It's Not Snowing on Peaks Island!

At long last, the snow has ceased falling on our heads, the wind has died down, the streets have been plowed and the shoveling is just about done. Today, Thursday, is a wonderful Maine Day complete with sun and no wind; perfect!! The sky is cloudless and that certain deep blue that only comes right after a winter storm in Maine. The pictures are from a walk I took around the Centennial Street neighborhood yesterday so the clouds were still present but maybe later today after some more shoveling I can get out and try to capture some of the sun's effects. Today is a good peaceful day for the islanders.

Downfront in January

Between storms, Bob Hannigan, owner of Hannigan's Market, managed to get a truck load of groceries out to the island. Of course, it was Tuesday, the normal day for fresh produce to show up so everyone went grocery shopping before the next storm. Nothing makes a storm more bearable than a refrigerator full of eggs, milk, ice cream, Allen's coffee brandy and Bob's fresh baked bread.

Of course the area around Hannigan's Market looks a little different than an August summer day but at least you can find a parking spot. With some plowing still uncompleted, Hannigan's truck took up a couple of spaces but who cares. His famous (or infamous) wording of "If We Don't Have It, You Don't Need It" absolutely still works for me. Says it all for the spirit required to live on an island. Enjoy the downfront scenes.

The Ying and Yang of Winter on Peaks Island

What a wonderful set of days we just had as respite from a Maine winter. Days in the 30's, no wind and quite a bit of sun. Just an excellent time to sit on the deck in the lee of a slight northwesterly breeze and soak up the sun while listening to the last storm's snow melt. A nice change of pace while working on my tan----so to speak.

I went to bed last night with the weather forecast being some light snow with no more than a two inch accumulation. As usual, the professionals were more than a tich off in their projections since more than a few locations wound up with about a foot of snow, many towns are holding parking bans and Peaks Island earned about 6-8 inches of the white stuff. It was tough to be more precise since the winds were pretty strong so some parts of our yard were pretty barren and other parts had 2-3 foot drifts. The storm finally wound down around 3pm so the shoveling has commenced. Here's a few pics from both sides of the equation. Take your pick of which kind of day you'd rather have.

A Calm Day on Peaks Island

I had to go uptown yesterday on the 2:45 boat to run some errands before meeting old friends for dinner. The temp was in the high 20's, the wind was down and the sun was shining. For Peaks in January, it was a "balmy" day.

The Bay was calm, the ducks were out scrounging for an afternoon snack and the island was peaceful. Not many people hanging around waiting for the boat but quite a few were returning to the island. All in all, it was a pretty good respite before the next storm. Enjoy the calm of January.

New Year's Eve-Peaks Island Style

For many years now, New Year's Eve has simply been a quiet evening with a good movie and spending five minutes watching Times Square and being very thankful I'm not there. This year was a little different.

Some island friends planned a small gathering focused around a progressive evening of appetizers, entree and desert at three different homes. About fifteen islanders gathered at each location and spent a hearty four hours enjoying each other's company. Some people dropped out and some were added along the way but most made all three stops. At 11:40 we made off for Whaleback on the backshore and proceeded to celebrate the New Year Peaks Island style.

Steve Richard constructed his very own ball made out of island dingleberry, added some lights complete with its own battery, constructed a lengthy 2x4 complete with a hangman's attachment and pulley, raised it up and awaited the magic hour of midnight. Of course, being true islanders, everyone seemed to have a different time showing on their watches so at approximately midnight, the countdown began, the ball was lowered and a hearty cheer erupted to greet the New Year. A bottle of champagne was cracked and passed among the participants for a quick swig, an out of tune with made up different words for Auld Ang Syne was sung, many hugs and handshakes were exchanged and within five minutes everyone made a run for the warmth of their respective homes. It did represent the very best of the different life we lead on Peaks Island during the winter months. It certainly reminded me of the old television show "Northern Exposure". All we were missing was a catapult. There was a potatoe cannon in Steve's trunk but the potatoes seemed to have gone into the potatoe salad eaten during the evening so it remained unfired. Here's a few pics from a very special New Year's Eve. Best to all for the new decade. May it be a good one for you and yours.