Columns

A Bird's Tale
American robins are very adaptable when it comes to finding a meal. In winter, they'll eat berries and other dried fruits. Photo courtesy of Jeff Wells

We wish we had been able to get a photograph of it to show you.

The first crop of baby American robins were out of the nest…

Joe's Journal
Joe Gelarden

I know, I know, the phone is ringing in my pocket and, yes, I know who is calling. I will call back.

Of course, it was Ms. Pigette, the lovely personality holding up a mailbox on Route 27,…

'Round Town
Photo by Robert Mitchell

One of my all-time favorite photos was made courtesy of Ella Beauregard when she and her parents lived in the old Ruth Gardner house, just up from Hendricks Head beach on Southport. I was just…

AARP logo

After toll road scams spread last summer, a new version is surging—texts claiming you owe money for a traffic or parking violation.

These messages often include an official-looking notice…

WHERE IT'S AT
LISA KRISTOFF/Boothbay Register

I still remember the first time I drove by the big red Edgecomb Pottery "compound" and saw a For Sale sign. What? I did a double take. I remember thinking that business was a landmark on this…

A Bird's Tale
The long neck and long tail of a soaring anhinga make a very distinctive profile for this waterbird that is famously accomplished at soaring. Photo by gary_leavens, courtesy of WIkimedia Commons.

Birds that are great at soaring often seem to do so into, what is for them, uncharted territory, especially in spring when they can ride warm,…

Joe's Journal
Joe Gelarden

One hundred sixty-three years ago, in a small Pennsylvania town where thousands fell in battle, a leather-lunged politician stood before a crowd and told them he hesitated to raise his poor voice…

'Round Town
Photo by Robert Mitchell

Several years ago, well maybe more…

Joyce Bucciantini, AARP Maine

Maine is often described as one big…

A Bird's Tale
The trills of chipping sparrows can be heard in neighborhoods across Maine and the U.S., but recognizing their songs from other trillers can be tricky. Photo courtesy of Jeff Wells

Over the last month as we’ve walked our little black dog around the neighborhood each morning, we’ve rarely been out of earshot of the trilling songs of either dark-…

Joe's Journal
Joe Gelarden

Thousands of miles east of Boothbay’s Ocean Point, Russians troopers are being slaughtered in a conflict that was supposed to be a cake walk for Russia.

But is it?

Russia’s four-year…

'Round Town
Photo by Robert Mitchell

Salt ’n Spar
Bo and the author

If you’re reading this, you’re likely a loyal reader of the Boothbay Register/Wiscasset Newspaper. And that matters. Your engagement strengthens local journalism and…

Cribbage results for Tuesday, May 5 with 22 players: 1

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Home repairs are inevitable—whether from everyday wear and tear or unexpected damage. But when you’re looking for help, the wrong contractor can make matters worse. Some promise quick, low-cost…

Joe's Journal
Robert Mitchell photo

With all the bombast going on in the Maine Senate race, the strangeness of Washington, D.C., the not really a war in the Middle East, and our local town meetings and elections, last week Columbia…

Niagara. Robert Mitchell photo

Imagine if you can, a 118-foot, 12,000-pound tree lying on the ground with all sorts of branches dangling from the top one third of its length. Now, visualize lifting…

AARP logo

Gift cards are popular and convenient for consumers—and for criminals who favor them as easy and hard-to-trace forms of payment.

They may claim the fastest way to fix an urgent financial…

'Round Town
Photo by Robert Mitchell

I know it is ancient history but so much community fun! Events with a focus on what makes the region a community. No great fanfare, no fireworks, nothing but a real treat to celebrate special…

Joe's Journal
Joe Gelarden

Working through my usual morning routine early Saturday, I glanced out the window and saw Bambi. He/she had wandered over the stone wall that delineates my ground from that of my neighbor, Joey…

Shawn Lewin, AARP Maine member

Reports of sweepstakes scams to the AARP Fraud Watch Network™ Helpline are on the rise. The prospect of a big financial windfall or amazing vacation plays on our emotions. Criminals count on our…

Community of Hope
New Hope logo

Income inequality and domestic…

'Round Town
Photo by Robert Mitchell

They’re back! And good for us ……

Joe's Journal
Joe Gelarden

While driving down Townsend Avenue the other day, my watch buzzed. I shut it off, and it buzzed again. So, I pulled into the Y parking lot and opened my phone/watch thingie.

“Don’t you…

The next public supper will be Wednesday, May 6. The…

AARP logo

Criminals steal billions by promoting fake investment opportunities that promise quick, guaranteed, or low‑risk returns. They may sound professional and convincing, but they exist for one reason:…

Salt ’n Spar
Bo and the author

With March set aside for Women’s History, and April given over to poetry, I found myself wandering back to the words of Hannah Augusta Moore and Annette Hubbard Hobson, poets of yesteryear who…

'Round Town
Photo by Robert Mitchell

It's been 30 years since Cecil…

Joe's Journal
Joe Gelarden

Driving around last week, you might have noticed a scattering of yard signs plugging Graham Platner’s candidacy for the U.S. Senate. To be fair, supporters of Gov. Janet Mills, who is seeking the…

The next public supper will be on May 6. The meal will be broccoli cheese soup, salad, herb rolls, baked haddock, vegetable couscous salad, and cottage pudding with lemon sauce. The cost of…

A Bird's Tale
After spending the winter hanging around palm trees (hence the name), palm warblers begin arriving in Maine in April. Photo courtesy of Jeff Wells.

Joe's Journal
Joe Gelarden

Is spring here, finally?

Last week, the random patches of white cold stuff vanished from the hillside rhododendron patch, a line of daffodils emerged from somewhere south of Hades, and…

'Round Town
Photo by Robert Mitchell

One of the nicest things about…

The next public supper will be Wednesday, May 5. The meal will consist of broccoli cheese soup, salad, herb rolls, baked haddock, vegetable couscous salad, cottage pudding with lemon sauce. The…

AARP logo

The AARP Fraud Watch Network™ Helpline (877-908-3360) is hearing from more people about misleading “free trial” offers. These schemes make cancellation difficult, if not impossible.

In many…

A Bird's Tale
This handsome duck with a rufous and green head does not carry the name "duck" and instead is known as the green-winged teal. Photo by Rhododendrites courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

'Round Town
Photo by Robert Mitchell

What a pleasant surprise to see our shadows during a late afternoon walk with our newest best friend Leica the wonder dog. We wonder if she is a dog! What a piece of work.

Joe's Journal
Joe Gelarden

For thousands of years, Easter has been a symbol of hope, a day of joy, a time to gather together to celebrate the miracle of rebirth.

The Good Book, no matter which version sits upon your…

Joe's Journal
Joe Gelarden

Were you one of the several hundred Lincoln County folks who stood on the Sheepscot River bridge on Saturday morning? Did you join other national anti-Trump White House protesters who tried to…

'Round Town
Photos by Robert Mitchell

Moore’s Rock is right behind the house where we used to live at the top of Sherman Street in the Harbor. At the suggestion of Bernard Coady, my barber for what little hair I had, we bought his…

AARP logo

The AARP Fraud Watch Network™ Helpline (877-908-3360) has seen a spike in “recall scams.”​ In these schemes, perpetrators send a message claiming that a product you purchased has been recalled…