A lecture sponsored by the Boothbay Region Land Trust led me down Oak Point Road to the new BRLT community preserve on Hodgdon Cove in Boothbay Harbor. I reported on this when the Boothbay Harbor Planning Board approved the project in December 2016.

Well, the winter of 2017 was a long, cold, lonely one, and I got so busy with the stuff of life that I completely forgot about this wonderful project. It finally dawned on me just where I was when I found myself standing in the kitchen of the 1770s saltwater farmhouse asking the BRLT’s executive director, Nick Ullo, if he had tea instead of coffee. No tea, but shortly after asking that question, I exclaimed, “Oh! This is THAT place!”

Ullo told me the land trust will make some renovations to the house, and hopes to officially open the preserve in spring 2018 for year-round community use on its 32 acres. Right now, the farmhouse, with its wide pine boards, halls that open into large and small rooms, both with sea and country views, and at least four bathrooms, is presenting a series of events within its walls. That morning’s excellent and informative lecture on invasive species was given by Hildy Ellis, the Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District coordinator.  

After the talk, I wandered outside and strolled down a mowed green path that took me through wildflowers and milkweed plants toward the cove. An earlier rain had stopped and the sun was burning off a bank of clouds. A sturdy dock and float waited for the tide to change at the end of the field. The island of Southport, in plain view across the cove, was going about its Friday business.

What a beautiful spot this is, and now, every inch of it belongs to the ages. Good on you, all who made this happen.  I may donate a couple of boxes of tea to the house so it will be there when I return. 

Ullo mentioned that folks are invited to respectfully check out the property. One note: Dress to defend yourself against some hooligan ticks. Several of the little darlings rode home with me. One even checked out this article as I was writing it. There’s always a critic.