Category: Moving Relocating to Maine

Blogging On Maine | Little Red Log Lake Camp

Blogging on Maine, posts on local news.

Smaller local community newspapers, radio stations, any television broadcast outlet if your Maine area is lucky enough to have one struggle to stay in the black ink. A steady decline in population and rising costs caused the problem. As those local “news voices” become regional, then statewide entities, the reader, listener and viewership lose out on the pulse of whatever Maine town they serve. This post on blogging on Maine.

Battling Coronovirus, Whatever Life Dragon Needing Slaying. Small Maine Town Living Blog Posts. Helping People Who Are Thinking Moving, Relocating To Maine.

Maine’s simple way of living surrounded by all this natural unspoiled beauty is more popular than ever though.

I believe with high speed Internet chased down, heavily funded and implemented through beefed up connections around Maine communities, that our population will stabilize, then grow. COVID19 has taught naysayers that you can bring your work home with you and operate efficiently in the virtual high tech World. The eight out of ten people living in a city trend is reversing. The search for low cost land and lots of space around where you live is causing many to head for the country hills of Maine.

Blogging on Maine.

Telling the story of everything Maine. The state of Maine already had more second homes that any other state for a reason. It is easy to forget just how lucky a native Mainer is to be here full time. Now those vacation getaways are being reworked big time. Taking what was a simple Maine cottage or camp and retooling it into more is the trend statewide. I talk with other Maine REALTORS and the Maine Listing numbers bears out the up tick in real estate activity. Quarantined for two weeks, folks carry on their person those 72 hour tests showing no high temps and a negative test for COVID19.

Locals Are Put To Work On Maine Community Events. Year After Year For Life.

People in a city setting have been on house arrest and severely cooped up, doing lots of online searches.

Self study, hunkered down. Low on hugs, stuck in the cell of four all too familiar walls. Those in rural Maine are well aware of COVID19 too. But adapting quicker to it to preserve their unique community quality of life. There are less obstacles. That’s what the blog post follower learns as post after post tell it like it is from a local who lives here and loves Maine. Those in the blog post audience have a connection to Maine or wish they did. Many starting to think what about moving, relocating to Maine.

As the migration out of Maine to meet financial career objections gets questioned by those jammed in a city, what about Vacationland? The Maine small rural setting as the better way life solution is being discussed in lots of out of state households. Family decisions to move to Maine are common conversations these days.

Case in point, I personally have a little Maine log lake cottage property.

The little red waterfront structure originally built in 1959 and an addition added on about fifteen years later. I bought it at first only because the peace and quiet next door due to the place just not being used could all change in a real estate transfer.

The Before Image Of The Little Red Log Lake Camp Up In Maine.

The small, cozy red log lake camp bought partially out of fear of losing the solitude now enjoyed.

Knowing the best neighbor is often just no neighbor right? Wanting to continue to enjoy the lake loons singing or crying depending on your perspective on any given day or night without a noisy neighbor. The LC Andrews traditional log cabin purchased also because waterfront properties in Maine are never in large enough supply. The selection is limited and the demand is Jedi force strong within people who desperately need recreational water. It was a good investment and for possible rental use being very careful on when and to who Maine vacations next door. I have been spoiled by no one using the little red camp which can give you a false sense of don’t need to own it. Nothing like a bad neighbor to spoil a Maine lake setting.

Wake Up To A Maine Lake. Would That Improve Your Day? Sheltering In Place With High Speed Internet Not So Hard To Take Hunkering Down In Maine.

The lack of use by the family that once owned the entire point of a Maine lake meant the structure was in need of repair and renovation.

So over the winter months, the Maine lake cottage torn apart like the Wizard of Oz scare grow. Re-stuffed and put back together with a lot of thought. Google simple vacation cottage ideas and search the images, videos and blog posts on that topic. I did for inspiration to learn what I did want, what would not happen to shape the new and improved parked next door log structure sharing the Maine waterfront.

Rip It Out, Replace It Slowly. Feathering The Nest Of A Maine Lake Property.

Input from my kids because they would be the primary users of the place and should have a say in how the cottage transformed right? Lots of native Maine woodwork added to replace paneling. Pretty much one man running the hammer and power tools kicked the rehab project into a slow but steady gear. Only so much space and maximizing it, improving the layout for simple lakeside living on the Maine waterfront.

Jimmy was glad to be able to work so close to home because he lives on the other side of the same Maine lake in Northern Maine.

He appreciates the Maine lake as much as I do. You see he, his wife Debbie, a golden retriever together plying the water slowly each summer night as another sunset approaches.

It was something different each day for the many projects ahead to keep the routine anything but boring.

There is something extremely satisfying working on the A to Z pretty much by your lonesome. When you see it taking shape, as the momentum with a crow bar and finish nails to what replaces whatever is torn out to hauled away to the transfer station. A local plumber, electrician, hardware store clerks too. And plenty of mail order for whatever you can not buy in a small Maine town combined for the finished product..

This little Maine log lake cottage is now the home away from home.

Ready to go online. To create a reprieve for one daughter, her husband too and the proud parents of a new born son. To create a pod in Maine where only another brother, his wife and their eighteen month old daughter are in the COVID19 free circle of life. Internet with 25 meg broadband speed is connected to the little red log lake camp way up north in Maine. That is the connection to the outside World, the same one used to telecommute online to work daily for the son in law who lives in Bean Town. He can make the leap only because of Internet connectivity to this remote rural outpost. Working from home, educating kids from your house not at public or private school facilities. Blogging about Maine all needs a strong Internet connection that does not go flat or missing.

What One Waterfront Property Owner Has On One Maine Real Estate Listing Sold From The Past.

The Maine town I live in is lucky too.

Because every single household within the community borders has access to Internet fiber for blazing 100 megs broadband connection speed. The Internet company is based in my home town, not far away. The local electrical provider that powers the same little red camp is community owned, not for profit. If it makes money, the funds are used to further improve the grid lines or the rate the consumer pays is lowered.

I see my little Maine town growing and connected to the outside World for commerce and enterprise. But offering the home grown local community flavor of friendly small town living. With COVID19, everything back six feet or more and observed wearing a mask. In my job, disposable gloves, booties to complete the mask ensemble for safety sake are standard garb for everyone’s protection.

Land In Maine On The Waterfront. That’s Ambrosia, The Eye Candy Of The Gods.

Single line please, limited entry and please, no one tough anything in the home or apartment unit being toured these days in Maine real estate.

Or better yet, one on one face-time or using the whats app phone firmware to take the personal self guided tour to follow up on the real estate video already uploaded and being watched around the clock by more than the local buyers.

So blogging in Maine, why local residents who live her need to do it. Because the trek north up into Maine is a long one taking hours of time when travel is restricted and not so easy. The days of just hopping into whatever you drive or clopping down the airport plane gate connector to locate your seat number are stalled. The search online is critical and the local Maine blogger is the signal being tapped into and trusted for information. The media sources in a small Maine town were already pretty slim pickings. All due to the small populations tapped to support the news and entertainment outlets. Blogging on Maine can be like pot luck. Not sure of what you are gonna get and it is a lot like feast or famine.

Hanging Around, The Livestock, Horses, Wildlife Too Happier Like The People Lucky Enough To Live In Maine.

What’s it like living where you do in Maine?

Show me images, upload videos of the local community events, create Maine blog posts please. Anything Maine. When something is missing where you live now, the itch to pull up stakes and relocate only grows stronger. People all over the World are considering am I where I need to be for my family ‘s sake? Is there a change underway that means don’t get too comfortable and a move to Maine, somewhere else is in the cards? Blogging on Maine, I do that because it’s hard to contain the excitement of being blessed to live here. I know it is not like this many other places.

Is there something missing in your life?

That is what usually is pushing the move to Maine. The pleasure on a past vacation fuels the fondness for Maine too. The slogan is Maine, the way life should be. That is the greatest motivation to consider Maine for a simple vacation getaway or with COVID19 much more happens. To propel the delicious dream of moving to Maine. Many smart forward thinking small Maine towns are retooling with gusto. The same vigor as the planet hunts down a virus reversal vaccine. Because it is the key to survival. Internet connectivity is the life line to avoid loss of the small Maine town lifestyle.

Nudists, Skinny Dipping In Maine. Ever Snipe Hunted Or Used A Dip Net At Night Smelting On A Maine Lake?

America, the World in general is rethinking where is the best place to live for the highest quality of life.

Examining what exactly at this stage of your life makes what area the best stage for obtaining the most of what is really important in life.

So back to searching for the final touches to complete the feathering of the nest. Put together one of the two twin beds in the spare bedroom Sunday afternoon. In the off hours when you have a job that is a jealous master for your time because you work when others don’t and are available, it’s search for ideas. To find out solutions to the lake camp needs to make it a home away from home for whatever family member needs a safe haven. A roof over their head in Maine. I have two weeks to wrap up the finishing touches before the grandson and his support duo arrive to quarantine in place.

Small Pleasures Are the Big Reward. Anything Home Made, That’s Simple Living In Maine To Sample And Enjoy.

Blogging about simple living in Maine is important to anyone out there searching for current, accurate, helpful information.

What’s it like living in small town Maine? The questions are answered best by someone who lives and is invested in the small Maine community. Not a giant news gathering operation in a major market many hours away. Who has other topics to cover like high crime, friction caused from too many people in too small a high cost living space.

What’s important to a small Maine community is very different than what you get fed by journalists in large urban markets too.

Heck, even in Maine that has only a handful of cities, what is broadcast from Portland, Lewiston-Auburn, Bangor-Brewer is not always representative out in sticks. You can get a county or state perspective or a slant on the tie in for a national news story as it trends. But what about the local happenings in a small Maine town. Blogging on Maine topics is what this post platform tries to do with not just words but imagery, video embeds.

A Maine Flower Pot. Not Always Red Orange, A Small, Conventional Container. Use What You Have For Win Win Maine Unique.

These days, more people want to be rural if they have the Internet tether for income and the security connection. For the peace and quiet and simpler living. Maine is natural beauty, not crowded, less fighting over which direction to take. Small groups can reach a consensus quicker and start the steps today to implement what is needed to survival and quality of life.

Grass roots and home grown also makes a person feel like empowered living in small town Maine.

Like they are a cog in the wheel and vitally needed. Like being loved, everyone wants to feel needed. You are in a small Maine town that only has so many people to tackle the problems collectively.

A steady journal of daily or weekly happenings tapping into the blogging channel. Maine bloggers are the story tellers, the ambassadors to their local area where the hunt and peck original posts put their communities on the map. Posting images of Maine beauty to prove the point and to remind themselves. Proud of where we live, concerned about the national events in our country. Glad to live where it is less frustrating because we all are not passively watching but actively doing. Blog posts on Maine simple living tell the story from where it happens.

Can I Have A Little Privacy Please? I’m Bathing!

The small Maine communities are a tight knit fabric of people.

Hands on to pitch in along the front lines. No one takes a back seat, it’s all hands on deck because the entire village has a role in what happens there. We’re not spectators and whine or complain but do nothing. In small Maine towns, each and everyone of the population is empowered to make a difference.

Our Waterfront Friends Entertain For Free. The Kids Part Of The Family Act Out Front Of A Maine Waterfront Property.

Small Maine towns are places where folks wave, make eye contact, worry about elderly shut ins.

We are protective. The small spread out population is invested in what happens in the area. When a community loses a member, you think about family a lot. We are so inter-connected living and working together in small Maine town activities. Blogging on Maine means some of that day to day spills into the Me In Maine channel. That’s the stuff mainstream media on the national level does not cover.

You know the people who live around you and in many instances are somehow related in Maine.

Or worked together on a school board project, a local church event or coached little league, some other team sport together on the same bench. Pitch in and get behind whatever is needed and be prepared you are going to have the volunteer job for life. Blogging on Maine. I blog about what it is like living in Maine. Why I love living here in Maine.

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker

207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com |

MOOERS REALTY 69 North ST Houlton ME 04730 USA

July 14, 2020
What We Do For Fun, Our Points Of Interest In Maine | Coronovirus Changes A Few Activities

The points of interest, things to do in Maine when something like a coronovirus happens.

We are lucky to live in Maine where maintaining personal space is easy. Six feet from others and preparing to increase the distance if needed is not so hard. Neighbors, what neighbors? When you live on a dead end road, when you do not see the next house. It’s like yours and also out of sight, surrounded by field acreage and mixed woods. Staying safely spaced is not thought about until a virus hits. And you consider what it would be like dealing with precaution measures if you did not live in rural Maine. If instead it was a high rise apartment buildings with shared heating and air exchange system. Or one of 300 other carbon copy houses cookie cut out of a subdivision with a neat sounding name.

We all have the same don’t touch your face, clean surfaces, turn your cough and smother it in your elbow procedures to follow in Maine.

No matter where we are on planet Earth. It’s all about doing your part. Buying time in the race for multiple vaccines to stop it in it’s virus tracks. And at the same time belt tighten to weather it out like a Maine winter storm with too much snow and how low does she go temperatures. Reelin’ and dealin’ with economic problems is nothing new living in Maine. Adjusting to up, down, sideways road curves in life’s bumpy pot hole riddled road.

The Map, The Numbers, The Coronovirus Covid-19 Statistics For The World.

Our gratitude to live in small rural Maine does not make us less vigilante to do our part to avoid the spread or contracting the covid-19 virus.

Sure your heighten awareness about how virus germs are spread is vital information. You teach the same laboratory biology science lesson to your kids for real World application from the texbook. More in your head thinking about grabbing door knobs, shopping cart handles and using your elbow to touch. Or nodding, waving not shaking hands habit adopted in greetings. No more kissing both cheeks in an embrace like lots of cultures. All that gets an overhaul living in small town Maine as we avoid unnecessary travel. Sporting events took a major hit. So did dance classes, anything putting you or your child in a large group or losing the ability to stay less than six feet distant.

But being away from lots of population sheer number concentration helps us Mainers.

School Education, Sporting Events, Dance Classes Put On Hold In Maine. Everything Moved Back To Home Base To Batten Down The Hatches And Hunker Down.

Not dealing with hording fist fighters for toilet paper, foodstuffs at shopping centers still causes us to stop and reflect though.

To really think when you have families in those urban areas, how it must be. Just how their day to day changes more drastically. What they have for a set of worries is food for thought. And to consider elderly, those with medical conditions to get them help. To reach out and let them know the community cares for those with age out of kindness and for perspective. Much can be learned in the repeated past cycles we hear about helping older, seasoned community members. You doing your part? You in that group receding or blue hair segment now or hope to live long enough to make it to the Golden Years?

Just getting around, avoiding mass transit and being jumpy every time your hear a sneeze or cough.

We can walk not have to ride mass transit in most small town Maine locations. Ask someone shut in if you can get them what they need and check in. In all of our lives, none of us really knows how the coronovirus will affect us yet. My real job is listings, selling property listings will take it into consideration. I did a regular installment Maine real estate market report post on another blogging channel this weekend. Pointing out how the numbers look, with the disclaimer these healthy real estate market figures do not reflect the coronovirus news event effect. Being a realist, not an alarmist and knowing it takes patience to learn that part of the coronovirus aftermath.

Take A Break From Close Contact Sports, All Those Spectators In The Stands Or Huddled Together At ME School Fields.

Practical approaches to difficult life situations is what Mainers are taught and see put into action daily.

We will do more than survive and make a sport, a survival game out of it. When it snows an inch or two and a metropolitan area stops dead in its tracks. We think “amateurs”. But it is really lack of the right equipment, no flake experience, too many dang people. That’s the problem in population centers handling any crisis man made or from Mother Nature. David and Goliath different atmosphere to work with to avoid panic and get the best results. Smaller is better in mobilization or house arrest voluntary shut down protocol compliance. We are prepared for this kind of challenge and together will find the best way to get through it like other struggles.

It will take another month and more to pass and further time to study the coronovirus numbers based on real time, not water cooler predictions. To weigh in on how it affects real estate, transportation, tourism, health care, small mom and pop businesses in Maine.

But Mainers are tough, resilient and used to hardship and adversity. All increases our faith and the gung ho, fire in our belly passion to make the most of whatever life affords you. We head to our private places to unplug and refresh without sharing them with wall to wall tourists. We will be just fine staying at home. We are the lucky ones who live in Maine. Don’t have to travel long distances to access all she offers for fresh air, clean water, pure and natural surroundings.

What To Do, Being Responsible And Pro-active With Cornovirus COVID 19

You and I will do our part to prevent the spread and rein in our travel circles to thwart the coronovirus attack on our way of life.

The local haunts will suffer but understand your absence and why. Staying close to home to keep the fires going, making our life more confined and disciplined is nothing new. When the economy is not robust, if spending money is tight or non-existent, we quickly find ways to amuse and entertain. You can not help but think of Maine’s Amish settlements. How without lots of modern day conveniences, they don’t bother any one and get along just fine.

The kids are respectful, reading books and pitching in around the farms or whatever Amish enterprise. The stay at home out of school will not be wasted.

Everything you learn in life is not on the teacher’s shoulders. Time for kids to learn how to change car oil or a flat tire. To deep clean the house along with other members. To be kind, helpful and pick up more than just what they create for a mess or only the area they call their bedroom. Learning about economizing, conserving preparing for the long haul and seeing how local communities tackle the problem brings it all home. Kids will face challenges in life and the set backs and their reaction to them shows what you are made up inside.

The struggles and change of routine work around the house helps polish and improve to make kids adaptable for more puzzles presented to them in life. Respect for others and their opinions that may differ from their own. Not expecting to always be entertained or the need to make sure everyone around you should know you are pretty bored. Balancing a check book, washing windows, learning how to sew. Being a bit of an entry level carpenter scraping paint, removing and replacing a rotten board for refinishing. Mowing the lawn, shoveling snow. It is not up to others to make your life rosy. If you day, month, year, life does not turn out the way you hoped, don’t blame your parents or teachers and say “it’s not my fault”. Deal with it and look for the best solutions digging in and working hard not falling down and staying there by refusing to take ownership of your role. This virus is all about doing your job to protect yourself and others from its spread.

The coronovirus does put a hold on personal freedoms.

It causes tightened up sanitation measures, working on the areas of your life that fortify and raise your flu resistance. The even more exercise outdoors piled on, staying fully hydrated, curling up with a good book. Or puttering on hobbies is just pouring more coal on the bulk of our activities anyway. Listening to music, making the same soothes the soul and relaxes. Writing, painting, creating art or useful craft items. Cutting, stacking next year’s wood supply always a default to fill the time in a worthwhile way. In Maine, knowing how to entertain and make the most of what you have that is always way more than enough. That spirit will continue virus or not through thick or thin, feast or famine. We need to tackle cancer, heart disease, obesity and other health issues with the same urgency of coronovirus news has caused. If you consider yourself a faithful person, this is your cue to test that conviction or profession with prayer and reflection to fortify from inside out. Help others to do the same and gain strength in the process.

Helping others in the small rural areas, especially the elderly is not so hard or different in Maine, with or without the buzzing coronovirus news reports.

Much of the lend a hand knee jerk is second nature and why we chose to live in Maine rather than some place else on the globe. The local grocery stores opening up an hour early or later to help elderly shoppers make the rounds slowly. Without fear of being in the way, exposed to virus germs they can not afford meet along with power shoppers, etc. Slow it down. Get the seniors what they need one component of how Maine is working around the coronovirus and it’s after effects.

The healthier simple lifestyle not bank rolled by mountains of debt or crazy spending adopted growing up here where money is removed from the equation.

The focus on live and local in small town Maine, not online watching what everyone else is doing and thinking we are missing out on today. Providing plenty of room for adding all pure and natural endeavors in four season Maine. Again, not to brag but so lucky, very grateful and humbled to live in Maine. Farm raising makes you independent, a survivor to make hay while the sun shines and take frugal to a whole new level to stay on the patch of family dirt. Passing it on in as good or hopefully better shape than you received the acreage.

Being self sufficient and resourceful living on less I think just adds to the feeling of gratitude. Easy does it living within your means, aware of others and it is not about you attitude. More local hands on deck to round up quickly. To make a difference, for the connection aid for others in your small home town. It all may allow rural country Mainers to not fully feel the effects of a coronovirus the same way as our struggling city cousins. We are wired simple by choice and that is how our life rocks and rolls in Maine.

Like a harsh winter, poor economy, recovering from a medical operation or accident, we in Maine just adapt and adopt to whatever the occasion warrants.

And using a what we have which is more than enough positive attitude. To rise above and beyond to find something to be happy about in our look back rationalization. We will do more than just get through the coronovirus ramp up and containment. And I bet some in the audience are thinking this rural setting might be just the ticket for them at this stage of life too.

Our Maine local schools are working around the clock with teachers and administrators to learn from home.

For students to keep the education process rolling in new ways. Also to get needed nutrition to students who depend on it when school is in session. Bag back for kids loaded with food goes home with the help of bus drivers delivery them. When school is out in Maine for two weeks and more, providing food along with the reading, writing, arithmetic is critical too. Not everyone has an Internet connection in Maine rural areas or the money to bring it into their homes. How to continue education without Internet or computers at their home takes working together and being creative by local school boards.

No Maine Large Crowds These Days, Coronovirus Means Less Worry But Still Being Vigilante To Protect You, Others. Schools Cancelled, Large Groups Busted Up.

Those in contact with the outside World are hard to corral when they roamed before we all fully understood the seriousness of the coronovirus.

But now we know, the media have thrown so much information good and flawed at us to digest right? When you live on a Maine farm, raise your own food, heat with wood and pretty much stay busy with the agriculture and being your own construction handyman, equipment mechanic, you and your family spends the bulk of your time at home.

So points of interests, things to do in Maine when you thought this blog post was about suggestions to start collecting lighthouse visits. Knowing you want to see a Maine moose, eat a whoopie pie, try a slice of native blueberry pie, put on a bib to eat a boiler lobster or steam clam feed. Slice into a Maine potato to add the butter and maybe a few other ingredients. You come to Maine for the wide open space, friendly but fewer number of people with or without cornovirus new alert background buzz.

Hiking Mt Katahdin, hitting the trails and visits to popular coastal beaches or Maine sporting events, musical events, school activities, church services, etc that may be curtailed for a spell.

Hold that thought on go carts, Santa’s Village and public pools and going out to eat, large crowd music venues, whale watching. Make your World staying close to home or in it until we get a handle on coronovirus containment developments. When things settle down and the coast is clear to move around less restricted in larger travel circles. We take care of our basic needs and enjoy the work involved in just that as a labor of love. Grateful for how good we have it and knowing not everyone does due to where they now live today.

Instead, for now, what you do up to camp in Maine is private and secluded. More one on one or by your lonesome. Small if exposed to any size groups the order of the day. Away from people where you worry less and learn to enjoy your space more. Maybe working the land to grow food you know where it came from and heating with the wood from your own property that’s a renewable resource. Not being an alarmist, but life spent for the summer at an unorganized township in Maine like St Croix Lake camp up in Aroostook County. Like the Lawlors and my cousin Randy and his wife Barb do every year. Happy living off grid in the remote location Maine is famous for and no longer a secret to many doing their online homework.

Waving at the freight train engineer a couple times a week hauling wood forest timber products down the clickity clack tracks.

Who leans out and smiles knowing he is about the only person you see hiding out in the deep, vast North Maine woods St Croix Lake location. Maybe the inland fisheries and wildlife guy or gal with the badge, the sidearm and a pick up or snow sled, maybe a four wheel tools by to say hey. Nature’s wildlife, the sound of weather, a crackling wood fire, a lake lapping out front not just the mournful train whistle approaching the one road siding crossing is what you hear. Who’s turn to deal in our cribbage board game and what did you peg for points from that last hand you lucky buzzard? Get the deck ready and shuffled while I whip up clean and place in the rack to dry these dirty dinner dishes Marguerite.

More Wildlife Than People To Read The Local Small Town Newspaper In Maine.

Surviving on less at another off the beaten path cabin in Harvey siding or laboring on a small Maine farm might be just your new setting. Many bought land in Maine over the years for just that “what if” scenario easier to sleep at night. Without the tossing and turning worry. The property acreage a safety net, an insurance policy if you will to bee line to if life in a population center got a little too crazy. If you lived in a city and all heck broke loose, do you know where you would head following the blue evacuation dots to high tail up to Maine.

Most of the land in Maine bought for cheap vacation recreation, maybe future retirement. Using owner financing terms to fit their budget to buy the Maine land. Now owned free and clear and put to another use than hunting, fishing, snow sledding or hiking for fun. Could you live off the land in Maine, be off grid and live pretty much self sufficiently? Think you have the skill set if put to the test or could rise to the occasion?

We are vocation not just vacation people and can not take enjoy our recreation until caught up on our Maine work load.

In Maine it does not feel like being on house arrest because home is where your heart is. We don’t need retail therapy at the mall or to be social butterflies running the roads. Mainers are content and enjoy their own company. Being alone is not scary but sacred when you need to process events and hear yourself think. Your life is around you and lived in the moment not out of step and some place else. This coronovirus makes you do some serious thinking about the direction your life is heading.

Oh sure, people love Maine for the rocky coastline and maritime history.

I have posted on the expensive tourist traps that is often all the out of state visitor gets to sample. But go up into the belly of interior Maine deeper. Maine is a place to sample the outdoor traditions year round and the paths into those areas are less traveled. You could start over, change it up or retire easily in Maine if the timing is right and you are prepared financially, emotional, spiritually.

The small Maine communities are small but there is nothing larger or stronger than the hearts of the local volunteers.

They doggedly take on much and preserve to pass down these shared Maine family and community traditions. Our rural nature, the vast size of Maine and sparse population insulates us. Some think isolates to a degree. But when is that a good thing? Depends on where you are in life, what you have gone through and how you survived. Ask that very personal question to the person you see in the mirror brushing your teeth looking back each day for the answer.

Small towns, their schools, churches, businesses can mobilize quickly when ordered to stay close to home in Maine.

Waiting For Ice, For The Snow After That Signalling Maine Winter Arrived And Is Leaving A Few Months Later.

It happens every time the economy tanks. We still practice and pass on common sense to the next generation. The hand washing precautions, avoiding large groups protocol, how you meet and greet just means rein it in a little tighter. But we already live independently and not fueled by lots of cash. Are not dependent on others and make an adventure of being house bound or if weather increases and the power goes out. All taken in stride without being shook up or getting light headed with fear. We are all in this together and the individuals part of the solution.

On a small or large scale Maine country farm, the lifestyle includes lots of tasks that keep us pretty busy and out of trouble. Occupied with cutting, processing next year’s home heating wood and maintenance of out buildings, the homestead and tending fields and animals fills much of our daylight hours.

The locals and tourists alike want to be out on the trails that open up the Great North Woods and places like Mt Katahdin at Baxter State Park. Or to bike the fifty miles or more of trails around Acadia National Park in the Bar Harbor, Mount Desert Island area of Maine. To get out on the waterfront for early morning fishing in a boat or wetting the line in waders out in a Maine river or stream. But what’s important during an outbreak of say the cornovirus means first things first to protect yourself, your family, the community that is near and dear.

Farm stands for field to table fresh, museums that showcase the agriculture and lumbering heritage are popular points of interests.

So are home cooked service club suppers that often are fund raisers and silent auctions for some local in need that hit a low point in life. But the best things to do in Maine depend on you combined with the weather in the season at hand. One thing is for certain. No matter what time of year you visit Maine or when are lucky enough to live here full or part time as a native, much of the our time is spent outdoors. The fresh air, not being house bound by four walls and itching to get outside to walk, bike, hike, ski, swim is a strong desire in Maine.

Simple living makes it free and easier in many ways in Maine.

No crowds, no gangs, no crime and space. Lots of wide open space to explore and to return to those favorite places people from Maine and away flock to all their life. Once you discover your own special place to get centered, for exercise and enjoyment, that location is added to the can’t wait to return or continue where you left off.

Living simple in Maine also takes the need for lots of money to keep things humming. Independent, resourceful Mainers know how to do more than just survive. To maintain a quality of life, if it is to be, it is up to me is one skill developed at an early age. Attitude, not being lazy, pitching in to make it better than it was or to maintain something good in a small Maine community. Everyone has a role, all are ambassadors to their own small Maine town and traditions.

So points of interest, things to do in Maine and how all that gets combined with the coronovirus.

This blog post topic did not deliver what you thought it would right? It is not business as usual and we interrupt this blog post programming for a special report. If you are brand new to Maine, never been here before and only had a few days to start collecting experiences what could be the plan Stan? To not waste your time in Maine but also not feel rushed and chasing a major time line to “beat the buffet” do it all. To cover all the bases and more in one hurried visit that sums up Vacationland in a matter of hours or or just a few days. The coronovirus has closed many options for safety sake. Rent a cabin and explore to discover what each facet of the jewel of Maine offers on your own or virtually as you plan for the rear visit. Google “what to do in Maine for fun” and watch the flood of recreational options spill out in your lap.

Kittery & Up To Fort Kent ME Is As Far North As You Can Go. Maine, Tall Wide Rural State. All ME Communities Are Tackling Coronovirus Spread Prevention.

Resources, time is one, money is another that can whittle and shape the list of things to do in Maine on the points of interest list.

Camping is always a default affordable and enjoyable way to spend your time in Maine. With nature surrounding you, the wildlife one by one wandering by your camp site, you never forget the smell of the woods, the sounds of the lake or river you camped near. Food cooked on an open fire. The same one used to talk about the day that was and the one approaching discussing your Maine experiences.

Maine is personal, one on one, more intimate and the connection is stronger because crowds of impersonal people are removed. You learn to entertain yourself and not follow the pack or worry about what everyone else is doing. You seek to carve out what you want to accomplish. What fulfills you is only learned spending time with yourself and away from all those people jammed shoulder to shoulder. Not bumper to bumper in population centers like other parts of the nation. You can grow, learn, relax in Maine. Where I live, work and play there are 11 people per square mile. In New Jersey that number increases to 1000 souls.

One last blog post observation.

Maine Lighthouses Are Part Of The Attraction. They Are Not Going Away As Tourism Is Limited A Tad.

Maine travel gets your one of a kind authentic experiences and wisdom to apply to your life.

Like music that is real, genuine and even with a few imperfections, it has heart. It is not machined or sounds like all the rest of the riffs and lyrics. It is not copied and over dubbed in track stacks sameness. Feeling original, one of a kind, crafted from the heart. The melody, lyrics riding on top in the sandwich all crafted with total conviction. Honest effort poured in the pencil fill notes in the music liner creation discovery.

Maine is like the person providing the hand crafted product or wholesome level of service is testifying about how much joy he or she feels because they chose to live in Maine.

That kind of song or story hits you deeply because it is made from deep inside. The words and notes arranged because the success comes from being in the same mood when put together. Writing, singing and story telling about what you know works best when it is non-fiction and heat felt shared

Small town Maine wrapped in hundreds of thousands of acres of mostly woods because Vacationland is over 90 percent timbered. Stripped of material things that are like medication to pacify the illness symptoms on a short term basis. Replaced with rich authentic one of a kind lasting ingredients. The kind that hit all five senses on firing on all cylinders and making you feel alive in Maine where all this unspoiled space is waiting for you to tap. Unplug and recharge in Maine will clear your head and help your heart.

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker

207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com |

MOOERS REALTY 69 North ST Houlton ME 04730 USA

(more…)

March 16, 2020
Living On Less | Moving To Maine

Living on less, you considering moving to Maine?

Roughly 38 million people spent time visiting Maine last year and 1.2 million people actually live here. That’s an awful lot of outside interest in Maine. Simple living, getting by pretty easily on less. The four seasons pure and natural unspoiled beauty is a big part of the attraction too. Lots of space, friendlier people and no traffic, less crime does not go unnoticed either by those considering moving to Maine.

Craft Fairs, Pot Luck Suppers, Serving On Local Boards. Being Outdoors Year Round For Recreation. Small Town Living In Maine Is Like That.

The folks that cross over the river on the south end entrance of Maine via the big green bridge.

The float in the boat drifting into a Maine harbor town kind at three thousand a clip short visits.

Coming ashore to gather souvenirs, eat some boiled lobsters, steamed clams. Topping it all off with a whoopie pie. Maybe some hot, fresh, large sized generous helping of native Maine blueberry pie. Topped with farm freezing cold ice cream scoop or two.

Or those tourists to Maine flocking across the many International borders crossing check points shared with the Canadian provinces. Siphoning off some of that ebb and flow to add to the small Maine town population from all those millions of visits. Lots of Canadians “over home” do move to Maine. Love interests can play a part. Which side of the boundary border has the biggest hassle with immigration paperwork can decide in the coin toss pick a side. On where to move to be together on one side and no longer apart.

No matter how you got here, your exposure or passion to what on the visit, what would entice someone to consider moving to Maine and staying?

Toying with the idea what if I moved to Maine yourself? Can you see yourself moving to Maine? What’s holding you back? What you gain, what is perceived you give up deserves discussion. It is an individual decision based on lots of factors that can change. Preparing for the next chapter of life is not a snap decision. You don’t recover from mistakes made later in life as fast as you learn from the lessons that come out of the the earlier ones.

For starters, how much of Maine has you seen first hand? How far up into Maine anyone goes depends on precious time. Maine is tall and wide. Whether arriving on a silver bird, it matters not if the visit is by land, sea or air.

How to coax some of those vacationers to consider moving to Maine?

Not just visit here and leave takes first hand exposure. The further you go, the living on less, getting more becomes obvious. Not just on the real estate prices either. Although that is a big driving force in the moving to Maine desire for sure. (more…)

December 17, 2019
Winter In Maine, Living On A Lake, Watching The Approach

Winter in Maine, living on a lake as a new season ushers in slowly.

It’s a chance to reflect in front of a crackling wood stove fire. To sample good locally sourced food that is farm to table. Prepared with no one watching the clock. Slow cooked, easy does it wins out every time over fast food created and consumed but not savored.

Here Comes The Ice. First Thin Skim And Then Thick Enough To Drive A Car To The Ice Shack.

Maine winter is a myth to those who have not gone through a few.

It is not hibernation. Like the other three seasons, outdoors is where we seek to be. Dressed appropriately and always left in awe of her splendor.

Winter is a peaceful time and everything Vacationland is re-known for transforms with the dusting of white snow flakes.

Powder, ice glazed, whipped crystals and flakes. The swirls of snow naturally sculptured by time and Jack Frost himself. It gives Maine a whole new presentation when the temperatures are played with outside our homes. Fewer colors but more shades of them is what the frost and winter snow do the look of things.

Winter offers more than downhill and cross country skiing adventures too. Is not just opening up a Maine lake five times each drilling session. Can opening down through the many inches with a Jiffy ice auger to angle for fish. The transformation when the temperatures drop and any moisture from the clouds turns from rain to sleet or snow. It is a slow methodical process watching the approach of a Maine winter. Saying goodbye to the season of fall.

Winter expertly reworks the Maine landscape.

Spiked Ice For The Rock’s Hairdo. Styled By Waves, Cold Temperatures.

The fall leaves that did not quite get raked, mulched, bagged or burned. They don’t matter once snowfall occurs. Next spring you can deal with leaves from the hardwoods around your property that shed like dandruff.

A sudden winter storm can catch a fall tree unaware. The memo of the change from fall to winter is often missed. The buttoning up a Maine home tradition picks up the pace much quicker when temperatures go lower.

Sparkles twinkle from the ice crystals on the snowscape. The mosaic patterns of what covers mud puddles like brittle thin stained glass. That a young child struggles with the temptation to attack with the heel of their snow boots. Snow boots crunching as you take in the winter wonderland around you.

Looking around in the day, up at night sky and blown away living on a Maine lake.

White, Blue, Green… Not So Much Harvest Gold. Snow And Ice Change All That.

The brilliant stars on a field of black velvet are so many in number. No light pollution, no sky scrapers or obstructions to smother the night sky enjoyment experience.

You might spy a lone blinking red airplane navigation light far far away. Just one now and then passes over head for activity. Relax, you are in Maine remember? Less people, no traffic, little crime and more wildlife.

As a Maine lake see saws in a tug of war from open water to iced over and thickening.

Back to open water. The cycle starts and stops. It is like an orchestra tuning up for what is ahead when everyone settles down to read the sheet music together. It gives a native time to prepare mentally for the change of seasons.

Not Quiet Ready To Ice Skate. Animals Better Stay Off The Thin Ice Too!

You need lower temperatures to make Maine all it can be. To allow pond hockey games, ice hut shanties for fishing to be placed over the deepest fish filled lake regions. If you have ever lost a loved one.

You may know the experience of witnessing the ebb and flow of life before they go for good. You see the aging process speed up. Transforming whoever you are never ever quite prepared to lose in the hospital bed.

On a Maine lake, the ducks, loons, sea gulls and otters paddle around continuing their daily routine.

But they know from the increasing chill of the water they ply that a Maine winter is approaching. Slowly but with determination and the letting go of fall is the same regret each season in Maine presents. The older you get, the faster the Maine seasons change. You hang onto and cherish each of them.

I watched ducks and loons catch small fry this past weekend on a Northern Maine lake.

The Fake Owl Takes The Winter Off From Scaring Away Canadian Geese.

But it was catch and release. As soon as the fish dinner was in their beaks, a seagull in the background suddenly took over. Bullying them to fork it over. Witnessed this over and over which makes you feel sorry for the ducks and loons who have families to feed too.

Maine weather is never boring or predictable. True Mainers are prepared and the road highway crews are veterans at using the wing plows to keep the pavement clear, salted, sanded.

Life goes on but with a marshmallow coating. With promise of Christmas traditions and New Year’s resolutions to celebrate another completed twelve month calendar cycle.

There are segments of Maine’s population where winter is their busiest time.

Those making snow and shaping it for a down hill recreation ski area. That push and place snow from the the drive, highways, parking lots and walkways to better locations out of the way. Groomers of snow sled and cross country ski trails help the local economy. Working late into the night to have the smooth trails set up and ready for vacationers. Those putting on studded snow tires and installing or repairing the plows to clear driveways and highways.

Ice arenas and kids of all ages on skates lace up the hockey or figure skates.

New options are what a Maine winter presents us. Hard to ski or snow sled or slide down hills on the

Playful And In And Out Of The Cold Lake Water. Otters, Other Winter Wildlife Entertain!

toboggan or flying carpet sled without snow. A sheet of ice makes ice skating and hockey possible inside

or out during winter. New sticky snow is best to form ammunition for backyard battles. To make forts and dig snow tunnels. To roll something small that becomes the parts of the snow people wearing a stick arms, a bright colored scarf and carrots, rocks for face parts.

The folks who service the oil furnaces, the plumbers who repair frozen pipes when a place runs out of fuel or the heating system simply dies. Winter causes activity in different sectors that you don’t see in the other three seasons. It is also a chance to ease back and slow down for the folks right out straight those times of the year when it is not winter.

Have you ever been out in a Maine snow storm?

Ice Cold On The Rear End. Birds On A Lake Fish And Compete For Food.

Where there is a deafening sound of a million flakes accumulating from above? The hush and rush gets the volume knob twisted. Being out in the weather no matter what time of year increases your awareness and is humbling, spiritual.

You quickly realize time on Earth is short. That we are all specks and a small part of the blue and green globe that rotates under our feet. Take nothing for granted and strive to improve to make a difference helping others.

The snowstorm on a lake and the mist when the air is colder than the water temperature makes the Maine lake in winter disappear for a bit.

Maine winter living, living on a lake, adding the clothing layers. Pulling your gloves and hat hand knit by your grandmother off the expanded stretched out clothes rack. Strategically parked next to the wood heater. Walking slowly as you leave the house steps assuming ice is under that new fallen snow blanket. The fresh Maine air becomes crisper, cleaner, sharper.

The Winter White Transforms A Maine Lake.

The lake, rivers, ponds and stream water surfaces transform. Becoming a polished solid thickening sheet with any wave action gagged and hidden completely under a lid. When you own waterfront property on a Maine lake you see it all happening right out front on the big flat screen.

As the freeze slows down the pace of life in Maine.

It shortens the list of what needs to be done outside to clearing snow, scraping your iced windshield. Taxes your vehicle battery overworked with defrosters, heaters, the use of lights to cut through the earlier longer darkness. Winter forces you to relax, to reflect, to feel freed up to create the space. To work on what is important or missing in your life routine that the tranquil Maine winter provides for best.

I love Maine winter living on a lake.

There are those who do not and options to bug out and snow bird to take a break. Digging out your skis, snow shoes, ice skates and snow sled gets you ready for a Maine winter. Having the windshield ice scraper and snow broom to clear your vehicle from what fell overnight helps tame months at the end and beginning of a new year.

Smile Seagulls, Loons, Duck. Hold Still… (Click). Got It.

Night fall comes quicker that just makes the cobalt blue sunny days we do have more precious. Basketball and hockey season happens in winter. So do snowy trips to Baxter State Park for winter camping and hiking.

The time at a Maine lake is sacred when folks are gone. Where you and the wildlife and the few locals remaining around the waterfront have it all to yourself. Less distractions with more moments of peace and quiet.

If you only come to Maine during the summer months, you are missing so much of the what goes on in the Pine Tree state.

The changing weather makes every experience radically different. Same Maine surroundings but a whole new take away caused because someone played with the temperature settings.

Whether you are exploring the Great North woods, parked in a quaint sea coast harbor town venue or sporting camp setting, take take away is the exact same. Maine people are friendlier, the majority spaced out, living in rural small town and village settings. Feel the home town connection and down to Earth ease you connect. Less people, more wildlife, Maine is pure and natural.

Spend more than a weekend to witness what you are missing on the Maine lake in winter.

On say a Maine lake where loons and ducks are robbed by a lazy seagull. Giving up their fresh small fry

Winter Still Popular Place For Seagulls To Hang Out on A Maine Lake.

catch of fish to the larger feisty coastal white bird repeatedly as you watch the injustice from shore. Another lake property owner on the South Shore tried rescuing a loon frozen in ice that a bald eagle had selected for a lunch option. You realize the food chain, the survival of the fittest.

The Maine photos magneted to your refrigerator you collected back in spring, summer, fall. Those full color reminders of a more recent trek to Maine on vacation. Add to those same settings but in winter for a new snow twist. Don’t forget to bring your camera.

In winter in Maine, living on a lake, it is you, just you.

Nothing is shared, diminished or delayed with the chatter of Maine tourists. No traffic, no spin, keep your wallet in your pocket or purse. Take your time, stay as long as you want to fill to the brim, cup runneth over. Until you get inside and out what you need gleaned from a Maine winter living on a lake setting.

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker

207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com | MOOERS REALTY 69 North ST Houlton ME 04730 USA

(more…)

November 19, 2019
Moving To A Small Town In Maine, What To Expect.

When you make the switch, find yourself moving to a small town in Maine.
Everything is not going to rock and roll the exact same. In small town Maine living, you enjoy the lack of traffic, the low level of crime.
Rafting Down Whitewater In Maine. How Many Times On Which Rivers In Maine?
The way small town folks wave at you and smile. Let you go first at a four way stop sign. Or hold a door open so you can scoot in or out. They are helpful and polite. That can change a little if you are a complainer. Or start finding fault with the small town living. Comparing Maine to where you used to live before the move in a negative light is not pleasant. Makes the locals wonder why did you move here then? They can bitch and moan but for the first year especially ease up on the whining yourself. The locals are proud of their area, worked hard to get it where it is. They want you to pitch in, not take pot shots and put down the small Maine town.
Right off the bat you notice a friendlier atmosphere in Maine.
Lower cost real estate, access to the great outdoors happens easily. No matter which direction you head out of town to experience the country. The woods, water, wildlife are on all the well connected recreational trails. But. When it is time to call a plumber, electrician, carpenter or mason. It could take a little time to get a response or the job you need done performed. Why? If someone is skilled, charges a reasonable price, they are in demand in a small Maine town. They are worth the wait and you learn to plan for the project renovation.
Maine, Drop Dead Gorgeous. Low Priced Property, Lacking Crime, Crowds, Traffic.
Something major for building construction means being the first guy out of the gate in spring. Finishing off that new addition in the middle of winter when work slows down and it is easier finding your tradesmen. Or Maine is all about doing more yourself and relying less on others.
Money is tighter in a small Maine town and we are raised to be jack of all trades.
Hiring everything done and wearing out the yellow pages is not the Maine way. You miss a lot of the satisfaction when you are not hands on and knee deep involved in the repair or renovation.
Live And Local. You Are In The Front Row Of The Event Working It Happens In Small Maine Town LIving.

You might think if there is lag time getting a tradesmen to arrive on the job at your place in Maine that more of them are needed.
Feast or famine happens in small rural areas of Maine. In the dead of summer we could use another two or three players in every profession layer. Around February, after the pair of holidays at the end of the calendar year, the shortage disappears. Availability improves and you learn to go with the flow. You catch the rhythm of the local work force. And like the best time to vacation around the shoulder seasons going in and coming out, expansion projects need planning. To get who you want, at a price that is best for the quality of work received.
Once you get your local small town professionals working for you, don’t put them off getting settled up.
Pay them what the bill that matches their estimate spells out. Don’t make them wait, don’t play any games trying to get something extra or stringing them along with payment.
Come And Get It. Fish For Free Are Fresh In A Maine Lake. Adult Loons Are Excellent Anglers To Feed Their Young!
Word gets around in a small Maine town quickly. Good or bad your new to town reputation is golden or tarnished due to how you treat the locals. Unlike a city where you find the list is long. To one by one track down someone that can come right over to fix that leak. Or help get your furnace purring and heat restored.
The remodeling or any much needed repair in a small rural Maine town can require lots of patience.
Some Maine construction companies prefer to do large jobs, not the little ones. When they are away on the road, not enough professionals can be in the small Maine town to handle the workload. The one man shows, where you know exactly who you are going to get and what quality of work for what size bill are super. They are affordable because their overhead is under control. But they are busy and worth waiting for if you can.
Sugar Coated Maine, Don’t Miss A Season, Make Winter Sparkle Part Of Your Vacation Plans.

When you learn a project was canceled and your local carpenter, plumber, electrician, whatever profession is available, you jump on the change to invite them over.
To tackle your job jar items bigger than your expertise level. In health care facilities in small Maine towns, there are times when the work load is enough for one and a half specialty doctors but not quite two. Timing is everything when you get sick or need an operation. Doctor vacation schedules can mess up life for those in small Maine towns needing medical help.
The Maine Blueberry Crew Field Rakers Are a Motley Bunch.

Moving to a small Maine town.
So much to like about the pure and natural, the unspoiled outdoor living. The relationships are deeper because you are more involved in small town living. Especially living in small Maine towns under 4000 population. The circles you travel are smaller and less people means you get to know the others around you. You will be serving on local community boards, working in service and civic clubs, school and church projects in a small Maine town. I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker
207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com |

MOOERS REALTY 69 North ST Houlton ME 04730 USA

August 11, 2019
Settling An Estate In Maine, What’s Of Value Varies Greatly.

The death of a Maine home owner with lots of personal property and a place loaded with furnishings. Where the owner has called the sticks and bricks home for a half century or longer. They collected a lot of cargo. Especially those brought up during the depression and taught to never part with anything.

Come And Get It. Fish For Free Are Fresh In A Maine Lake. Adult Loons Are Excellent Anglers To Feed Their Young!

The settling estate process in Maine, what happens to the collection of valuables in the find a new home for everything? The personal property in a home or apartment has to be divided up or sold off and the money received used to pay any creditors. Or the treasure to get packed up and shipped off to a favorite charity for the good feeling and the tax deduction slip from the donation. Maybe the split up of the personal belongings between the heirs of the estate happens to provide each get an item or two momento as a reminder of the lost loved one. So the memory of them comes alive when using it or just spying it in your home.

Buyers of homes loaded to the gills with wall to wall furnishings don’t fetch more and are a burden to the new house owner who needs room for their own belongings.

It is interesting to see how individual family members approach the what do we do with all the stuff left behind when the dearly departed ceases breathing.

Stops paying taxes and leaves the gravity of Earth. I had one house sale in Blaine Maine where the brother had three sisters. He was a state trooper and set up the rules of the procedure rules for the method to be used in the household belongings reduction. So the home could be listed for sale, sold with just the major appliances staying in the real estate transfer. He wanted to protect against sharp edge rapids, to avoid class five twists and turns in the navigation of suddenly choppy relationship waters.

Rafting In Maine, Surfing, Paddling The Whitewash! The BBQ Food On The River Tastes Great From All The Exercise.

The brother listed the items in each room in this Aroostook County home overlooking the Prestile Stream. Everything inventoried to fill up many sheets of lines on a yellow legal pad. Down through the list in round robin fashion, the tedious process of a loved one’s personal items was started after everyone met at Mom’s home for the roll up your sleeves, the who wants what determination when coffee and donut sampling was done.

The heave ho, where does it go started on Saturday morning.

Everyone got a list copy to follow along with just like a college course syllabus outline. Starting at the top of page one, the kitchen, then moving on to the dining room, the living room and so on. Down through the list the family members went. Together discussing line by line all the items, everything of their mother’s personal belongings needing disposal.

Sunshine Outside In Maine During Winter. We Dress Warm, Head Outside. Saying Sayonara To The Couch And Channel Changer Wand.

For example, if the dining room hutch was the item under the white hot spotlight, each sister was asked if they wanted to bid on it. If one wanted it, after bidding a hundred dollars, the next could up the ante bidding to a higher level. The item ended up going to the highest bidder and at the end of the auction among just immediate family members, all the money was split between them as part of the estate. I asked how did this approach came about and the brother smiled, saying you don’t know my sisters. He was doing everything possible to assure family peace and good relations continuing between all the remaining siblings for years to come. He knew hard feelings held inside can fester and mess up the family member peace and harmony if not done with extra sensitivity.

The things of value for those left behind when you lose a loved one.

It is not what would fetch the most money on the open market or craigs list, a facebook marketplace at a sale to the public. The more intimate items with a personal connection. I wanted the kool aid glass picture with orange and blue sail boats seashore motif on the sides that reminded me of a Maine summer as a kid on school vacation. The plastic Santa with a crack on the arm from heavy use. That held the colored Christmas light bulb that twist into the hand that sat on the kitchen window sill every time the month of December showed up on the calendar.

Another item cherished and not sold off at a garage sale or thrown away. The 1957 Pepsi bottle holding the green sprayer with cork plug to hold it in place after water refilling from the kitchen tap. Clothe irons did not have the sprayer attachment button to press and squirt back in the early 1960’s and earlier. Sprinkling clothing by shaking out some water and then ironing with the hot iron to smooth out to remove the wrinkles was the method of the day. I remember how hard my Mom worked in her cheerful way to make sure the four boys, my Dad were provided for every day whatever was needed on the Maine farm lifestyle.

Maybe death affects people in strange ways and can help explain the behaviors like two sisters muckling onto a lamp and pulling for all they are worth to pry it away from the other.

A friend of mine laughed when that memory was recalled when his mom and aunt squared up to fight tooth and nail over items. You learn that the sister felt their mom favored one over the other.

Or the big pot used to make potato soup or some other delicacy the way only your Mom could and did when it was a snow day. And school was canceled and how your spent the day inside or making snow tunnels and rolled men to watch over the yard like soldiers outside was a special time.

As snow came down and piled up but no one was worried or scared. It was a celebration of a day off from school and rituals that happened only when it was canceled or released early. Cookies prepared with all hands on deck are strong memories. The tools create and decorate them hold strong personal value.

A Monument In Memory Of Who?

Conversations from the grave in the “she said he said” about who gets what that the person who died reportedly promising the momento to one particular family member. The small mink stole to be wrapped around the neck or left sitting on the shoulders just so. Back when it was fashionable to wear animal fur out in public without a public protest that the grandmother said would look best on and fit the tinier daughter like a glass slipper.

But watch out. When the larger sibling got wind of the gift news pitched a fit. Saying the fur, along with a number of other items were all promised to her by the same grandmother on her death bed final confession. Even thought the junior fur wrap would never fit on the broad shoulders of the larger built granddaughter, the claws extended as the grip on the delicate silk lined mink tightened.

You hear stories about families at a funeral while the unattended house of whoever died is paid a visit and items removed.

A death is a hard enough life event to adjust to when there is a loss of a loved one. But when a family member needs health care, what to do about greedy siblings who don’t work together to make that happen seamlessly.

Funeral arrangements, I see one or two siblings left holding the cost of the ceremony while listing estate property for sale. Whoever is the personal representative of the estate has a very tough and not always popular job. To take care of bills, hold back on the spending of money the estate does not have.

Little Things Have The Most Value… A Treat, A Gesture. From A Loved One Who Remembers You In A Will And Leaves Your Something Personal. Worth Far Beyond The Value Someone Unknown Would Place On The Item Lacking The Memories Tied To It For You.

The cost of the funeral can be out of hand when grief stricken family members don’t want to appear cheap and tend to over spend. In cases when whoever is picking up the cost of the final arrangements is left to settle up personally. Liens on property titles from funeral directors expenses happen in any state and I see evidence of them in registry of deeds searches for legal descriptions to property needing to be sold.

The best way to avoid a fight in an inheritance is to expect nothing and you won’t be disappointed.

It is the person who worked hard to earn the money to get the enjoyment from it right? Anything you do get is a bonus. The best way to assure when you are dead and gone that those left behind will fight is to not do a will. To die without spelling out your wishes in the last will and testament. Those thinking that there was inequality in how the spoils are split up can always contest the mental capacity of whoever died. Or was involved in the witnessing of the will that will testify on the day of the will signing the answers to standard questions to test the soundness of mind left no question if they knew what they were doing. That it was their free act and deed and they agreed with the directions outlined in the will.

Billable hours and court house steps to wrangle with relatives is one way to spend the inheritance.

They say listing more than one sibling as co-executors of an estate can help avoid resentment. Making the division of what is carved up and given away to family members is better received when it is done in equal shares. Avoiding confusion of any kind helps in times of greiving a loss and you don’t die any quicker having an updated will to make known your final wishes.

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker

207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com |

MOOERS REALTY 69 North ST Houlton ME 04730 USA

April 15, 2019