This is a tale of the Mother Goose of Damariscotta Mills. I’m sure you remember the Mother Goose of children’s nursery rhymes. She’s often depicted as a kindly lady in bonnet and shawl riding on the back of a giant goose and bringing tales of wonder to little children.

Winter, nature’s quiet season, has begun. The farm pond is now frozen crystal. Its denizens of fish, frogs and turtles will burrow into its muddy depths to sleep and prepare for their spring multiplying that provides food for its special seasonal visitors like Henry, the Great Blue Heron.

I was on vacation between Christmas and the new year, and made time for a beach walk, one of my favorite winter things to do. I feel a bit traitorous writing about Popham in my Lincoln County News monthly column, but keep in mind, it was all Lincoln County once, and for a very long time, too.

implies either “a patron saint of England” or “relating to a farmer.” At least one of these is correct! My good wife’s name is “Myrtle,” which could be interpreted as “a clinging vine,” occasionally true.