A Family of Red Foxes Near Bath, Maine

"I will be down there in a couple of hours," I told my friend Tucker. "I am going to take back roads. It will probably take me two or three hours with stops," I said as I grabbed my two cameras and my Filson Jacket and headed towards the car. After fueling up Nick's 1994 BMW 525I with 87 octane unleaded, I headed south towards Cape Elizabeth with four unassigned hours to negotiate the old BMW for miles. I expected to see barns, Mainards, or perhaps the occasional abandoned boat but I never expected to see a family of red foxes near Bath, Maine.

Twenty five miles north of Bath, the Maine woods started closing in on the two-lane highway and cell phone reception dropped. Just as I started thinking about turning around and heading west towards 295, the woods opened up, exposing a small field with two bulls standing on a small knoll. I slowed down to look at the bulls and spotted three foxes, a mother and two kits, playing with flowers.
Seeing these foxes made me realize that I soon will live far from foxes and picturesque rural farms like this. After I graduate in almost exactly a year, I will most likely move to a large city and start working a lot. Lee Norwood recently told me a story about how the year he started working for Ralph Lauren, he bought a top of the line backpacking stove and has yet to use it. He has worked at RL for twenty years.

After chasing the kits into the woods for the third time, I hopped back in Nick's BMW and headed south grinning ear to ear. Within three minutes I saw a weasel and turkey. Maybe I will be able to balance my professional career with doing other things I love.

Here are some more links,
Red Fox (Wikipedia),
A Family of Foxes (Picasa).

Moxie Cream Soda: A Taste of Maine

143 years ago in Lowell Massachusetts, a physician named Augustin Thompson created Moxie Cream Soda in his barn. Thompson left his thriving medical practice to develop and market his patent medicine as a "nerve tonic." Moxie Cream soda was rumored to cure ailments from softening of the brain to losing your manhood.

Today, Moxie is distributed in limited quantities in New England as a subsidiary of the Coca Cola Company and remains popular with Mainards. Every summer, the town of Lisbon Maine celebrates Moxie's contributions to the state of Maine with the Moxie Festival. Here is a video of Frank describing Moxie's infamous aftertaste.

Upon asking fellow Colby students if they liked Moxie, they almost always responded, "Nahh, but my dad loves that shit."

Recently, Moxie has gained popularity in Maine and Connecticut because of its mixability with spirits, here are some of my favorite recipes taken from this forum;

The “Welfare Mom”, which consists of equal parts Diet Moxie and Allen's Coffee Flavored Brandy,

The Vijay", which consists of equal parts of Moxie and blended American Whiskey,

The “County Girl”, a drink made up of one part bourbon whiskey and two parts Moxie on the rocks, with an optional lime garnish.

If any of this sound good, you can buy Moxie on line here, or better yet call some small grocery store in Waterville like the Big Apple and ask them to ship a case to you.

Thanks to Mr. Rodney Corey for the tip.

Here are some more links,
Moxie Soda: A Taste of Maine (Picasa),
Hometown Favorites: Moxie,
Moxie (Wiki),
Moxie Festival.

Barns From Maine

I love Maine barns. Here is a collection of some of my favorite from the last three weeks. All are available in 21-megapixel downloads on my Picasa page. Have a nice weekend and try to find a barn.

Here are some more links,
More from Route 137 (Picasa),
Houses Down East (Picasa),
New England Barns (ART),
Red, White and Blue (Picasa).

Red, White and Blue

Melting snow in central Maine exposes a new set of colors. No longer do whites and grays dominate the landscape. Red, white and blue are back.

I spotted this barn on the side of Route 137, and was captivated the by the contrasts between the tan of the recently exposed grass, the rich red of the barn and seemingly endless blues and whites of the sky.

Central Maine farmland.

The full spectrum of colors; tan grass, red barn, silver roof and blue sky.

Here are some more links,
Red, White, and Blue (Picasa).