August on my little island in Maine means:
–Sultry days
–Star-filled nights
–Lots of friends and relatives eager to squeeze in a visit before their vacation ends
It’s always interesting to welcome visitors here for the first time because their comments range from “Breathtaking” and “Charming” and “How can I move here, too?” to “What on earth do you do here all winter” and “How can you stand living so far from the shopping mall?” (yes, someone really asked that). Of course it’s not for everyone, but life on a Maine island exemplifies the state motto, “The Way Life Should Be.” At least for some of us!
About 100 of us live in this tiny fishing village all year ’round; in summer the population swells to perhaps four or five times that number as visitors open up their seasonal homes to stay for a week or two or, sometimes, the entire summer. The ebb and flow of the seasons and the population is a fact of life here, much like the ebb and flow of the tides that surround us. Right now as I gaze out my office window the late afternoon sun is sparkling on the water, sailboats are drifting by, and lobstermen are unloading their catch at the co-op across the way. There may be better places for a writer to live, but I can’t imagine where that might be.