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A brief early evening rain shower on Tuesday, Aug. 1, paid dividends with rainbows all across central Washington County, including this vivid shot clearly pointing to a pot of gold in Bucks Harbor. For more rainbow photos, stay tuned to our Facebook page. Photo by David Craven

Not writing for two weeks means I missed my chance to title an email “Heat.”

Across Washington County, friends are reporting nighttime lows in the 40s and, in some cases, the 30s. Yesterday my neighbor announced that fall has officially begun. 

On August 3rd.

In the south, they’d pay good money for these temperatures, but I count on a few weeks of muggy sunshine to fuel my love of winter, not to mention to fuel my vegetable garden, which has yet to produce even one zucchini. Usually, by August, I’ve produced at least a few torpedo-grade squash.

My garden may be slower than most. Several farms around the region are producing gangbusters, like Pen and Cob Farm in Pembroke, which offers not only gorgeous veggies and flowers but meat and eggs for sale at the farm, located at 253 Leighton Point Road.

The stand at Bumblebee Farm in Machias is the first of two you can hit with a leisurely August drive up Broadway / Route 192. Photo courtesy Bumblebee Farm

Two farm stands make a summer afternoon’s drive up Route 192 extremely worthwhile. Leaving Machias on Broadway, which becomes Route 192, you’ll first find the farm stand of Bumblebee Farm on the left-hand side, featuring flowers, beautiful artwork, vegetables, and plants.  

Sunflowers are in full bloom at Bittersweet Farm in Northfield this month. The flowers are grown in Wesley, too. You can follow the farms on Facebook here. Photo courtesy Renee Fleurent

Carry on northward to reach Bittersweet Farms at 192 & Smith Landing Road in Northfield, where they sell herbs, baked goods, potatoes, greens, soaps, potted perennials, and, yes, wild blueberries. The stand is open Tuesdays through Sundays, and you’ll find fresh bouquets for sale Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Gardener Renee Fleurent will happily make bouquets to order, too.

If you happen to be driving through Machias between 8 a.m. and noon today, Friday, Aug. 4, Bittersweet Farm will be set up at the Machias Farmer’s Market on the western edge of the Machias dike with a “Bouquet Bar.”

After hitting the farm stands, you could swing out the Kennebec Road and enjoy coffee and pastries at Machias’ newest cafe, La Laiterie, stylishly situated in the former milking shed of Schoppee Farm.

A new cafe has quickly become a popular and convivial hangout in the Kennebec District of Machias. La Laiterie is open Thursday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is located at 313 E. Kennebec Road, Machias. Photos by SCD, Bill Kitchen

You’ll find farm produce there, too. The cafe is the work of talented Chef Ross Florance and features gourmet coffees and French-inspired pastries and bread, with a side of gorgeous views out every window and doorway. The cafe is open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Thursday through Saturday.

You will not believe the baked goods.

Last week was an eventful one around the county. Milbridge Days went off with a bang, drawing thousands of people for live music, a parade, and fun summer games with a Downeast twist, like the codfish races (think egg-and-spoon race, but without the spoon, and with a giant fish.)

Last week I helped to judge an art show at the new Milbridge Theater. The artwork will be auctioned off when the theater hosts its first official event next Saturday, Aug. 12. Maine comedian Tim Sample will take the stage for the inaugural show, you can buy tickets here.

Last Saturday, Liberty Hall in Machiasport held its annual open day for the public which included guided conversations about the role of civic halls in Washington County and tours of the historic town hall that once held public suppers, town meetings, and basketball games, too. Black and white photo courtesy Town of Machiasport, color photo by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Wild Blueberry Weekend runs Aug. 5-6 and will open up many local blueberry fields to curious — and hungry — visitors. In our neck of the woods, make plans to visit Smithereen Farm in Pembroke, or the Blueberry Research Station in Jonesboro, or Welch Farm in Roque Bluffs, where Hubert Francis, a member of the Mi'kmaq Tribe will be performing a Sunrise Blessing on August 5, at 5:15 a.m.

The Machias Wild Blueberry Festival is on for Friday through Sunday, Aug. 18-20, but the fun begins even earlier with this year’s highly-anticipated return of the blueberry musical! You can buy tickets for that here. And don’t miss Porter Memorial Library’s annual book sale, which will once again feature a special Friday night preview sale!

The Washington County Fair, sponsored by the Pembroke Trotting Association, will happen on Saturday, Aug. 26 this year. A classic summer country fair.

The Machias Fiber Festival, where I make sure to buy myself lots of birthday presents, will happen this year on Saturday, Sept. 9, at the Elm Street Elementary School in East Machias. Last year it drew hundreds of people from all over the state, and some from as far as Massachusetts.

Hey hey, it’s August! That means round hay bales appearing along the shores of Little Kennebec Bay. And there are other lovely — and delicious — things happening in the Kennebec District this month, too. Photo by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

At Hannaford, a WWII veteran, asking a passing vendor for help getting something from the bottom shelf.

“I can get down, but I can’t get back up,” he said, then, “Thank you, sir. You are a gentleman and a scholar! There aren’t many of us left.”