The roadside farm stand is synonymous with Maine summer: local farmer, fresh produce, fair exchange. We joined a Community Supported Agriculture group last year in large part to support a local venture, but it evolved into a deeper commitment to those ideals. “Buy Local” is a rallying cry I’d often heard, but the reasons to do so began to resonate deeper than ever before.

When a neighbor got involved in the Maranacook Local Foods Buying Club, I was intrigued by the marriage of new technologies and traditional, direct-to-consumer sales models. The idea for Online Farmer was embraced by the Maine Dept. of Agriculture and Western Mountains Alliance, and a project was born.

I traveled from Cape Elizabeth to Machias (more than 200 miles up the coast) with several stops in between, visiting farmers and producers, buying club customers and government officials. The result was a new-found appreciation for the personal conviction required by the agricultural life, and the inherent power of our decisions as consumers. As we dance with environmental and political uncertainty, the economic and cultural impact of buying local is significant.

For more information on buying clubs in Maine, check out www.fffme.com

When the kids’ locker mechanism jammed and we couldn’t pry open the door, it was time to resort to a little constructive destruction. Out came the rotary tool for a surgical incision in the back of the door, just big enough for a hockey stick to poke through and lift the latch.

As I was watching the sparks fly, I wondered what it would look like at 60 frames per second.

Incidentally, every man should own a Dremel.

Too often I see spectacular light bathing a subject and think to myself, “I really ought to shoot that sometime.” It happened again this morning, but this time I managed to push past the procrastination.

I was struck with a grand appreciation of simple steam rolling around my morning cup of coffee. Wrapped in sunlight beaming from an opposite window, and perhaps because I’d yet to take a bleary-eyed sip, its dance was especially captivating. Instead of jotting another to-do in my mental notebook, I ran upstairs for the camera. With the Canon 7D, it’s shot at 60 frames per second with a macro lens and slowed to half speed. What a cool thing, to “see as the camera sees.”

Yes, I agree, the music is a little melodramatic.

The name was clever, the concept irresistible. Mutton Bustin’ at the Litchfield Fair. Kids aged seven and eight (deemed too old for the time-honored pig scramble) would have a new event in which to compete. The object was simple: hold on tight for as long as you can.

“The winner gets a $20 bill. And bragging rights,” said Dick Brown, First Vice President for the Fair and the driving force behind the event. “We did the pig races a few years ago, and that was a real crowd pleaser, too. But it got pretty hard to find pigs that we could borrow that weighed 100 or 200 pounds so we could have the race.”

Brown had seen the concept of sheep racing at other fairs, and he presented the idea to the Litchfield board. They agreed it would be worth a try, as a fun way for kids to stay in touch with the area’s agricultural roots. Heading into the event, however, the only thing he knew for sure was that it would be memorable.

“This is a family-oriented Fair, and this is an activity that grandmothers can come and watch their little ones,” Brown said. “Hopefully nobody will get hurt. They might get a little dirty. We might have a good stain commercial here.”

And one terrific photo op.

AGR Group is the largest direct marketer serving the retail energy industry. In close to 10 years of operation, they have grown from 10 employees in a 1,500 square foot suite to an outbound giant, featuring three call centers and a host of satellite direct sales offices scattered across the country. What’s more remarkable than their expansion is the way they approach their clients, their craft, and, most of all, their employees.

You’d be hard pressed to find anyone willing to describe telemarketing as a dream job. It’s probably just above fast-food service on the desirability scale. It is a job, nonetheless, which is nothing to be sneered at in today’s economy. At AGR, however, the sales reps find more than just a paycheck. They can find longevity (20 percent of its force has more than four years’ tenure, which is unheard of in such a high turnover business). They can also find purpose, validation, and camaraderie. Not all workplaces can boast such benefits.

We recently fielded a team in the Make a Movie Weekend at the North Wayne Schoolhouse, our local version of the 48-hour film festival. It was a lot of fun to stretch the imagination, the equipment, and the clock.

Participants arrived Friday night to pick up their “mystery prop,” and returned on Sunday for story swapping over potluck, with their short film in hand. This year’s prop was a pine cone, which are quite plentiful in these parts (Maine is the Pine Tree State, after all). I went through bags of them, it seemed, as the hastily-constructed narrative called for various pine cone “stunts,” many of which required running water and multiple camera takes.

The cast and crew consisted of two of my children and a couple of their friends. Everyone did a terrific job (an original song for the soundtrack, no less!) and the exhibition of the films was a raucous, family-oriented affair. The screenings were held at the old North Wayne Schoolhouse, a classic one-roomer that served its community from 1854 to 1961, and has found new life with a recent renovation. Every entry won an award (a handsomely-done pine cone plaque, appropriately) and ours garnered best camera work and best director. My thanks to the organizers. It was great fun.