Listening Tour

The Select Board will go “on the road” in an effort to gather input on citizen’s visions for Rockport’s future. Seven meetings, designed somewhat as workshops, are planned in September and October (in addition to regular select board meetings), within the five distinct villages of the town, one for the business community and a recap/follow-up meeting. Six generic questions that apply to all parts of town will help generate the discussions. The first meeting will be Wednesday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m. in Rockville at Rockville Community Chapel.

Town

Meetings are at the Town Office unless otherwise specified.

The C-R Pathways Committee will meet Wednesday, Sept. 5, at 7 p.m.

The Investment Committee will meet on Monday Sept. 10, at 10 a.m.

The Select Board will also meet Monday, at 7 p.m. at the Opera House, televised on channel 22.

The Planning Board will meet Wednesday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m. at the Opera House, televised on channel. 22.

And, remember, the Select Board’s “Listening Tour” kicks off Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at Rockville Community Chapel.

Doubleheader!

Coastal Quilters kicks off the fall season with a Friday workshop and Saturday program with Carol Boyer, a favorite fabric arts artisan from Syracuse, NY. The “Create Your Own Greeting Cards” workshop will be Friday, Sept. 7, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Although pre-registration was required and class size limited, check with Barb Melchiskey, 236-9665 or email smelchiskey@roadrunner.com to see if space is still available. Bring a brown bag lunch with beverages and refreshments served during the day.

Saturday, Sept 8, from 10 a.m. to noon Carol Boyer will switch gears from her earlier workshop and present “Play to Your Strengths” as she explores why we make quilts. Her talk will be accompanied by a trunk show of quilts she’s made through the years showing her own ever-evolving style. The program will be followed by a refreshment break and a short business meeting. Free and open to the public, all welcome. Both the workshop and the program will be at Camden Lions Club on Lion’s Lane in Camden. For more information, call Prudy Netzorg, 354-0938 or Stevie Kumble, 236-2352.

Busy place!

The next program at the Rockville Community Chapel will feature “ Well Preserved & In a Pickle,” with renowned food historian and chef, Sandy Oliver. (Do you know what muddy water or Riley water pickles are?! ). Sandy’s latest book (it’s a beauty!), “Maine Home Cooking” will be available this month from Down East Books. This presentation is free to the public, but donations will be accepted at the door and refreshments will be for sale with all money going to the outstanding roof repair loan and continuing maintenance of the recently renovated building. The chapel is located at 87 Old Rockland St. (off Route 17), in Rockport.

Nature lessons

Compost expert Mark King will lead a talk on institutional composting at Merryspring on Tuesday, Sept. 11, at noon. Not only is waste reduction important in securing a sustainable future, composting is a practical method of reducing that waste while returning nutrients to the earth. King’s presentation will outline institutional composting efforts currently in place in Maine (composting food waste from cafeterias and produce suppliers), citing specific examples. Take what you learn about institutional composting, apply to your own family/home, glorying in how easy it is for us! Admission is free to MNC members and children, with a nominal $5 fee for non-members. For more information about MNC, including programs, call 236-2239 or visit merryspring.org.

Politics

Knox County Democrats will meet Tuesday, Sept. 11, at Stella Maris House (handicapped accessible), in Rockland. The usual potluck supper will begin at 6 p.m. followed by the 7 p.m. business meeting. Agenda items include a report on the recent, record-breaking John Syrett Lobster Bake and a report on the “gearing up” campaign activities and the staffing of campaign headquarters from now through Election Day. Local candidates will also present updates on their campaign. All are welcome regardless of voter registration status or party affiliation (or non!). For more information, please contact Chairman Bruce Hodsdon at 372-6535 or at brucehodsdon@gmail.com.

Heads up

The Rockport Garden Club meets Sept. 6, with a 1 p.m. business meeting, followed by a 2:30 p.m. program. Karyn Goodwin of Season's Downeast Design will present a program on flower arranging. Free and open to the public, the event is at the Opera House. For more information call Barbara Bausch 596-6416 or Louise Cadwgan 594-4449.

Maine Fare 2012

You’re invited to Maine Farmland Trust’s Maine Fare, a celebration of Maine’s local food traditions, farms, farmers, restaurants, chefs and happy eaters! The event will be Friday Sept. 7, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. in Downtown Belfast.

Opening reception

The opening reception for Archipelago’s “Crafts of the Land and Sea 2” will be at the gallery Friday, Sept. 7, from 5 to 8 p.m. The exhibition runs through Nov. 3.

Civil War

Lecture one of the Farnsworth’s Civil War series kicks off Wednesday, Sept. 12, at 5:30 p.m. with “Art of the Civil War: North and South with independent historian and writer Stephen May. The lecture will be in the Farnsworth auditorium.

Night skies

Saturday, Sept. 8, about an hour before sunrise, Jupiter is less than a degree above the moon high in the southeast. Aldebaran, the “red eye” of Taurus is just to the lower left of those two. On Sept. 10, Mercury passes behind the sun and moves into the evening sky. On Sept. 12, Venus, the brilliant winter morning star lies close to the lower left of the moon at dawn.

Livin’ Is Easy

Somehow this summer I managed to reprogram myself to “live more in the moment, smell the roses.” Recently that proved to be fantastic medicine. Our mini-kitchen/herb garden and bird feeders, as well as a delightfully hand-crafted iron bird water dish (originally designed but never used as a soap dish!) grace our dining room deck, along with two rail flower planters filled this year with tall, spiky bear grass and masses of nasturtiums. Sitting at the dining room table Sunday morning, I heard what sounded like a large swarm of bees, but looking out the sliders, I saw about a dozen hummingbirds swarming the feeder, flitting among the nasturtiums, landing on both the spiky bear grass and the bamboo teepeed trellises that support three tomato plants and also on a huge grapevine wreath hanging on the house wall. I’ve never seen such delightful, cavorting, aerobatic antics from so many hummers! About the same time, a plethora of finches, chickadees, nuthatches, juncos and other small birds descended on their feeders and also “lined up” to not only drink from the water dish, but even take a bath! Even our goldie Cassie laid on the floor watching them, glancing at me occasionally as if to say, “What’s with them?!” I have no idea how much time passed, but I know my sides ached from laughing and I went through the rest of the day with a smile on my face and more than a week later continue to smile when I remember.