October is, in my opinion, the most beautiful month of all
in Maine. Clear skies, colored foliage,
lonely beaches, cool temperatures, formations of birds headed south – what more
could a person want? To top it off,
television offers baseball playoffs and professional football.
Many of the neighbors are fleeing to warmer climes, and the
point is steeped in deathly silence at night.
One can’t question their judgment; January is only 10 weeks away, and
January can be bitter cold, with cutting winds and blinding snowstorms that
make you wish you too were in Florida.
Most of the people who own properties on the Point are
senior citizens, and old age, as a friend keeps reminding me, “isn’t for
sissies.” So the EMTs at KEMS (the
Kennebunkport Emergency Medical Services) know the neighborhood well. Some people, looking ahead, are selling their
homes, and I have never seen so many choice houses (five) on the market around
the Point. At the same time, several new homes have been built recently, some
of them replacing tear-downs. The new
construction has certainly been keeping the local tradesmen busy; it is not
uncommon to see 15 or more panel trucks parked on the street near one of the
projects, month after month.
Most of the boats in the bay and in the river have been
hauled, but on these crisp days one can still see large sailboats on the
horizon, making for Cape Porpoise or down east.
You don’t see many lobster boats, probably because the lobstermen have
been discouraged by low prices.
The other day I saw a dead seal pup on the beach. I called
the authorities, thinking they would come to investigate, but the next day the
seal was still there, a seagull pecking at it gingerly.
October also means things have to be done: Time to wash and store the summer clothes and
unpack the sweatshirts and flannel pajamas and sweaters and heavy shirts. Time to change the sheets on the bed – off
with the cotton, on with the flannel. Time to put the down comforter into its
duvet, a tricky job. Time for storm
windows and sliders, time to store the deck furniture, time to store hoses and
unstore snow shovels and blower. So much
to do, but somehow the chores seem simple when the weather is so inviting.
