It's no secret around these parts that I love winter, but today I am feeling nostalgic for summer in Maine. Follow me under the mating hermit crabs for a ride through our little corner of Muscongus Bay.
Back in July the boys and I took a ride to Port for lobster. Buying from the source at wholesale prices is a perk of being local. As we often do when the seas cooperate, this day we chose the long way around the island just to see what we could see. Let's take a ride...
This area is one of the last working waterfronts in Maine, with a strong ground fishing/seine fleet as well as lobster. Some of these boats have been around since I was my kids age. They are like old friends to me.
I love this floating workshop. Some evenings you will see guys on deck chairs with a grill and some beers. What a way to wind up the day.
We head up off the dock into the village to see what the Lobster Co-Op has in the tanks. I was also hoping for some whole haddock (at like $2 lb) but no dice. Lobsters and fresh dug steamers would have to suffice.
This is a harbor view from the quay. The Army Corps rebuilt it a while back, a very important improvement for our village.
Summer brings seasonal boats into the quay, including ours. It can be hard to find a parking space. Leaving port we take another detour behind a small harbor island, the heart of the living waterfront.
This tiny house overlooking a protected cove hangs right over the water. One of my favorite structures ever and a testament to the nature of the people who settled this area. It takes guts to live and work on the sea.
Our skiff was built by a local shipwright, a man who grew up with my Dad, and is one of three or four still in existence. It's a hand made tool of the working waterfront, a relic from the past that reminds us of the self reliance and determination Mid Coat Maine is know for.
Rounding the point and heading toward our cove, we are all ready for tea and scones while the clams purge and the water boils. Good books and plenty of silence is on tap for the rest of the day, the rugged beauty of this island paradise a salve for our souls.
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