It is still summer for a week or so but there is change in the air. We’ve had a few more fires in the fireplace and an extra blanket on the occasional night. The bracken and daylily fronds are turning brown.

A friend and I took a three part class, 2026 Plant ID and Ecology: Asters and Goldenrods, led by Ted Eliman at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. The first two classes were evening Zoom presentations and the last one was on Saturday all day, split between the CMBG and Salt Bay Farm at 110 Belvedere Road in Damariscotta, part of the Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust. Salt Bay Farm is a 146-acre salt water farm with over three miles of mowed trails and hiking trails, the property fronts the Damariscotta River and Great Salt Bay. There is a salt marsh and a restored freshwater wetland; with excellent bird watching as a result. Saturday was a glorious day and spotting the seemingly endless varieties of asters and goldenrod had us traipsing off the trails into the fields. The two of us were impressed with many of the other class members and their knowledge of the scientific names of the over 100 plants that we studied. I felt like I was surrounded by gardeners in a UK garden show! Asters and goldenrod provide color in and around our gardens when our annuals and perennials are dying back in the fall. In Sprucewold on the first half of my road alone there are six different varieties of asters and many different goldenrods. The classes offered at the CMBG are always informative and interesting.

Don’t miss the show, "Changing Tides" by the artist of the month for September and October at the Southport Memorial Library, Suzanne Stokes. There was a great article in last week’s Register introducing the show. Suzanne is married to Jim Fossett (my youngest brother.) A professor of art and coordinator of the Foundations in Art Department at the State University of New York at New Paltz, she lives and works in both the Hudson Valley and Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Stokes employs a variety of printmaking, papermaking, and embossing techniques combined with oil-based inks and the printing press to print monotypes made from a series of layered, hand cut, vellum stencils and natural materials. Her hand-cut stencils depict marine life and are also drawn from photographs of various islands and lighthouses around Boothbay Harbor and Southport. It was great to see Debrah and Tom Yale and Katherine and Peter Sullivan among others at the opening on Saturday, not to be missed!

The new team of caretakers for the Sprucewold Association (SA) will be Josh Higgins to be joined by Emily Higgins. We will miss Ernie LaBelle and so appreciate his tireless work for the SA these last many years. Ernie took Josh under his wing and now Emily will join Josh going forward. The caretakers walk the SA members properties and check cabins every two weeks off season and alert owners to open doors, broken screens, heavy snow pack on roofs, downed wires, branches, and trees, and anything that owners need to be aware of to keep their cabins dry and in one piece.

Joel Peasley performs the watch service for all the Linekin Heights Association (LHA) owners and many Sprucewold residents employ their own caretakers as well. The crossover of the SA, LHA, and private caretakers gives peace of mind to Sprucewold area residents.

As I write this column it is so nice to hear the rain on the cabin roof. We haven't had enough rain this summer and I'm certain that the Sprucewold Association Firewise crew is relieved that we are finally getting some significant rainfall.