From Yankee July 1986 This is about a man called Nuge and his wife Patty and a tiny slice of the Maine wilderness they claimed as their own. For nearly 50 years on Chamberlain Lake their names ran together — Nugenpatty — like one of the melodious Indian names for these waters. It is an […]
trees
“Nobody is a better landscaper than nature,” states Raina Weber, dirt-streaked and beaming, from her Housatonic, Massachusetts, native-plant nursery. It’s hard to believe that this hardworking young woman, executive director of the nonprofit Project Native, dropped out of high school and ran away to Hawaii, where she supported herself as a caretaker and by selling […]
Magazine
Treetop Retreat: Home Projects
Project: Backyard Tree House Jeannie and Gus Merwin’s backyard is 14 acres of New Hampshire woodland. “Peaceful” is the word the Merwins use to describe the way they feel when perched in their new tree house. The east window looks out on a cascading brook and waterfall. From the other windows there are views of […]
L.L. Bean: 4:48 a.m. It’s nearly 5 a.m. and you’re standing at the gateway to Maine’s North Woods. Well, actually you’re wandering through the hunting and fishing annex of the vast L.L. Bean retail empire in Freeport, joined by bleary-eyed, coffee-fueled hunters who have been driving all night from Connecticut and New York and have […]
Magazine
Wreath Sale: A Circle for Life
Christmas lights twinkle in a greenhouse in Tiverton, Rhode Island. People haul unwieldy stacks of evergreens from car trunks and the backs of pickups and station wagons through the frosty night. The greenhouse at Manchester Tree & Landscaping pulsates with conviviality while pruning shears snap to the Supremes’ Christmas Collection. It is the night of […]
Homes
Who Was Rufus Porter?
Most people think of Rufus Porter as the itinerant muralist who traveled New England from the early 1820s to about 1845. His vivid landscapes are characterized by rural and coastal images and the open brushstrokes used to achieve his signature feathery trees. Porter’s art is so closely identified with the region that he has achieved […]
The leaves on my blueberry bushes and crab apple trees are tattered. I notice lots of inch-long green caterpillars on the branches. What can I do to stop this damage? — D.S., Hanson, MA The leaf damage you describe is likely caused by the winter moth. This European pest has just recently become established in […]
Maine
What the Locals Know
Searching through her grandfather’s attic, local graphic designer Seania McCarthy discovered a clipping about a deserted village in the heart of Cape Ann called Dogtown Common (or Commons). A prosperous farming and mill community in the 1600s and 1700s, it was finally abandoned, literally, to the dogs in the mid-19th century. Now she, partner Dee […]
If you were planning to move to a town in the immediate Boston area, Winchester would have to be one of the top choices on your list. It’s a town known for its great schools, quality community life, and fine (and, sure, expensive) homes, and of course, it’s an easy 15- to 20-minute commute to […]
Winter brings with it an apprehension, a raised expectation. We consult the almanacs and listen to the prognosticators. Never mind that they are often wrong. We always want to know what to expect, and hope we are ready. We expect snow. And plenty of it. My preparations begin in late fall. I remove the screens […]
Not long ago, while watching from my office window the fireman putting up lights on the town Christmas tree here in Dublin, New Hampshire, I began wondering if perhaps New England might lay claim to the very first Christmas tree. Well, the first American Christmas tree. (It is well established that the use of the […]
The New England language is probably easier to learn than one of the numerous New England accents. But like English itself, there are few rules. As soon as you’ve identified a rule, you discover more exceptions than examples. For instance, you might hear a Maine man say he intends to go gunnin’ for partridge that […]