Cup O’ Joe: Wonderful weekend weather

13 years ago

Summer returned with a vengeance this past weekend, much to the delight of many, as temperatures soared to the 80s on Sunday.
That’s the beauty of life in northern Maine. You just never know what Mother Nature will throw at you this time of year. One morning it’s 26 degrees, the next it’s 80. Like many people, I had to head into my basement to find some of the summer clothes I had just packed away for the season only five days earlier.
    Unfortunately, the warm weather is not going to last.
In my home, we are a bit overzealous in our regulation of the thermostat during the winter months. Given the price of heating oil these days, it’s hard not to be. We hoped to not turn the furnace on until at least November, but last week’s cold snap brought an end to that dream when the thermostat read 56 degrees inside and we were forced to turn it up — to 62.
It’s strange how 56 degrees outside doesn’t seem all that cool, but when it’s in your living room it is another matter all together.
My wife is even more hardcore than myself when it comes to monitoring the furnace. At night, she is content to turn the thermostat back to 58 and bury herself under a pile of blankets. Personally, I would rather walk around in shorts and a T-shirt all winter. That’s the way it was growing up when my father would build a wood fire and get the house up to about 80. We actually used to shut our bedroom doors just to keep the cool air in our rooms for bedtime.
I’m a bit surprised by my wife’s behavior because she is the one who is always the coldest. Imagine feet that could freeze water if you stuck them in it and you get a perfect picture of how cold she always is. You’d think she would be just the opposite and want to turn the heat up. She just likes to keep me guessing, I suppose.
This past weekend was a time for many to get one — hopefully — last mow in before the snow flies and actually served as double duty for me as it gave an opportunity to crunch up the leaves that were slowly gathering on the front lawn.
Before the mulching of the leaves, however, we did have to rake them together so that the girls could spend time jumping in the pile, pretending they are houses, and of course, burying themselves in the leaves. It’s the simple things in life that often bring the most pleasure, and kids have that down to a science.
Growing up, we always burned our leaves in a pile on the side of the road. Everyone on our street did the same thing and it created this eerie smoke-filled road akin to those found in slasher movies. You almost expected a 7-foot-tall man sporting a hockey mask and wielding a machete to come walking up the street, picking off people one by one.
On more than one occasion I can recall burning the hair off my arms — and sometimes my head — by getting too close to the pile in an attempt to get the fire going. Perhaps it’s a good thing that we no longer burn our leaves.
Two weekends ago, I had some friends from southern Maine come up for a visit, and both of them commented on how cold it was just a couple hundred miles north from where they live.
They have been to Houlton twice now since we moved back home and each time they leave with a vehicle full of potatoes and full stomachs from all the steak we grill. One of them actually commented on how much cheaper prices were in the grocery store here, as opposed to the Rockland area.
Of course, we had to do the obligatory tour of the town, as I explained the history of the Boy and the Leaking Boot statue; how Houlton once housed German prisoners of war. A stop at Sadie’s Bakery for hot donuts and Houlton Farms Dairy chocolate milk was also in order. I gave them the whole County experience and they seemed to be genuinely impressed with the area.
It’s always a good thing when you can show people from the southern part of the state just how awesome our community can be.
  Joseph Cyr is a staff writer for the Houlton Pioneer Times. He can be reached at pioneertimes@nepublish.com or 532-2281.