If you’ve been in the area this past week, I don’t need to tell you that it’s been hot—hot—hot! Too hot for hiking, or for much of anything else that requires any physical effort.
Eli the Wonder Pup and I did manage an early-morning 3-mile hike in the Buck’s Ledge Community Forest on Saturday morning, followed by a cooling dip in the pond before I headed up to work. Before that, my last hike had been the previous Sunday morning, when it was quite a bit cooler, and Katie and Lila were up for the weekend to celebrate Tony and Will’s birthdays (both of which fall on August first).
The last time Lila had been up on Buck’s Ledge was five years earlier, when I carried her up in a backpack. Now that she’s seven, she led us the whole way on a three-mile loop from camp, up and over Buck’s Ledge, and down to the scenic overlook on the logging road, then back down the very grassy snowmobile trail to the gate on the Mann Road and home to camp.
It may have been too hot to do much hiking, but it’s been perfect swimming weather, and I’ve enjoyed five long swims in the past week, including my longest one of the year (maybe my longest swim ever), about a mile and a half. That was this past Monday, when the lake was still calm when I started out at nearly noon, and after swimming down around the islands and back, I still had energy and wanted to keep going, so I swam in the other direction for another 15 minutes or so, then back. I might have gone even further, but a breeze was starting to pick up, and I really don’t enjoy swimming unless it’s just about flat calm, or, as my mom always said, “just like glass.”
Speaking of Just Like Glass, I’ll be up in Rangeley next Wednesday evening, reading from and discussing my book at the Rangeley Public Library at 6 p.m. I don’t really know anyone in the Rangeley area, but I’m hoping a few people will come out to listen.
Here are some other upcoming events:
Thursday, August 14, at 1 p.m. in the Twitchell Education Building at the Museums of the Bethel Historical Society: The Mill Brook Craft Series continues with “Meet the Pollinators: Important Food Webs in Your Garden,” a presentation by Maine Master Naturalist Julie Reiff. A member of the Bethel Conservation Commission and the board of Inland Woods and Trails, Julie gives occasional nature walks for the Mahoosuc Land Trust and volunteers in the Habitat for All Garden at Valentine Farm.
Friday, August 15, and Saturday, August 16, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Locke Mills Union Church: Combined yard sale and craft sale. There will also be a bottle drive during the same times, so gather up your returnables and bring them by to benefit the church. If you’re interested in having a table at the sale, please contact Rosie MacArthur at 207-357-4940.
Saturday, August 16, from 10 a.m. to noon: open hours at the Greenwood Historical Society on Main Street in Locke’s Mills. Come in to see the new exhibits and learn a bit about Greenwood’s history.
Sunday, August 17, at 5 p.m. on the Bethel Common: Mahoosuc Community Band summer concert. Simon Smith is conducting the band this summer. Please bring a chair or blanket to enjoy the free outdoor concert. Donations are gratefully accepted to help the band purchase new music and pay its conductor. The rain location will be at Bingham Auditorium at Gould Academy. The band rehearses on Mondays at 6:45 p.m. at the Gould music room, and new musicians are always welcome.
Thursday, August 21, at 1 p.m. in the Twitchell Education Building at the Museums of the Bethel Historical Society: Kevin Winsor will present a program on fly fishing, part of the Mill Brook Craft Series.
Thursday, August 28, at 1 p.m. in the Twitchell Education Building at the Museums of the Bethel Historical Society: “The Art of Paper Quilling” with Sara Hemeon, the final program in the Mill Brook Craft Series.
Thursday, September 4, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Mason House at the Museums of the Bethel Historical Society: Annual meeting and potluck supper. If you’re a member, or you’d like to become one, or you’d just like to know more about MBHS, please bring a dish to share and join us. Following the potluck supper, Executive Director Will Chapman will present a program on the past, present, and future of the Museums of the Bethel Historical Society, including a retrospective marking his ten years with the organization.
Sunday, September 14, at 2 p.m. at the East Bethel Church, 1797 Intervale Road, Bethel: Meetinghouse and Church in Early Oxford County. Join architectural historian and director of the Hastings Homestead Museum Randall H. Bennett for a presentation about early meetinghouses and churches in Oxford County. This program celebrates the transfer of Bethel’s “Lower Meeting House” (East Bethel Church) to the care of the Hastings Homestead Museum, Inc. The lecture will begin with a brief introduction to the town’s newest museum on Broad Street in Bethel Hill village. Free (donations encouraged).
Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Locke Mills Union Church: Rosie MacArthur offers weekly country line dancing lessons. The cost is $5 per lesson, and there’s no need to pre-register; just drop in. The class welcomes all levels, including beginners, and Rosie also offers lessons on Thursdays from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the United Methodist Church at 75 Main Street in Bethel.
If you have news or events you’d like included here, email me at amy.w.chapman@gmail.com or call 207-890-4812. There will be a print edition of the Citizen next week, August 22, and the next print edition after that will be September 5 (which seems hard to believe!), but you can read the Locke’s Mills column here online every week at amywchapman.com, or subscribe for free to have it emailed to you each week.
“The month of August had turned into a griddle, where the days just lay there and sizzled.” – Sue Monk Kidd