January in Maine

Thanks for following the blog into the new year, which I hope will be a happy and healthy one for you. With the holidays over, the small island I live on has pretty much rolled up its sidewalks (except that there are no sidewalks to roll up, but you know what I mean). Summer cottages have long since been closed up for the season, and holiday guests have departed for home. A newcomer to the island called this season “creepy” because it’s so quiet and the winter light is so fleeting, but for many of us it’s a time for reflection and for tackling a big project. Because there are a lot of artists and writers out here, that usually means a book, several magazine articles, or a number of art works completed while the island, and life in general, move at a slower pace.

For anyone who needs a busy social life, this is probably not a good choice for a year-round home, but for the self-sufficient, winter can be fun.  There are always simple house parties, part lucks at the church community hall, trips to the movies on the mainland or even a trip to Boston when we’re in need of a city fix. A Christmas house guest and talented photographer rose at daybreak to catch the morning light and snapped some gorgeous photos, inspiring several of us to get out our own cameras.

However you start the new year, I wish you peace and happiness. I’ll return off and on to share more  musings

Sea smoke drifts around a small Maine island dusted with snow. Photo (c) Karen Hammond

about life on a small Maine island.