Your Maine

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Q: What’s your antidote to cabin fever?

I choose a jigsaw puzzle that I really like, hunker down with a cup of my mother’s hot cocoa (add some peppermint schnapps), and listen to storytelling CDs. My favorites are A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor, Kevin Kling, and various storytellers from the National Storytelling Network. 
Phyllis Blackstone
Farmington, Maine

Taking a long walk along the ocean in winter. This was one of our first dates when we lived in Connecticut, and it has continued to be a yearly tradition now that we have retired to Maine.
Diane Woods
Smithfield, Maine

I dream of our house in New Harbor. I close my eyes and see the pine trees, with their coats of snow, the chickadee prints on the rail under the feeder. I can picture myself sitting on the sofa and watching the snowflakes, the big ones, the ones that catch on your eyelashes. I listen for the quiet that only a Maine winter 
can produce. Oh, to be stuck inside my house once again for a cold winter day. That is what I dream of when the Kansas prairie is too windy, cold, and brown.
Robin Boisvert
Wilson, Kansas

After near fifty years of marriage, any antidote is, for the most part, a shared activity. 
We engage in many, but they all start the same way: By turning off the TV. We both read. We both paint — watercolor for her and oil for me. She quilts, but I do the pattern and color/fabric matching. She sews and knits. I write about most everything and throw it all in a box so that my children and grandchildren will someday know who I was. Of course, back when we had children in the house, the list of things we could do was somewhat different. Did I mention that it all starts with turning off the TV?
Dave Howe
Cape Elizabeth, Maine

At Little Cranberry Island, we have potluck dinners and play Skip-Bo Dice with friends.
Nan Hadlock
Islesford, Maine

Town parties, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, BBC miniseries, evening reading parties (everyone brings something to read out loud for ten to fifteen minutes each), snowy moonlit walks, snuggling beneath the down comforter, eating out with friends, skiing the beach.
Bill and Judy Baker
Ogunquit, Maine

I go to Florida!
Karen Zielinski
Auburn, Maine

Share your photos
Location: Reid State Park in Georgetown
The Moment: I came across this fallen tree at Reid State Park, and it was just too dramatic to overlook. The clouds came together in a unique way that almost seems to mimic the exposed roots, and the winter light provided me with many unique shadows and highlights to capture. Filtered by a thin veil of clouds, the sun lined itself up perfectly with the tallest root, which seems to resemble a lightning rod photographed during a strike.
Christopher O’Donnell
Deer Isle, Maine

Look for this section with a different question each month — we hope you’ll write to us at editorial@downeast.com [2] and tell us about your Maine.

Upcoming Question:
What is your top secret for gardening in Maine?