I think everyone is feeling the time crunch to get projects complete before snow falls. We did have a few snowflakes mixed in with rain on Saturday. So soak up these beautiful 60 degree days while they last.

Beef stew was quickly cooked on a cool rainy night last week after work. I real…

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Eliot was given a beautiful bow but he still has some growing to do before he can use it so we headed up to LL Cote to see if we could find something that he can use now. It was great to see Mark Bartlett up there as a salesman and he was a great help in setting Eliot up with everything he needs.

Even though it was a long weekend and I had planned on doing some baking, somehow it did not happen. I did make a corn chowder and a tuna noodle casserole. No treats this week in this house.

Trapping season begins soon and I couldn’t be more thankful to have Scott Berry in my kid’s life showing him the ropes and being by his side when he got his deer. I don’t know which one of them enjoys it more. We have quite a few varmints around that need to be thinned out and Eliot and Scott are going to be on the case. I have two older hens that you probably see roaming about if you ride by and at least one was surrounded by feathers this morning. Hopefully the other, Betty, is hiding out somewhere and is safe. We enjoy watching them on the lawn picking away at anything and everything. They will even come on the back porch to visit if you are sitting with Betty always jumping on the porch swing or in my lap for a swing as well. I guess nothing lasts forever and I’ll enjoy the memories. Farm life is a good life but a hard life.

The School Board meets on Monday, October 19^th at 6:30pm at Telstar in the library.

The Select Board meets on Tuesday, October 20^th at 4:30pm. Dogs may be licensed for 2027 starting on October 15^th. Proof of rabies vaccination is required, if not on file. Taxes were due on September 30^th with interest starting October 1^st. The best way to pay is on the town’s website newrymaine.org. Call the office for assistance or if you need the amount due.

Have a great rest of the week. Apparently, I didn’t take many photos this week so another beautiful leaf it is up against some barbwire.

Send me your news to newrynews24@gmail.com and I’ll add it to next week’s column.

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Cooler weather encourages cooking and baking in this house. Chocolate chip cookies were baked along with a couple of loaves of zucchini bread. With the cold rainy weather, corn chowder was on the menu with strawberries and whipped cream on freshly baked biscuits.

The cattle are all home and it is nice to see them all out in the field. They have been enjoying apples off the trees as a treat still and we go shake the trees for them and they come running.

The first installment of taxes was due yesterday, September 30^th. Payments can be made on the town’s website by using the AndroGov link.

The Comprehensive Plan Committee’s next meeting is Monday, October 5^th, at 5 pm. The Select Board will meet on Tuesday, October 6^th, at 4:30 pm and the Planning Board on Wednesday, October 7^th, at 6 pm. Agendas can be found on the town’s website newrymaine.org.

Just a reminder that the Town Office is closed on Wednesday, October 7^th, and Thursday, October 8^th, for staff to attend training. The code enforcement officer will be available. The Town Office will be closed on Monday, October 12^th, in observance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

That’s all for this week. Feel free to send me your news to newrynews24@gmail.com and I will include it in my column next week.

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The garden is almost done with just a few ears of corn left to eat. I tried cooking it this year in the Instant Pot and it was amazing and took very little time. This summer that cooking gadget has become my number one go-to.

The pumpkins have turned orange and are waiting to be moved out front for decoration once I get some corn stalks cut down. The row of sunflowers that was trimmed by the deer finally had five or six blossom.

The weekend being beautiful, we conquered the lower roofing project of the barn. It is quite the transformation.

Again, tax bills were mailed on August 26th. If you have not received your bill, please contact the Town Office to verify the correct address is on file. We attempt to find a new address for all returned mail and get it back in the mail quickly if we have no contact information for you. The first installment is due by September 30th to avoid any interest.

The Select Board met on September 16th and approved staff attending the Maine Municipal Association Convention which is being held in Augusta this year on October 7th and October 8th. They hold multiple sessions at the same time and we divide and conquer, getting as much valuable information as we can to bring back to the office.

I encourage you to check out the town’s website at newrymaine.org to keep up on meetings and other news such as closings.

The School Board meets next on Monday, September 21st at 6:30 pm.

That’s all for this week. Enjoy the beautiful afternoons we have been having as the mornings are cool and this weather only lasts so long.

If you have news you’d like to contribute, please send it to me at newrynews24@gmail.com and I’ll happily add it to next week’s column.

The weekend was spent working on the barn some more and putting up over 50 quart bags of corn to freeze. While picking the corn, I noticed more beans so I picked those and being quite big, I put them through the frencher and they came out great.

The only thing remaining in t…

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Corn, a few squash, pumpkins, and onions are the only things left in the garden. Carrots were picked and processed this past weekend. The crop was not that good this year with smaller carrots than usual and the mice had begun to chew the tops. Carrots have typically done well and we have an overabundance. Wondering why this year was different, I remembered I ordered these seeds from a different company. I will definitely not do that again.

Blackberry picking continued with another batch of muffins and a cobbler with the rest going in the freezer. I did have a pint that I ended up adding to pancakes one night for supper which were very tasty.

I’ve spent some time roaming around near the river and out in the woods looking for new flowers I have not yet observed on the app Seek which is neat. The app allows you to use your camera to identify plants and flowers providing you with the name and additional information. I recommend checking it out if this is something you are interested in. It seems like each year there are new flowers around and I often wonder where they came from.

The barn received a beautiful new roof thanks to A&G Carpentry. It looks great and it was amazing to watch them put up the 22-foot-long pieces of metal roofing. If we need any projects done, we’ll definitely be calling them again. Now work continues on jacking and replacing rotten beams and then some siding.

Just a reminder that the Town Office will be closed on Monday, September 7^th in observance of Labor Day and Wednesday, September 9^th for staff to attend training.

Tax bills went out in the mail on the 27^th. If you have not received one, please contact the town office or you can find them on the town’s website, newrymaine.org. Tax bills are sent to the owner as of April 1^st and courtesy bills are sent to new owners. Payments can be made on the town’s website using the AndroGov link, selecting real estate, entering your account number and tax year 2027. We suggest using an echeck for a $1 service charge. This is a safe way to ensure payments are received and not lost in the mail. Reach out to the town office with any questions or if you need assistance.

Have a great week. Feel free to send me your news to be included in the column next week to newrynews24@gmail.com.

Goal making was something I truly despised when I was in high school but now I find it something I live by. Whether a professional goal or personal goal. I find it nice to have something to work towards. Goals don’t have to be big. Setting some small attainable ones that you can easily do is a great way to start and even can be encouraging to make bigger ones. So make that list and check off things as you go and start a new list when you complete that one. Or maybe you do short term goals and long term goals as some take longer than others.

The Bethel Outing Club Ski and Snowboard Sale is a place where local vendors and vendors from farther afield come to sell winter gear every October. Winter gear includes alpine and nordic skis, boots and poles, snowboards and snowboard boots, helmets, ice skates, hockey sticks, snowshoes, ski and boot bags, packs, winter clothing such as hats, mittens, jacket/coats, snow/ski pants, socks, and miscellaneous other items. There was even a fat-tired unicycle one year!

As well as new gear, folks can bring in used gear to sell. There is a special area to check this gear in. It needs to be inventoried and tagged by the seller and this may be done ahead of time or when it is brought in for the sale. Tagging ahead of time will save you money on tags (4 free and then 25 cents per tag up to 20, $1/tag after 20). Tags purchased the day of the sale at the sale are $1 each. Tags and inventory sheets will be available at the Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce and True North Adventureware starting October 1st and until 2pm on Friday, October 23^rd. More information about selling your used gear is at bethelouting.org. Used gear not sold Friday night is marked down 50% in the hopes of selling it Saturday. If you don’t want your item marked down 50%, you must pick it up by 9pm Friday when the sale closes for the night. The BOC takes a 20% commission which is used to purchase ski gear used by our local youth, aid in the ski programs for them, as well as helping send them to the Bill Koch Festival at the end of the ski season. The Bethel Outing Club Ski and Snowboard Sale will take place Friday, October 23rd from 6-9pm and Saturday, October 24th from 9 till noon at the Gould Academy Field House, 74 Church Street, Bethel.

Just a reminder that the Household Hazardous Waste Event is Saturday, August 29^th from 9am-12pm at Bethel Public Works at 39 Davis Road in Bethel. Information about what can be brought can be found on the town’s website.

Tax bills are expected to go out in the mail today to owners as of April 1, 2026. If you sold your property after April 1, 2026, the taxes were committed to you and you will receive a bill. Courtesy bills are sent to new owners. If you do not receive your bill, you can find a copy on the town’s website or call the office to confirm your address and we can email you a copy. Payments can be made on the town’s website as well.

The Town Office will be closed on Monday, September 7^th in observance of Labor Day and on Wednesday, September 9^th to attend training. Please plan accordingly.

Good luck to all the students and parents that started school yesterday. I know it is a big adjustment getting back into a schedule again. I know we aren’t ready to let the summer break go just yet. Usually, I’m ready for school to begin but not this year. It went too quick and still so much to do.

Have a great week and send me your news to be included in next week’s column to newrynews24@gmail.com.

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No baking again this past weekend as it was too humid and I didn’t want to make the house any worse than it already was. I did, however, process more beets and put up eight jars of pickled beets. The electric pressure canner that you can also water bath in has been amazing. I did learn that I should not run that and the Instant Pot at the same time as it will trip the breaker. Old houses always have quirks and ours is too much on the kitchen breaker.

Green beans have finally come in after their haircut from Betty the hen. I also used the Instant Pot to briefly cook those and they went in the freezer as well. Cucumbers are plentiful but it is kind of a hunt as the squash that is growing next to it has taken over and they are hard to locate. We’ll rethink our garden layout next year to try to avoid this.

Less than two weeks and school begins again. It sure has gone fast. The School Board has started up again after taking July off.

The Comprehensive Plan Committee met on Monday to review the Farming and Agriculture chapters. They will meet next in October and review Natural Resources. One of the things discussed was landscapes and views that we would like to remain as is such as fields. So I’m including a picture of one of my favorite views, my backyard looking up towards my farm. Many stop to take pictures from Route 26 but don’t get the chance to see it from the other direction.

The Household Hazardous Waste Event is taking place on Saturday, August 29, from 9am-12pm at Bethel Public Works, 39 Davis Road in Bethel. Check the town’s website for acceptable items.

The Planning Board Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, August 19, at 6pm has been cancelled and they will meet next on Wednesday, September 2, at 6pm. If you are interested in becoming an Alternate, please contact the Town Office for more details.

The Select Board meets next on Tuesday, August 18, at 4:30pm. The agenda will be posted on the town’s website.

That’s all for this week. If you have news to add, please email me at newrynews24@gmail.com and I’ll add it to next week’s news.

We visited the Smiths to c…

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The garden continues to grow and I can see little cucumbers coming and we all know how quickly they grow so I better keep an eye on them as they will be good size before I know it. Some of the beets are big enough to pick and I better get freezing and pickling soon before other crops are ready to be processed.

The squash and pumpkins have lovely yellow flowers and hopefully we’ll have a bounty of both. I never did get to any greenhouses this year so I did not get a zucchini plant but hopefully someone has a few extra they can share, which is usually the case, so I can make some bread.

Sunday, we took advantage of Open Farm Day and made a trip to Canton to visit Conant Acres with some friends. We had a great time seeing everything and talking with them about their operation. We also enjoyed food from Volkernick’s Sausage and Riley’s Lemonade. If you haven’t tried either, I strongly suggest if you see their trailers to try them out.

While I still consider it summer, many fall items are making their way into the stores such as candy corn and pumpkin creamer. So with that I decided to make some pumpkin bread and a carrot cake in an effort to make more room in the freezer. I’ll continue to use up my corn, beans, carrots, and beets to make room for this year’s harvest.

While going to check out some flowers out back I saw something quickly fly past, so I set out to investigate and came upon what I believe to be a Hummingbird Moth. It was like a cross between multiple animals: humming bird, bee, and butterfly/moth. I found it oddly interesting and took several pictures as it moved about quickly.

The Select Board’s next meeting is Tuesday at 4:30 pm. Agendas and approved minutes can be found on the town’s website, newrymaine.org. The Planning Board continues to look for an alternate. Please reach out to the town office, if you are interested. Start cleaning up and gathering your household hazardous waste as you can dispose of it at Bethel Public Work on Saturday, August 29^th from 9am-12pm. Visit the town’s website for more information of acceptable items.

Have a great week. Send me your news to newrynews24@gmail.com and I’ll be happy to add it to my column next week.

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The garden continues to do well despite limited rain. We have watered it at night as it is quite dry. The beans are recovering from their haircut by Betty the hen and hopefully we’ll have some. The squash plants have quickly doubled in size and hopefully we’ll have plenty of those as well. My Instant Pot is ready for processing. I’m waiting on cucumbers as my lettuce is ready. It was excellent in my sandwich as well as salads. I’ll have to add this to the seed list again for next year.

I took a break from baking and stopped at Mandy B’s Bakery and picked up some cinnamon buns which were excellent. It is hard to get motivated to bake in the warm weather. I did make some hard boiled eggs and have them pickling as this was a request from the boys. My hens are laying at least a dozen eggs a day right now. We had egg salad sandwiches as well as potato salad which are a perfect summer supper. The Instant Pot makes the peeling process so much easier. If only I had known this years ago. Steaming is the best way to make hard boiled eggs and have them easily peel.

I have been enjoying the pool after blowing up some new chair floats. The temperature has been perfect; even adding water as the level had dropped did not cool it down too much.

A little bit of hay was done on Saturday and Sunday we made the trip to Mercer to pick up our bull River who had been hanging out at a turkey farm. I was disappointed that the bakery was closed but so happy for Blake, the main baker, as she got engaged. We’ll definitely have to make a trip over again to grab some donuts or whatever other goodies she has whipped up.

The Comprehensive Plan Committee met on Monday and great progress is being made. The next chapter is Agriculture and Foresty which are quite limited in this area now compared to what they used to be.

The Planning Board continues to look for an alternate member. If you are interested, please contact the Town Office.

A big thank you to Heather Vail who keeps our planters and hanging baskets at the Town Office looking spectacular. The colors this year are beautiful.

All day Tuesday it looked like rain and I waited for thunderstorms and rain which I never saw. There was some light rumbling in the evening but unless I slept through it, the weather reports were extremely wrong for this area, but that is nothing new. It did however rain Wednesday morning. I was out for a run and it started to sprinkle but the sky didn’t look any different than it did 24 hours before so I kept going. The drops increased and I looked up at the sky laughed and told Mother Nature to “Bring it on!” Well, she did and I was a mile away. I still laughed and picked up my pace heading home. I got wet but wasn’t soaked and it was still a great start to the day.

Send me your news to newrynews24@gmail.com and I’ll add it to my column. Have a great week and stay cool.

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Eliot and I decided to venture to Wayne to pick strawberries at Stevenson’s. I haven’t gone picking in years and Eliot had never been. The picking was amazing and we may have gone a little overboard but it was hard not to. With six flats of strawberries, I set to work making jam using my digital canner. Although I had reservations with so many steps in the manual, it went great and I am a huge fan. I managed to can 20 jars of jam and with several flats of berries still remaining I made a couple of strawberry rhubarb pies before my rhubarb passes. While the pies baked, I set to work making a couple of loaves of strawberry bread. I also whipped up some biscuits for strawberry shortcake of course. A fruit salad was made and several quarts of remaining berries were frozen for later use. We both decided next year we better not pick quite so many.

I was convinced I could smell strawberries in the car for days and worried there was one that had rolled under the seat to rot so I decided it was a great time to clean and vacuum the car to confirm this was not the case. No strawberries were found although a few pieces of straw had escaped and possibly were where the strawberry smell came from.

The garden continues to do well besides the green beans as Betty, the pet chicken, decided they were a great snack. She has since been grounded to the barn in hopes that they can recover and the beans actually grow back. I sure do miss seeing her roaming around the yard and hopping up on my porch swing to visit.

With a stretch of good weather and a friend with hay down, we ventured to Bethel to help with square bales. Eliot enjoyed throwing hay as we only put up round bales. I was sure my dad was smiling down watching us out in the field. We used to say, “A family that hays together stays together.”

We are in a heat stretch but the mornings still start off cool which is nice for a morning run. I keep my eyes open for wildlife and so far have only seen a couple of deer.

Just a reminder that the Town Office is closed today, Thursday July 2^nd, in observance of Independence Day. The Transfer Station will be closed on Saturday, July 4^th, so please plan accordingly.

If you have any great strawberry recipes for my frozen berries, please feel free to share them with me. If you have any news to add, please send it to me at newrynews24@gmail.com. Have a great week and enjoy the weather as it won’t last forever.

The garden is coming along nicely and it is time to weed. I actually planted lettuce for the first time. Hopefully the deer stay away. I did see a couple of turkeys walk through but they didn’t stop for a snack, thankfully.

We have had a great start to summer vacation and the haying season. I did take some …

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Haying has commenced in full force and Eliot has been an amazing help and has even learned to mow and bale this year. Pretty impressive for a ten-year-old. We hit it hard on Sunday and almost beat the rain. We had a minor breakdown with a chain on our wrapper but it was fixed fairly quickly and the last four bales finished up. It will be nice to have first crop complete so we can work on other projects.

The garden has been planted and I am just seeing lines of little green sprouts popping out of the ground. I hope I get my passion back for putting up vegetables by the time that needs to be done as well as figuring out the new electric pressure cooker. We are down to the last couple of jars of pickled beets so I definitely need to put up more of those.

I have yet to make my annual visit to Young’s or Mountain Greenery for that matter. Typically, I can’t wait to get a hanging planter but right now I really don’t need one more thing to manage so maybe I’ll skip this year and just enjoy my perennials.

The pool is up and pretty clear but definitely not warm enough for me. I attempted it on one of those humid days but only got my legs in before deciding it was too cold for me. Eliot was in quickly stating it wasn’t cold at all. Oh, to be young again. I used to be in Bear River and didn’t think it was cold at all as a child.

Another rhubarb crunch was made and some chocolate chip cookies. It won’t be long and the rhubarb will be gone so I’m making use of it while I can. I don’t tend to bake as much in the summer as I don’t want to heat the house up and we do not have air conditioning.

Just a reminder that the Town Office is closed today, Thursday, June 18, in observance of Juneteenth. The Comprehensive Plan Committee is hosting a Community Engagement Session at the Bear River Grange Hall on Tuesday, June 23, starting at 6 p.m. This is a chance for community to provide feedback to help update the Comprehensive Plan.

Have a great week and remember to take in the little things like the smell of freshly mowed grass or a hay field or for me the beautiful fields and hay bales which I am always stopping to take a picture of.

Send me your news to newrynews24@gmail.com and I’ll add it to my column next week.

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