A summary of our few days in Maine.
First of all, let me introduce one of the key players:
The Yard
The yard was one of the main(e) (haha!!) reasons I chose this house. I wanted us to be in a place where there could be as much unstructured play as possible after being pretty confined and overscheduled for the last several months. Basically, I want the children to become feral!! 🤪🤪🤪
Our little house/cabin is tucked in the woods, on 40 acres of land, which we have the run of.
There is a tree swing, a small pond and there is a river (Sheepscot river) that meanders through.
Logan was especially delighted to discover that there are lots of frogs in the pond. And the area down by the river is really lovely.
There is also a fire pit that we have taken advantage of on a couple of occasions. When we were making our Maine bucket list, Jonas said that he wanted to learn how to start a fire all by himself. The first time, he got some assistance; the second time, he did it all himself. Hooray!
So, pretty much, this is a heavenly spot.
However…
Tick Protocol
The first day we were here, I went into town to Wal Mart to get some groceries. It is about a 25 minute drive to get into Augusta, a small town of 20,000. Augusta is the 3rd smallest state capitol. (Just a little tidbit for your gee whiz collection)
Also, groceries are EXPENSIVE here: nearly $5 for a gallon of milk, and $12 for a box of 60 eggs!)
While I was at Wal Mart, Jonathan called me and told me that the kids had been playing in the woods, and had come in talking about the spiders that had crawled all over them.
The spiders? Not spiders.
Ticks. And a lot of them.
And unfortunately, Lyme disease is a problem in Maine… Great.
So, while I was at Wal Mart I got some permethrin and some more concentrated bug spray. (This was a good idea anyway, because as we arrived last night, it became clear that mosquitos love Maine. Like, A Lot.)
As the week has progressed, we have become pretty convinced that we must be in a tick hot spot. We found 4 in 4 days. 😱😬🤮😱😩😱🥴😱. It has honestly given me some anxiety.
So, we’ve instituted some pretty strict tick protocols:
-a permethrin treated outfit for each of us (featuring Jonathan’s long church socks)
-Showers after you go play outside
-Stay in the yard, where the grass is cut
-And….Strip searches 😂😂😂
Not necessarily in that order.
So, I don’t think our kids will be able to become quite as feral as we and they had been hoping. Because showering every time you go outside is just annoying. Ticks are the worst 😞😥
We have still tried to make the best of things, and still tried to go outside as much as possible. This really is an idyllic spot other than the ticks.
The Bun Bun
On the first morning that we were here, Jonathan pointed out that there was a cute little bunny out in the front yard.
And he just hung out for a good portion of the day. He just seems to orbit the house. He disappears for a bit. And then a little while later, he reappears.
Clara has gone out to stalk him several times each day. We regularly look out and see her crawling around on the grass trying him to coax him closer with a carrot or lettuce.
He is such a sweetheart. He is obviously a domesticated bunny, first of all his coloring suggests it, but also, he isn’t completely freaked out by us getting close.
By the end of the week, we were holding him and Clara was trying to devise ways to bring him with us.
The Kitchen
The main kitchen in this house is actually in the process of being fixed up. It was supposed to be done before we got here. But life happens, and the countertops are not in and the plumbing is not hooked up.
Fortunately, there is a kitchen downstairs. So, we used it for the first couple of days until the upstairs kitchen was finished.
Epic Thunderstorms & Light
We got to experience a couple of EPIC thunderstorms. They really were so fun.
Also, there are FIREFLIES HERE!!! Though they are rather difficult to photograph. And there don’t seem to be very many. The first few times I saw them, I thought at first that I had just been imagining things.
Also, while we’re on the subject of light. The sun comes up SO EARLY here!
Sunrise is 4:52 am (But it starts getting light at 4:17 am, which can be somewhat problematic for an insomniac like myself… Thank goodness for caffeine 🤓)
Sunset is at 8:29 pm (dark at 9:03)
It’s crazy.
Running amok
Always. Always. Always. We’re just a loud and crazy household sometimes.
Quieter pursuits
Fortunately, there has also been a good deal of calmness and relaxation as well. The twins are napping consistently again and we have also been working on catching up with school.
We won’t be doing a summer break. Having school helps provide a little bit of structure for our unstructured days, and let’s be honest, we didn’t do as much school while we were so busy seeing things in D.C.
So yeah, that pretty much sums up our first few days in Maine: Bunny, Ticks (and a little bit of tick freak out), outside time, and quiet times.
We also spent our first Maine weekend in Bar Harbor, and Acadia National park. But of course, that is another post.
