Kermit was wrong...

It is easy being green, at least Iris makes it seem that way.

Despite yesterday's rain folks came out for our "Green Your Laundry" event. Inspired by and led by the talented Iris Eichenlaub – author of "Creative Endeavors in a Busy Life" blog – the morning discussion was a lively exchange of ideas and a hands on demonstration of DIY laundry soap.

Iris in action – an honor for to have her speak at Birchwood Motel

grate 3- 4 oz. bars of Castile soap – many hands make light work

the happy innkeeper mixing up our Birchwood formula – join us on Facebook to get the recipe

double i. alert: my favorite item in her chemical-free household gift basket -a scouring pad hand knit from twine...oh that Iris!

Stay tuned for more green-inspired events and news from Birchwood Motel as our season progresses.

Greening your laundry

Announcing Birchwood Motel's new solar dryer — ok, it's a clothesline, but a pretty unique one, huh? To celebrate our return to line drying — construction on the main house caused a 3 year hiatus – Birchwood Motel will offer a "Green Your Laundry" Workshop.

Blogger Iris E. – Creative Endeavors in a Busy Life — will lead the talk/demo at Birchwood on June 23 at 11am. Learn how to make your own laundry detergent, share ideas, save money and lighten your chemical load. All attendees may take a detergent sample home. Workshop is free but advance registration is appreciated. To register friend/like Birchwood Motel on Facebook and leave your RSVP there.

Chores are so much sweeter under a blue sky, warm sun

and new pergola that looks out to Penobscot Bay

Gently down the stream

Friday I tweeted that the weekend would be gorgeous. Heeding my own prediction we took the kayaks out for a run on the St. George. Bluest of blue skies, shining sun, no wind, bald eagles and osprey with catch in their claws soaring just over my head, a seal following behind our kayaks. Just the most perfect day.

Sweet pea back on the water

Pulling out of the water in Thomaston put us right near Billy's Tavern, a great Irish pub just behind the main drag. Time to stop for a pint of Boddingtons and a mound of handcut french fries (chipotle mayo and curry ketchup on the side). Hey, we earned it!

Done for the day, reward time

If you are looking to paddle around Midcoast – perhaps during a stay at Birchwood Motel in Camden – my only recommendation is Ducktrap Kayak in Lincolnville. Whether to buy or rent they have the best gear, great prices and offer sound advice.

A Love Note on Perseverance?

Happy Anniversary, Kimi and Pat. Twenty years ago the first of our close friends wed. Boy they were young but all knew it was a good match. Now time proves it.

Pear blossoms in honor of the bride

Kimi's post today to her husband, "Thanks for sticking it out with me." really resonates. For one, it echos my mother's steady lifelong refrain – "98% of life is just sticking it out." And lately – maybe it's the state of the world or maybe just midlife – I'm feeling we could all use a reminder to ride the wave because a lot of beauty can come from seeing things through.

Fedco apple began as a spindly little thing but look at her now!

Hoping for blooms next year.

My garden – where it is all about perseverance (remember 2009 and six weeks of rain?) – tells me this, too. Fruit trees planted a few years ago are blooming for the first time! The raspberries and blueberries look incredibly promising. Asparagus, always intended but never accomplished, is finally in. But it will be several years of love and care (and weeding and frustration) until there is any harvest.

Sweet as a peach, my Eric. Guess what his favorite fruit is?

Reliance, Maine grown, bears early. Fedco Trees

And what about my own dear husband and partner? Beyond his smile and friendly nature, there comes his incredible persistence. His favorite quote is "the race goes not only to the swift but to those who keep on running." Creating our own vision for Birchwood Motel is a thrilling path we follow together. Thank you my dear for always encouraging us to run on.

Fingers crossed. Raspberries coming back strong.

Eight varieties provide berries for continental breakfast.

And thanks, too, to our loyal guests. We are blessed and honored to share our beautiful spot in Camden, Maine with you. When you return each year or pass a kind word about staying here to another, it is the greatest of compliments.

So thanks, Kimi and Pat, Mom, family, our beautiful garden and our wonderful guests for reminding me of what's important.

Big things in small packages

Two wonderful packages came my way that warm my small business-loving heart. First, my dear mother sent us some Easter treats from our favorite chocolatier, Harbor Candy Shop in Ogunquit — a must-stop on your next trip through Maine.

dark and milk chocolate non-pareils. guess how long they lasted?

Second was soap. I regularly purchase my soap from local makers right here in Midcoast Maine (Trillium and Sisters — check out their soap eggs!). But Facebook recently reunited me with a soap-making friend from my childhood. CATSOCO is her small family business in the foothills of the Catskills with a mission to "keep the Earth clean one body at a time!" Annie included a few extra treats with my order. My fave — "soul cleanser." The punniness made me smile as did my long, soothing soak.

This is "soap the way it should be" with soothing natural fragrance and a luscious lather that leaves your skin feeling great. Unlike commercial brands I've used in the past, small batch soap lasts longer and lathers all the way through the bar. Its long-lasting quality cancels out any additional expense. Besides, your skin is an organ, treat it well! Use natural soap.

"Soul cleanser" and other soapy goodness from CatSoCo

P.S. Birchwood Motel is now on Facebook. We'd be honored if you'd become a fan and spread the word.

Nothing like a great neighbor

Welcome Dot's Market, our new neighbors up the road from Birchwood Motel. We certainly felt welcome today when we stopped by to pick up lunch.

The woman at the counter was so lovely, informed and helpful it was hard to believe she wasn't the owner. The owner, Melissa — also working the counter — was equally engaging.

Eric enjoyed a grilled panini, Miss e crafted her own sandwich from selections off the colorful chalk board and I opted for a pre-made sandwich (which tasted as though it had just been prepared). We're talking quality oven-roasted meats, homemade flavored mayonnaise, fresh veggies, artisanal breads.

Stop in not just for lunch but for other prepared foods, great coffee, decadent baked goods, artisanal cheeses, beer, wine and soft drinks. While foods are made to go, there are a few tables where you can enjoy your treats in their open beautiful space.

Better check it out now. Come summer business should be so brisk it may be hard to make it in the door.

you know me by now...have to showcase the sweet stuff!

Common Ground Fair

My favorite event of the year approaches – the 33rd Common Ground Country Fair, September 25-27, presented by MOFGA (Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association).

miss e. (recently appointed staff photographer at the Birchwood)

captures this gorgeous fall cabbage in our garden

Read this perfect description off their website:

The Fair allows fairgoers to make connections with a rapidly expanding base of organic farms in the state of Maine. Hundreds of vendors, exhibitors and demonstrators, more than 1,000 volunteers, and tens of thousands of fairgoers will gather to: share knowledge about sustainable living; eat delicious, organic, Maine-grown food; buy and sell beautiful Maine crafts and useful agricultural products; compete in various activities; dance; sing and have a great time.

Birchwood Motel is about an hour drive away from the fairgrounds. But the lovely back country road drive alone makes it well worth the trip.

A few rooms are still available for this year. Or maybe this will be food for thought for a future trip.

Give me a slice

I'm looking for the best slice of pie in Maine. Pie-making is in my genes, so I won't throw my own hat into the ring. But where to send guests looking for the perfect pie around the midcoast is really the question.

Birchwood Motel raspberry pie

adapted from Dan Henry

Guests have mentioned Just Barb's in Stockton Springs. Thomaston Cafe rates high for me. Loyal locals claim Moody's Diner. For carry out Megunticook Market offers a fresh raspberry pie that is a close second to a recipe given to me by Dan Henry, of Ducktrap Kayak fame. Amy's pies from Fresh Off the Farm are always crowd pleasers, too.

Please send me or post your suggestions for best slice of pie.

Making Hay

There just isn't time to post lately. Not a complaint, just a happy and grateful fact to be busy with the Birchwood's summer guests. 

last strawberries and first blueberry!

The last garden strawberries are here. Guests have enjoyed this addition to the continental breakfast we serve each morning.  And what's not to like about complimentary homegrown strawberries in a fresh fruit salad along with buttery danish; fresh-squeezed o.j.; tea and our good strong coffee from Rock City Roast (organic, fair trade and locally roasted!)? 

Not far off are blueberries and raspberries and then, finally, luscious blackberries. All the berries are grown right here in the motel gardens. This is quite a feat considering June's weather – long periods of rain and fog coupled with relentless beetle and slug attacks!

Birchwood Motel's first cherry

Maybe next year cherries will make it on the menu. Our dear little cherry tree produced two cherries this year! Also on deck for 2010 are this year's garden additions: cranberries and elderberry. A year or two beyond our apples, pears and peaches should begin to fruit. Gardening and innkeeping sure makes time fly.

Pile it on

My dad's idea of family fun was having his kids make manure tea in the rain barrel. Whatever manure didn't make it into the barrel went into his homemade compost bin resulting in a crumbly brown goodness. Us kids found these gardening chores a form of punishment. Now, as an adult, they seem a lost art.

so good I could touch it

Photos ©2009 Tammy Maseychik  

Yes, I admit it...I finally enjoy gardening. But a small element of punishment lingers – compost! Eliot Coleman and Victory Garden books litter my home yet all sage advice falls away as my kitchen scraps mildew into a mucky anaerobic slug factory.  Clearly the composting gene skips a generation. 

Failure creates desperation. Fantasies of plastic tumbling bins creating easy quick compost float in my head and across my computer screen. Each time I look at them my resistance weakens. Composting problems forever solved with a quick click. It would be so easy – charge it to a card, wait for UPS delivery, dump in kitchen scraps and tumble away to that elusive crumbly brown goodness, right?

Wrong. First, my frugal Yankee values get in the way. (Translation: I'm a cheapskate who won't pay the $100+ corporate composting commands.) Second, there's no getting around the ironic aesthetic of a giant, expensive plastic thing in an organic, wanna-be permaculture setting. Third, no amount of tumbling makes up for lacking a good compost recipe. So what to do beyond my grumbling? 

Here's what: have Newforest Institute show me the way. Birchwood Motel hosted "Secrets of Soil", a Newforest workshop, in the motel gardens last week. Pallets were turned on sides, wired together and reinforced with rebar. Et voila! – Loverly bins that fit right into the landscape. Nothing like hands-on learning to clarify things. 

the lovely & charming Julia listens to Jenny's compost woe

Julia Yelton, co-director of Newforest and permaculture sage, showed us her compost recipe that gets things cooking: layer the bottom with twigs (my thorny spent wild roses from the burn pile) and then alternate layers of brown and green to create the hot environment natural microbes love. This will all break down to finally make me some of that elusive crumbly compost goodness from childhood.

workshop team installs permaculture potato patch in minutes!

So thank you, Newforest, for fulfilling my compost quest. Eric and I are thrilled to see the small hill of coffee grounds our sweet little motel produces daily feed the garden instead of the dump. Add to that our kitchen scraps and some layers of straw, leaves, jewel weed (also a great poison ivy remedy) or other wild medicinals, manure, some seaweed and you have the secret to our soil. 

What does any of this have to do with tourism in Maine? I'd argue that enjoying, preserving and protecting the diversity of the world starts in your own back yard. And should you need any more detail than that, then come on up to Maine and head over to the Newforest Institute!