Gave away the last of my firewood

[firefighterjake]

If you live in Maine and you don't like to fish, hunt, or cut fire wood you will be bored.

Well I don't hunt or fish . . . I do cut firewood though . . . and ATV . . . and sled . . . and camp . . . and hike . . . and, yeah . . . I guess you have a point Old Spark . . . great state for doing stuff outdoors, not a great state if your idea of fun is hitting all the trendy restaurants, bars and shopping.

 

[Utilitrack]

HehHeh . . . technically OOB is in Maine . . . but honestly . . . I went there once and found it about as appealing as having my prostate checked. In my own opinion, to truly experience Maine once must travel across the Penobscot Narrows Bridge or head up to The County.

Luckily the DOT just reopened the Penobscot Narrows Bridge, since the large ice chunks that totaled two cars have refrozen, don't slow down to take in the view!

 

[oldspark]

great state for doing stuff outdoors, not a great state if your idea of fun is hitting all the trendy restaurants, bars and shopping.

You said it better then I did, plenty to do out doors.

 

[Beer Belly]

HehHeh . . . technically OOB is in Maine . . . but honestly . . . I went there once and found it about as appealing as having my prostate checked. In my own opinion, to truly experience Maine once must travel across the Penobscot Narrows Bridge or head up to The County.

She's a beach person....gotta be on the water....me, give me a cabin surrounded by at least 10 acres of woods

 

[bag of hammers]

Well I don't hunt or fish . . . I do cut firewood though . . . and ATV . . . and sled . . . and camp . . . and hike . . . and, yeah . . . I guess you have a point Old Spark . . . great state for doing stuff outdoors, not a great state if your idea of fun is hitting all the trendy restaurants, bars and shopping.

I think I would like it there...

 

[mikey517]

Bergen County New Jersey

Ahhh, another Bergen County boy! Hackensack / New Milford here..

Good luck and enjoy Maine.

 

[Bret Chase]

HehHeh . . . technically OOB is in Maine . . . but honestly . . . I went there once and found it about as appealing as having my prostate checked. In my own opinion, to truly experience Maine once must travel across the Penobscot Narrows Bridge or head up to The County.

OOB? You mean New Quebec in the summer?

 

[firefighterjake]

OOB? You mean New Quebec in the summer?

I don't mind the Canadians . . . well maybe the ones who think they look good in speedos (although with the over-lapping belly it's kind of hard to tell at first if they're even wearing a swim suit) . . . my main issue is the whole place just felt cheap, dirty and as if everyone and their cousin was looking to make a buck. In my opinion there are far nicer places to hang out ocean-side (even with sandy beaches.)

 

[Bret Chase]

I don't mind the Canadians . . . well maybe the ones who think they look good in speedos (although with the over-lapping belly it's kind of hard to tell at first if they're even wearing a swim suit) . . . my main issue is the whole place just felt cheap, dirty and as if everyone and their cousin was looking to make a buck. In my opinion there are far nicer places to hang out ocean-side (even with sandy beaches.)

that's my favorite part about it! lol...

 

[basswidow]

Too bad you had to give away all your hard work, but you'll get caught back up in ME and I'm sure your family will enjoy it. I sold all my wood upon my move - it still was painful to see it hauled away.

NJ to ME - definately an upgrade. Get a snowmobile or ATV, fish, have a blast.

 

[cuttingedge]

Too bad you had to give away all your hard work, but you'll get caught back up in ME and I'm sure your family will enjoy it. I sold all my wood upon my move - it still was painful to see it hauled away.

NJ to ME - definately an upgrade. Get a snowmobile or ATV, fish, have a blast.

Thanks. I already have an ATV. I guess with all the snow I should start looking into a snowmobile. I love the outdoors so for me it is a great move.

 

[peakbagger]

Head north of Rt 2 and that pretty much is the line between new maine and old maine. The snowmachines were out this past weekend and I have read that the lakes have some decent ice this year. I personally hike up the local mountains in winter but I pick my days. Great time of the year to go drop some firewood. I swear the wood splits far easier the colder it gets. I also keep my chain sharp a lot longer as when I am bucking up the wood on the snow the tip never goes in the ground, saw runs better too.

There are some folks who get the track conversion for ATVs, I think the work well on groomed trails but are more prone to problems since they are add on kits.

Of course you qualify as an "out of stater" until you have survived mud season and black fly season. Now just go pick up a couple of Bert and I records and How to Talk Yankee and you can start faking being a local

 

[firefighterjake]

Thanks. I already have an ATV. I guess with all the snow I should start looking into a snowmobile. I love the outdoors so for me it is a great move.

This is definitely the year to get one.

Good call on the ATV . . . lots of ATV trails . . . many within an hour or so of your new home. Sunrise Trail off Rt. 9 is a fantastic trail system.

 

[firefighterjake]

Head north of Rt 2 and that pretty much is the line between new maine and old maine. The snowmachines were out this past weekend and I have read that the lakes have some decent ice this year. I personally hike up the local mountains in winter but I pick my days. Great time of the year to go drop some firewood. I swear the wood splits far easier the colder it gets. I also keep my chain sharp a lot longer as when I am bucking up the wood on the snow the tip never goes in the ground, saw runs better too.

There are some folks who get the track conversion for ATVs, I think the work well on groomed trails but are more prone to problems since they are add on kits.

Of course you qualify as an "out of stater" until you have survived mud season and black fly season. Now just go pick up a couple of Bert and I records and How to Talk Yankee and you can start faking being a local

Sorry to say a lot of folks will consider you a flatlander for life . . . but it's OK, some of my best friends (and wife) were transplants. Personally I judge folks by their character . . . not by their accent or where they were born.

 

[cuttingedge]

This is definitely the year to get one.

Good call on the ATV . . . lots of ATV trails . . . many within an hour or so of your new home. Sunrise Trail off Rt. 9 is a fantastic trail system.

I needed something to pull my splitters around so I bought my brother's 4x4 ATV which was like brand new as he never used it. It helped a lot gathering all of the wood that I cut up while I was there as well. With the amount of property that we have it is going to come in real handy. Like I said I need to start looking into a sled as with the amount of snow up there it looks like that is the only way for me to get wood out of our woods and up to the splitting area.
BTW I may be a Flatlander/ Transplant but hopefully I will fit in. I am for the most part a very easy going guy that gets along with everyone and is willing to do anything for family and friends.
My wife is a very keep to herself quiet person so she will be happy just to hang out with me and the dogs and the occasional visitors that we may get. I look forward to meeting with you when we get settled.

 

[peakbagger]

It takes awhile to be accepted in small community. The local town next to me has a town facility where they dump their trash and recyclables. There is no pickup in town so every one goes to dump. They are open Saturdays and one night a week. the joke is the antisocial folks going during the week but the social ones go to "Dump and Donuts" on Saturday. The locals figure out (sometimes too quickly) who wants to be involved with town life and those who don't. The ones that don't they tend to ignore while the ones who want to be involved they engage.

One odd thing to realize is that there are a lot of folks who move up north who think they loves the winter. They move in to the area in the spring and look like longtimers. They do great until after the holidays and then a portion of them decide to head south and not come back, therefore some locals figure it isn't worth spending a lot of time getting to know the new folks until they have gone through an entire winter and mud season. If your town has a town meeting plan on attending. its usually in late winter. Just try to sit back and not say anything, you will figure out a lot from how people act by the way they act at town meeting

 

[cuttingedge]

It takes awhile to be accepted in small community. The local town next to me has a town facility where they dump their trash and recyclables. There is no pickup in town so every one goes to dump. They are open Saturdays and one night a week. the joke is the antisocial folks going during the week but the social ones go to "Dump and Donuts" on Saturday. The locals figure out (sometimes too quickly) who wants to be involved with town life and those who don't. The ones that don't they tend to ignore while the ones who want to be involved they engage.

One odd thing to realize is that there are a lot of folks who move up north who think they loves the winter. They move in to the area in the spring and look like longtimers. They do great until after the holidays and then a portion of them decide to head south and not come back, therefore some locals figure it isn't worth spending a lot of time getting to know the new folks until they have gone through an entire winter and mud season. If your town has a town meeting plan on attending. its usually in late winter. Just try to sit back and not say anything, you will figure out a lot from how people act by the way they act at town meeting

Thank you for the advice. I actually do love the Cold and Snow so I will be fine in that aspect. I look forward to winter every year but since I plow snow during the winter I hardly get to enjoy it where I am. Since we are moving during the middle of the winter I will only have to plow my own driveway and I can do it whenever I feel like it. This will enable me to actually enjoy "playing in the snow" as opposed to having to work in it for days on end. My plan is also to join the local Fire Dept. as I have been a Firefighter for 10+ years here. It is a great way to meet good people and generally speaking we are a tight group that will do anything for each other. Those are the friends/ brothers that I like having.

 

[peakbagger]

Thank you for the advice. I actually do love the Cold and Snow so I will be fine in that aspect. I look forward to winter every year but since I plow snow during the winter I hardly get to enjoy it where I am. Since we are moving during the middle of the winter I will only have to plow my own driveway and I can do it whenever I feel like it. This will enable me to actually enjoy "playing in the snow" as opposed to having to work in it for days on end. My plan is also to join the local Fire Dept. as I have been a Firefighter for 10+ years here. It is a great way to meet good people and generally speaking we are a tight group that will do anything for each other. Those are the friends/ brothers that I like having.

You sound as though you will fit right in. The FD in most towns is the most active mens club in the region and they are always looking for skilled members.

 

[firefighterjake]

I needed something to pull my splitters around so I bought my brother's 4x4 ATV which was like brand new as he never used it. It helped a lot gathering all of the wood that I cut up while I was there as well. With the amount of property that we have it is going to come in real handy. Like I said I need to start looking into a sled as with the amount of snow up there it looks like that is the only way for me to get wood out of our woods and up to the splitting area.
BTW I may be a Flatlander/ Transplant but hopefully I will fit in. I am for the most part a very easy going guy that gets along with everyone and is willing to do anything for family and friends.
My wife is a very keep to herself quiet person so she will be happy just to hang out with me and the dogs and the occasional visitors that we may get. I look forward to meeting with you when we get settled.

Same here . . . perhaps we can even meet up some time this summer for a ride on the quads.

 

[cuttingedge]

Same here . . . perhaps we can even meet up some time this summer for a ride on the quads.

Sounds good to me.
Other than our property I have no idea where to ride. Do you have a snowmobile?

 

[firefighterjake]

It takes awhile to be accepted in small community. The local town next to me has a town facility where they dump their trash and recyclables. There is no pickup in town so every one goes to dump. They are open Saturdays and one night a week. the joke is the antisocial folks going during the week but the social ones go to "Dump and Donuts" on Saturday. The locals figure out (sometimes too quickly) who wants to be involved with town life and those who don't. The ones that don't they tend to ignore while the ones who want to be involved they engage.

One odd thing to realize is that there are a lot of folks who move up north who think they loves the winter. They move in to the area in the spring and look like longtimers. They do great until after the holidays and then a portion of them decide to head south and not come back, therefore some locals figure it isn't worth spending a lot of time getting to know the new folks until they have gone through an entire winter and mud season. If your town has a town meeting plan on attending. its usually in late winter. Just try to sit back and not say anything, you will figure out a lot from how people act by the way they act at town meeting

Joining the FD is a great idea . . . as is going to the town meeting . . . but the key is just as Peakbagger said . . . folks who tend to say a lot or talk about all the great things they want to do and change in town generally do not fit in as well vs. folks who take their time to learn about folks and see how while things may be different in town, different does not equal bad . . . for some Maniacs change = bad. I sometimes swear that most dyed in the wool Maniacs are folks who opted to stubbornly stay behind while the more forward thinking and adventuresome sort of folks open to change went westward with the move west.

 

[firefighterjake]

Sounds good to me.
Other than our property I have no idea where to ride. Do you have a snowmobile?

If you go on line to the Maine Snowmobile Association website you can check out all of the ITS (Inter-connected Trail System) map which in theory would allow you to ride all the way from southern Maine to The County. In looking at the map I don't see any ITS trails in Bucksport, but there may be some club trails in the area . . . or you could trailer a sled to the trails.

And yeah . . . I ride in the Winter . . . I don't drink and I am married . . . what else is there to do in the Winter?

Tried to go out today in fact, but the feeder trail I have to the ITS trail nearby has so many birch trees bent over from the ice that it was impossible to get through.

 

[cuttingedge]

Joining the FD is a great idea . . . as is going to the town meeting . . . but the key is just as Peakbagger said . . . folks who tend to say a lot or talk about all the great things they want to do and change in town generally do not fit in as well vs. folks who take their time to learn about folks and see how while things may be different in town, different does not equal bad . . . for some Maniacs change = bad. I sometimes swear that most dyed in the wool Maniacs are folks who opted to stubbornly stay behind while the more forward thinking and adventuresome sort of folks open to change went westward with the move west.

I don't want to change anything except were I am. I feel like over the years with my lifestyle and views that I no longer fit in with the general population of my area. Most of my friends are very like minded but unfortunately many of them have or are planning to move. I also have a close family friend that is coming up with me next week and is actively looking for a house because where he is in NY he feels the same way as I do. He would also be a great asset to the community as he was a F.F. and like me is a very easy to get along with person whom is just tired of the changes happening in our communities. That and where we are is becoming so over populated that we can no longer enjoy the outdoor lifestyles that we love. My Wife and I have always wanted to own a larger piece of property that allows us to do the outdoor activities that we both love such as riding the ATV, working outside, playing with our dogs (our kids) and just relaxing after a long work week. We have been very fortunate in that we were basically given the opportunity to move into our dream. We have a nice piece of property with lake frontage and where the house is situated it is very private and quiet. That is something that we have never had but had always dreamed of.

 

[firefighterjake]

I don't want to change anything except were I am. I feel like over the years with my lifestyle and views that I no longer fit in with the general population of my area. Most of my friends are very like minded but unfortunately many of them have or are planning to move. I also have a close family friend that is coming up with me next week and is actively looking for a house because where he is in NY he feels the same way as I do. He would also be a great asset to the community as he was a F.F. and like me is a very easy to get along with person whom is just tired of the changes happening in our communities. That and where we are is becoming so over populated that we can no longer enjoy the outdoor lifestyles that we love. My Wife and I have always wanted to own a larger piece of property that allows us to do the outdoor activities that we both love such as riding the ATV, working outside, playing with our dogs (our kids) and just relaxing after a long work week. We have been very fortunate in that we were basically given the opportunity to move into our dream. We have a nice piece of property with lake frontage and where the house is situated it is very private and quiet. That is something that we have never had but had always dreamed of.

From the sound of it you may fit in pretty well . . . I've always thought my brother in law from CT would fit in well here . . . just the money pays better in CT.

 

[cuttingedge]

From the sound of it you may fit in pretty well . . . I've always thought my brother in law from CT would fit in well here . . . just the money pays better in CT.

In my life happiness has always trumped money. As long as I can pay the bills and put a little something away for a rainy or snowy day I am ok with that. Being able to go outside and cut wood or go down to the pond and go for a swim with my pups is what brings me happiness. Well that and having a happy wife... Speaking of the wife, as of next week she is able work from home so when we move up there she will be home all day either working or driving me crazy. I can already see that my "Honey Do" list is going to be growing very quickly.