Winter in Maine 2/17/25 Story #101

Living in we call ‘off the grid’ in the Maine woods is a way of life few of us ever get to experience. To me, it feels very attuned to the cycles and seasons of Nature.

However, it is not for the faint of heart or old people!

It also requires the willingness to live in community with a spirit of cooperation. So, each winter, neighbors with chainsaws, carts and horses gather at a pond and systematically process the frozen water.

Each chunk is cut rectangularly and fairly uniform in size. The blocks, weighing 50 pounds, are brought to the bottom of the ramp with a hand-cranked elevator bed which lifts and deposits the cubes onto a trailer bed. Note the perfect rectangle cut into the pond. (below)

Horses wait patiently, sipping on snow until it is their time to pull. These four are related. The small white mare is the mother of her three large black sons.

The cubes are then stacked by another strong back for transporting.

When the load is full and ready to go, mom and the kids are hitched and take the cargo to the barns for storage, then refrigeration when the seasons change.

These hard-working equines are sent on their way by my petite cousin. a great, great grandmother.

The photos, courtesy of my cousins, made me want to sit by a fireplace and sip hot chocolate. Hope you enjoyed the vicarious adventure.