Taken by frequent summer visitor Larry Vanier, this captivating photo of Barney Cove Lobster has made appreciative rounds on local social media, and likely beyond. Summer visitors are often looking for a way to purchase seafood right off the boat so, good news! You can buy directly from Barney Cove Lobster owner Garet Beal at 7 Wharf Road, Beals. Call 207-598-8306 for more info. Thank you to Jonesport’s Peabody Memorial Library Director Heidi Hinckley for requesting Mr. Vanier’s permission. Where else can we buy our local lobster directly? Let me know by responding to this email.

Maine’s aversion to People From Away – PFAs, for short – is the stuff of legend. It ranges from tongue-in-cheek ribbing, in that signature dry Maine wit, to genuine outrage, depending on the subject and, even more so, depending on the behavior of said PFAs. 

One notable exception to the PFA rule is the affection with which Mainers look forward to the return of their summer friends.

Many are the summer gatherings where I’ve been introduced to someone with a full recounting of where they live the rest of the year, where their camp is, when they visit, and, if applicable, when their grandparents visited, too. 

Even in winter, summer people and their homes are reference points for directions, as in, “You know, past the Jacobs house. They live in Virginia, their grandmother was a Sprague. They’re up every June.”

There’s something magical about these seasonal relationships that come together just when one side is enjoying the glories of a hard-won summer, and the other is on vacation. 

We were once summer people, too. I recall the delight of being remembered from year to year by our favorite local businesses, then the Fat Cat Deli (no longer in business, sigh!) and the Machias Hardware Store, also no more, but living on in spirit as the wonderful Machias River General Store.

So last week when a local restaurant owner casually mentioned the delayed return of a summer family, regulars at the restaurant, I thought, “Lucky them.” 

People waiting to see them in not one but two places.

It’s too soon for data on this year’s tourist season, but if the out-of-state plates in our parking lots are any indication, the season we are having is in full swing. I’m no local, with only 12 years under my belt, but even I can spot my fellow PFAs from a mile away in the grocery store, searching for the right aisle because this isn’t their only grocery store, buying up all the baguettes, prepping for special vacation dinners.

Sometimes getting home from Hannaford takes longer because, coming from points south, they’re used to driving on roads with shoulders, or street lights. Sometimes in July, it’s harder to find parking at Roque Bluffs, or Jasper Beach. But I never mind, because they remind me that what we have is worth a visit from Connecticut, Minnesota, or even Alaska.

And we get to live here.

Lucky us.

Machias Town Manager Bill Kitchen is seen driving this year’s Grand Marshals for the 2024 Fourth of July Parade. John and Carole Ann Sprague were honored for their many contributions to the local community and showered with support after a fire recently damaged their Marshfield home. Also in a seat of honor was Machias Memorial High School Principal Nicole Case. If you’d like to watch this year’s parade, click the photo above and then fast forward to about the 15-minute mark. Next year I’ll know better than to stand downtown and start rolling when the parade leaves the high school! Photo courtesy Bill Kitchen

One sneaky way to get a photo with your children. Here I was in Eastport last week, on the Fourth of July, posing near some of our favorite young people (including the Dedmon kids) and the USS Forest Sherman. Eastport has hosted U.S. Navy Ships on the Fourth for over 100 years and is well-known to be the largest Fourth of July Celebration in the entire state of Maine. But it has good company across Washington County with other robust, days-long celebrations also taking place in Lubec, Cutler, and Jonesport-Beals. Click the photo above to see other photos from the Fourth in Eastport. Thank you to new friend Fred Thomas for hosting our parade viewing from his perfect front porch!

Thank you to Jamie Moore of Machias for sharing his family’s recipe for garlic scape pesto, a seasonal treat enjoyed by garlic growers everywhere. Moore and his family produce and preserve so much of their own food and then share mouth-watering photos online, so I knew they were the ones to ask. I love scape pesto, and I also like to dice them into sauteed vegetables, or blend them into a vinaigrette.

If you didn’t plant your own garlic last fall, you can reliably find scapes for purchase at The Machias Marketplace. Call first to be sure - 207-255-0605. If you’re on the eastern edge of the county, I’d check with C&E Feeds and General Market. They seem to have some great stuff. You can call them at 207-454-3666.

In 1776, a band of men from Machias traveled to Canada to fight in a battle that, if won, would have made Nova Scotia the 14th Colony. Last month, the New York-based journalist who wrote it came to Machias and we spent the afternoon together talking about border towns, Machias history, and life in rural regions, then enjoying a wonderful tour of Burnham Tavern with Barbara Maloy. This piece in Canada’s National Post is the result of Mr. Hanc’s extensive research and includes photos of special pieces in the tavern. It’s over 4,000 words. Do your best.

One of my best friends knew I would love this article in the New York Times, countering the differing, mostly disparaging, representations of rural America in academic research. I especially love this point, highlighting some unique positives: “Rural residents tend to focus less on their own economic circumstances and more on their community’s prosperity,” writes the author, after interviewing Colby political science professor Nick Jacobs. “Even individuals who are thriving are attuned to whether their community as a whole is being left behind…”

One of my best local summer friends (and best friends in general!) is from Freeport, where she’ll be hosting this incredible women’s retreat with another woman from Freeport. It’s happening in September, details at the link!

Our incredible event season is in full swing now. The best way for me to share is with a series of photos here. Hope you find something to enjoy! You’ll find them organized by town. Have more to share? Send them my way by replying to this email.

Better start practicing to be part of Milbridge Days’ Codish Relay on July 27! Or, can anyone really prepare to run carrying a giant codfish? Let me know. Details are in the schedule above. Photo courtesy Richard Bondurant