Me posing with Donn Fendler
When I’m not home on Bridgvale Farm with the dogs, my favorite place of all to be is Maine. Three generations of our family spent 51 wonderful summers living on a lake in Maine. I miss that very much. So – what better way to spend Mother’s Day Weekend then to head Downeast with one of my daughters? Jeanne, too, spent many great summers at the family summer home on Long Lake. She was the life guard and swim instructor at the Town Beach throughout her college years. We both have a strong pull to the pine tree state.
Yes – the weather was not ideal. But, for us, just being there was fun. When we hit Portland, usually around 9:30 a.m, we stop at the fabulous Standard Baking Company for a marvelous freshly baked treat and coffee. We exchange greetings with the folks at the bakery who know us well, then head out for an adventure. Sometimes, we take the ferry and ride out to the islands in Casco Bay. Often, we head over to Cape Elizabeth to walk along Crescent Beach. I have a thing about bringing home one – or two – uniquely shaped, smooth rocks that has washed up on the shore and hunt and hunt for just the perfect ones. Due to fairly cloudy, rainy weather, we headed to Freeport. I have to make at least one annual visit there. I am one of the still surviving people who remembers the original LLBean building. My father took us kids there when we first started going to Maine in the early ’50’s.
The Mother’s Day Weekend visit to LLBean was meant to be… one of my favorite authors happened to be there signing his book. Donn Fendler himself, now 86 years old, was there signing the republication of his book Lost on a Mountain in Maine which was first published in 1939 (subsequently reprinted many times through the years). Now published in paperback, I had Donn sign my copy for my grandson who, at 18 months of age, is already quite the adventurer, accompanying his parents on hikes and camping trips in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and canyons of Moab, Utah. My hardcover copy was given to me by my Maine friend Sheila (a fellow teacher) in 1992, introducing me to this timeless true story of Donn Fendler lost on Mount Katahdin at the age of 12 and his amazing tale of survival.
I was humbled to stand in the company of this great man. We had a wonderful chat. He, too, had come to love Maine as a youngster spending summers on a lake as I had. I told him that I read his book aloud to my 6th grade students who loved it and asked me to re-read it. Most of them then borrowed my copy to read it again themselves. He loved that! What a Mother’s Day treat it was to have him pose with me for a photo! I was gushing!!!
My beautiful Sunflower bouquet
Time spent with one of my daughters is the best Mother’s Day gift of all. Thank you, Jeanne, for this special time together. And, a bouquet of my favorite Sunflowers (such happy flowers!) to top it off (along with a future date for Tea & Scones at Alice’s Teacup in NYC). The bouquet is on the porch back home now on Bridgvale Farm, a perfect place to sit and enjoy them, reflecting on a perfect weekend.