When oysters or mussels are being cultured, they hang around or stay put on the bottom. They can be found where a grower leaves them. But razor clams (Ensis directus) pose a different challenge. They like to travel. They can dig, swim or jump, skills they have honed to escape predators or to relocate to
The 24-Hour Interview
How do we actually hire a teacher for our island school? Short of putting each applicant through a rigorous battery of psychological tests akin to what NASA is considering for potential astronauts who think they want to sign up to go to Mars—well, actually, we’d like to do that. The ideal candidate would pass NASA’s
The Red Phone
The bride had dreamed of exactly this kind of wedding day. The sky would be blue, the leafy trees green and white puffy clouds would be floating overhead, as she and her beloved, with their assembled guests, looked out over the islands of Penobscot Bay. And so it was. Few present could have hoped to
Supporting the Common Good in Rural America
You might not think that Maine has a high profile in the Washington D.C. headquarters of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but that would be because you probably think that the U.S.D.A. only concerns itself with agriculture. During a recent visit to Maine by some of their top brass, however, the broad role U.S.D.A. plays
The XYZs of an Island Spring
Anyone who lives year-round on an island has likely been asked the question, “What do you do/what is it like there in the winter?” A few years ago, on a winter mailboat ride, some friends helped me come up with an alphabet of responses. We wanted people to know we are not all that different
Vinalhaven Celebrates Student’s Recovery
Late on the night of September 9, 2011, Heather Reidy of Vinalhaven got the phone call that every parent fears. Her son, then 18-year-old Joey Reidy, who was away at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont for the first time, had been hit by a car. Joey was in critical condition. When Heather and her husband
Traditional Boats Make a Comeback
Down a twisting dirt lane on the shore of Poorhouse Cove lies a prosperous boat yard, still building traditional wooden boats, still launching them straight into the sea. Despite a troubled economy, this yard is thriving. While other yards truck their boats to customers and have switched to fiberglass hulls, John’s Bay Boat Company in
Fishing Boat Diorama
To the editor: My goodwife Audrey and I always enjoy reading Barbara Fernald’s “Cranberry Report.” We have a few additions to Barbara’s last report that focused on Ricky Alley’s fishing boat diorama that he built for the Oceanarium. The first addition is about when Ricky built the first artful diorama (with its six model boats
Mercury in Swordfish
To the Editor: I was quite alarmed to read about Linda Greenlaws’ new venture promoting sword and tuna fish. Having been a mercury activist for 15 years one wonders if Ms. Greenlaw is aware the consequences of eating tuna and swordfish. I haven’t eaten either one since learning of the contamination to both. Unfortunately, most
The Problem with Branding
To the Editor: Kris Osgood’s article about “branding” seafood producs (May, 2012) raises some interesting questions about the seafood industry. The first would be if you are going to put a popular name on the “to of the trip,” whose name should we put on the bottom of the trip? I once asked a fish