Fortunate today to be writing this from a boathouse with the water lapping along the sides, surface ripples of the current coming in arrhythmically, creating random fluid patterns as tides begin their descent. The sights and sounds of this place, rocky shores, elevated, dancing seaweed, pines, glowing maples, birches, mosses and lichen on the terra firma, a beauty worth tending and preserving, for once tainted or torn up by its roots, it can not be restored to this wild wonder. Despite the showers of late our portion of southern coastal Maine between Portland and Bar Harbor is still under intense extreme drought. The fall outlook from the National Weather Service calls for above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation.

The entire state of Maine continues to be under at least moderate drought. More than 1.3 million Mainers now live in drought areas. Maine experienced its most damaging drought between 1999 and 2002, during which an estimated 17,000 private wells ran dry, and farmers lost more than $32 million in crop yield. More recently, Maine experienced significant droughts in both 2016 and 2020-2022, with widespread impacts to water supply, agriculture, and recreation. So, as the seasonal water gets turned off on the 15th, let us all be conservative with our usage and be careful with fire. Despite the bustle dying down there are still several things to be involved in, here are a few.

At the Memorial Library, 1032 Hendricks Hill Road, you have several activities. On Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 a.m. you have the Coffee Table. Pull up a chair to this welcoming place and chime in with the conversation, laughter, jokes and songs, there are also baked goods and warm beverages. Thursdays from 2 to 4 learn and play Mah Jongg, 2026 cards are available, as well as tiles, but if you have your own bring them along. Artwork by Suzanne Stokes continues to be on display. Her show, Changing Tides, is nautically based and uses handmade paper, seaweed and embossing to capture the wonder of the oceans around us. On Thursday, Oct. 22, beginning at 6:30 p.m., an Author Talk with Greg Smith “What Really Scares You,” an interactive discussion and program to delve into the psychology behind horror literature. He will read from his own new book, “Prayers For Evil,” and reference several other well-known horror writers, Poe, King and Jackson, if we are lucky, he will tell a few ghost stories of his own. Then looking ahead to Thursday, Oct. 29, beginning at 6 p.m., “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,” the biggest little movie of all time – a notorious horror film that was banned in at least 14 countries. But what if it was more than just that? What if it was also one of the most thematically rich films of all time? Those are the questions that Dr. James M. Kopf wants to pose following a screening of the film, where he will provide a brief background on the production and some common interpretations before opening the floor to audience questions. So come to the Southport Island debut of a horror classic for thrills, chills, and cinema history! James M. Kopf is a scholar, author, and translator currently based on Southport.

Many of you will want to keep Spooktober going with a joint venture being hosted by the Southport Memorial Library, SIA, and Friends of Southport School on Friday Oct. 30, 4:30-7:00 and 7:30-9 p.m.  This Spooktober Storytime and Movie Night will be held at the Southport Central School Field and features storytime, crafts, pumpkin painting, pizza, popcorn, a screening of The Boxtrolls and then an adult film at 7:30. This event is open to all of the Southport community. 

Another joint venture is Preserving Antique Treasures, Friday, Oct. 16, 3-5 p.m. at the old Town Hall at the Boothbay Railway Village. The Friends of the Southport Historical Society and the Boothbay Region Historical Society will bring professional conservator Barbara Moore to share tips on preserving the treasures that tell your family story. For more details email: info@boothbayhistorical.org or call 207-633-0820. 

You can begin to register for the next Fused Glass Workshop to be held at The Barn on Saturday, Oct. 24, 10-noon. In this one you will be creating a trivet to use with all those hot plates you will soon be bringing to the table as the holiday season approaches. You’ll learn how to cut glass for your piece and then your finished work will be fired in the instructor’s kiln and ready for pick up the following week. The Barn is open Wednesday-Saturday 10-5 and Sunday 10-3, it is the meeting place for the Community Knitting Group on Wednesdays from 2 to 4.

The General Store hours are: Closed Monday, Tuesday-Saturday 8-6 and Sunday 9-3, though they do seem to fluctuate a bit, so check their FB page or call before you make the trip for your morning boost, yummy lunch, sweet fix, or your prepared dinner.

I have already begun to miss the abundance of flowers along the byways I walk, though a few hardy ones remain I now gaze up for color and among the bushes, where winterberry and roses are bursting with red berries and hips, that along with the cold breezes mixed with the smell of wood smoke certainly let me know we have moved to mid-autumn already. Layer up and enjoy the sun which is still pretty strong, and May Peace Be With You All.