New2Maine.com

Maine is #1 – In Taxes! I’ve seen this bumper sticker on quite a few cars since we moved up here. Until last week I wasn’t really aware of what they meant. Was it just property taxes (which I’d heard were high), or was the income tax out of whack too? Well, since we don’t own property, I can’t comment on the former, but the latter certainly is true.

After finally buckling down and finishing our taxes (federal, New York, and Maine) this weekend, I’ve realized that Maine’s income tax really is quite high. Amber and I ended up with refunds from Uncle Sam and New York state, but owing a good chunk of change to our new home state. It seems that ~75% of our AGI came from our time in New York (going from a full-time teacher’s salary to a part time salary dropped Amber’s income significantly). Some how, though, New York only accounted for a hair shy of two-thirds of the state income tax we’ve ended up paying for the year.

That’s right. 25% of our income ended up netting us 33% of our state tax liability. Looking at the numbers a little more closely, the tax rate in Maine ended up being just over 2% higher than in New York (something like 5.1% in NY and 7.2% in Maine). New York was never an inexpensive place to live, tax-wise, and I’d heard Maine wasn’t either, but I had no idea! I guess it’s time to adjust those W-4s…

The calendar says it has official been spring (a.k.a. “mud season” up here) for a full week now. The view from my window begs to differ. The temperature broke the 50°F mark for the first time in weeks on Wednesday, and yesterday was in the high 40s. This morning, however, we awoke to a quarter inch of snow, and it hasn’t stopped yet. According to WGME 13:

Don’t put away those shovels and snow tires. A spring storm is bringing yet another round of snow to much of Maine. Meteorologist Sarah Long says a storm that moved into the region in the early morning hours will stick around most of Friday.

By the time snow tapers off this afternoon, 4 to 8 inches is predicted for York and Cumberland counties. 3 to 6 inches are expected in portions of central and western Maine, with lesser amounts the farther north you go.

That means that Portland will likely top the 100-inch mark for the winter. So far, it’s gotten 99.4 inches.

100″!?!? That’s quite a winter!

The Sea Dogs are set to begin practice up here on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week and just recently posted on their website that they’d finally gotten Hadlock Field clear of snow. So much for that! I just hope this is the last of it so their April 11 home opener goes as planned. I’ll be in Kentucky that evening for work, but those of you with tickets better plan on bringing a hat and mittens to the ballpark. Ahhh, winter in northern New England!

Though we’re still new here, as far as Amber and I can tell, Maine is one of the more eco-friendly states in the country. In addition to recycling just about everything imaginable, state subsidized CFLs, and bottle deposit programs aimed at getting consumers to turn plastic back in rather than throw it out, there is also a big push to buy local produce where possible. One of the things that we learned about at Eco Appetito was community supported agriculture. The foot is fresher, the carbon footprint is lower, and other Mainers make a living. What’s not to like?

The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardners Association publishes a directory (large PDF) of Community Supported Agriculture in Maine. From their site:

Over the last decade, we have witnessed the proliferation of farmers’ markets in this country. The number of markets nation wide increased more than 7 percent in 2006 alone and has more than doubled in the last 10 years.

Right here in Maine, a renewed commitment to eating local foods is evident through the annual increase in sales at the farmers’ markets across the state. It seems that the time is right for Mainers to take their commitment to local seasonal food to the next level with community supported agriculture (CSA).

With over 100 farms and 4000 shares and counting, Maine’s CSA community is just beginning to show its potential for transforming relationships with food and farms. There is no formula to a CSA. Each is unique as the community supporting it. The bottom line is that people make commitments to farms, and in return farmers make commitments to produce for their members the freshest, most flavorful, highest quality food possible.

Having recently had the pleasure of sampling local foodstuffs and shopping at great little neighborhood markets like Pat’s and Rosemont Market & Bakery, I think that we may look into joining one of these CSAs (though probably only a half-share for now, as it’s just the two of us). Some of the farms here in Cumberland County even offer the ability to work the farm in exchange for a share. I grew up on a farm, so it might be interesting to get outside and get my hands dirty again.

I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything. My parents and younger brother came up for Easter, so Amber and I spent much of the day Friday cleaning, and my family arrived that afternoon. I think it’s probably a little rude to spend a whole lot of time typing up a post while they’re here, so I’ll just wish all my our readers a Happy Easter (if you are a Christian; for those who are not, it’s a beautiful Sunday morning up here, hopefully you’re enjoying much the same). We’ll be attending Easter Mass at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church down in Cape Elizabeth and then heading into Old Port for brunch at MIMS. I can’t wait.

I posted the announcement for Eco Appetito a few weeks ago. Instead of a Friday night date night this past week, Amber and I decided we’d head down to Cinque Terre on Sunday and sample some of their wonderful food, get some of the first taste’s of Peak’s new Maple Oat Ale, and support a good cause. We are oh so glad we did.

Parking was a bit hard to come by early Sunday afternoon, so we ended up in the parking garage on Fore Street and walked down the hill to Cinque Terre. There were already 15 or 20 people there when we arrived, but Amber and I were definitely among the earliest arrivals. The event details said that 150 tickets were available, and I’m not quite sure they sold out completely, but there were probably 125 guests or so throughout the afternoon. With all of the downstairs tables and most of the upstairs tables removed, it didn’t feel at all crowded.

The food, as expected, was excellent. Amber and I are still developing our seafood palettes, so we shied away from the Winterpoint oysters. The pesto, white bean, and parsnip soup shots (soup served in an espresso cup) were very good. Other passed appetizers included delicious wild mushroom fritters (with just a bit of bite to them), venison and mushroom with dijon mustard, and a white bean spread with roasted rabbit. The venison was some of the best I’ve ever had, and the rabbit was excellent as well. Upstairs, there was a ravioli and gnocchi station in one corner, a French press coffee station in another, and an artisan cheese station in a third.

The ravioli making was featured on a recent episode of 207 and included carrot, beet, and swiss chard. The ravioli and gnocchi were both excellent, though the consensus at our table was that the ravioli was the clear winner.

We met several interesting people at the event. Drew Dumsch, FBES’s Executive Director, chatted with Amber about ecology education (teacher talk) and some of the programs offered by the school. We spoke with the residential director’s fiancé for a while about his move out from Seattle, life in Maine, and the new Peak ale. The highlight, however, was sharing ravioli and conversation with local artist Elizabeth Fraser and her partner Maureen over several plates of ravioli and a few beers. Ms. Fraser painted a portrait of Spring Point Light that was auctioned off as part of the silent auction fundraiser. She also did paintings of Cinque Terre and Vignola as thank you gifts for the owners who donated their time, space, and staff to the event. We’ll definitely be checking out Elizabeth’s studio on Munjoy Hill during the May First Friday Art Walk and are considering commissioning a portrait of our pooch, Cindy Lu.

The plans for the second annual Eco Appetito are already underway, and I sincerely hope they’ll continue the event. It was great fun and well worth the cost of admission.