It Gets Serious - Summer 2015 through Winter 2016

August 2015

Dear Maine,

I am sooooo excited!!! Finally, I'm coming back to you! Nate has found some great land, and we are coming up to check it out! See you soon!

...

We made an offer!!

...

And it was accepted! Soon we will "own" our own little corner of Maine!!

We close around September 4th!

Things are getting exciting!!!

Elatedly yours,

Tamarra

September 24, 2015

Dear Maine,

I am so enamored of you! I love your motto:

I love that you embrace the metric system: 

I love that you've said "eff you" to unsightly billboards and that advertising looks like this instead: 

I love that you have plenty of sunshine and are just full of beautiful things! I'm just in love as we take our first trip to camp on our land. Isn't this sweet??

We got here just before dark and came up with this. Not bad, eh?

Sweet dreams, Maine. 

September 25, 2015

Dear Maine,

Lies! How could you?? After everything we experienced together yesterday! Does THIS look like a low of 42 to you???

No? Well, THAT'S because it's ice! I am NOT pleased...

But, here's what we did with the firepit:

And breakfast on the grill turned out great! 

And then we checked out your awesome MOFGA fair in Unity. We've learned so much already, and it was only the first day! 

I'm prepared for you tonight. I've got rocks heating in the fire to keep my toes warm. I'm not falling for your trickery again!

See what you can do about turning up the heat, please. 

Until tomorrow...

September 26, 2015

Dear Maine,

Ok, I can get used to this. The rocks helped a lot, and it's kind of nice building a fire first thing in the morning, even if it is purely for survival. 

The frost on the poop bucket was a nice touch. Thanks for that. 

The best thing about a toilet seat made out of pipe insulation, though, is that once your ass melts the frost, it's actually quite comfortable, since it's, you know, insulation.  

Another day at the fair, and another ton of information. I'm realizing how much I don't know. I've much to learn. 

September 27, 2015

Dear Maine,

Your people are amazing. Your fair is amazing. Everything about you is amazing, even if you do lie a little about your overnight temperatures. Mainers sport cool bumper stickers, too:

And look how happy these sleepy pigs are to be living the life in Maine:

And what a treat you gave us with the lunar eclipse! Our land gave us such a great view (but the camera couldn't capture it), and once the moon was obscured, the entire Milky Way was visible with only a little bit of light pollution for Bangor to the south. It was spectacular. There were even a few shooting stars! Thank you for the show...and for the mild temperatures! I think I even got a little sunburn! And people said that wasn't possible in Maine! So silly!

Until tomorrow...

September 28, 2015

Dear Maine,

What a beautiful, misty morning!

After the coyotes got bored with circling us and the deer tired of snorting their disgust at us for invading their space, we heard moose this morning! So cool!

Oh. And thank you for breakfast:

Today we explored our 36 1/2 acres a little more. We discovered a few more apple trees in addition to these delicious beauties, and we realized there is just so much beauty here and so much more to explore. 

We even had time to get a little creative:

Alas, it is time to say goodbye for now. We have so many ideas and so much new information, but now it's time for winter. Time to reflect, to slow down and to plan. Who knows what's next?

Stay tuned...

December 25, 2015

Dear Maine,

Merry Christmas! Maybe next year we will spend it together!

January 11-14, 2016

Dear Maine,

Happy new year! We came up for a couple days to interview for apprenticeships on a couple farms for the 2016 growing season. They went well! We loved both farms. Now we have a difficult decision to make. Looks like you didn't get much of a winter either, but at least you got some snow - complete with mystery tracks!

It looks like the beavers have been busy (you can see their lodge in the background behind the big rock):

And the marsh just keeps getting more awesome every time I see it. It's huge!

And I love that this will be my new sunset:

It's hard to leave. I feel so peaceful on the land. It just feels right. Like it's where I belong. 

Late January 2016

Dear Maine,

We chose our farm! I'm sure you're dying to know, but I don't want to jinx it! So this is really happening. We are coming up to live sometime this spring! The house is on the market here, and now the packing and preparing begin!

See you soon!!

Tamarra 

 

Maine Reconsidered - 2013-2015

Sometime in 2013

Dear Maine,

I've been thinking about you again lately. I think someone asked me how many states I've been to, and that's why you came to mind.

New York is horrible. There is no freedom here. You can't have more than seven rounds in a magazine, and they don't even make magazines that hold only seven rounds. The legislature really thought that one through. Of course, when does the New York legislature think anything through? There are more people on welfare here than there are people who work, and the taxes are absolutely ridiculous.  Forty-five percent of my monthly mortgage payment goes to taxes and I'm not sure for what. I still have to shovel my own sidewalk; the roads are full of potholes; fees for everything are outrageous; and it's really, really hard to be a small business owner here. I really hate this state, and I want to get out.

So I've been thinking about New England. The one thing I like about New York is that the landscape is beautiful. Unfortunately, the winters have become pathetic. I want more snow. Vermont is really cool, and I want to visit New Hampshire. I think those would be good places to live. If I make it up your way, I will let you know.

Be well,

Tamarra





June 2014

Dear Maine,

I know you don't get out to the West Coast much, but Washington is beautiful! I started dating this guy in March, and he asked me to come with him for a week-long hiking trip in the Cascades. I had the time off, so I figured, why not? It really is beautiful here. Alpine views...shimmering, hidden lakes... and lupines! They grow here! I fell in love with them when I discovered them in Norway last summer. I've tried growing them at home, but so far, not so successful. Do you grow lupines, too?

So this guy, Nate, he seems like a good guy. It's too soon to tell, but I like a lot of things about him. He's very adventurous, and he wants to get out of New York ASAP, too. (Smart guy.) But he's got his heart set on the Pacific Northwest.... Me, I keep thinking about New England. New England has just always felt right to me, even though I've only spent a little time here. I do like the Pacific Northwest; it's beautiful, and my sister lives in Seattle, so I've got some connections there. But there are problems... there's a lot of population pressure there, limited water supply (yes, I know the Pacific Northwest itself is verdant and lush, but do you really think big cities and the Southwest are going to let it stay that way?), the cost of living is pretty outrageous... and I worry about stupid crap like the big earthquake that's overdue, the devastating annual forest fires, and even the eventual toxic pollution that's making its way across the ocean from China. I just don't know about living here. New England feels more like home.

I still think of you often. More and more, actually.  I hope to come see you soon.

Missing you from afar,

Tamarra

August 2014

Dear Maine,

Ugh. So close! We made it to New Hampshire. It was okay.... not quite what we were hoping for. I did love it's tiny coastline. The sunrise there was amazing. I may have fallen a little bit in love with this part of the country.

Unfortunately, we ended up with a flat tire when we got to the beach. Completely flat! So my only souvenirs from New Hampshire were a rock and a seashell...

...and a new tire. I didn't take a picture of that, though.

New Hampshire just didn't feel right to me, though. So we tried Vermont again; we had dinner in Burlington. Vermont is a strange place. It's got that odd balance of liberal and leave-me-alone. Two things we don't care for about those states are that they're overrun by city people (generally, any place that has a lot of people from Massachusetts or downstate New York is a place I don't really want to be), and there's not much land to be had in large quantities for reasonable prices.

Sigh. Back to the drawing board.

I bet you're lovely this time of year, Maine.

Feeling a little discouraged,

Tamarra



Winter 2014-2015

Dear Maine,

Life has just kind of been rolling along. Things are slowly changing inside my mind, and outside changes are beginning to manifest. We finally have a winter worth mentioning around here, but we still have those stupid thaws and snowless times. I really miss winter. I bet your winters are awesome. I bet you have those silent snowfalls and those peaceful nights when the moonlight reflects off the snow almost as if it were daytime.

Nate is still talking about the Pacific Northwest. It makes me so nervous! I do like the area, but it just doesn't feel right to me.  He's planning to drive his motorcycle around the country at some point, with the goal of ending up in Washington, maybe even to stay.  He's not finding the kind of land he's looking for, though, so there's still hope. It's just so far away. And it just doesn't feel... right... to me.

I hope Old Man Winter has paid you a visit, and I hope he stays a long time.

Cheers to a marvelous New Year, Maine,

Tamarra


June 2015

Dear Maine,

Nate has left for his motorcycle trip. He'll be gone for about three weeks. I'm so free!

I'm going through things in the house, because I know I need to downsize because we are moving soon... I just wish I knew where...

Whenever I go through stuff from my childhood, I always return to my little chair that you gave me when I was just a little girl. I love to sit in it. I love to look at it. I love its energy.

I think more and more about you, and I long to revisit you. I don't know why I am drawn to you, but I am.

Soon. Maybe soon...

Tamarra

The Adventure Begins - the 1970s

Sometime in the mid- to late 1970s

Dear Maine,

I am only 18 months old, and maybe you'll remember me, but I don't remember you. All I know is that my parents took me to your state fair in 1976 or 1977, and as I was growing up, we had a picture hanging on the wall of this old lady holding me, because she was the oldest person at the fair, and I was the youngest, and in the 70s, this was worthy of a photograph.

I also found this chair at your fair. Seems I sat down in it and refused to get up, so the chair came home to Pennsylvania with us. It is one of my favorite things, and I will keep it always.

Even though I don't remember my first trip to visit you, I will list you every time there is a contest to see who has visited the most states, because you most certainly count.

Love,

Tamarra