This past week I started to do one of my annual fall cleaning jobs in the west living room before winter sets in. First I had to remove some of the furniture and small scatter rugs that cover the large oriental rug so I could give it a real good cleaning and vacuum it to remove all the small particles that had been tracked in during the summer. Then I polished and dusted all the furniture before I moved it back into the west living room. Then I took all the scatter rugs outdoors and shook them and then vacuumed them and replaced them in the right location in the west living room.

Dear Community Members,

I hope you are well and enjoying the subtle changes of early autumn. This is the important time of year when we ask you to make a gift to support Skidompha Library’s work. Asking for money is never a comfortable task — and we did not send our spring appeal this year due to the pandemic. But I am hopeful that you will be inspired to give now, because I know that throughout 2020, Skidompha has worked very hard to redefine, diversify, and enhance how we offer library services.

At first glance, pet sitting seems like an easy job. You show up in someone’s beautiful home, you lovingly care for their pet, and then you go away, always leaving the place a little better than you found it (if possible — some houses are spotless to begin with!).

This 2020 season has been a hard one for everyone, including those of us who love local history.

This summer, I started magnet fishing. A fast-growing hobby, magnet fishing involves tossing a magnet into bodies of water in the hope of retrieving metal. Popularized by YouTube videos, magnet fishing has arrived in Lincoln County and seems to be enjoying what can only be termed a moment.

For those who read and enjoy this column: I will be offering a two-hour course on bird-friendly backyards through Central Lincoln County Adult Education on Oct. 6 from 6-8 p.m. Offered remotely, creating bird habitat will be the focus of the course. To register, visit clc.maineadulted.org or call 563-2811.

There was a moose on the loose in the area over the weekend, with many being fortunate to see him and watch his swim from Southern Point to Northern Point. Jan John, who lives on Southern Point, was working in her gardens when their dog, Ella, started barking. When Jan turned around, a huge male moose was standing in the grass not 20 feet from her.

The West Woods Trails are part of the Wiscasset Community Trails system. West Woods Trails start in the 83-acre Sortwell Memorial Forest, which is owned by the New England Forestry Foundation. The property was donated to the foundation in 1955 by Daniel R. Sortwell and serves as a working example of sustainable forest management.