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 the shore of First Roach...Read More
Holiday greetings to all my blog friends! I’m settled back into my cabin on First Roach Pond 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 try...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 on the North Inlet of First Roach Pond, 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...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 the ice of First Roach Pond, 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...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
