We sure have had some snow up here in the north country. Well, it’s February. In Maine. What do we expect, right? January is cold and dry and February is a snowy mess. The worse is if you get on one of them “a snow storm every thirty-six hours” cycles, which we had a week or two ago, I think. It’s just a freezing, white blur, so it’s hard to remember. Snow storms are tough on Charlie’s back, my expectations, and both our waistlines. Charlie’s back because even with a plow on the truck, there are still paths to shovel and roofs to rake. My expectations because I’m the kind of person who looks forward …

When my sister Irene and me were kids, we had these little wooden snow scoops with our names painted on them that were made special just for us by our uncle, Octave Pease. They were just like our Dad’s, only a third the size, and we used to help him shovel the driveway. Which means we just got in the way, and made more of a mess for him to clean up! Octave: now there was a character. He come from a big family, I don’t know how many brothers and sisters. Octave never set foot in a school room, but he was smart as a whip. The kind of fella that could do anything …

Tomorrow’s Valentine’s Day, and so I thought shine the spotlight on my sweetheart in this week’s blog. Charlie and me have been together for over forty years, and he can still surprise me. Like when he started writing poetry. One day he saw a blue tarp stuck a tree, and the next thing you know, he’s the the default poet laureate of Mahoosuc Mills. Here’s that first poem, the one that started it all. Blue Tarp in a Tree Drivin’ along, what did I see? A big, blue tarp, up in a tree How did it get there? I thought to myself That’s not the work of some mischievous elf It was right around Whitey’s, …

There’s a rumor going ‘round that in Maine, it’s illegal to have your Christmas decorations up after January 14th, and you could be fined for doing so. I checked it out on the internet, and I found it on more than one site (there are several) dedicated to “dumb laws.” But then I saw an article from the Portland Press Herald that came out a few years back and they said it’s not really true. Frankly, I was very disappointed. If you keep up with my blog, you know I can get a real bee in my bonnet about this issue. January’s one long, cold month here in the north country, and we need all …