Boats gather off Frenchboro to memorialize and remember the late David Lunt. PHOTO: PETER RALSTON

Working Waterfront

An island patriarch is laid to rest

Dean Lunt, David’s youngest son, presided over the solemn event, with spiritual comfort provided by the Maine Seacoast Mission pastor who arrived on the Sunbeam. Following the committal in the small cemetery that the Lunt family had donated to the town, guests boarded a solemn procession of lobster boats... SEE MORE

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Hotchkiss’ latest explores theme of isolation

Mildred finds she enjoys listening as the women talk, seeing their conversation as knitting them together while their actual knitting created nets… SEE MORE

Colby Adolphsen with “Harbor Town” PHOTO: COURTESY COLBY ADOLPHSEN

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Colby Adolphsen’s LEGO harbor town

The detail is astounding, from a wall of hardware store tools and a diner grill to a lobster boat in drydock. Fishermen work on the wharf, a girl walks a dog, a boy fishes off the bridge. Vintage dollhouse stickers provided the aesthetic Adolphsen wanted for the signage: “Town Talk Bread,” “Burdan’s Ice Cream,” “Princes Lobster,” etc. SEE MORE

A view of the harbor, framed by trees. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

When life gives you a library

Now the library is poised for a new chapter. It holds over 15,000 volumes and finds its home in a spacious and modern facility that would never have come to be without the 2008 tragedy. After many successful years as “just a library,” we feel like we can dream bigger. SEE MORE

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Overheard at the bird feeder

Two goldfinches—a couple, clearly—were enjoying a dinner engagement at my feeder, as they often did this time of day. Clearly absorbed in a blossoming romance, etiquette and civilized consumption—one seed at a time—were paramount. It was a delightful thing to observe, adorable and very peaceful. This duo had been together… SEE MORE

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Thanks for the gift of island life

My cousin Gail, the eldest of five of us, spoke at my grandmother’s funeral in 1992. What I recall most vividly is her saying, “Without Nanny, we wouldn’t have Islesford.” I’ve had the privilege of spending summers on little Cranberry Island, also known as Islesford, my whole life, as did… SEE MORE

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Coastal aquifers face new challenges

Salty wells are not new to the Maine coast, but the problem is getting more attention in recent years. All aquifers are impacted by fluctuations in precipitation, particularly the big annual swings we've had recently in Maine with the entire state experiencing drought conditions in the summer/fall of 2024, following… SEE MORE

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Cake and catastrophe

Hot muggy weather is hell on buttercream. Still, a lot of island-destination weddings and other grand events are planned for summer. Special cakes to mark nuptials, anniversaries, and birthdays, carefully constructed, decorated and set out to be admired before being carved up for consumption, are so vulnerable this time of… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Tick… tick… boom

I had spent the day online, taking a necessary but predictably dull class. As soon as we logged out for the day, I gathered my shoes, my hat, and my kid, and we went for a walk. First, we walked down the hill to check on the vernal pool I'd… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Art appreciation

The striking thing about these poems is their down-to-earth, conversational atmosphere, couched nonetheless in precise diction and tightly made speech rhythms heightened into the music of poetry. SEE MORE