Celebrating the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul In one of the Basilica’s niches, high above Bartlett Street, is the statue of a female saint wearing a crown of flowers and holding a cross. She is visible to the eye but better seen close up by drone. Is it St. Rose of Lima or St. […]
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Lifestyle news from the Sun Journal.
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Gardner recounts life at Japanese pruning boot camp
Deft pruning will make a plant more handsome but is done principally for practical reasons — to establish a strong single leader, to remove rubbing branches or to repair damage, for example. In Japan, pruning is a near-sacred art practiced by skilled gardeners who can spend as long as 15 years in a formal apprenticeship. […]
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In verse: Maine places and people
Produced by Maine Poetry Central and Dennis Camire This week’s poem is by Steve Luttrell of Portland who is managing editor of The Cafe Review. A Comfortable Fog By Steve Luttrell Fog and Lilac blend to send a salty-sweet aroma over where the bay begins, to where I stand […]
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Want more from your garden? Plant twofers
One of the best musical commentaries about gardening came from the perpetually off-Broadway musical “The Fantasticks.” Two gardening neighbors sing a duet about the reliability of vegetable growing as opposed to fatherhood. “Plant a radish, get a radish, never any doubt,” they carol. “Plant a turnip, get a turnip; maybe you’ll get two.” Now, you […]
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Bald eagles feed hawk — proof parenting makes you crazy
Sometime in late May, a pair of bald eagles in British Columbia’s Shoal Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuary snatched up two red-tailed hawk chicks and brought them back to their nest — alive. One of those hawklets became a meal. The other became a legend. You see, some act of fate stayed Mom and Dad Eagles’ […]
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Why you need to pay attention to older kids' sleeping habits
When one of my four kids is snappish, I almost immediately think about how much sleep the child had gotten the night before. If less than usual, then I generally know the why behind the crankiness — and brace myself for the onslaught of whininess. “Sleep supports healthy growth and development,” says Terry Cralle, a […]
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I was exhausted, so I hired a sleep coach. Here's what happened.
Most new parents are familiar with the delirium that comes with loving a newborn. Senses are heightened and you exist in a state where survival, for you and the baby, is all that matters. Waking every few hours to fill a tiny tummy time after time after time is trying, even as it comes with […]
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Experts agree: The gorilla in the kiddie pool is having a total blast
Gorillas, like people, tend to outgrow much of their youthful exuberance as they age. Play-fighting, pranks and silliness are usually on the decline by the time the animals reach young adulthood, experts say. A notable exception: “Zola,” a 380-pound Silverback gorilla living in the South gorilla habitat at the Dallas Zoo. Unlike the other four […]
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Missing Mr. Moxie
As another renown Moxie Festival approaches, ‘Mayor of Moxietown’ Frank Anicetti will be remembered fondly LISBON — Summer’s arrival is sweet, especially when considering the season’s perceived shortness for anyone living in the far northern reaches of New England. For Moxie fans, summer can only mean one thing — yet another Moxie Festival is waiting […]
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Magical Earth: It's already salad days for young gardens
It’s early July and much of the garden is already beginning to produce fresh produce for our table. Straight-from-the-garden lettuce is a perfect delight — it just doesn’t get any fresher. Add a few bright red radishes and the tops of some of the onions, and we have an almost perfect salad. Missing, of course, […]