Already into the new year. Like every other small business Maine Outdoors is starting by making plans, reviewing the past and thinking about how to do what we do better. Some things like the weather or fish biting or eagles showing up on scene are sort of out of our control. Other things though like a pair of binoculars when needed are easy to provide as long as they had been thought of a before that moment.

We are fortunate to live in a place that offers a clear view to the southeast. Over the neighbors dairy farm with Spruce and Pleasant Mountains in the near distance and Dodges Mountain in Rockland far off. The sweeping view offers a startling reminder of how much the suns path changes through the year. In the summer it is far to the east and out of our view as it rises.

The season is over. It is official because this morning I towed the Lund Alaskan to the local repair shop for the annual overhaul of the Mercury four stroke. My next fishing trip in the boat will be in the spring on a day like the one in the picture; working around the edges of the ice. Sort of a sad day here.