Thursday, April 29, 2010

Iconic Symbols


Every city has an iconic start to spring. In Chicago it’s opening day for the Cubs or Sox. In Seattle it is when the Azaleas that populate the landscape of the University of Washington explode in pops of pink to the horizon. In Rockland, Main our spring icon is in its second season. You might question the word icon in the context of a two year stint. But our icon has a past. It is Robert Indiana’s EAT sculpture first displayed at the New York’s World Fair in 1964. The art installation was mistaken for a restaurant sign and hundreds of people waited in line for what they believed would be a forthcoming lunch. Fair organizers had the sign removed and returned to Mr. Indiana. It remained in his possession until the spring of 2009 when it was installed on the roof of the Farnsworth Art Museum. Locals have adopted the sign with the same love and seasonal recognition as the annual Christmas tree made from lobster crates and buoys.

Like the tree it invokes celebration, joy and hope. It says Eat life; Eat art; Eat the bounty of the season. Celebrate the lobsters pulled from the sea; the boats on the water; the clambakes on the shore. Eat it or miss out.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

A Season Getting Started

In the spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love, except in Maine.  A normal spring here is heralded by mud and forsythia.  This spring has been different.  Instead of mud, green, ready to mow grass is in abundance.  In Saturday Cove the early spring days have been spent repairing traps, painting buoys and working on our lobster boat the Fisher Girl.

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Like any meaningful relationship your boat requires love, attention and respect. Spring is the time to scrape barnacles, paint and polish in preparation for launch and the beginning of the lobster season. Our launch took place last week, a month ahead of schedule.

We look forward to every new season and the surprises it will bring. The things that remain constant are the methods of fishing, our belief in eco friendly harvests, knowing our customers and providing the freshest lobster at the height of its season.

Fast food and harvesting lobster are mutually exclusive. It takes time and expertise to fish for lobster. Early mornings spent at sea baiting and dropping traps followed by pulling up traps dropped earlier become a rhythm, a tango between man and sea. The first trap to bear fruit each season is exhilarating. Hints of clambakes with friends gathered on an open beach spring to mind. That first trap like a spring robin is a harbinger of the promise that the season holds.