SeaCat’s Rest is the ideal spot for winter visitors to Acadia who may be looking for a year ’round cabin or cottage.  We were made aware of this recently when we had an inquiry from someone who tried to find an oceanside cabin only to discover most places are buttoned up ’till spring or summer. Chances are, these summer cottages would be drafty and cold anyway, since they weren’t built with four seasons in mind. Our apartment is built with double exterior walls, south (ocean) facing windows for maximum solar gain and two sources of heat.  As I write this, on November 8, our solar tank is filled with 80 gallons of 125 degree water from our rooftop collectors.

The apartment is always heated, so you will never encounter icy surprises. Also,  we don’t allow our cats in the apartment ever, so there are no allergy issues or funky odors.  Winter days can be quite bright and beautiful. The low sun angle bounces off the water and actually shines on the ceiling to chase away the winter blues. Should a power failure occur, we have  a standby generator and plenty of firewood.

People visit in the winter for a variety of reasons. One guest is coming from Wisconsin to interview a famous area resident for her graduate study. Others come to visit family or for house hunting. Our proximity to Main Coast Memorial Hospital,  MDI Hospital and Jackson Lab make us  convenient for job interviewees or temporary workers.  Finally, some come just to get away and see the Maine coast in its winter glory!

We are thankful for the visitors requiring our lodging and leaving us with good thoughts of Acadia and Bar Harbor. Somehow when the wind starts to blow the yellow and russet leaves off the trees, I’m comforted by the thought of the bounty of food and local products that are tucked away for winter in New England.

I’ve also just returned from a Halloween wedding, and a new baby in the family. Times to remember with handmade gifts from New England. If you are like me, I search while on trips for something special to remember the places I’ve been. Sometimes it’s from nature, like the osage oranges on my counter. Often it’s a handmade gift from Maine. I was fortunate to find a handmade baby blanket for my new grandneice at Swans Island Blanket in Northport Maine. Something that will be treasured and handed down for generations. The sheep are raised on islands just off MDI and the wool processed right here. Hand loomed in Northport, with natural colors and dyes, the blankets remind me that you too may be interested in what you can bring back from your visit to New England.

New England, famous for its work ethic and pride in craftsmanship has many treasures for you to find and take back home with you. Swell company in Parsonsfield Maine makes wool stockings, beeswax candles from 2 Note Botanical Perfumery in Portland, Linen towels from Hallowell Maine, Brahms/Mount Towels, a classic shave set from Prospect Harbor Soap Co.

But what really makes the season special and a local secret is the many many local craft shows that happen each and every weekend. Local folks, selling handmade goods for the holidays. It fills the day with small delights. While some might prefer a shopping expedition to the big city for the holidays, I like visits to out of the way halls and gyms to search for handmade items that can be enjoyed just because they are unique. Last year I found a local knitter at the Lamoine craft fair to knit a special replacement hat for someone who lost their favorite. There is a Maine Craft Fair in Bangor this weekend, one of the many to follow. In Ellsworth next weekend— The Gifted Hand Fine Art, Craft and Gift Show is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 13, and Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Holiday Inn in Ellsworth.

This is the first year we have opened our lodging during the winter months, and we have 4 groups of folks coming so far. Whether for family, business or just a quiet get-a-way, you can have a good time around the fire in any season here in Maine.

Bar Harbor Maine has lots of blue skies and plenty of sunshine and The Maine Solar Tour proves that.   Each year you can tour many of the local homes that feature solar water and power generation in October as part of the national solar tour.    This year it happened on October 3rd.

Right here in Lamoine too we get plenty of sun, at Latitude 45 (the same as the Riviera).   So it was no surprise that there were 6 featured home on the Maine Solar tour in our neighborhood.

SeaCat’s Rest has 100 square feet of solar collectors which help us heat our water for both showers in the summer and our heating system in the winter.

For those of you looking to construct a dwelling on land you have purchased – that includes solar panels for both electric and heating check out the brightbuilt barn project in Rockland, Maine. Called a net zero energy project the house should produce more electricity than it uses right here in Maine. It comes pre-fabricated and in two or three designs.

I see there is an open house in Somesville this Saturday from 1pm to 4pm with energy-efficient affordable homes.   Look for Farnhams Way off Beech Hill Road.   Phone 288-4496 for more information.

Off shore wind power will also prove to be productive in this area as well.   Check out Susan Collins’ website as she just managed to get new funding for the off shore wind pilot project in the senate last week.

In addition, there will be future tidal power efforts studied.   Historically Maine has always utilized it’s water power for renewable power generation.   Stay tuned for more information on tidal power as well as historical information on water power in and around Acadia National Park.

Butterflies hatching here in Acadia, and Lamoine, Maine will find their way south and meet up with millions in Mexico.   These high flying migrations begin here in September, right after the equinox.

We’ve grown plants which the caterpillars feed on (milkweed family) so that we could watch this fascinating journey from here at SeaCat’s Rest.    Migrating animals are amazing.   The monarchs travel south and gather just over the Texas border in Mexico.   There they spend the winter months.   Come spring they migrate into Texas and follow little by little the blooming of the milkweed family of plants.   They lay eggs on the young plants, the caterpillars consume the leaves, the toxins of which accumulate in the adult, making it a nasty treat for predators.    The adults thus can live to migrate ever northward and repeat the cycle 4-5 times during the summer season.     Here in Maine, we are at the end of the loop.    Our monarchs here begin the journey south again, living a very long time, until the spring comes again, there to lay eggs and have another year’s generation repeat the never ending cycle.

In 2007-2008 winter there was devastating weather in the mountains of Mexico and as a result we saw few monarchs make it up north this far.   However, now in 2009, we have seen a few return.    Hopefully that increases in future years.

Guests at SeaCat’s Rest in Lamoine in August and September have only to ask and we will be glad to find a few of these special migratory critters for them to observe up close and personal. If you reserve a week in that time period with children let us know and we can work to let them observe the hatching process if the timing is right.

Chuck Weber moved to Lamoine from Pennsylvania to escape the heat, too-long growing season and real estate developers.  Here he has become our local grower and purveyor of organic produce, which is certified by MOFGA, the Maine Organic Farmers and Growers Association.  His favorite word about what he does is respect. Respect for the environment and the consumer.

This doesn’t mean Chuck can’t get a little riled, like July of ’09 when he suffered through a month of rain only to have a moose get tangled in his electric fence, and a bear tear through his struggling strawberry patch on the same night.  Four greenhouses help to extend the season and manage the weather uncertainty, so he usually has greens when there’s snow on the ground.  He’s the guy to get your non-big box vegetable plantings from in the spring and his potted flowers sell out quickly.  I know Chuck always has something interesting growing like Czech black peppers or dinosaur kale, but he’s reluctant to give a detailed list of what he grows; it’s always changing. He almost always has heirloom tomatoes, green beans, and cucumbers in the summer, strawberries in the late spring,  broccoli, beets and Brussels sprouts in the fall.  Leeks are a passion, and greens are almost always growing.

Chuck hasn’t time to sit in front of the computer, so if you want to buy his produce, call in an order. He often parks a farm wagon at the Grange Hall parking lot at Lamoine Corner (where Rt. 184 makes a sharp turn) where he sells produce on the honor system.  Chuck’s veggies can also be found right in Bar Harbor at the Reel Pizza parking lot, 33 Kennebec Place.  There you will find the Bar Harbor Green Market on Wednesdays from 9 am to 1 pm from May 21st to October 29th. He welcomes calls at (207) 667-7081, and will prepare your order for pick up.

How does the lobster get to your plate? It takes dedicated lobstermen and lobsterwomen and many lobster pots to make a living.    Right in front of SeaCat’s Rest there are lobster floats from at least 5 fishing folks.   It’s a daily ritual as they go by, checking their traps and putting out new bait to catch this tasty seafood.

Locally in Maine you can get the soft shell  lobsters at a good affordable price.  This summer, roadside sellers were charging under $4/lb!  These are lobsters with new shells and they don’t ship well, so we eat them here at home.    Many seafood places around here will cook them for you.

If you are here at SeaCats’ Rest, we have a giant pot so that you can bring home the live lobsters and have a homemade feast. Throw in some seaweed from the shore for extra flavor – just like local restaurants do.   Add mussels and clams from the local water and you have a seafood feast.    Ask us how and we will be glad to teach you.

That’s right, Lamoine just 30 minutes from Bar Harbor is the most affordable lodging in the Acadia area, beats all Mount Desert Island prices hands down.  Ocean frontage with twice as much room as you’d get in Bar Harbor and a view of Cadillac Mountain just across Frenchman Bay.

Just yards from from the SeaCat’s Rest stairs lead to the beach where you can dig clams, pick up mussels, fish for mackerel or just stroll the beach.  We have kayaks available and many guests kayak down to Lamoine State Park, which is just a short distance away.

Lamoine is so close to Acadia National Park but has yet to be discovered so come and visit us but only tell your friends. SSHHH