue Sno Jet snow sled in places. Beating feet, trudging most other areas. In the woodlot sap collecting from the tap routine. Too many other irons in the fire like most lives.

Our Maine Governor LePage’s maple tree front lawn tapping in Augusta earlier this month spotlighted the importance of maple syrup production. And his desire to push for expansion in that under nourished area of Maine’s economy.

Maine Maple Sunday, the fourth Sunday in March is an opportunity for the public to see clear as water sap become the tasty golden, amber sap operations up close and personal.

Real world, professional applications in the Maine maple syrup industry. Check out the map in the link for Maine Maple Sunday website. For the closest operation near you to share with the kids, to sample the wares. Nedarly 100 Maine maple syrup operations to see first hand in Vacationland. This is the 31st annual Maine Maple Sunday.

It is not just Vermont Log Cabin, Aunt Jemima maple syrup you can drizzle, enjoy drowning, soaking into your Maine blueberry pancakes.

The secret is out about Maine maple syrup. And there are Maine maple syrup recipes for more than soaking it up. Chasing just sliced up, steaming hot pancakes, home made waffles pieces around your breakfast plate with the end of your fork. And asking for more please.
Sugar Shacks, The Open House In Smyrna Maine.

Calendar of events, on and around Maine Maple Sunday.

From 10-3PM March 23rd, Spring Break has a public sugarhouse open house in Smyrna Maine.

Tour the facility on the north side of US Rt 2 just east of the village of Smyrna Maine in Aroostook County. Try samples, see how the sap is collected, processed, marketed.

Ask questions. Learn about the history of collecting Maine maple syrup from the Brannen’s, your very gracious hosts. All the equipment, work involved.

Images for Spring Break maple syrup operation. Spring Break has honey collected on their farm, a variety of gifts, and a program to help the DIY sap collectors. For a small fee with boil down what you collect with the spout they provide you and lots of guidance. Everything you need to know about Maine maple syrup.

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

March 22, 2014
Moving To Maine, Living Off Grid.

The vehicle you drive is loaded to the gills, pointed north up Interstate 95.

You are headed, moving to Maine. The return address on next year’s Christmas cards is going to read somewhere in Vacationland.

The plan for the Maine move started to simply lighten the financial load.
Fresh Fish, Your Are In Maine Remember?
No more, stop the flow of small white envelopes. With the cellophane clear plastic window from utility, energy companies.

With your name peeking through and coming at you in waves. In too tall monthly or more often leaning sideways stacks. Tossed in your mom’s inherited pull down writing desk for annoying attention to the household bill paying.

Some of your friends wonder if you are on medication. Or should be. If they have the meds mixed up and ask are you feeling alright? You smile. Say nothing. But have done your home work. Before pulling, yanking hard on the three prong grounded plug. Setting up the living off grid by double clutching. Shifting into a lower, slower life gear. 10-4 good buddy. Wait and see. Give me a little time to lay the ground work in Maine. Then come visit and see who’s crazy. Like a fox. Change their tune 180 degrees.

Become more self reliant, very sufficient living off grid in Maine.

You still have juice, just not the kind Public Utilities Commission (PUC) boards regulate. With no more bang bang bang systematic rate hikes to stomach. Like it or not. Living without the corporate profits, surcharges, transmission and extra tax feeincreases is what you dream about, see. All to reduce your carbon footprint.
Aroostook County, Northern Maine. Ideal For Off Grid Living.

Thirty percent of your power consumption is lighting. Build your new energy efficient home with the southern exposure for free solar heat, an even lighting sun or not. You’ll be hanging out clothes on a line to air dry. Or placed on large wooded racks in front of a winter wood stove to dry, get some needed inside air moisture.

Heating with birch, beech, maple, ash, other natural hand split, you stack, pack, you deliver fuel.

From your Maine land wooded sections. No oil truck going beep beep backing in the drive way. With a guy leaping out to hook up, screw on the hose for Texas or wherever it came from fossil tea to flow at four dollars a precious gallon.

Self inflicted pulling the plug. Not forced on you makes it a challenge, sport, passion, obsession. Not a lament, curse or anything to cause anger. Because done by choice, with a sound mind. Lots of careful planning, timing.

Also the living off grid does not mean you are anti-social, a hermit, recluse or a loose canon that should be worried about, watched closely. Lots of folks are already doing it. Heck before those high power lines, everyone lived quite nicely without the 120 AC DC hooked to the house.

Not going undercover for an illegal wacky tobbacky below radar grow or as a member of the witness protection group.

That’s not the reason for the pulling away from all those plug in outlets. The gadgets, some you keep, just not sitting around on all the time. Parked, wasting fuel you have to pay dearly for is the big twist.

Here are 10 off grid homes. Or take a gander, gawk at this extra 15 homes for off grid living.
Your Neighbors Four Legged, Furry, Curious, Shy.

Maybe living on a Maine island, self sufficiently is more the solitude, protection of natural beauty you crave.

Growing your own Maine food. Selling the surplus. Raising meat, collecting eggs, the hands up and down moving, squeezing for the milk. An army of one or couple of peas in the same pod.

Reading up on blog posts about which direction the wind blows in your life. To know how best for you to approach the exercise, transition. To give up, cut one by one the strings of dependency that web more and more around all of us today.

Leaning on local Maine Amish settlements for guidance and to observe so this is how it is done huh?

Raising kids on the off grid Maine spread where simple living is the common denominator on every decision you make. For the grand scheme to be free, less complicated and more enriching, empowering. Maybe in retirement in Maine after your family is raised. Have flapped their wings hard to move away from the nest.

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

March 19, 2014