Rarely does Uncle Jack get to use his favorite word, penultimate, two days in a row.  Yesterday was the penultimate day of September and today is the last day of the penultimate month of his long vacation in Camden. Who knows when this happy concatenation of events will occur again? Maybe next year?  Stay tuned.

      In any case the last two days of September were beauties from beginning to end and the pictures will suggest how Uncle Jack and Mrs. U.J. spent them. They hope you had a pleasant weekend, too.  

      Will the penultimate day of September stretch to encompass everything Uncle Jack and Mrs. U.J. want to do today, that is the question.  The Farmers' Market starts at 9 a.m., the Art in the Park show at 10, the library book sale at 10, the "You Pick-Em" apple sale at the Hope Orchards runs from 9 to 4 and the "Bluegrass Gospel Project" starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Opera House. Somehow they will manage to squeeze it all in but there will be no time for goofing off on this Indian Summer Saturday.

     The weather for the past week has been more summery than summer was. Thursday felt like the warmest day of the year and every air conditioner in Camden (there aren't very many needless to say) was running, much to the delight of the stockholders of Central Maine Power.  The traveling crane at Wayfarer Marine has been busy plucking yachts from the harbor and trucking them off to winter storage but the boat owners must be having second thoughts about their timing.

     The leaves are beginning to turn at a rapid rate and large swathes of Mount Battie are splashed with red and orange and yellow.  Another week or two and the motels will begin to fill up again---with leaf-watchers this time. It's prime time in Maine for sure.

      Have a lovely weekend wherever you are.

     It was a quiet Sunday in Camden---another lovely fall day made for walking and for sitting on the deck overlooking Camden harbor.  Which is where Uncle Jack was this afternoon when a fabulous boat made a turn around the harbor and then parked for an hour or so at the Wayfarer Marine dock across the way.  It was the kind of vessel that immediately sends Uncle Jack to Google to see what he can find out about it.  What he learned was that this was the storied "Aphrodite", one of the most admired motor yachts of the century.  The story of Aphrodite is absolutely amazing and you can read it by clicking on the link below the pictures.

     Uncle Jack and Mrs. U.J. are planning a return trip to Vinalhaven Island tomorrow which will include an overnight stay---sans computer.  His next weblog entry probably won't appear until Wednesday sometime.  Enjoy the respite.

    The first day of the 31st annual gathering of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, otherwise known as "Common Ground", was a resounding success in spite of the unseasonable heat.  Uncle Jack doesn't know if this was the hottest day on record for this event but he can tell you that there were thousands of overdressed people in attendance, including himself, who wished they had worn shorts and T-shirts instead of their sensible fall attire. It must have been close to 75 degrees by early afternoon.

    He and Mrs. U.J. had a delightful time wandering among the food booths and other displays---mostly the food booths--and the fresh organically grown vegetables and fruits they brought home  will provide some great eating for the next few days.  He had such a good time in fact that he almost forgot to take pictures.  Almost. 

      Maine is reputed to have more organic farmers than any other state and each year they all get together at an event called "Common Ground" which is held near the village of Unity, about an hour's drive north of Camden.  Uncle Jack and Mrs. U.J. visited this amazing affair last year when they were in Camden for a few days and had a ball in spite of the fact that it rained on and off the whole time they were there.  Today it's sunny and warm and they can hardly wait to get out there again, if for no other reason than lunch which they will assemble from the delectable offerings of dozens of food purveyors from all over Maine---cheeses, sausages, breads, pastries, fruits, ciders.  Yum. There is much more to Common Ground than food, though, which you can learn more about by going to their excellent website which you can do by clicking on the link below the pictures. Uncle Jack will have pictures of his own tomorrow if he doesn't eat himself into a coma.

     Yesterday was another spectacular fall day which prompted a walk on the mile-long Rockland breakwater.  Always enjoyable.

    Wednesday was another fine fall day ideal for walking so Uncle Jack and Mrs. U.J. decided to explore another neighborhood on foot, this time in Rockport, Camden's sister city.  (There was a time when Rockport was part of Camden but they split for some reason and now they have two sets of selectmen, two police departments, two fire departments, two of everything. Go figure.)

     Rockport is even more beautiful than Camden primarily because it has a larger concentration of rich people's summer homes.  Their estates, established long ago, tend to be very large and well-groomed and exceedingly pleasant for peasants like Uncle Jack to look at and enjoy vicariously. 

     Within the city limits there is a large working farm with a picturesque herd of belted Galloway cows, and an ancient and very beautiful 18-hole golf course with enough water frontage to build hundreds of condominiums if the members wanted to do that . Fortunately they don't need any more money than they already have so it isn't likely they will turn it into another Village at Nags Head. What with the farm and the golf course Rockport seems exceedingly uncrowded.

    Along the way they discovered several places where paths lead down to the waterfront where large flat rocks  provide a perfect place to sit and enjoy the goings-on in Rockport harbor which is smaller than Camden's but no less picturesque.  Lunch on a rock in Rockport is already in their plans for the immediate future.   

     Tomorrow it's off to the village of Unity and "Common Ground", an annual event of great significance in the State of Maine.  Stay tuned.

     Uncle Jack and Mrs. U.J. did get to Vinalhaven Island yesterday as planned and you can read all about it if so inclined by clicking on the Village Soup link below the pictures.  They had a wonderful time and hope to be able to return to Vinalhaven in October sometime.

    The pictures that follow are a few that didn't make it into the Village Soup piece.

     It's another gorgeous day in Camden. Hope it's the same where you are.

        It was 32 degrees outside at 5 this morning and cold enough inside for Uncle Jack to turn on the heat for the first time since early June.  He turned it off again an hour later by which time the sun had begun to pour free heat through the several picture windows in his apartment. By noon, the weatherman says, it will be up to 65 with nary a cloud in the sky----another perfect fall day. The five-day forecast shows nothing but smiley faces through Friday which suggests that Camden, Maine will be a very nice place to be alive and well this week.

    Yesterday (Sunday) was another perfect day for walking which is what Uncle Jack and Mrs. U.J. did in the morning.  One of their favorite destinations is the Wayfarer Marine company's sprawling boatyard across the harbor where there is always something interesting going on.  Wayfarer is the current occupant of a waterfront space that has been used for boat building and repair for well over a century. 

     The present owners of Wayfarer have proposed some changes that have aroused considerable controversy in the town.  They have asked the selectmen to rezone a part of the yard now occupied by boat storage buildings to residential use which would allow the construction of (aargh) condominiums.  The owners say this will allow them to raise money to modernize the remaining part of the boatyard and keep it profitable in the highly competitive business of servicing and repairing multi-million dollar yachts.

     Considerable opposition to this plan has been voiced at numerous public hearings over several months and the proposed zoning changes are scheduled to be voted on by the public in November.  Also on the ballot will be a referendum calling for a six-month moratorium on any zoning changes in Camden which may delay resolution of the issue.

     Up til now at least the deliberative process has been conducted with the utmost civility on both sides but Uncle Jack will be watching to see what happens as crunch time nears. A lot of money is at stake as well as an irreversible change in the nature of the waterfront so considerable heat is likely to develop before it's over.

    Uncle Jack and Mrs. U.J. are taking the ferry to Vinalhaven Island this morning so he had better get a move on. Have a nice week wherever you are.

     As predicted, yesterday was a perfect fall day---sunny and cool with a light breeze sufficient to dislodge leaves from  trees and send them rustling down the streets and sidewalks.  Uncle Jack and Mrs. U.J. seized the opportunity to take a long walk out Chestnut street which starts in the heart of downtown Camden and continues, with a couple of name changes, to the heart of downtown Rockport, such as it is.

    Chestnut is the quintessential small-town New England street---lined with over-arching trees sheltering neatly kept homes and churches, some of them dating to the late 18th century. Walking is sheer pleasure in the almost total absence of vehicular traffic which is mostly confined to nearby Union and Commercial streets where trucks and cars can get where they're going much more rapidly. Sidewalks line Chestnut street most of its length but even where there are none walking is safe and easy. It is a pedestrian's paradise.

    It's also aerobic in places which is a good thing when you're trying to achieve maximum health benefits from a walk.  Chestnut goes up, up and up for a mile or so before it begins to descend rather abruptly to the ancient cemetery which we strolled through before returning home by way of beautiful Bayview street which offers tantalizing glimpses of the sailboat strewn waters of Camden harbor.

     Walks like this in the midst of such beauty can raise disturbing questions in the minds of visitors to Camden, like "Why would anybody want to live anywhere else if they could live here?" These are dangerous thoughts.

         The weatherman says it got down to 40 degrees last night, trees are beginning to shed their leaves and fruit, and patches of color are beginning to appear on the otherwise green face of Mt. Battie. It looks and feels to Uncle Jack like fall is already here although the autumnal equinox is still more than a week away.

      What this means, among other things, is that his lengthy idyll in this woodsy, watery paradise called Maine is nearing an end---for this year anyway.  He still has six weeks to go, though, during which the locals will celebrate the end of summer with some splendid festivities like "Common Ground", an annual gathering of organic farmers from all over Maine and New England in nearby Unity, and "Maine Faire", a celebration of Maine-produced foods which will attract thousands of gourmands (and more than a few gluttons) to Camden this weekend.

     The major tourist draw during this time of year will be, of course, the changing of the leaves.  While the locals are putting up their boats and stockpiling wood for fireplaces tens of thousands of visitors from all over will take to the back roads to ogle the fall colors of the Maine woods.  While Uncle Jack is looking forward to his return to the beaches of South Nags Head he won't mind waiting until after the leaf show has run its course.

      There is much to be said for being jobless and healthy.

          It rained all day yesterday in Camden and it's raining again this morning which has severely restricted Uncle Jack's ability to get out and see what's going on around here. Consequently he doesn't really have the makings of a fresh weblog entry this morning.  He did put together an assortment of pictures for the "Village Soup" which, if you are really desperate for something to help pass the time, you can view by clicking on the link below.  

     If you haven't done it yet this might be a good day to check out the new online newspaper "Island Free Press" which you will find at www.islandfreepress.org/index.html  It looks like another excellent source of info about Hatteras Island affairs.  

     Have a nice day wherever you are.   

     As Garrison Keillor would say, it's been a quiet week-end in Camden.  Well not entirely quiet; he and Mrs. U.J. and their guest, Mrs. Tate, did go to hear a New Orleans band called "Buckwheat Zydeco" Saturday night.  He was expecting zydeco music of which he is tolerant if not fond but what he got was flat out rock 'n roll played at a decibel level that could dissolve granite.  Fortunately he was able to escape to the sanctuary of the Mini at the intermission where he listened to an excellent jazz station for an hour until the alleged musicians in the Strand Theater finally stopped brutalizing their audience.  If any further evidence of the decline of the west is required the fact that "Buckwheat Zydeco" has twice been nominated for Grammie awards should prove it once and for all.

     Boat activity in the harbor has slowed somewhat in the wake of last week-end's windjammer extravaganza. A few more of the overgrown fume-spewing rental bathtub toys have come and gone but no sailboats of note have arrived since the beautiful Carl Linne was hauled last week. It actually rained most of Sunday which put damper on the usual week-end sailing by local boat owners and It is raining again today which will no doubt keep Uncle Jack and his trusty Sony Cybershot inside.

    He was delighted to learn that tropical storm what's-her-name was a fizzle.  Time is running out on this year's hurricane season and that is good news for everybody except maybe Home Depot stockholders.

     Friday was another glorious fall day in Camden, perfect for a cruise out into Penobscot Bay on a windjammer.  Mrs. U.J. and her guest, the nationally-known, prize-winning children's book author Suzanne Tate of Nags Head, North Carolina chose the schooner "Olad" for their trip this morning.  Actually they chose the schooner "Lazy Jack" but for some reason "Lazy Jack" did not sail this morning which is why Uncle Jack failed to capture their departure on video this morning.  By the time he found out which boat they were on it was too late. You can take his word for it, though.  They went out on the Olad and had a wonderful time.

     There was lots of activity at the Wayfarer boatyard yesterday involving some distinguished yachts.  Uncle Jack got pictures of some of the action which he has posted below. 

      Friday evening they treated themselves to dinner at the famous Lobster Pound restaurant in Lincolnville Beach, a little waterfront town about six miles up the road from Camden.  The Lobster Pound has been in business in the same building and operated by the same family for over 80 years.  Their secret?  Excellent food at a reasonable price with good service and a lovely view of Penobscot Bay from nearly every table.  Nothing to it. Even locals eat there.

     Once again the Maine sun has risen gloriously into a sky containing just enough clouds to produce a visual extravaganza.  Uncle Jack and his little Sony labored mightily to record it and the partially satisfactory results are viewable below.

    Yesterday was another near-perfect entry in the cavalcade of  flawless weather that has marched through mid-coast Maine for over a week now.  There was much to see yesterday, too, as several spectacular yachts arrived in Camden harbor and Wayfarer Marine undertook to pluck one of the largest from the water and deposit it high and dry on blocks for minor repairs to its hull. Uncle Jack made a series of four short videos of the entire fascinating procedure and put them up on YouTube for those who are interested in this sort of thing.  If you would like to check them out go to YouTube.com and type "Carl Linne Gets a Lift I" into the search bar.  You should be able to find "II", "III" and "IV" in the same way.  Or you can simply click on the YouTube link below to take you to the first video.

     The subject is the magnificent yacht "Carl Linne" which some readers will recognize as the un-Latinized form of the name of the great Swedish taxonomer and scientist Carolus Linnaeus. When it was launched in Holland in 2003 it was named "Christoffel's Lighthouse" by the first owner but last year it was sold (to an Italian according to Google) who renamed it for reasons unknown.  The present skipper is a Mexican gentleman named Rodrigo Olson who should feel right at home on a boat named for a famous Swede. (Uncle Jack's bosom swells with pride, too).  "Carl Linne" is already well known and greatly admired in yachting circles and it was a thrill to watch her being gently lifted from her element yesterday by the highly skilled workers at Wayfarer Marine.

    Uncle Jack has been keeping an eye on that storm out in the Atlantic which appears to pose a possible threat to the beaches of South Nags Head.  He would appreciate it if readers would keep him informed if it does eventually make its presence felt. 

    Have a great day wherever you are.

     The lucky residents of mid-coast Maine, Uncle Jack and Mrs. U.J. among them, are continuing to enjoy a spate of spectacularly lovely weather that started five days ago and shows no sign of ending any time soon. The sun rose into a cloudless sky at 6:03 this morning and the temperature is expected to rocket up into the mid-60's by noon.

     To paraphrase Nancy Sinatra "these days are made for walking" and that is how they have spent much of their time this week.  Camden itself is made for walking with lots of ups and downs, most of them fairly gentle, and much to look at and enjoy.

     Uncle Jack thought the harbor traffic would slow after Windjammer Weekend and Labor Day but he was wrong.  The mega-yachts are stacked up like cordwood at Wayfarer Marine as well as at the town docks just as they were in July and August.  Sooner or later the cooler weather will take its toll but right now the cruising season seems to be in full swing.

     Yesterday's sunrise was so incredibly beautiful that he made up a photo montage of it for the Village Soup, the local online newspaper.  You can access it by clicking on the link below. The pictures herewith were taken in the last couple of days either from the deck or on our daily walks. 

     Uncle Jack is trying to digest the news that the Outer Banks is soon to be anointed with the Starbucks imprimatur.  Apparently the bean counters at that ubiquitous chain have ascertained that the critical mass of fools willing to part with four bucks for a cup of coffee has been reached in the Southern Shores area.  Could they possibly be right?  He doesn't want to think about it.

    Have a nice day wherever you are.

     Mother Nature smiled benevolently on Windjammer Weekend this year by providing three almost perfect days for the many and varied planned events to take place.  (She must be in a very good humor because the forecast for the next four days shows only smiley faces day and night with highs in the mid-70's).

     For Uncle Jack the highlight of yesterday's nautical extravaganza was the boatbuilding competition in which teams of contestants of all ages are given time and materials to construct plywood vessels which they then race around a course laid out in the harbor. It was a joy to watch the enthusiasm and joie de vivre of the competitors as they plunged, first into the boatbuilding and later into the water.  The race was not a pretty sight but it produced a barrel of laughs and a very exciting finish in which a mother-daughter team beat out a couple of grown men (well maybe not fully grown) from the USS Oak Hill (LSD 51).  The whole operation was simultaneously hilarious and heartwarming as the pictures can only suggest.

    Windjammer Weekend is over for another year but Uncle Jack is already hoping that he can be in Camden for the 14th next year.  It was a blast.

    He hopes you all are enjoying a happy Labor Day weekend wherever you are.  He is personally looking forward to not going back to work tomorrow for the first time in many, many years. He be retired and it's wonderful.

     The first day of Windjammer Weekend, Camden's annual salute to the ships that have played such an important role in the town's history, started in thick fog that enveloped the harbor at dawn and ended with a short but impressive burst of fireworks at 9 p.m.  The afternoon parade of Maine's finest "tall ships" into the crowded harbor was an unforgettable sight for landlubbers like Uncle Jack and Mrs. U.J.

    The celebration continues today and tomorrow with numerous events on the town landing and in Waterfront Park including a boatbuilding contest, music concerts and much more. The clouds and fog of yesterday have blown away and it's a beautiful day for round two. Pictures at 11.