Working Waterfront

Great Diamond Island couple turns yard into living shore laboratory

Like many coastal homeowners, John and Cathy Seibyl are used to worrying about erosion. Since they bought their home on the western shore of Great Diamond Island a decade ago, they’ve noticed that the bluff leading down to Casco Bay is slowly washing away. But the Seibyls have a newer… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Testing a new way to fight ticks on Isle au Haut

Darting deer is a challenge in a location where deer are not habituated to people. That’s why it’s handy to be able to call your neighbor and ask if you can set up by a window with your dart gun in their house. “I always end up shooting out of… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

2 young Frenchboro fishermen save captain

Afterwards, the Town of Frenchboro commended the brothers for what it called “extraordinary courage and decisive action” … SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A season for readying

I think of late October and early November as the “readying season.” We learn to adjust our timing and be flexible with changing arrangements. The mailboat, on its winter schedule, runs three boats a day between Northeast Harbor and the islands. Road construction has picked up on the mainland and… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Why serve baked beans in summer?

Some people doubted anyone would want to eat baked beans in the middle of summer. On Islesboro the Masons do a ham-and-beans supper on the fourth Tuesdays of September through May. There’s mac and cheese, coleslaw, tossed salad, rolls, sometimes hot dogs, desserts including cupcakes, cookies and sometimes chocolate or… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Stars in the sky, stars in the sea

As an EMT, I have found myself on a boat in the middle of the night more frequently than the average person. The medevac trip to Rockland is occupied by patient care, but the way back can be a peaceful, quiet time. Weather and temperature permitting, I've spent some pleasant… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

When we’re really loved

When my daughter was about 10, she came home from school, having attended something called “pre-pooh class,” a precursor to puberty class. She was somber and circumspect. “Sweetie,” I said, “why don’t you tell me what you learned today. Start at the beginning.” “OK. When a man and a woman… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Remembering a friend and island helper

Bill was unusually gendered, and as a child and young adult on the island he struggled with the predictable torment—predictable at the time, but now, thankfully, fading. While his was a very difficult identity for us to quantify or for him to acknowledge and deal with when he was an… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Food advice: It’s always something

Remember when we thought eggs were bad for us, high in cholesterol, eat one a week, think of them as a food equivalent of a hand grenade? Remember Egg Beaters? Eggs are now OK again. Remember the Fear of Fat era, when a package of watercress I bought had the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

School of rock

The band mounted the stage, confidently striding up the ramp to find their places behind the microphones and amplifiers. Earlier that afternoon they had loaded everything out of their practice space, working together as a team to make sure nothing was left behind. Their sound check was efficient, and they… SEE MORE