#Life in Midcoast Maine

[starstruklynna]

Homeward in the fog

[sl-walker]

Trek prompt: Scotty vs. the kittens! Somehow they wound up in Engineering and no one is claiming responsibility.

How very dare you. (Responsibility is claimed, but there is a kitten involved.)

Anyway, this takes place in early 2256, so well after where the series is on AO3. A note for anyone else reading: AotW was plotted long, long before Discovery or Strange New Worlds came out, so it doesn't fit the new stuff. But it does fit the old stuff!

--

It figured that the first real challenge to his new posting as Chief Engineer of the Enterprise had absolutely nothing to do with engineering.

Scotty was only beginning to get used to his promotion and appointment; it was just a week old now, and he still occasionally had to huff a breath out that fell somewhere between wondering laughter and actual anxiety.

But despite the fact he felt a wee bit like someone had lobbed a brick at his head and he was reeling around dazed in the aftermath, he knew he at least looked mostly like he was handling the huge shift his life had undergone when Captain Pike had handed him his letters and the astronomical responsibility that came with them. And it helped that he could go home -- Earth-home -- every night and find refuge with his family and the slower, more gentle pace of life in Midcoast Maine; it was awkward, yet, learning how to leave work at work, but having a niece and nephew to dote on went a long way towards it.

Any which way, he thought he was doing a fair job of seeming to be properly put together, at least until one of his temporary techs meowed at him.

The tech froze, back to him; Scotty's head went over to the side slowly, as he tried to figure out how he was supposed to react to that. Except maybe to tell the lad that he was a fine mimic, anyway; he did sound just like a kitten.

He went to open his mouth to say something -- hoping the words would leap into existence when he didn't actually know what they would be -- when the tech turned around with a resigned look and slumping shoulders. "Uh-- I can explain, Chief, I swear, I just--"

"Collins, is that a cat?" There was an orange fluffball in the lad's collar, against his neck; either it was a cat, if a very small one, or he had the kind of growth that would have Xenobiology quarantining the whole lot of them.

Collins winced. "Sir, I know we're not supposed to bring animals aboard, but I thought-- we're in the Fleet Yards, so it's not like we're out in open space, and she was out in the rain and her mother wasn't anywhere, so I thought maybe I would bring her just long enough to wait for my lunch break and then call somebody about taking her in, I mean, I have my PADD set to scan for any lost pet advisories from Chicago, and--"

Scotty was waiting for the kid to faint; Collins didn't take a single breath as he dumped that whole bucket of words out. But when it became clear that poor Collins was just going to keep going, he spoke up, holding a hand up to hopefully stall any more, "Calm down. I'm not about to go bringin' ye up on charges over a kitten, Collins." Especially given his own record. "Just--" Well, just what? he asked himself. "D'ye have a plan for if she doesn't have anyone lookin' for her?"

Collins cleared his throat, looking thoroughly abashed. "--no, sir. My roommate would probably kill me if I brought her home. And my parents already have dogs, and my grandmother has birds-- and-- well, maybe there's some kind of organization--?"

Scotty somehow managed not to start rubbing the bridge of his nose; he wasn't sure whether he was more exasperated or more amused yet. "All right. All right, stop what ye're doin', and look into it. And we'll see if we can't solve this before the end o' the day, aye?"

"Oh." Collins breathed out in clear relief. "Yessir. Uh-- d'you wanna hold her maybe?" he asked, extricating the fuzz from his collar -- which gave a tiny protesting meow -- before holding her out.

"That-- would be a very bad idea," Scotty said, except by the time he had those words out of his mouth, he also had the kitten in hand. Oh no, he thought, shaking his head to himself as Collins ran to get his PADD.

"Well, now what?" he asked the fluffball.

The kitten made to climb up his shirt in answer.

--

"Chief--" Captain Pike's eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed, and he leaned forward a little from where he was clearly behind his desk, expression openly baffled. "--where did you...?"

Scotty bit down a sigh, knowing full well he was blushing and unable to do a single damn thing about it. "One o' my techs found her on the way to work, Captain. I'm not quite sure how he got her past the transporter operator in Chicago, though. But I swear, she'll be off the ship by the end o' the dayshift."

The fact that the kitten was perched on his shoulder probably made for a surreal image. Pike certainly seemed amused by it, anyway. "I see. Well, I was going to ask if you had time to go over the phase three schedule, but-- clearly you have enough on your shoulders right now. I'll leave you to it."

There was the distinctive snap of a screen capture being taken, but by the time Scotty opened his mouth to protest about it and that really awful joke -- which would have been bold, aye, but necessary -- Pike had already cut the connection, though not before the first note of laughter sounded through the comm.

The kitten was purring up a storm in his ear, even as he rubbed over his face with a groan.

--

Thankfully, the little thing slept through most of the rest of the shift, curled up in a nest he made out of his civilian coat.

Unfortunately, they hadn't actually come up with any real plan for what to do with her.

And also unfortunately, he had to field eight different calls or notes from other senior staff members, which was especially difficult because he was still wrapping his brain around the fact he was one of them now.

And all of whom now had a picture of him playing cat-perch, no less.

"I can't just take her and put her back, Chief," Collins said, all but wringing his hands as he paced back and forth in front of Scotty's desk.

"No, that ye can't." And they were running out of both time and options.

Animal welfare laws and and strict control of the companion animal population meant that the need for rescue organizations was nearly non-existent; strays were almost completely unheard of, and on the incredibly rare occasion there was a stray that wasn't chipped and registered, it usually was rehomed quickly.

But-- no one was missing a kitten in Chicago, and no one was looking for her, and somehow she had come into existence despite all of the laws in place that would otherwise normally prevent such a thing.

Which meant that she needed somewhere to go.

"What do we do?" Collins asked, stopping his pacing -- thank everything, his pacing nearly had Scotty getting up to do the same -- and looking somehow both exhausted and pleading.

Well, it was an engineer's job to solve problems. Even, apparently, problems like these.

Scotty looked at the orange fluffball as she stretched, then yawned, then peered at them with eyes that hadn't even changed color from blue yet, and finally gave into that several-hours-old urge to rub at the bridge of his nose as he answered, "Well, ye're gonna go clean up her temporary litter box and get squared away, and I'm gonna call around and see about findin' her a home. At least until or unless someone in Chicago puts out a notice."

Collins practically melted to the floor in relief. "Thank you, sir," he said, and then he was out the door in a blur of gray boiler suit, probably so he could disappear before Scotty could change his mind.

--

"Corrigan here."

"So, I have this dilemma--" Scotty started, without any preamble, at least until the dilemma decided to meow, a little on the shrill side, no doubt hungry, especially now that the galley was shut down for the day and no more fish paste could be, uh-- repurposed into kitten food.

Corry's voice was both awed and rushed. "--oh my god, where did you get a cat? Is it a kitten. Tell me it's a kitten?"

Well, that didn't sound like a bad response. Scotty knew Cor had a couple cats when he was younger, but at least for the past fourteen years, the family hadn't had any pets. "Aye, it's a kitten. One o' my techs found her, felt bad for her and then brought her aboard. I know Allie and Aaron aren't old enough for pets, but d'ye think Mom and Dad--?" he asked, wincing despite the fact that it couldn't be seen.

"We'll figure something out, just bring her home. I'll stop and grab some stuff, and I'll have Mom and Dad meet us in Augusta, and we can take her back home and see, and oh man, it's been a long time since we've had cats, our last one was twenty-one when he died and then I shipped off to Basic and we just never really had a chance to have another one--"

"--right," Scotty said quietly, pretty much entirely to himself, sinking deeper into his chair in relief as his brother kept on chattering about the Corrigan cats of yore, with a headshake and a grin.

Problem solved, then.

Ten minutes -- and three stories about cat antics -- later, he picked up the kitten and held her against his chest as he headed out the door.

"Don't worry," he told her, "they're really good at takin' in strays."

(She may not have understood, but she had a home by the end of the night, one former stray brought there by another.)

[finishinglinepress]

NEW FROM FINISHING LINE PRESS: Solstice by Helene McGlauflin

On SALE now! Pre-order Price Guarantee: https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/solstice-by-helene-mcglauflin/

Solstice, Helene McGlauflin’s third collection of poetry is a sweet selection of poems written for and during the dark days before the winter solstice. Helene’s poems utilize imagery from the night sky, root cellars, fireflies, gestation in darkness, birth to remind readers to search for light, wait for light, hope for light, see light. Her poems are an accessible, welcome comfort in these times of uncertainty when every soul needs the reassurance of the beauty and faith found in poetry.

Helene McGlauflin, MEd., is a poet, writer and retired educator. Her numerous articles, stories and poems have appeared in books, small presses, magazines and professional journals. Solstice is Helene’s third collection of poetry, preceded by Tiny Sabbath (2010) and Teacher, I Honor You (2016) both published by Finishing Line Press. She is also the author of Calm and Alert: Yoga and Mindfulness Practices to Teach Self-regulation and Social Skills to Children (2018: PESI Publishing) her legacy from a long career as a school counselor and yoga teacher. Helene is a parent and grandparent and lives in Midcoast Maine with her husband Bruce. Contact Helene at mcglauflinh@gmail.com or visit calmandalert.com

PRAISE FOR Solstice by Helene McGlauflin

In her lovely poems, Helene McGlauflin reminds us of the mystery of darkness, that state in which the stars appear and bulbs lie, not dead, but dormant and waiting. These compelling poems reach out to their reader and offer fresh and surprising variations on the search for light in our dark hours. Nothing is excluded. There is “the honesty of sludge,” and a unique vision of the three wisemen relinquishing their pomp. In a poem addressed to the super moon, dated November 2016, the poet sees in the moon a “non-scorching reprimand” and asks, “How could we have mistaken darkness for light…?” The gift of at these poems is that they don’t. They search and discern, question and embrace, facing the darkness but moving steadily toward a sustaining light that is “luminous, waiting.”

–Betsy Sholl, As If a Song Could Save You.

In the Lateran relics collection, in Rome, there is a sealed tube. Within it, they say, is light from the star followed by the three kings – relics and miracles, always about faith … and light.

The poems in this collection sing light into darkness, but celebrate the darkness as well, singing out from that liminal space where things are always beginning, just before dawn, just before solstice, the time to “wait for sunrise, walk together into a future”

–Gary Lawless, How the Stones Came to Venice

Helene McGlauflin‘s Solstice takes us on a soulful journey into the yearnings of the human spirit to find light, hope, and peace in the midst of a changing and complex world, asking us to consider questions like “what is left after//virus rages/fire destroys/winds howl…hate spews”? Like in her poem “Root Cellar,” these poems quietly but confidently ask us to take stock of the spaces and things that restore us: “. . .as cold and despair lurk outside you, you/will never starve if you can descend, return to your store/sit in a corner among jars in the gloaming, trust the quiet,/the silent light as a promise from the root cellar”. And, like in her poem “A Single Star,” these poems insist on our ability to find “the quixotic promise visible at dusk . . .” and like “miners . . . find a beam as the mountain/crumbles underfoot and light abandons the shaft, then be cheered by/your capacity to save yourself and those around you from collapse.” These poems are very feminine in the way that they remind us that light and hope are products of a life lived simply, a life lived with the understanding that babies, community, and the natural world can indeed save us because “a single point of light in darkness matters.”

–Marita O’Neill, Evidence of Light

Please share/repost #flpauthor #preorder #AwesomeCoverArt #read #poems #literature #poetry

[marjaystuff]

Flying Solo by Linda Holmes

This book was listed as a great romantic read in a couple of places, so I took a chance and bought a hard copy.  It was more of a love story of life with family, friends, and with chances itself.  How do you choose to live a life that is full and rewarding?

Aunt Dot was a character in life. She adored her family, but never chose to marry.  She died leaving her house full to the brim with all her memories and items.  Her niece, Laurie has offered to help clean it out and with some help from friends, she is making progress.  Then she found the duck; that looked like a decoy.  The duck was only one of the mementos, but one that resonated with Laurie and seemed to be hidden away. Meanwhile, her old boyfriend Nick continues to help, but makes a case for them starting all over again. 

The mystery around the duck and the number of twists and turns within the story line made the book interesting, even though I really felt the story was more character driven than plot driven.  In some ways, I could feel the conflict within Laurie and Nick both about them and about themselves.

The setting in the midcoast of Maine is always a draw for me.  I did recognize some of the “changed names” like Calcasette and the real names like Damariscotta. I didn’t find the book as wonderful as I expected.  I didn’t think that Flying Solo was the romance I was looking for, but was a thoughtful look at family and hope.  The need for honesty and thoughtfulness of the characters helped find solutions, that and a “caper”. Linda Holmes' thoughtful portrayal of a character in transition made the story feel real.

[no-taxis]

Hey, feel free to ignore, but I just figured I’d ask since there’s a chance you may know! I got my first job as a deckhand on the east coast for this summer, and while i’ll be living on board for the sailing season, ill have to get other accommodations during most of april seeing as the boat is too cold to be habitable. im traveling from a long way away for the season so I’ll be pretty much without any place to live. do you have any idea of what crew members in similar situations do during those months? is it all just about finding airbnbs/short term rentals?

I recommend asking the captain if they know anyone who is willing to sublet a room for a couple months. In areas where there's a lot of schooner bums, there tends to be "crew houses" where members of different crews all sublet together. I showed up for my first season not knowing anyone and with no plans for accommodation (note: I do not recommend this) and luckily ended up on the couch of one such house until the boat was livable. A lot of people in the house also kept their room and paid a very reduced rent over the summer, so they would have a safe and dry place to store their things and shower.

If there isn't a crew house, airbnb seems like a good bet?

[ranawaytomaine]

As of today I've been in Maine for 2 years 🎈So on the blog today I tried to answer some questions I've gotten about moving here and life in Maine as someone "from away."

Instagram — & don’t delete my caption, please.

[thefullerview]

Driving around Midcoast Maine this weekend with our friends who were grieving the loss of a man they’d known for 60 years. Memorial services and funerals are all a bit dicey in this Covid era. So we drove, stringing together simple and decadently joyous experiences, because they were what “Roland would do.” 2pm Lobsters at Round Pond, 5pm ice cream cones before dinner - homemade chili in the barn. As we were leaving Round Pond, where Roland moored his sailboats throughout his life - there was this. #friendships (at Round Pond Harbor) https://www.instagram.com/p/CUJnZCEsiNn/?utm_medium=tumblr

[anjumkhanna]

Anjum Khanna - Top 10 best places to visit in USA

I'm Anjum Khanna from India and I will share with you my best places in the USA where I visited. Pleasing Planet's movement specialists have scoured the States to present to you our main 10 underestimated, restored and incredible spots to visit in 2020. From normal marvels to enrapturing coastlines and exceptional urban areas, these objections guarantee enormous things this year.

1. California’s Redwood Coast

Lose all track of time (and cell signal) along California's Redwood Coast. Film buffs may perceive the district's scene-taking sceneries from Hollywood blockbusters like Jurassic Park, E.T. furthermore, Star Wars. In any case, the full marvel of California's 2000-year-old redwoods – some arriving at 20 stories high – is difficult to catch on any screen. Gaze toward the woodland shelter: that last 100ft of redwood development marks a long time since Redwood National Park was built up in California's tree-embracing win over logging. What's more, this year, in the festivity of their 100th commemoration, Save the Redwoods League is without offering passage to more than 40 redwood state stops each second Saturday of every month.

In 2020, another sort of greenery has been standing out as truly newsworthy as California presents the state-wide legitimization of pot. However, the draws of the Redwood Coast far outperform changes in this industry, welcoming explorers to accomplish a definitive California smooth with its peculiar shops, brewpubs, espresso roasters and calm cheerful hours.

2. Boise, Idaho 

Home to a lively expressions network, a blast of grant winning wineries and specialty bottling works and a socially dependable shopping locale, Boise is what cool resembles before the remainder of the world has made sense of it. Fun celebrations have large amounts of Idaho's capital from downtown's Treefort Music Festival (hailed as the new option in contrast to SXSW) to the Boise Brew Olympics and Punk in Drublic – a lovely marriage of underground rock and specialty lager. 

Being in closeness to an abundance of characteristic wealth, metropolitan experiences effectively progress into outside departures. Wander through the Boise River Greenbelt, a 25-mile park in the core of the city, or head into the encompassing mountains and lower regions for climbing, mountain biking, skiing and stream boating.

3. Chattanooga, Tennessee

When minimal in excess of a refueling break among Atlanta and Nashville, the nature-driven 'Noog has changed itself into a stronghold of raised Southern living. Outside lovers rush to Chattanooga for the absolute best stone moving in the nation, bunch climbing and mountain biking trails and wild rides on the Ocoee River – one of America's best positions for whitewater boating. 

Foodies, hopheads and nerds aren't a long ways behind, either. Chattanooga's revived midtown – focused on the $20-million makeover of the city's unique train station into a multi-reason nightlife and diversion objective (counting a top notch guitar historical center) – is overflowing with journey commendable New Southern food, refreshing distilleries and nerd satisfying web speeds. Meet the New South!

4. Florida’s Space Coast

Space the travel industry is a rising star, with 2018 set to check the dispatch of the world's first lunar the travel industry departure from SpaceX. Try not to need to lose your life reserve funds down a dark gap? Visit the following best thing, Florida's Space Coast: home to the Kennedy Space Center and the setting for innumerable notable dispatches including Apollo 8 – the world's previously monitored rocket to circle the moon – which praises a long time since launch in 2020. 

View satellite dispatches from Cape Canaveral and Titusville or visit the new ATX (Astronaut Training Experience) at the Kennedy Space Center, where wannabe space travelers can go on a mimicked mission to Mars. Proceed your amazing experiences with an evening time kayak in the bioluminescent waters around Merritt Island and watch settling ocean turtles on an eco-accommodating visit.

5. Cincinnati, Ohio Set among steep slopes with the scaffold throne Ohio River swashing its edge, Cincinnati has consistently been a looker. Presently brew, expressions and clever neighborhood advancement are giving it some strut. The new Brewing Heritage Trail recounts the larger story: how Cincy was a main maker through the last part of the 1800s, its residents swallowing 2.5 occasions the public normal. Today Rhinegeist and other present day lager producers have assumed control over the relinquished distilleries, a considerable lot of which are walkable in Over-the-Rhine, an old German neighborhood of lavish block structures, new restaurants and crazy shops. 

2020 invites another section for the city's creative symbols as the Music Hall commends its 140th birthday celebration subsequent to going through enormous redesigns, and the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company subsides into their new powerful exhibition space.

6. Midcoast, Maine

Single word says everything: 'Ayuh'. What could be compared to 'mm-hm', it's Mainers' typically eccentric and unassuming go-to answer. Is it valid, you solicit, that about 90% of Maine is forested (the most noteworthy level of any state), making it ideal for experience exercises and getting away from traveler swarms? Ayuh. Also, what about Midcoast Maine's wonderful sea exhibition halls and detonating foodie scene of art bottling works, neighborhood grape plantations and gourmet ranch-to-table cafés? It's not the tranquil woodlands it used to be. Ayuh. Indeed, 2018 will check the area's 70th Maine Lobster Festival and a transitioning as an inexorably energizing social focus of elite workmanship historical centers and exhibitions, isn't that so? Ayuh.

7. Richmond, Virginia

River City has flipped from modest to occurring, however the 'hello you all' friendliness remains. Scott's Addition, when an abrasive assembling region, drones with microbreweries, cideries and buzzworthy cafés, while the James River baits swashbucklers with whitewater rapids in addition to another 52-mile bicycle trail along its banks. 

Creative features incorporate midtown's splendid wall paintings, the eccentric Quirk Hotel (highlighting interesting plan components and its own craft display) and imaginative transitory shows at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The American Civil War Museum – an ongoing solidification of three separate Civil War locales – investigates Richmond's function as the capital of the Confederacy. One consistent? Patrick Henry requested freedom or demise at reenactments each Sunday in summer at St John's Church.

8. Kentucky Bourbon Country The territory of Kentucky is known for its moving slopes finished off with masterful pony cultivates, its wild commitment to school ball and, above all, its whiskey. The state's refining legacy runs profound, and those searching for a taste should make a beeline for Kentucky Bourbon Country, the brilliant triangle between Louisville, Lexington and Elizabethtown where this prepared soul becomes animated. You'll locate a luring organization of the nation's most notable refineries and first class eateries with whiskey motivated menus. 

Yet, this industry isn't so saturated with custom that it overlooks progress – create distillers are opening their entryways, long dead whiskey locale are being rejuvenated, and in 2020 the Frazier Museum will be named the official beginning stage of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

9. Minneapolis, Minnesota

In spite of arriving on arrangements of 'generally moderate' and 'generally reasonable' urban areas – and in a state positioned the USA's most joyful – Minneapolis appears to be a piece overlooked. In any case, after its chance at the center of attention during the current year's Super Bowl, that could very well change. The city endeavored to tidy up for the large occasion, specifically with redesigns to downtown's primary avenue Nicollet Mall presenting awesome light highlights, craftsmanship establishments and creative social spaces. 

The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden likewise got a redo, with 18 new works by well known chiselers. Furthermore, Target Center, the city's NBA and WNBA field, got a fan-accommodating $145 million makeover. In the interim, new boutique inns and present day ranch to-table cafés (hefty on neighborhood fixings) are springing up with cool verve.

10. Southeastern Utah Arches National Park's colorful sandstone ranges. Island in the Sky's Colorado River-cut vistas. Landmark Valley's sky-puncturing towers. Southeast Utah's significant milestones have been firm top picks among voyagers for quite a long time. As of late, nonetheless, lesser-realized territorial destinations like the forested levels of the new Bears Ears National Monument have become hot-button news things because of political tussles in Washington, DC over securing characteristic and social assets. 

This tremendous quarter of the Beehive State holds numerous outstanding outside objections, from the lodging filled experience town of Moab and uncrowded Capitol Reef to the environmental Ancestral Puebloan vestiges of Hovenweep. Water has slashed the desert scene here, cutting the sandstone into alarming structures, for example, the pleasant Natural Bridges and huge Lake Powell. This is a quintessential Americana excursion nation.

Anjum Khanna launched his career as a freelance illustrator, and this started with covers of paperback books where he developed and displayed his penchant for realistic depictions of fantastic scenery. To achieve this, Anjum often used handmade maquettes and posed models for reference.

About Anjum  Khanna

Those who love fantasy tales and dinosaurs would be great admirers of the works of Anjum Khanna. After all, he's the author of the famous book series about dinosaurs coexisting with humans in a fictional setting. 

[starstruklynna]

Big boats, Round 2

[starstruklynna]

Hey, neighbor!

[starstruklynna]

Immature Sharp-shinned Hawk?

[starstruklynna]

Business is picking up

[starstruklynna]

Up close

[starstruklynna]

A man and his music

[starstruklynna]

Homeward bound

[starstruklynna]

An amazingly quick turnaround - scallops to lobsters