Newbie- Introductions (Waterville, Belfast, Unity: rentals, day care, motel)

[wnc-eky-me]

Hello all I have been lurking and gathering wealths of info on this forum for a few weeks and just took the plunge to get a "screenname" etc. I was raised in western NC just east of the Blue Ridge Mtns and I am currently living in Eastern Kentucky at a summer camp doing odds and ends. But Come this summer I will probably (not 100%) be living in Unity, Maine going to school at Unity college to complete my BS in Forestry. We plan to visit the area in early March 1st week. So I have enjoyed getting great info from all of you.

A few Questions.
- What is the normal temps, Precip, and winds in early March for Midcoast area?
- How's the water in this area of Maine?
I know this sounds like a wierd question but in NC the water was great, but here in EKY they have horrible water(Loads of Iron and has a putrid Sulfur smell along with oil or Coal or something black in it) I love water and am intrested in this in the Unity/ Waldo county area.

- Will my heavy Southern accent be the source of lots of teasing? I can take teasing if is in a non-confrontational good hearted way. BUt I dont want to be consided dumb just because I have a southern accent.

-Anyone have any wisdom on Daycare in this area? Cost's(one 1yr old Child)? Quality?

Thanks in advance. You guys and gals are a very fun bunch to read Maybe I can get to meet some of you guys at the MOFGA "Hippy" fair.
Shaun

[Northern Maine Land Man]

You'll enjoy Maine. We are the most heavily forested state in the nation. I was born before WWII. In my lifetime Maine has gained an average of over 77,000 acres a year of forest. Yes, Gained!

Our water is great. They sell it for a dollar a pint down in Kentucky and such places. Our spring water runs out of the ground here. Many towns have town springs where people come to get drinking water free of charge.

Bring your snowshoes. In mid-March our temps at night will be about 10 above and it can rise to 40 during the day. In the woods there can be 3 feet of snow while on the front lawn of Unity College there can be bare ground. Nobody will mind your accent. What some of the Unity environmental students will mind is the idea that you might agree with harvesting trees. They have a core group of faculty and students there who advocate no human use of our natural resources.

OK, somebody else fill him in on day care.

[wnc-eky-me]

Thanks NMLM we are looking forward to the move. I always knew Maine had lots of forest but didn't realize it was gaining so much per year. I truly enjoy when you post. I love the idea that most of Maines land is owned by private owners but was even more surprised when you once posted that you can drive for many miles and not see a No Trespassing sign this is very cool. In NC we too have loads of forest and a lot of them too are privately owned but you would be hard pressed to find many without No Trespassing signs.

I am glad the water is good. You don't realize water quality until you move somewhere with water that smells like rotten eggs.

I am not worried about people with that "environmental philosphy". I do love to look at land untouched to allow nature to do what it wants but that is why we have National Parks I believe(maybe I am wrong but I doubt it). But I truly believe people (private landowners)who own land have the right to harvest their trees anytime they wish as long as they try to do it properly and try to maintain site and water quality(just looking for effort). Some people harvest trees without the thought of future forest, soil or water quality and this can affect not only their own land but someone else land and as well as everyones trout stream. But I am sure when I get there (Unity) I will get a few cross looks because I have 2 bumper stickers on back of the truck that say "A healthy forest is no accident" and "For a forester every day is Earth Day" that should get me started off on the right foot

But any way thanks for the reply and the info. Since reading this forum I have always respected your opinion as well as Forest Beekeeper. Both of you guys give sound advice.
Thanks NMLM
S

[BacktoNE]

I don't know the first thing about child care costs or how to go about finding it, but I wanted to say "hello and welcome". Hope you enjoy your trip to Maine in March and we will be looking forward to your thoughts and impressions.

[Bydand]

Just found a link to this site this morning. Take a look, seems informative. Pick a town and give a click. Weatherbase - Records and Averages for Maine, United States of America

[wnc-eky-me]

Thanks BacktoNE. We will definately give yall an update after our trip to ME. We are staying in Belfast, B&B cheaper than any Waterville Motel go figure. But now we get the chance to see the Ocean and not have to drive out of way to do it. Mostly business trip to scout rentals(APT) and jobs etc. We can look then about daycare.
But if anyone has any ideas and live in the area then that might save us time while we are there that would help a lot. Thanks to all.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

We obviously can't continue to gain 77,000 acres a year of forest because we are down to just over a million acres of pasture and cultivated ground. All our fields would be gone in just 14 years. Just ride the back roads though and you'll see fields "going back" as they say. I like fields. I would like to see fields preserved, but it takes work to preserve a field. They should at least be bush hogged every other year. I hope families will have enough money to keep their fields up. I know a farmer that maintains fields he does not own to pasture his cows. The land owner gets to keep his fields and the farmer saves on feed. It's a matter of survival for both of them.

[wnc-eky-me]

You make a good point NMLM. We do need fields, livestock need to graze, hay needs to be made for winter, and many wildlife live in, around or on edges of field. Surely there are tax incentives for people with agricultural land just like forest owners. Maybe they don't have them in Maine, I don't know? But in NC the tax incentives for Ag land was greater than Forestry so we were actually losing acres to fields in NC (western piedmont) but there was others who didn't use fields anymore that wanted to keep them so they planted trees in them. So I guess it kind of evens out. The main things that takes away from both fields and forest is concrete and develpoments. These almost never seem to go back to natural things. Gone Forever, but I guess people need a place to live. So what do you do. Protect what you have and try your best to help others see profitable ways to keep what they have natural. Just 2 cents to be taken with a grain of salt I guess.

[elston]

Robert Frost wrote a poem entitled "The Last Mowing" in which he describes the return of a field to woods. He describes the progression from the decision in the farm house not to mow "the place called the Far Away Meadow". He says, "the meadow is finished with men" .... "now is the chance for the flowers, that can't stand mowers and plowers" and then he describes the triumph of trees, "the trees are all I'm afraid of; the meadow is done with the tame"....he celebrates the interval between field and woods for the "tumultuous flowers, to go waste and go wild in"...

NMLM's concern for the fields brought this to mind and had me wasting more than a few mins. searching my "The Poetry of Robert Frost". It was a nice interlude, but now my chores call out to be done, so the similar progression of dust and clutter doesnt claim my home.

[wnc-eky-me]

Originally Posted by Bydand

Just found a link to this site this morning. Take a look, seems informative. Pick a town and give a click. Weatherbase - Records and Averages for Maine, United States of America

Thanks Bydand for the link. It is interesting to see the averages not be horrible like I imagine coming from a southern climate. But I also realize that those are averages and don't tell the whole story. But thanks for the link it was helpful.
Shaun