Tag: Smiles

Things that define a viable downtown

~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

No matter how large or small a community, there’s something about having a place we know as downtown that makes a difference. It’s like a center of gravity.

Forget the big banks, jewelry stores, or medical offices that are empty at night.

Here are some elements to consider.

  1. Functioning post office. Once it moves to the outskirts, it’s curtains for many towns. Or at least did, back before email and Amazon. Well, we still need somewhere to send off those return items or to get our passports.
  2. A brewpub or microbrewery. Think about it. A social place to gather casually that doesn’t feel like a stinky dark bar.   
  3. A decent diner or coffee house. Ditto.
  4. Distinctive restaurant. Doesn’t have to be fancy but definitely worthy of a dinner date. Ethnic certainly fits here.   
  5. Hardware store, pharmacy, and grocery. Meet real-life needs.
  6. Residents: They’re what keeps the place from becoming a desert at night.  
  7. Pedestrian friendly. Keep parking at the fringe, please, or in some kind of balance.   
  8. Library. It’s not all about books.
  9. Arts opportunities. Galleries, theaters, concert venues all add vitality.
  10. Waterfront. Once scorned and polluted, a cleaned-up stream or coastline is a mesmerizing attraction. We can sit and watch the motion for hours and then feel rested.

Lobster boats prep for a fast racing season start

~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

Informal racing out on the open waters was already a longstanding tradition when the Maine Lobster Boat Racing Association formed and launched its first races in 1964.

Fishing is a dangerous occupation, one luring a gnarly but dedicated gang into its ranks. It’s said they have salt water in their veins, or as I’ve heard them say of themselves, they’re either crazy or dumb – or both.

It should be no surprise, then, that here in Maine, lobstermen come together on summer weekends to race their boats. They have a pick of at least one every weekend.

Yup, race. Lobster boats don’t exactly look sleek or graceful – they’re built to work in all kinds of weather and take a beating. But they also have powerful engines. I had no idea just how powerful.

Besides, guys being guys, lobstermen have long boasted about their beloved boats – many are named after sweethearts and children, after all. Comparing theirs against their peers’ meant putting their words to the test.

All of that has led to a circuit of races starting in Boothbay and ending in Portland, with ten or so other sites along the way.

With that in mind, here are ten more bits to consider.

  1. Each race is different. Some draw more than 100 boats. The lengths of the races vary by location. Some routes are less than one mile, while others stretch over a few miles. Some courses are straight, while others are loops.
  2. Depending on the location, the winning speeds vary. The fastest boats typically reach 50 to 60 miles an hour, though a record 68.3 mph was recorded in 2022.
  3. The emphasis is on regular lobstermen, not professional racers, and additional events may be scheduled after the summer’s taken off. While prizes are awarded at the end of the season, the racers participate mostly for the thrill and its bragging rights.
  4. Typically, the races are divided into categories by boat type. For example, there may be separate runs for workboats under 24 feet length, gas-powered workboats of more than 24 feet, and diesel-powered workboats of more than 24 feet. There’s even a Class O category for non-working boats, any length, any horsepower – shall we guess these are out-and-out racers?
  5. In 2022, the entries ranged from 30-horsepower outboards to a 1,400-horsepower, 44-foot-long vessel named Bounty Hunter IV.
  6. For the races, they’re stripped of their gear and any other extraneous weight, or so I’m told.
  7. As for boat names? Maria’s Nightmare II and Wild Wild West give you an idea.
  8. While many spectators watch from the shoreline, others head out on the water to get close to the action. Some ferries and boats offer race day trips.
  9. The Moosabec Reach annual races are the closest event to me – and the only one in Washington County. The one-mile course runs between Jonesport and Beals Island, ending just before the bridge that connects Jonesport to the island. The race used to include going under the bridge, but that stopped after lobstermen crashed while trying to navigate under the bridge and around other boats.
  10. Since the Maine lobster boat races are in the summertime, it’s best to bring sunscreen. For distant viewing, binoculars are recommended. Other handy items to pack include refreshments and a sweatshirt in case there’s a cool ocean breeze.

A few more things to put Maine in perspective for you

~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

Geographically, Maine is the biggest state in New England – almost as large as the other five combined. That still ranks it 39th in size in the USA.

We’re also famed for some very dry humorists and fresh-from-the-sea lobsters the way Vermont’s stuck with maple syrup and a red leaves identity.

Beyond that, here are some other things that are unique to the place.

  1. It’s the only state that borders just one other state. But it’s also the only one that borders three Canadian provinces.
  2. Half of the state is essentially unpopulated – mostly forests, wetlands, black flies, and mosquitoes.
  3. Its craggy coastline is longer than California’s, but shorter than Florida’s and Louisiana’s and, of course, Alaska. While the state and its tidal waters are famed for lighthouses, Michigan – with four of the freshwater Great Lakes ringing its shores – has the most.
  4. The bulk of the population lives within twenty miles of the Atlantic and its tides. Less well known are the interior towns between the ocean and the mountains. Much of that belt’s suffering, economically.
  5. Some of the state’s biggest urban centers are divided into two cities by rivers: Portland/South Portland, Lewiston/Auburn, Bangor/Brewer, Biddeford/Saco, Brunswick/Topsham. Calias/Saint Stephen is complicated by the U.S.-Canada border. Augusta and Waterville are the prime exceptions.
  6. Demographically, Mainers are the oldest folks in the country. The median age is 45.1 years. About 21.2 percent of the residents are 65 and above while only 18.5 percent is under 18.
  7. Despite all the white steeples you see in the photos, Maine is among the four least churched states. Typically, it’s hovering at the bottom, with New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Vermont as rivals. Some of the variation occurs when looking at religious affiliation versus measures of religiosity.
  8. Famed outdoor outfitter L.L. Bean in Freeport can be seen as the epitome of the Pine Tree State. But quirky discount chains Mardens and Remy have their own loyal following, as adventurous visitors discover.
  9. Maine is the leading lobster-producing state in the nation, employing more than 5,600 hundred lobstermen (male and female). The tightly regulated catch contributes more than a billion dollars to the state’s economy.
  10. The state is also famed for its wild, lowbush blueberries. More than 70 percent of them are harvested in Washington County, where I live. Ranked by dollar value in the state’s agricultural output, the berries traditionally come in second, a bit above $100 million a year, but way below the $247 billion potato crop, mostly in Aroostook County to our north or the $137 million milk output statewide. But medical cannabis sales, at $266 million in 2020, surpassed them, and that’s without recreational marijuana figures, $72 million in 2021. They’re expected to go even higher this year.

No, tomatoes don’t all taste the same

~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

The first year I witnessed the gardener in our household sprout and then transplant a dozen or so varieties of tomatoes, I was perplexed. Foolish me, I thought tomatoes were pretty interchangeable. Not so by the end of summer, when I had discovered how much each variety had its own identity. Some ripened earlier than others, a major consideration in our short growing season. Some were firmer while others were juicier. Each variety matured in its own size and shape. Trying to describe the range of flavors could soon sound like a wine tasting commentary. So far, we’ve had nothing that has delivered a hint of slightly warm asphalt, which seemed to be a plus for one wine critic. We’ll save you our own take.

Also important to us is disease and blight resistance. New England can be a difficult region for tomato growers.

Here’s a sampling of what we’ve cultivated, eaten, and even dried, canned, or bagged frozen.

  1. Goldie: A large, deep orange, slicing beefsteak fruit. “The perfect tomato,” as I blogged back on August 26, 2021, touting it for its starring role on my beloved sandwiches. This heirloom variety is one of the last to blossom and bear harvest for us, but it’s definitely worth the wait.
  2. Pruden’s Purple: Valued as being one of the first large tomatoes to mature (72 days), this firm wonder has a distinctive deep pink, ridged appearance. It also contains few seeds. The flavor is described as nicely balanced between sweet and tart.
  3. Brandywine: A very popular large heirloom, this one generally matures in 80 to 90 days. Many folks consider it the tastiest of the lot. Its leaves resemble potato plants more than tomatoes, and the heavy fruit means the plants need a lot of support.
  4. Yellow Brandywine: A gold-yellow variation created in 1991 from the famed Brandywine heirloom, this beefsteak weighs in at up to two whopping pounds a globe.
  5. Sungold: These tangy sweet golden orange cherry-size tomatoes are among the earliest to arrive for us – within two months, supposedly, though for us that meant early August last year – yet continued to deliver through September. Harvesting at peak can be tricky, though: a shade too early misses the glory, but a shade too late and they start to spoil. Their flavor is described as intense and sugary-sweet, a delightful addition to salads. They form in clusters of ten to 20 tomatoes on a vine. Add to it the red Glacier, another cherry tomato that arrives early and continues valiantly into autumn.
  6. Juliet: This small, elongated, prolific paste tomato has been a true workhorse for us. It freezes well, providing a foundation for soup and sauces throughout the winter. Lately, we’ve augmented this one with Plum Regal, primed for the end of the season; Amish Paste, a larger elongated plum tomato that also works well for soup and sauces; and Roma, an egg-shaped three-incher prized for making paste and sauces.
  7. Opalka: At the larger end of the paste tomatoes, this Polish entry grows up to five feet tall and has irregularly-shaped fruit up to six inches long. Tasters at Fedco Seeds described it as “an oasis of flavor in a desert of tomato hell,” “a pleasing texture and good aftertaste lingers,” “round and mellow flavor… full-bodied.” As I was saying about critical taste analysis?
  8. Cosmonaut Volkov: Back to the one-pounders I love for tomato-and-mayo sandwiches, this slightly flattened beefsteak is named for a Russian astronaut who died returning from space. It can go mushy if overripe, though.
  9. Omar: Or more accurately, Omar’s Lebanese, which was introduced in 1996 via a Lebanese college student named Omar Saab. Typically weighing in at up to 1½ pounds apiece, the fruit sometimes ambitiously reaches three or four pounds. The flavor is described as “multidimensional sweet.”
  10. Copper Beauty: An elongated and very tasty small tomato, this one still has lots of green in its skin when ripe, augmented by orange streaks, along with a dark red interior when sliced.

And we haven’t even touched on some fine “black” tomatoes.