Maine Flowers

Maine flowers are beautiful. In Yarmouth, where I grew up, flowers were everywhere, both cultivated and wild. We were lucky when we moved into our new house, because the previous owners had planted wonderful flowering shrubs, lilac, bleeding heart, honeysuckle and others. Numerous small flower gardens could be seen planted in different areas of the yard. I don't remember my mother or father planting flowers, but my mother always had a Christmas cactus in the home. Spring at our house would surprise us with her beautiful and heart-warming colors.

When I married, my husband and I first lived in apartments in various southern Maine towns. Eventually my husband got tired of this nomad life, and we started looking for land on which to build our own home. The first piece of land was in Windham, and with a lot of hard work and assistance from my husband's two brothers, we completed our first house. Because we first had to clear the land where the house would be situated, we were left with a few trees and no flowers in our yard. After going on a buying trip we found a couple of shrubs and a few flowers. Money was tight.

First House under construction: First floor and daylight basement.

Here I am doing my share of the nailing of the floor boards.

After we built our third house, we had more time and a little more money.

We decided to plant a Day Lilly garden next to the side door which turned out to be a success.

We enjoyed it, and the butterflies especially enjoyed it. We planted Shasta lilies by the front door, and crocuses, daffodils and tulips under the front window, and in little clusters scattered throughout the front lawn. We also planted roses, Hosta plants and Hydrangea next to the fence which ran along the front walkway.

We were very proud of our flowering gardens. At the time we were unaware we were following in the spirit and the footsteps of most Maine people who plant a few Spring flowers in the Fall to greet them after the long, hard winter.

In the Fall we planted marigolds and geranium to assist the Fall leaves with keeping the color alive right up to the first snows, just as Hannah Aleynby did in my first book, Murder Is Always Evil.

"Murder Is Always Evil" Main Character, Noah Drinkwater

Introducing Noah Drinkwater, Chief of Police, Main character in my book Murder Is Always Evil.

Noah is a tall good-looking young man with blonde hair and blue eyes. Reserved in his manner, he mostly keeps his thoughts to himself. He’s serious about his work and determined to do well for his town. He’s well-liked and respected by the townspeople.

 Forced to mature at an early age after the death of his parents, Noah is committed to law enforcement. He’s honest and has a friendly nature but is mostly a loner. His closest friend is Isaac Sanders, an officer in the Fairhaven Police Dept. and a resident of the town. Noah was hired after high school by the Portland Police Dept. to train as an officer. After working for the PPD for a few years, and earning a couple of commendations, Noah was happy when the Mayor of Fairhaven on Deanes Island recruited him for the position of Police Chief. Glad to have a chance to return to his hometown, he accepted the position. 

Noah married Hazel Curtis when he was 21 and she was 20, but the marriage only lasted about two years.

A Boy and his Dog

My grandson is a wonderful kid. We've been fortunate in having him living near us most of his life. When we moved to Florida, he and his family moved down first when he was still a baby. He had his first birthday in Florida so he is a true Florida boy. Except for a few excursions back to Maine when he and his family lived and worked in southern and mid-coast Maine for a couple of years each time, he has lived in southwest Florida near us.

His mother, our daughter, home-schooled him until he was seven or eight when he decided he wanted to go to school with other kids. So, one day he got on the school bus and went off to school with his neighborhood friends. He did well in his classes and loved school. He's now almost finished with eighth grade and looking forward to high school. Along the way he learned to play the trumpet and is looking forward to possibly having private lessons this summer. We are all proud of him.

     My grandson fishing at his other grandparents' camp in Maine. 

I can't help thinking of his experience and wondering if I would have enjoyed being home-schooled. I loved school even though I was shy and quiet in class. Because I loved learning new things I did well in school and was happy with the variety of activities available for me to try. As I got older I found myself mostly bored in my classes and usually got through them by reading ahead in my textbooks. The teachers never seemed to notice, or if they did, didn't care because my grades were good.

 My grandson's dog trying to catch fish.

                             
I think now that homeschooling would have been good for me and my younger sisters and brother, and possibly for my older brother. We lived in a small town and had neighborhood friends to play with, and we usually spent our time walking the streets of our town to see what was happening elsewhere. I would have loved reading and learning as much on a subject as I wanted, and probably would have blossomed in an atmosphere where I would have been free to explore whatever peaked my interest.

                                    Fishing in Southern Maine.