MeInMaine Blog

Tag: maine small town blogs posts

  • Smells Like Snow… Not Just Looks Like It Could Snow In Maine.

    Maine Is Four Seasons, Class Always Is In.
    Life Drifts, Snow Storms, Don’t Get Bogged Down, Miss The Take Away.

    The calendar on the wall says put away the swim trunks, pack away the sandals and get that lawn furniture, flower boxes under cover.

    Take down the hammock, but don’t put away the gas grill. Use those year round to sizzle the steak, ribs, chicken, salmon right?

    Maine’s winter landscape is being squeak squeaked into the background slow but sure.

    I plow snow at a Maine farm I grew up at and bought from my three older brothers. And last night bought a new battery for the 1999 Dodge plow truck that only has 11,000 miles on it. Getting it ready to roar, angle the yellow Fisher plow. When the snow fall means jeep into where it is parked. Fire it up and plow, place, tidy it up. So the oil truck can beep beep in to hook the heating hose. And the home can guzzle guzzle.

    The smells like snow part of real winter weather is foreign to someone that did not grow up around fluffy white stuff. Hard to explain but combined with dark clouds, a glance at the calendar as Thanksgiving approaches and history living in Maine all combine. Like the person with rheumatoid arthritis joint pain that could be in front of the green screen.

    Predicting weather accurately because those tinges in the knee, feet, shoulder, neck or elbow joint means chance of Maine snow fall is approaching.

    Like built in barometers. The aching joint could land you a job on the Weather channel. Folks tune you in because you know how to predict that weather better than a meteorologist. You just know, instinctively, in your gut. Sense the difference in air pressure happening around you. The volume on the pain from 40%, 100% chance of snow. Increasing like the shade of red intensity in ET’s chest cavity. When thoughts of home, or a signal is coming his way to lock on to and prepare for exiting Earth.

    The smell of snow, ooh ooh that smell means be boy scout prepared.

    And the Maine home owner, driver, road crews on the local and state level are. We know how to do snow. Don’t go into a tail spin when it happens. Get good at removing it, working around it and making it fun, tourism dollar generating rich and profitable for local businesses. That count on snow sledding revenues.

    And for individuals that like to be outside ice fishing, snow skiing, enjoying walking in it around a small Maine town community. Let it snow. I’m ready. It’s one of my favorite seasons and have to remind, Maine has no polar bears. We get snow, just not all the time. More than 20 minutes of daylight all winter long because we are not in the Arctic Circle.

    So turn the top levers on the insulated windows, pull the blinds closed at night, weather strip and caulk, add a little more attic insulation to places where it has settled, but get ready. Winter coat, mittens and gloves. Check. Antifreeze levels in the vehicles up. Check. Ice scraper and snow brush in the back seat and within arm’s reach. Check. Bring it on.

    We are ready and prepared for Maine winter snow. Or if not, can always do the snow bird routine. In the sunny south and southwest until the smell of snow in the air is gone. Replaced with the stronger, longer sun. The spring singing birds, fragrance of the crocus, daffodils, tulips, lilac bushes return.

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

  • Ringing Bells, Red Flags, And Ooh Ooh That Smell.

    Relaxing, Tackling Hard Problems In Small Maine Towns.
    What Needs Fixing, How To Approach Problems In Small Maine Towns.

    Sometimes it is easy to caught up in the day to day living and with the speed of life blur miss cues.

    To not be as sharp, aware, to see with clarity what is happening around you. When you pull, rack back the focus and see what’s going on as the Buffalo Springfield song warns. Not everything is always hunky dory. There is plenty to gripe about, to whine and wish this or that situation was different if that is the sit down and have a pity party approach you want to take.

    But making things better than they were starts with realizing some tinkering, fixing is needed.

    Mistakes happened but lessons learned from decisions made in the trial and error tinkering. But arriving at some common ground where the folks that swim with you, the birds of a feather that fly next door are in pretty much overall agreement. On the same page of where are we now, where do we go from here? What is my individual role to help not hurt the process? Sometimes it’s say nothing, don’t fight, take the high road. But not being apathetic, discouraged just sizing up the situation to see where you jump in.

    Nothing stays static. Try to keep up or take shelter under some flat rock to avoid being stampeded can happen when you live where there is nothing but a sea of not so happy faces anywhere you crank your head to gawk, take a gander look-see. Finding a place where the pace of life is a tad more sane, lower miles per hour is a start. Where you are aware of the night sky stars overhead. The clean sparkling bubbling water, the neat well versed seasoned neighbor. Those are just three Maine face cards in large supply. Where the population is not wall to wall that always comes with a severe price in the trade off.

    There is a reason the population is smaller in a Maine community.

    A little ways away from major markets. Insulated from the rat race. You have to make your own opportunities. See new ones that could work with passion, dedication and right thinking, near perfect timing. But is small town Maine community life the same for everyone or a carbon copy of the day to day you would live in a larger population center? Absolutely not.

    Maine Is Outdoors, Small Town Living Special.
    Maine, Outdoor Four Season Simple Living. Real, Rich, Simple.

    You swap certain things, give up and gain much when you relocate, move, invest in a Maine small town lifestyle.

    Time spent sitting in traffic, worrying about personal property disappearing and saving your own hide from harm gets traded for not having to lock your doors. Not always looking over your shoulder. Protection not needed from the folks that smile, make eye contact. Mainers that have manners, are polite and considerate makes everything different. From ones who seem disinterested, rude, too busy. Or just avoid connecting, reaching out and acknowledging others surrounding them when you bee line for a life in the city chasing the dollar to make ends meet.

    The “don’t get involved in an urban area” is exchanged for pace yourself, relax, breathe. Pick and chose carefully like signing up for college classes to avoid being overwhelmed with credit hours. Over extended and pulled in too many directions for community service. There are never enough local volunteers. Plenty of folks that say it can not be done. But the step up to the plate types in a small Maine town you will find have a heart that nothing compares to, is stronger. Because of fierce pride, passion, a will to pitch in and see their role in the local landscape to improve the small Maine town. To apply the talents, skills or hone them to apply, do their best when not many sign on. Step up in a positive way.

    Maine Fall Colors Explode.
    Get On The Highway To Maine. Simple, Beautiful, Outdoor Special.

    The ringing bells ringing are bickering on the local level that wastes times, does nothing for confidence or to inspire folks to sign on.

    To buy in, pitch in, not shy away. The red flags are the finger pointing instead of offering solutions and collectively hammering out the where do we go from here, what do we do now to stay on the straight and narrow. The right path.

    And the ooh ooh that smell is the unmistakeable odor that oozes, permeates when something is rotten. Feelings have no IQ but can stall, side rail or push back the work process that needs to be done in a small Maine town. Unmet needs, not “feeling” appreciated or needing recognition can be in short supply but replacing it with pride, self satisfaction and more self reliance is what under populated, natural Maine simple living is all about right?

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