Despite everything, me and the Women Who Run With the Moose are still doing our girls night once a week. Hey, ya gotta do what ya gotta do, right? We used to call it “Girls Night Out.” Now we refer to it as our “Girls Night Outside.” We get together on assorted decks, patios, screened in porches and the like. Truth be told, our social distancing has become a little lax, but there’s still sanitizer on the potluck table, and we mask up when we’re serving ourselves. You can find ways to have fun and still be careful, right? Like last Thursday, we got together over to Shirley’s place. She has this nice, big deck, …

Where has summer gone? I mean, we’re a third of the way through August! I’m already dreading the arrival of hearty mums down to the A&P which should be in a week or so. Mums in September are a nice burst of color. In August, they make me feel the same way I do when I see Christmas decorations in October: it’s unnatural and unsettling. Anyhoo, be here now, right? Enjoy summer to the fullest. Drink in the smell of summer sweet and fresh mown grass. Feast on the color all ‘round: rose mallow, black-eyed Susans, rose of Sharon. Enjoy time outside with friends. Grill meat, eat corn on the cob and watermelon, figure out …

You may be “sheltering in place,” as they say, but as a cashier down to the A&P, I’m on the front lines of this thing. Global pandemic! Go figure! Folks have totally lost their minds, buying three, four, five hundred dollars worth of unrelated stuff! It’s like that old game show Supermarket Sweep; they’re just throwing things into their carts. The biggies, of course, are toilet paper, milk, and chicken. Why? If you’re going to be stuck inside, wouldn’t you want a nice cut of meat to look forward to? And think of it: you have all this time to slow roast. It’s perfect! The toilet paper baffles me, though. It just don’t make no …

I know it’s the end of August, and I was there two weeks ago when the mums arrived at the A&P. But, it’s too soon! I am not ready for fall. It feels like summer only just arrived.  Right now, I’m groovin’ on the sunflowers, pink phlox and Black-eyed Susan, bobbin’ in the breeze. Our butterfly bush and hummingbird feeder are still packing ‘em in. Even the potted petunias are still perky. I mean, I’m not sick of zucchini yet, so I’m definitely not ready for “hearty mums.” Don’t be me wrong, I like the idea of a plant that has “hearty” as part of it’s name. It says, I’m going to be here for …

September’s one of my favorite months here in Maine. For one, the tourists have thinned out, so it’s not so crowded downtown. We still get ‘em, of course, but instead of families exhausted and cranky from spending too much time together, you mostly see mature couples. You know, people who get to bed early and aren’t in such a rush. Folks who know how much a cup of coffee costs at McDonalds with the senior discount.

Big goings on here in Mahoosuc Mills. Some builders from up to Bangor tried to pull a fast one. They bought the old Johnson place over on Front Street, tore it down and we’re getting ready to slap up one of them McMansions, but first they decided to basically clear cut the lot, like they do. All systems were go, ‘til Esther Higgins intervened.

Wow! Hasn’t the weather been wonderful so far this summer? Of course, there’s always those who complain. They see it as their civic duty. It’s too hot, too humid, not enough rain, too much rain. And sometimes, sure, the weather does leave a little to be desired. Then, there are days that are just picture perfect. Our friend Johnny T calls them “a bluebird of a day.” Charlie was so taken with that idea, he wrote a poem about it. A Bluebird of a Day From the western hills last night A rumblin’ did come The rain we’ve needed finally fell We closed the windows some By morning, all that humid air Had up and …

They’re back! Yes, I’m pleased to announce that black fly season is officially underway here in Mahoosuc Mills. We got kind of gypped with mud season this year because there wasn’t much snow, but, believe you me, those bebittes never disappoint. If you’re from away and unfamiliar with our black flies, oh, you are missin’ something’! Have you ever laid on your back looking up at the clouds, and you start seeing shapes in ‘em? Well, that’s what we do with the black flies here in Mahoosuc Mills. Yesterday, I’m out planting my window boxes and, swear to God, I see this shadow moving across our double-wide. I look up, and sure as shooting, it’s …

So, I’m working checkout at the A&P, right? When I hear this conversation out of the corner of my ear: two women, voices lowered, talking fast in a urgent sort way. I mean, who wouldn’t listen in? “He wakes me up every morning at 5:00.” “Every morning?” “Like clockwork. I don’t mind it so much on week days. I have to be up for work, anyways. But, it’s the weekends, too.” “You think he’d let you sleep in at least one morning.” “Nope. He just won’t give it a rest. At first I thought it was kind of  cute, you know? But frankly, it’s wearing me down!” “I don’t blame you. Not every morning.” Well, …