New Gloucester, ME

Yes, the most interesting story on the local news here in Central Maine was about a celebriity chicken!

With low crime rates, low stress, and a great sense of fun, our local news doesn't have that much tragedy to report. I just had to share this fun story about LC (short for Last Chicken) who has become a constant figure down the road in New Gloucester Maine.

Click on the photo below to view the news story, and give me a call if you'd like to live in a place that has nothing more earth shattering to report on the news than the antics of farm animals.

Maine, the way life should be!

For more detailed property information visit: http://www.homesinsouthernmaine.com/10/listing/14484

Looking for something to do in South Central Maine? Just a short drive south from the Lewiston/Auburn area will bring you to the northern tip of Cumberland County and Pineland Farms in New Gloucester Maine.

I just love this place! There is truly something for everyone.

Their mission statement sums it up well:

"To provide a productive and educational venue that enriches the community by demonstrating responsible farming techniques, offering educational opportunities and encouraging a healthy lifestyle through recreation."

This is a 5,000 acre working farm that also includes a diverse business campus, educational and recreational facilities. All located in the breathtaking rolling hills of New Gloucester Maine. There is even a market, a cafe, and a guest house! If you are planning a vacation or even just a day trip, the Pineland Farms experience is simply not to be missed. You can purchase their excellent cheese in their market, or even find it in local grocery stores and farm stands. There is just too much information to post here, so please view their website and be sure to plan a visit.

June 10, 8 p.m. Fred Carpenter and Tim May, virtuoso fiddler and acclaimed guitarist respectively, featuring bluegrass, swing, rock, blues, Celtic and original material, $18/person, dinner available by reservation before the show, Stone Mountain Arts Center, 695 Dugway Road, Brownfield.FMI: 207.935.7292, www.stonemountainartscenter.com.

June 11, 8 a.m. 10th Annual Sebago Lakes Region Chamber Golf Open, contests, awards, prizes, goody bags, buffet lunch, benefit for the Chamber Scholarship Fund and Lakes Region Business Programs, Naples Country Club, Route 114, Naples. FMI: 207.892.8265, www.sebagolakeschamber.com.

June 11-13, 25th Annual Maine Canoe Symposium, evening speakers, workshops, children's programs, canoe-a-thon, auction, voyageur race and more, reservations required, Winona Camps, 35 Winona Road, Bridgton. FMI: 207.647.3721, www.mainecanoesymposium.org.

June 12, 9 a.m. 8th Annual Oxford Hills Christian Academy Golf Tourney, 9 hole/4 player team scramble with shotgun start, Paris Hill Country Club, 455 Paris Hill Road, Paris. FMI: 207.243.5970, www.ohca.me.

June 12, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Colossal Yard Sale, Schoolhouse Arts Center, 16 Richville Road, Standish. FMI: 207.642.3745, www.schoolhousearts.org.

June 12, 10-11:30 a.m. T'ai Chi for the Equestrian, a workshop exploring center and balance as well as "listening" through the practices of T'ai Chi and Qigong to help riders of all levels improve their riding and their horse's way of going, $25/person, Deerwood Farms and Gardens, 571 Norway Road, Waterford. FMI: 207.583.2412, www.deerwoodgarden.com.

June 12, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Lavender Workshop, learn the best varieties of lavender to plant, how to maintain raised beds, simple propagation, pruning, mulching, harvesting and drying, create lavender recipes, sachets and pomanders, $40/person, pre-registration required, Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, 707 Shaker Road, New Gloucester. FMI: 207.926.4597, www.shaker.lib.me.us.

June 12, 7:30 p.m. Davy Sturtevant, composer, musician, performs on banjo, mandolin, fiddle, guitars and voice, includes traditional ballads, Appalachian fiddle tunes, East African, classical music, bluegrass, rock ‘n roll and jazz, Brick Church for the Performing Arts, 502 Christian Hill Road, Lovell. FMI: 207.925.2792, www.lovellbrickchurch.org.

June 15, 7 p.m. "A Matter of Perception" exhibit, Opening Reception, Denmark Arts Center, 50 West Main Street, Denmark Village. FMI: www.denmarkarts.org.

Maine, The Way Life Should Be, can be found along the shores of Sabbathday Lake in New Gloucester. Situated 30 miles from Portland, along Route 26, Sabbathday Lake is spring-fed and its crystal clear water is considered to be of above average quality.

The Sabbathday Lake Association is an active group. Established in 1975, the association's mission is to protect the water quality and natural ecosystem of Sabbathday Lake and its watershed.

Search for lakefront properties in Gray and New Gloucester

Boaters and anglers will be pleased to spend time on Sabbathday Lake. It's a perfect setting for canoes, kayaks, paddle boats and motorboats. And fishermen will feel the tug of brown and brook trout plus largemouth bass on their lines. According to Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, "Although some natural reproduction of trout occurs in the tributaries, stocking is necessary to provide a good fishery." They last stocked Sabbathday Lake in October 2009.

You'll find a public boat launch (fee charged) at Outlet Beach, a.k.a. Barefoot Beach, 106 Outlet Road in New Gloucester. Launch your boat, but also make time to enjoy the beach. Since the 1920s families have appreciated this shallow, sandy beach, which offers many amenities including boat rentals and is owned by the United Society of Shakers. Why is it called Outlet Beach? Go there and you'll soon discover that the bridge to the beach crosses over the exact spot where the Royal River begins its 30-mile meandering journey to the Atlantic Ocean.

Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village is a 19th religious community and the only remaining active Shaker Village in the world. During the summer season, 6 of the 18 buildings at Shaker Village are open to the public and guided tours are available. A visit will allow you to appreciate the Shaker ideals of self-sufficiency and simplicity.

A nature walk at Shaker Village follows old logging roads and trails along the eastern edge of the vast property. It leads through fields and woods to Loon's Point on Sabbathday Lake and Aurelia's Cascade, named for Shaker teacher, Aurelia Gay Mace(1835-1910), who took her students to the waterfall for some of their lessons. From Loon's Point you can enjoy a panoramic view of almost the entire lake.

Today a Maine Preservation Easement exists on the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village. Nearly 1,500 acres of mixed forestland and several hundred acres of farmland, orchards, wetlands, recreational lands and the last undeveloped shoreline of Sabbathday Lake are protected by the easement. In the years of preparing for this, Brother Arnold Hadd, a Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village community member was quoted in the Royal River Conservation Trust newsletter (spring 2006) as stating, "Stewardship is a primary concern for the Shakers: be it our faith or our land . . . we will be able to retain the land entrusted to us by our founders over two hundred years ago, maintaining our farm and forestland as we give our hands to work and our hearts to God."

Just up the road from Sabbathday Lake is the Poland Spring Inn, which gained fame in the 1800s when a man was miraculously cured by its waters. Water from the spring continues to be bottled and shipped throughout the country today.

So . . . if you see beautiful sunsets, feel warm summer breezes and desire great fishing in your future, consider owning your own lakefront property on pristine Sabbathday Lake.