Mackeral Cove

Winter on Bailey Island looks so different than it does in the summer. Boats are pulled out of the water, lobster men take their traps up and put them on land. There are very few buoys in the bay. One lobster man told me this weekend that they take their traps out of the bay so the shrimpers can drag the bay for shrimp. There is nothing better than Maine shrimp right out of the water. They are a bit messy to cook, and tedious to pick as they are small, but yummy.We serve local Maine shrimp and Maine scallops on our dinner menu. Both of these are caught in the winter.

We still have no snow on the island. We did just have a heavy rain storm that would have been a ton of snow had the temperature been cold. But last night and today, the temperature has been in the 50's! I am sure the snow is coming soon enough.


Hope all is well with all of you, Sue

Best of the best survey

Here is a picture of the plaque we received as well as the announcement that was in the Times Record newspaper. We were voted best Bed and Breakfast in Midcoast Maine for 2010. And, believe me, there are many bed and breakfasts! We thank all of you who voted for us!

We are getting our first snow of the season today. It is not much snow, but it is covering the ground. I do still have some snapdragons blooming and rose buds in the gardens. They are seeing how long they can hold out. Northern Maine is getting a much bigger storm. It will be interesting to see what winter brings. Last year we had a very mild winter.

All is well on Bailey Island. They are taking apart the temporary bridge. Matt is busy with projects at the Inn. He is rebuilding the window boxes on the Sunset and Westview rooms. All the money was raised for the Bailey Island Post Office this month. So, now it is officially owned by the donors. Thanks to those of you who donated to that cause.

Hope all is well with all of you, Sue

Bailey Island morning

Today is crystal clear and calm. These photos were taken from Cook's point early this morning. You can see the bridge, which is now open to traffic. The renovated bridge is the same width that it was before renovation. The temporary bridge was quite a bit wider! For anyone that has crossed the original bridge knows, it is very narrow. I would say that many drivers got used to the temporary width, and forgot how to drive on the original. You really do have to stay in your lane, and not cross the center lines, or 2 vehicles cannot pass. The Department of Transportation tried to convince the towns people to make it wider, but this was voted down. So, a word of warning.....if you are coming to Bailey Island, stay in your lane. Many a rear view mirror has been lost on the bridge over the years.

We still have not had a hard frost on Bailey Island. There are still a few flowers blooming in the gardens. We have much milder weather than Brunswick, which has had a hard frost, and had sleet last Friday.

Reservations are steadily coming in. Remember, a gift certificate to the Log Cabin would make a super gift for the holidays!

Hope all is well with all of you. 121 days til we open! Sue

Grand opening of the Bailey Island Bridge

Here a some pictures of the bridge opening last Saturday morning. It was a very cold, windy day. After the "dignitaries" spoke, there was an antique car show! It was worth the wait to see the many antique cars cross the bridge. The temporary bridge will still be standing until April so the bridge workers can do some finish work. I will be so excited to see the temporary bridge disappear....it is very unattractive. The newly reconstructed bridge is beautiful. I drove across it this morning for the first time, and was very excited. It has been 2 years since they began working on it.

As you can see, there was a very large crowd attending.

All for now, Sue

November color

The sunset picture I just took (yes it is 4:30), and the cove picture I took a couple hours ago. We have had astronomical high tides the past week. The cove picture was actually an hour after high tide. You can see the debris on the boat launch....there is absolutely no beach at high tide! I thought the water was going to cross the road some days. And the floats and boats are all pulled up on the beach for the winter. The lobster men are still fishing, although the extreme winds have kept them in most of the week. We had a "rogue" storm Sunday night that knocked out power and caused considerable damage. It seems we have had many damaging wind storms this season.

But, the sunsets in the fall are really spectacular, even if they are in the afternoon. We have had extremely good weather this year despite the storms. Wonder what is in store for winter?

Well, Matt drained the water at the Inn today, and turned off all heat and gas. The building is ready for it's off season nap. I am sure Matt and Aimee will wake it up often to do the off season maintenance.

Reservations continue to come in for next season....we must be approaching 30% full. Give us a call is you would like to come visit. Also, remember that a Log Cabin Inn gift certificate makes a great holiday present!

"Til next time, Sue

End of the season

Well, our 30th year in business has ended for the season. We must have known the weather was going to take a turn. It sure is chilly out the past couple days! We had a great season, and by the looks of the reservation book for 2011, we will have another busy one next year.

This picture is of the "crew", Josh, Danny, Laura, Aimee, Alicia, Emily, myself and Matt. This was 10am on closing day. By 2pm, we had the rooms stripped, gift shop packed up, bar boxed up, kitchen stuff boxed and moved, outside furniture put away, and actually had time for pizza in there too! Now we start on our "fix-it list". Matt started today by cutting the big spruce in the front yard. We will plant a new garden there next spring. Now he is out back chopping down sumac. Aimee came in to do some leftover laundry and dishes. The place looks a bit barren, but clean.

Time for a long winter nap for me! I will check the phone and email daily if anyone would like to make a reservation for next year!

Harvest Time

As I reflect on this past season I think this year the food meant more to me than any other year. Many of you know that we have a small Vegetable and Herb Garden on the South Side of the lawn. This year we also augmented it with buying a Crop Share at Crystal Springs Farm in Brunswick. Sue went every Friday and came back with a load of vegetables that she then in turn would challenge me to use. I thought the Crop Share was such a great idea that I bought in for my house. You would arrive at the Farm on a Tues or Fri and many baskets would be set up to chose from. Then they open up the gardens and you could pick several different things each week. They always had herbs and flowers but could also have tomato's or green beans, etc.
They sell different things at the Farm as well such as eggs, milk, lamb, pork and beef. Last year I bought a full share of lamb. This year I am giving the lamb a break and bought 1/2 share on a pig. We just got the pork delivered and I had some chops last night that were the biggest I have ever seen and oh so good.

It is so exciting to see that we can eat and provide so much of our menu at the Inn locally. We get our lobster every day from a friend and local lobsterman. Our scallops are caught by another friend right here in Casco Bay. Both the shrimp and haddock are native to Maine and we have a better Filet than most Steak House's. Sue has challenged me with some very tasty Dinner Specials this Season and it was great to try new things. I know many people have not been able to take advantage of our Dining Room but I think if you are here between 6-6:30pm you will not be sorry that you chose us. Especially when you don't have to drive anywhere and our desserts are also made here.

Six more nights and we close. As usual Terrence and I will be headed to Florida for Jan, Feb, and March. I will let Aimee do all the work opening up and return in April when the mess is cleaned up.

Blessings Alicia