Month: January 2015

I hope everyone affected by the recent snowstorm has come through it safely. Here on the island we got about two feet of snow that fell steadily from Monday night throughout Tuesday. Today it is glorious outside–crisp and cold with the sun shining brightly. Great weather for shoveling.
A heavy snowstorm makes the quiet island even quieter. A community-wide pot luck supper planned for Saturday night was postponed and may be postponed again if another storm moves in this weekend as anticipated. But no one really minds. New Englanders are nothing if not resilient, and there’s always plenty to do inside on snow days. We stoke the fire, get out the books we’ve been planning to read, knit, clean closets, and for those of us who work at home it’s a rare opportunity to get caught up on email and projects.
A year or so ago I gave a lecture about Maine life and someone in the audience asked if I “really” lived in Maine all winter. When I replied yes, he asked, “Why?” It made me laugh at the time,

but I’ve given his question some thought recently. Just why do New Englanders do battle with Mother Nature year after year and love it? Is it part of the psyche of those of us who were born and raised here? I think so. I think we take pride in toughing it out, overcoming obstacles, and being self-sufficient. And despite that sense of self-sufficiency, there’s also a strong tradition of helping our neighbors. I shovel out my elderly neighbor so she can get her door open from the inside. When my generator battery died just as the blizzard of 2015 cranked up, I called a local boatyard owner to see if he had a battery I could buy or borrow. He not only had one, but he hustled over and installed it. I brought him homemade cookies this morning as soon as I got plowed out. That’s the rhythm of life here on the island, and throughout much of New England. And yes, that’s why I stay in Maine all winter!