Last week, Maine’s Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry’s weekly foliage report announced that the Moosehead Lake region was at peak fall color. Over my days off from the Monson A.T. Visitor Center, I set out to make the most of autumn’s beauty. I knew how quickly this bright season would pass. I began with...Read More
Katahdin is an ancient Penobscot word, meaning “greatest mountain.” My understanding, from a presentation by Tribal Historian James Francis, is that the name refers not to the mountain’s physical size, but to its spiritual essence. From my personal experience, I can say that Katahdin feels different to me from any other place I have ever...Read More
For the past two years, I’ve made an early-December trek across the US, from my home in the Maine Woods to the Monastery of Saint Gertrude, on Idaho’s Camas Prairie. Over the winter, I’ve worked at the monastery to revitalize and expand eco-spirituality programs. Last May, I drove back to Maine in time for my...Read More
A belated Happy New Year to all my blog friends! I’ve settled into the Center for Benedictine Life at the Monastery of Saint Gertrude for another winter. The monastery rises above Idaho’s Camas Prairie, which stretches toward distant snowcapped mountains. A few days ago, on a frosty morning, we were blessed with a glorious, flamboyant...Read More
In recent months, news from the human world has spoken of chaos and confusion: war in Ukraine and the Middle East, political strife at home and abroad, factions working against each other rather than uniting for the common good. It’s easy to get caught in an endless internal loop of negative thoughts: frustrations with the...Read More
Summer Solstice greetings! Over the past six weeks, I’ve traveled from Saint Gertrude’s Monastery in Idaho back to my home in the Maine Woods. I’ve settled into my off-grid cabin east of Moosehead Lake and my work managing the Appalachian Trail Conservancy Visitor Center in Monson. I invite you to join me for a “Mindful...Read More
As my long-term blog friends know, I’m spending the winter at the Center for Benedictine Life at the Monastery of Saint Gertrude near Cottonwood, Idaho. (For the full story of my initial stay at the monastery last spring, see https://www.wendyweiger.com/idaho-adventure-saint-gertrudes-monastery-spring-2023/.) The Sisters of Saint Gertrude’s steward 1,400 mostly-forested acres. Their land rises above the Camas...Read More
My mother and I moved to the Maine Woods in December 2003. It’s hard to believe that twenty years have flown by since then. Twenty years of exploring: traveling hundreds of miles up mountains and down rivers, in hiking boots, by canoe, on snowshoes and skis. Twenty years of getting to know my neighbors: trees,...Read More
In the Penobscot language, Katahdin means “greatest mountain.” It rises from the ancestral homeland of the Penobscots. According to tribal historian James Francis, the name does not refer to size, but to its spiritual significance to his people. In 1846, Thoreau journeyed to Katahdin’s Tableland. He experienced the mountain as “primeval, untamed, and forever untamable...Read More
Since 2014, I’ve been watching an eagles’ nest. It’s cradled in the boughs of a tall pine, above a shallow pond inlet, about four tenths of a mile from my cabin. Over those years, the resident adults have raised six eaglets. In 2021, I followed the progress of the eagle family closely, from the return...Read More
The Thoreau-Wabanaki Festival is an annual gathering in Greenville, at the southern tip of Moosehead Lake, the gateway to Maine’s North Woods. The festival celebrates the lifeways of the Wabanaki, the people indigenous to the land now known as Maine. It commemorates Henry David Thoreau’s three journeys in the Maine Woods, two of which began...Read More
Mud season in northern Maine, when trails are impassible and waterways are slowly thawing, is a good time for traveling to other climes. On April 11, I set off for a month as a volunteer at the Center for Benedictine Life at the Monastery of Saint Gertrude in Cottonwood, Idaho (https://stgertrudes.org/). The story of Saint...Read More
Early-spring greetings! The winter has surely flown by. In the Maine Woods, one week past the Spring Equinox, there is still snow on the ground, and lakes remain solidly frozen. However, we’ve transitioned into what I call “maple syrup” weather. Daytime temperatures rise well into the thirties – sometimes even into the low forties –...Read More
As my long-term blog friends know, I spent the winters of 2021 and 2022 in my off-the-grid cabin deep in the Maine Woods. This winter, I’m living mostly on the grid. I’ve signed on as a substitute teacher in the Greenville school. This week is February vacation, and I took advantage of the opportunity to...Read More
Today, December 21, is the Winter Solstice: the moment of the year when the Northern Hemisphere tilts farthest from the sun. Around the Solstice, daylight in the Maine Woods is short – well under nine hours. Nights are long, dark, and cold. The sun rises and sets far to the south, and even at noon,...Read More
My two solo winters at my off-the-grid cabin east of Moosehead Lake were extraordinary experiences: intensely challenging yet profoundly peaceful, full of hard work and deep rest, rich in wonders and blessings. As this past summer progressed, I reluctantly came to the realization that there would be no way for me to spend the upcoming...Read More
This year, the Summer Solstice fell on June 21 at 5:15 AM. At that moment, the Northern Hemisphere made its closest approach to the sun, yielding the longest day and shortest night of the year. Six months earlier, on the Winter Solstice, days were seven hours shorter, and nights seven hours longer. In northern Maine,...Read More
Over the weeks since my last post, spring has slowly transformed the woods around my cabin. The melting of winter’s snow and ice has had two major practical impacts on my life. First, my graywater system has thawed! You may recall that, as of January 25, it was frozen solid, and my sink drain had...Read More
Today, April 8, has been a typical early-spring day in the Maine Woods: gray and showery, with a high temperature around 41 Fahrenheit. My cabin sits on land that slopes gently southward to the pond shore below. As winter’s snow gradually melts, the expanse of sodden bare ground around my cabin expands a bit each...Read More
In Little Women, Louisa May Alcott famously wrote that “Housekeeping ain’t no joke.” These words were spoken by Hannah, the March family’s maid, who labored to maintain a clean and comfortable home without benefit of modern appliances. In my off-the-grid cabin, washing dishes and doing laundry often feel like major projects. Before I even get...Read More
When I dreamed of living in the woods, my fantasies did not include generator operation, maintenance, and repair. But living alone in my cabin, with no road access and no cell service, far from my nearest neighbor, I need some way to communicate with the outside world. My little generator powers my satellite Internet and...Read More
On this first day of March, it’s still definitely winter in the Maine Woods. I noted a low of minus 7 on my porch thermometer shortly after sunrise. Yet spring is approaching. We’ve gained nearly two and a half hours of daylight since the Winter Solstice. Last night about 8:30, I went out for a...Read More
I love the tranquility of my cabin in a winter storm. I try to bring in plenty of firewood and water before the new accumulation obliterates my well-packed paths to the woodshed and pump. Then I settle into my warm cocoon. Through my windows, I watch the snow drift down onto my woods and the...Read More
Seven of the past seventeen mornings have dawned in the range of minus 10 to minus 30 Fahrenheit. The snow cover – 12 inches or so – is less than usual for this time of year. Put those two factors together, and they translate into the ground freezing more deeply than usual. Unfortunately, this deep...Read More
Since December 29, when I returned from spending Christmas with friends in Greenville, I’ve settled comfortably into winter solitude at my cabin. For those of you who would like a quick tour of my abode, here’s a video I recently posted on YouTube: A friend recently commented that my cabin is “very hygge,” using the...Read More
Wishing my blog friends a happy, healthy New Year! Here’s a brief video of my celebration at my cabin. May you all find opportunities to get outside and enjoy the wonders of winter, Wendy Read More
My last post was on the Winter Solstice, December 21. That afternoon and evening, I monitored the evolving prediction for a snowstorm the following day. I realized this would be the storm that closed the unplowed gravel roads leading to my cabin for the winter. I would need to get my Subaru out to a...Read More
Winter greetings from Achor Earth Ways! Each of you reading this appeal has supported our mission: by donating funds, by purchasing our book, or by subscribing to our founder Wendy Weiger’s blog. We are very grateful for your contributions. You are a vital part of our work. Our mission is to guide people into deeper,...Read More
Winter Solstice greetings from the Maine Woods! As I mentioned in my last post, I’ll be chronicling my adventures this winter in a series of videos I’m calling “Word from the Woods.” I invite you to join me in my cabin as I celebrate the year’s longest night, and on my shore this morning as...Read More
Holiday greetings to all my blog friends! I’m settled back into my cabin deep in the Maine Woods for my second off-the-grid winter. Last winter, I posted photo essays about my experiences every couple of weeks. For those of you who missed some of them, they’re all archived at www.wendyweiger.com/blog-walking-with-wendy/. This winter, I’m going to...Read More
You may be asking, what is a nemophilist? According to Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), a nemophilist is “One who is fond of forest or forest scenery; a haunter of the woods.” This delightful word has fallen out of use over the past century. I vote to bring it back – it suits me perfectly,...Read More
Five months ago, in mid-May, the first tender green leaves of spring unfurled in my woods. Now, in mid-October, they are falling in a blaze of exuberant color. Their reds, oranges, and yellows seem to shout defiance against winter’s encroaching darkness. Three days ago, after the sun climbed above Shaw Mountain, illuminating my land, I...Read More
If you’ve been following my blog, you may recall my excitement on April 9. I saw an adult bald eagle at a nest in a tall pine, above a shallow pond inlet, about four tenths of a mile from my cabin (https://www.wendyweiger.com/north-woods-news-flash-the-eagle-has-landed/). I’ve been watching the nest since 2014. Eaglets fledged from the nest in...Read More
The Summer Solstice marks the Northern Hemisphere’s closest approach to the sun. It’s the official start of summer, with the year’s longest day and shortest night: in the Maine Woods, we have seven hours more daylight than at the Winter Solstice. This year in the eastern U.S., the Summer Solstice fell on June 20 at...Read More
Where have the past five and a half months gone? Winter seems to have flown by. Spring has undeniably arrived at my cabin door. Long-bare tree branches are unfurling small, tender new leaves. They glow in shades of vibrant green and rusty tints that foreshadow their autumn hues. Maine’s growing season is short: fall colors...Read More
On March 25, I pulled two loads of supplies across still-solid pond ice, knowing that rain the following day would likely make the ice unsafe. On the 30th, game wardens Joshua Polland and Troy Dauphinee pulled into my driveway on their snowmobiles for a quick visit and tour of my land. They were traveling over...Read More
Those of you who read about my “Wild Walk” in mid-February (https://www.wendyweiger.com/wild-walk/) may recall my visit to an eagles’ nest. The nest is cradled in the branches of a tall pine on the north shore of the peninsula where my cabin sits. It’s been occupied on and off since I began watching it in 2014....Read More
As the calendar turned to mid-March, I watched weather predictions closely. I knew that sometime over the next few weeks, mud season would arrive. For anyone living deep in the Maine Woods, mud season is the most challenging time of year. Travel ranges from difficult to impossible. Water access routes are closed: the remaining ice...Read More
Today is the last official day of winter – tomorrow is the Spring Equinox! To celebrate this new season of returning life, Achor Earth Ways is launching online sales of my photo book, Living Every Season: A Mindful Year in the Maine Woods. It’s available at https://www.wendyweiger.com/photo-book/. As you turn the pages, I’ll guide you...Read More
Last week, I wrote about the basic necessities for survival in the woods: fire, shelter, water. I focused on fire, and promised to dive more deeply into the subject of water (pun intended) in a future post. First, though, I’d like to invite you on a hike, to enjoy some fresh air and new scenery....Read More
When I last posted, on February 15, I was planning to trek to town for supplies and mail, my first foray out of the woods since January 11. A winter storm the next day made travel difficult, and I postponed my trip until later in the week. When I finally headed out on the 18th,...Read More
At the end of my last post, I promised to take you, my readers, along on my daily chores. I’ll get to that soon. But let’s wait a bit before we start our work, and go out for a walk instead… Two days ago, the weather was lovely: sunny, with little wind, and afternoon temperatures...Read More
Over the past ten days, I’ve been savoring the wintry weather. Overall, the season has been relatively mild by Maine Woods standards. As of January 28, the temperature on my porch thermometer had not, to the best of my knowledge, dropped to zero Fahrenheit even once. Our warmer weather this year has meant grayer skies....Read More
When I last posted here, Earth had just passed the Winter Solstice. Since then, I’ve made two forays into Greenville, the nearest town, about 30 miles distant. On my first trip, I celebrated Christmas with an Achor Earth Ways board member and his family (with attention to Covid precautions – no sitting around a group...Read More
5:04 AM this morning, December 21, was the Winter Solstice: the moment of the year when the Northern Hemisphere tilts farthest from the sun. Each day since the Summer Solstice, the sun has set a little farther to the south, daylight has grown shorter, and nights have grown longer. On the twentieth of June, night...Read More
In mid-August, I decided that this would be the year to realize a long-cherished dream: I would spend the winter in solitude at my off-the-grid cabin in the Maine Woods. It’s nestled among fir and spruce, birch and maple, on the shore of a lovely pond just east of Moosehead, Maine’s largest lake. As the...Read More
The wild is not limited to remote places far from our everyday lives. Even in towns and cities, the wild is around us, though we often fail to notice it. Our neighbors include creatures who, though they are not human, are fellow beings nonetheless. That understanding makes my world feel richer, more alive, less lonely. ...Read More
Last week, I spent a night at Pemaquid Point, best known as the home of the iconic lighthouse featured on the Maine state quarter. I believe it’s also a strong candidate for the best spot in Maine to watch the sun rise above the ocean. A spectacular sunrise depends on clouds: just enough to provide...Read More
On the last day of May and the first of June, I explored a primeval forest in the North Maine Woods: a five-thousand-acre enclave of virgin woodland, the largest contiguous tract of old growth east of the Mississippi. It’s an anachronistic island surrounded by the younger forests typical of Maine today – regenerating woods that...Read More
The shoreline of Achor, my off-grid land east of Moosehead Lake, is fringed with a typical Maine Woods assortment of second-growth trees. Tall, evergreen spruce and fir. Birch and maple that change from the green of summer to the yellows and reds of fall to the bare starkness of winter. An orange-berried mountain ash here,...Read More
I spent the last few days of 2019 (December 27-30) on my off-the-grid land deep in the Maine Woods. On December 31, I was back in Internet-land to welcome 2020, and watched the live stream from Times Square as twelve o’clock struck. What a contrast in night experiences! In the stillness of the wintry woods,...Read More
After my last post, on May 2, I walked five more days along the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal to reach its terminus in Cumberland, Maryland, a small city in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. En route, I passed through the Paw Paw Tunnel, a notable feat of nineteenth-century engineering. Over the course of fourteen...Read More
Since my last post, I’ve spent another six days traveling on the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal towpath. I go for long stretches without seeing any other hikers or bikers; occasionally, a squirrel scampers across the path ahead of me or I spot some white-tailed deer. As the new leaves grow bigger on the trees, I...Read More
This week, I’m continuing along the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal towpath toward its terminus in Cumberland, Maryland. At the moment, I’m in a library in Shepherdstown, West Virginia; I crossed a bridge over the Potomac River from the Maryland side to charge my electronics and pick up supplies. I thought some of you who read...Read More
I’ve spent six days hiking the C & O Canal towpath. The canal starts in Georgetown, a neighborhood in Washington, DC. It parallels the Potomac River along the western border of Maryland to Cumberland, nearly 185 miles in all. I began walking at mile marker 5 – on the Maryland side of the MD/DC line...Read More
I’ve spent the past week in Washington, DC, as my knees continued their recovery (I’m very happy to report that they seem pretty much back to normal). While here, I’ve met with members of Maine’s Congressional delegation and their staff: I spoke with aides to Senator Susan Collins, Senator Angus King, and Representative Jared Golden,...Read More
This past week, I stayed in Baltimore at the house of my friend Marie Bellantoni while my knees recuperated. She introduced me to Lake Roland Park, a 503 acre tract within the city limits. The park is accessible via public transportation, allowing broad access for Baltimore residents. The lake was created in the mid-nineteenth century...Read More
When I wrote my last post a week ago, I was preparing to hike the five miles from Kent Narrows, Maryland to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, after two days of rest for my road-weary knees. On the morning of Friday March 22, I strapped on my new braces, shouldered my pack, and crossed the Narrows...Read More
When I wrote my last post on March 16, I had just crossed the Delaware border and was in Denton, Maryland. Today, I’m in Kent Narrows, and I plan to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge tomorrow. The past five days have brought both joys and challenges. After posting my last blog entry on the 16th,...Read More
Today, March 16, the seventh day of my journey along the American Discovery Trail, is the first time I’ve had Internet access in four days. When I last posted on March 12, I was at a cafe in Milton, Delaware; now I’m at a Dunkin Donuts in Denton, Maryland. The past four days have been...Read More
I spent the second day of my journey on the American Discovery Trail hiking across the Delaware Coastal Plain. I mostly walked on roads by old farms – with fields where corn, soy, and winter wheat are grown – and large tracts of former farmland covered in new “cookie-cutter” residential developments. Here and there were...Read More
My journey along the American Discovery Trail is underway! On the afternoon of Sunday March 10, “trail angel” Marie Bellantoni — a dear friend and former college roommate — drove me to Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware. The eastern terminus of the American Discovery Trail is on the park’s Atlantic shore; from there it...Read More
For Native Americans in what would eventually become New England, maple sap collected in the spring provided the sole sugar supply for the entire year. Maple syrup isn’t just for pancakes and waffles! Its distinctive flavor enhances both sweet and savory dishes. I use it with baked apples or squash, on chicken or pork, in...Read More
In spring, ferns of various species emerge from the forest floor as tightly coiled “fiddleheads” (so called because they resemble the scroll at the top of a violin). The fiddleheads of the ostrich fern are edible. They have a nutty, earthy flavor, and are considered a delicacy by many New Englanders. They may be enjoyed...Read More
I enjoy the bright sunny yellow of dandelions each spring, then harvest the blossoms to make a strong wine, really more of a liqueur. (I may be the only person in America who has imported dandelion seeds from a neighboring yard, in order to ensure a good crop the following year!) I take 3 cups...Read More
In the Moosehead Lake region, many folks have a favorite wild blueberry field where they head to pick their own fruit in late July or August. Farmers in Maine also cultivate the wild variety of blueberries (small but flavorful berries that grow on low bushes); tempting displays appear in season at roadside stands, farmers’ markets,...Read More
On a sunny day each September, I head out in my canoe across the waters of a local bog and park by a cranberry patch. I get out and walk carefully across the spongy mass of peat, bending down to pluck the firm, round berries from the bushes where they grow. When Mother was alive,...Read More
