Most of us look for love and support. It is so much a part of the human experience. Often people with disabilities do not have the opportunity or support to find and hold on to that love. But sometimes, just sometimes, the tumblers fall perfectly into place and love blossoms.

Large individual schools of alewives are already gathering in the Gulf of Maine to make their yearly journey up the Damariscotta River. Their ultimate goal is to reach their spawning grounds in Damariscotta Lake when conditions are optimal for raising a new generation of alewives.

As this year’s National Poetry Month draws to a close, what better time to revisit the celebrated work and life of a Bristol native, poet Abbie Huston Evans, 1881–1983.

“What’s Happening at Whitefield Library?” you ask.

For the past several years, Healthy Lincoln County staff and volunteers have served thousands of meals to children in Lincoln County. Officially known as the Summer Food Service Program, Summer Meals is a federally-funded, state-administered program that provides meals when school is not in session. In Lincoln and Knox counties, HLC is the program operator. In the summer of 2021 for example, HLC provided over 25,000 meals to children from Boothbay to Camden.

Broken birdsong. Branches, unbudded, striate the sky. The bench swings slowly back and forth at the Whaleback Shell Midden in Damariscotta.

Pasta is one of those kitchen staples that comes to the aid of all cooks looking for a quick and tasty meal from the home pantry. It easily adapts itself to many ingredients in the kitchen and can be as elaborate as the imagination of the cook. Like soup, established favorite pasta dishes can accept ingredients not originally meant for this purpose and thus deliver new and delightful flavor combinations.

I am crying as I write these words to you.  But they are tears of joy for what a joy it has been to write for you and share my life with you every week for 20 years.

 – Oscar Wilde

The first crocus to bloom is a signal that “real” spring is here. Lucky for us, crocuses are popping up in lawns and garden beds all around town. As residents of Whitefield rake their lawns, lift winter mulch off garden beds, and pull out fishing gear and boats, these spring rituals remind us that the much anticipated warmer days are in fact here.

You may have guessed how deeply I love spring by how much I have been talking about it recently. On a recent weekend walk, I noticed daffodils blooming bright yellow and pussy willows and trees starting to bud. I immediately thought of the bees here at Skidompha and made a mental note to check in on them when back at the library.