Photo of moose cow, calf wins Aroostook County Tourism contest | Bangor Daily News

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Paul Pierce of Mars Hill has been chosen as the overall winner of the Aroostook County Tourism summer photo contest for his picture of a moose cow and calf.

Other category winners include Tracey Ackerson of Woodland for the scenic views category, Johnnie Cancelarich of Presque Isle for outdoor recreation, Fred Grant of Houlton for cities and towns and Lori Prosser of Houlton for festivals and events.

All winning entries are available to view on the website at www.visitaroostook.com and the Aroostook County Tourism Facebook page.

Click to read more on the story in the Bangor Daily News on the photo contest.

Bartering brings me a bunch of chili peppers

A friend had some extra peppers and vegetables she received in bartering for her graphic design services. She gave me some of the lovely overflow. (Photo by Keith Michaud)

A friend the other day was paid in vegetables for some graphic design work. Bartering made a comeback during The Great Recession and may be part of the new economy for some time to come.

Fortunately for me, she had too much and I ended up receiving some of the overflow – a paper bag of farm fresh tomatoes, bok choy, squash, green beans, and a lovely bunch of peppers. The tomatoes are part of my lunch, the bok choy is soup now sitting in my freezer, the squash and green beans will go with a roasted chicken this evening, and the peppers are hanging over my kitchen sink drying.

I'm hanging the peppers above the kitchen sink. I hope to dry them enough to use them as seasoning. (Photo by Keith Michaud)

 I’m hoping to dry the peppers enough to chop up and put into a pepper mill to use as seasonings. This is the first time I’ve dried peppers, so it will be interesting to see the outcome. Here’s a bit of information ondrying peppers from Scott Roberts, a self-described chilihead.

A bunch of tiny peppers being dried about the sink in my kitchen. (Photo by Keith Michaud)

All rights reserved by Keith Michaud ©

Coffeehouse observation No. 348 – Tired, old pickup lines in the coffeehouse

A guy with a German Shepherd in the coffeehouse is killing time by hitting on the woman at the next table. From what I’ve been able to overhear, he’s doesn’t have a job or home – by choice, he says – and that he’s meandering his way to Tucson, Ariz., to end a relationship with a woman. He’s not looking forward to “doing the right thing” in breaking up with the Tucson woman, while he hits on the woman in the coffeehouse. Some guys have chutzpah!
 

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Coffeehouse observation No. 347 – Miles Davis, coffee do a soul good

"Birth of the Cool" ... Miles Davis ... It's what does a soul good. ... That and coffee.

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Recession fears ease as growth speeds up | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Recession fears ease as growth speeds up | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

MaineToday Media CEO, and president, resign | Portland Press Herald

PORTLAND, Maine – MaineToday Media CEO Richard L. Connor announced his resignation from the company today and will step down on Dec. 31, according to a media release.

Dale A. Duncan, who has been MaineToday president since July, also resigned, effective today.

MaineToday Media, which owns The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, The Kennebec Journal in Augusta and the Morning Sentinel in Waterville, will be run by an interim management team while a search is conducted for Connor's successor.

Click to read more of the story by J. Hemmerdinger in the Portland Press Herald.

Moose welcome to visit anytime | Bangor Daily News

Wouldn’t you know. A moose walks into my front yard and I can’t find my camera.

The little case is empty. Where did I put it?

I gaze at the huge animal munching on the leaves of the apple trees outside my kitchen window. I guess I will just have to enjoy watching it.

No. I will use my big single-lens reflex camera that has been idle so long the battery is probably dead. I fish the camera out of its bag and turn it on.

“No card.”

I dig a memory card out of the bag, plug it in and move to the dining room window for a better view. The moose slides her mouth along one branch after the other, munching on the leaves that don’t fall to the ground.

 Click to read more of this commentary by Kathryn Olmstead, former University of Maine associate dean and associate professor of journalism living in Aroostook County, published in The Bangor Daily News.

Half a foot of snow expected in Maine this weekend | Bangor Daily News

PORTLAND, Maine — A weekend storm could bring plenty of chills to the state this Halloween weekend, as the National Weather Service said Friday that more than six inches of snow is expected in many parts of Maine.

A winter storm watch has been posted throughout the state, according to Mal Walker of the National Weather Service in Caribou.

The advisory calls for 4-8 inches of snow in Penobscot, Hancock and Washington counties and includes Greater Bangor, Ellsworth, Mount Desert Island, Machias and Eastport. The advisory notes heavy, wet snow and 15-25 mph winds with gusts up to 35 mph will create hazardous traveling conditions.

Click to read more of this story in the Bangor Daily News.

MaineToday Media laying off 38 newspaper employees | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

MaineToday Media laying off 38 newspaper employees | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Gitlin: Media coverage of Occupy Wall Street is predictably lazy, but likely to improve | Poynter.

Gitlin: Media coverage of Occupy Wall Street is predictably lazy, but likely to improve | Poynter.

Women find niche in woodsman’s competition | Bangor Daily News

FRYEBURG, Maine — Laurette Russell decided after showing horses for 20 years, she needed something else to fuel her competitive fire. So she started entering woodsman’s competitions.

“Throwing an axe at a bull’s-eye and chopping a piece of wood is very satisfying,” said Russell of New Gloucester. “There’s no cookie-cutter type of person to do it. It’s not like when you’re an ice skater, you’re a tiny little ballerina. Anyone of any size, of any age, can do this sport.”

Russell was one of 39 women in a field of 193 people at this year’s Woodsman’s Field Day held at Fryeburg Fair. The daylong event attracted more than 6,000 spectators.

Click to read the rest of the story and see photos by Robert F. Bukaty  in the Bangor Daily News.

LePage to help dedicate Aroostook County trail to fallen Marine | Bangor Daily News

[I missed this story earlier in the week. Every kid I grew up with and I used to climb this trail every year or so. It won’t bring the young man back to his family, but they now have a place to honor his life and his duty to this country. – KM]

AUGUSTA, Maine — On Friday, Gov. Paul LePage will help dedicate a summit trail on Haystack Mountain in Castle Hill in honor of a Presque Isle native who was killed in Iraq five years ago.

The DustinJ. Libby Trail will be dedicated at 8:30 a.m. in memory of Marine Cpl. Libby of Castle Hill, who was 22 when he was killed in action on Dec. 6, 2006, while conducting combat operations in Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned as a squad leader to 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, based at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Libby was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq at the time of his death. He had served in the country previously in 2004. Between his two Iraq tours, he was stationed in Okinawa, Japan.

The trail was renamed through legislation sponsored by state Rep. Alexander Willette, R-Mapleton, and passed by the Legislature last March.

Click for the rest of the story in the Bangor Daily News.

Occupy Maine gets support from unions as demonstration nears one-week mark | Bangor Daily News

PORTLAND, Maine — Members of a group angry about corporate influence on government has found support from southern Maine labor unions as they close in on a week of camping out in downtown Portland.

The Occupy Maine settlement, a local offshoot of a nationwide network of demonstrations that began in mid-September with Occupy Wall Street, reaches its seventh day Friday, and members say their group is still growing. This weekend, Occupy Maine will celebrate what it’s calling Free Speech Weekend with music, yoga and art making.

Members of the Occupy movement have been calling themselves “the 99 percent,” referring to all those who are not among the 1 percent of the American population who control nearly half of wealth in the country. That 1 percent, occupiers argue, have an unfair amount of influence on federal governance.

“We’re getting bigger and bigger,” said Demi Colby, 23, of Gardiner, who took part in Occupy Wall Street and returned to her home state to help launch Occupy Maine on Saturday, Oct. 1.

Click to read the rest of Seth Koenig’s story in the Bangor Daily News.

How Steve Jobs changed (but didn’t save) journalism | Poynter.

How Steve Jobs changed (but didn’t save) journalism | Poynter.

Coffeehouse observation No. 346 – Part of a balanced diet!

Coffee is essential for a well-balanced – yet caffeinated – diet!

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Coffeehouse observation No. 345 – On road to recovery

My BCC – blood coffee content – was low, but now I’m on my way to recovery with the third cup of the day.
 

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