About Oxford County, ME

Only a stone's throw from Kezar Lake and encompassing a portion of Heald Pond shoreline is the 800 acre Heald and Bradley Pond Reserve in Lovell. This beautiful preserve offers pristine natural views and hiking trails and abuts some very desirable lakefront property, as well.

I just returned from a guided hike up Amos Mountain, the newly acquired addition to this Reserve, owned and managed by the Greater Lovell Land Trust (GLLT). With this new acquisition from the Rogers family, the Reserve now includes the western shore of Heald Pond, access to the southern shore of Bradley Pond, much of Whiting Hill (elevation 801 feet), Flat Hill (elev. 891 feet) and Amos Mountain (elev. 955 feet).

Docent Dennis Smith explained to us that the Rogers family wanted the Greater Lovell Land Trust to acquire the property because they felt the GLLT knew "how best to protect it . . . This protects the wildlife corridor along Heald and Bradley Ponds extending north."A variety of mammal species including Bear, Deer, Moose, Otter, Beaver, Fisher and Mink frequent this area.

Several miles of well-marked hiking trails are accessible from four access points-just east of Mill Brook off Slab City Road, two limited parking access points off Route 5, and the end of Heald Pond Road. At the Slab City and Heald Pond parking areas, you'll find kiosks with maps.

The trials to Amos Mountain are not yet on the map and the trail is a bit rough, but if you stop by the GLLT office, Tom Henderson, Executive Director, can give you the best directions.

Two cairns are at the top where the view is currently limited. According to Dennis, the Rogers family maintained the views of Mts. Chocorua and Washington, plus Kezar Lake and the ponds for a number of years and they enjoyed taking family and friends to the top to enjoy. The GLLT has plans to eventually reopen some of the views.

This will be a special place for years to come for many reasons, but three special things stand out. We took a short side trip in to an American Chestnut tree, which used to be a dominate tree in the Boreal Forest. This tree is resistant to the blight that eradicated its ancestors. The second item of interest is that the Fernleaf-false Foxglove reportedly blooms on the ledgey summit in late summer and fall. This is a state threatened species. And finally, it is the hope of the GLLT that an old road leading to the summit will eventually become the first GLLT trail for handicapped access suitable to wheelchairs and scooters.

Accessing all the lakefront property currently for sale in the town of Lovell is easier than walking down a well-marked trail - just click below:

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July 16, 7:30 p.m., Al Berard Cajun Combo featuring Grammy nominated and CFMA Fiddler of the year award winner, Al Berard from Cecilla, Louisiana, along with Lisa Brande and Mark Trichka, $10, $5 for ages 12 and younger, Brick Church for the Performing Arts, 502 Christian Hill Road, Lovell, FMI: 207.925.2792 or http://lovellbrickchurch.org

July 16-26, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturdays, 5 p.m. on Sundays, Oklahoma! You won't want to miss this show as it features our very own Mr. Lakefront, Tom Ferent. Schoolhouse Theater and Arts Center, Route 114, Sebago Lake Village, FMI: 207.642.3743 or www.schoolhousearts.org

July 17-18, 7:30 p.m., Music Without Borders, an International Piano Festival directed by acclaimed Georgian-Russian pianist and teacher, Dr. Tamara Poddubnaya, Trustees Auditorium in the McLaughlin Science Building at Gould Academy, FMI: 207.824.7700 or www.gouldacademy.org

July 17-19, 7 a.m.-10 p.m., Yarmouth Clam Festival, a summer family festival includes a parade, seafood, juried arts and crafts show, live entertainment, contests, races, fireworks, a block party and all things clam, Main Street, Yarmouth Village, FMI: 207.846.3984 or www.clamfestival.com

July 18, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., (rain date, July 19), Art in the Park, sponsored by Gallery 302, over 60 artists will display their fine art at Shorey Park on Highland Lake in Bridgton, FMI: 207.647.ARTS or www.gallery302.org/park/art-in-the-park.php

July 18, 7:30 p.m., Matt Dusk Swing Jazz at L.L. Bean's Discovery Park, outside their flagship store, bring food donations for Maine's food pantries, FMI: 877.755.2326 or http://www.llbean.com/shop/retailStores/images/2009_concert_series.pdf

July 19, 8 p.m. Aimee Mann, a rare appearance in Maine by this Grammy award winning song writer, singer, bassist and more, $60/person, credit card on-line, cash only at the door, Stone Mountain Arts Center, 695 Dug Way Road, Brownfield, FMI: 866.227.6523 or www.stonemountainarts.com

July 20, 6 p.m., Chocolate Lovers Sail, step aboard one of Portland Schooner Company's two historic wooden windjammers for a sunset cruise while savoring Lindt chocolate and sipping fine wines, $50/person, Portland Schooner Company, Maine State Pier, FMI: 207.766.2500 or www.portlandschooner.org

July 20, 7:30-8:30 p.m., The Portland String Quartet, Viola George Auditorium in Harold Alfond Hall at St. Joseph's College, White's Bridge Road, Standish, FMI: 207.893.7720 or 207.893.7723 or www.portlandstringquartet.org/schedule.htm

July 21, 9 a.m., Stevens Brook walk with Sue Black, naturalist and Maine historian, an exploration of historic mill sites along the Stevens Brook Trail in Bridgton, meet at Lakes Environmental Association's building, 230 Main Street, Bridgton, FMI: 207.647.8580 or www.mainelakes.org/calendar.htm#

July 21, 7 p.m., Mac McHale and the Old Time Radio Gang, traditional American country music from the 30s and 40s, Bandstand Summer Concert Series at the Cornish Fair Grounds, Route 25, Cornish, FMI: www.sacoriverfestival.org

July 22, 6 p.m., Cold-Blooded Friends, a family program presented by the Chewonki Foundation at Naples Public Library, Route 302, Naples Village, FMI: 207.693.6841 or www.naples.lib.me.us

July 22, 7:30 p.m., Look, There's a Moose! Kevin Harding, Naturalist will share information about "these animals that look like they were created by a committee on steroids," Charlotte Hobbs Memorial Library, 227 Main Street, Lovell, FMI: 207.925.3177 or www.hobbslibrary.org

If you enjoy the view of either Mt. Ti'rem or Hawk Mountain from your lakefront property, you might also enjoy the view of Keoka Lake, Bear Pond, Little Moose Pond and Long Lake from their summits. On a clear day, you can even see Sebago Lake in the distance.

Neither of these two hikes in western Maine is difficult nor takes long. I find I often enjoy hiking both on the same day.

I usually start at Mt. Ti'rem in Waterford. The trailhead for the Daniel Brown Trail, which was named in honor of a prominent citizen of the 1800s, is on Plummer Hill Road, just up the road from the Lake House Bed & Breakfast and the village green.

It takes less than an hour to reach the summit of this easy/moderate hike. A ledge at the top provides a perfect vantage point to view the lakes and surrounding mountains, including Bear and Pleasant Mountains. For a short hike, you'll enjoy a great view.

Another short hike is located about five minutes away on Hawk Mountain Road in South Waterford. Again, the round trip might take an hour, but allow yourself time to enjoy the view.

To reach the summit you'll find yourself walking gradually uphill on a gravel road. At the intersection, stay right. The sunsets are spectacular from the ledges of Hawk Mountain. And during spring and fall migration, this is a prime spot to watch the bird of prey for which this mountain was named.

Become a lakefront property owner on Keoka Lake, Papoose Pond or the Five Kezars and you can make it your habit to climb both mountains.

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Located along Routes 35, 37 and 118, the three villages of Waterford, Maine are nestled in the rolling hills of western Maine.

There are several pretty bodies of water in Waterford - Papoose, McWain, Bear, Duck and Little Moose Ponds to name the prominent ponds. In addition, also find Crooked River, Mud Pond fen and Keoka Lake. All provide plenty of water-related recreation in Waterford.

After swimming and sunning all day, you might relax on a park bench in the village green at Waterford Flat. Look one way and see the home of Artemus Ward, pen name of Waterford native Charles F. Brown, who was a mentor of Mark Twain. Turn the other way and gaze upon the beautiful Lake House Bed and Breakfast, a well-appointed place to stay with a wonderful dining room that's open to the public.Just steps down the road toward the Keoka Lake beach, step into the quaint Waterford Library, designed by John Calvin Stevens and his son, John Howard Stevens.

Also in Waterford Flat, visit the Old Town Office and Meeting Hall in Waterford Flat and envision the ladies sitting on one side of the room facing their men on the other side during town meeting Of course, the ladies were not allowed to vote and had to keep quiet-surely an interesting circumstance.

Twenty-one buildings in Waterford are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, most of them in Waterford Flat. Pull over, get out and stretch your legs. It's like walking into an old picture postcard.

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Otisfield, Maine is one of those out-of-the-way places, bordering Norway, Oxford, Poland, Casco, Naples and Harrison. The town encompasses 40 square miles of land and 4.3 square miles of water - and its boundary is 34 miles in length.

G. Howard Dyer, a great storyteller who loves to share his adventures, has lived on and off in Otisfield, Maine over the years. In 1946, aware that state law required "perambulation of the town boundaries", Howard conducted his first complete walk around the boundary of the town, all 34 miles of it. Fifty-six years later, in 2002, he knew that no one had walked the boundary in a long time. So, at 95 years of age, he decided to do it again.

"Weren't sure I could do it," Howard told me as his eyes twinkled. "Didn't say it to anybody."

It took him months to complete because he'd walk here today, there tomorrow. When he finally finished the job, he told town officials.

As Howard tells it, they were surprised because they couldn't get anyone to do it due to "swamps and all, you know."

Howard's accomplishments were included on the 2002-2004 House Appendix of the Legislative Record when he received Otisfield's Boston Cane, given to the town's oldest citizen.

The record reads: "Town law required perambulation of the boundaries every 10 years, and as a gift to the town, Mr. Dyer has walked the 34-mile Town of Otisfield's boundary line, once at the age of 39 and more recently at the age of 95."

For a chance to experience life in Maine the way it should be, take a look at the lakefront properties in Otisfield on Thompson Lake, Pleasant Lake, Moose Pond and Saturday Pond.

All these lakes and ponds are among the cleanest in the state and offer fine fishing. Click the link below:

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