Books, Cats, Gardening

Done Da Done! And: Ferns, Ferns, Ferns

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Garden Report

Last week, I did it. Creaky knees and all, I raked the leaves from the last bed. Did I feel good about this accomplishment? You bet I did.

Now, onward to compost, wood ash, and fertilizer. Plus, moving things here and there. For me, as I’m sure it is for most gardeners, May is as busy a month as December. For different reasons, naturally. However, just as I love the holidays, I also love the month of May with its intense gardening.

Let’s hear it for hands in the dirt and a garden cart at the ready. Trowel, shovel, garden shears, cultivator. Check, check, check, and check.

For a gardener, life becomes pretty basic in the spring. But oh so good.

Fern Report

I’m not sure if I love ferns because I live on the edge of the woods, or if I live on the edge of the woods because I love ferns. But as readers might have noticed, I’m crazy about ferns.

Let’s take a look at the ferns I’ve been following since they poked their pretty little heads up at the end of April.

Here they are on April 27. Such dear little things.

And here they are, twelve days later: elegant, tall, and feathery.

Amazing, isn’t it? They really are all grown up.

But never fear. There are more ferns emerging for me to marvel at.

Soon, these little ferns will be grown-up, too, gracing the yard with their beauty, for which we are grateful. One of the best things is that, for the most part, I don’t have to do a thing to encourage them. They spread and grow on their own. (All right. I will admit that I might have bought a fern or two for my beds. But most of the ferns by the house and in the yard came here on their own. Seems like a miracle.)

Finally, a pleasing combination of pink and green.

First Drinks on the Patio

Saturday, May 16, was a banner day at our home on the edge of the woods. We had our first drinks of the year on our patio.

The owl wine glass belongs to my daughter Dee, who loves owls just as much as I love ferns.

Cheers to blogging friends near and far. Our happy time on the patio is here, and soon there will be a new addition in the backyard, which will add to our enjoyment.

Stay tuned.

Reading

When I Was a German, 1934–1945: An Englishwoman in Nazi Germany
(Original Title: The Past Is Myself)
By Christabel Bielenberg

When I Was a German, a memoir by Christabel Bielenberg, is a heavy book to read in the merry month of May. But maybe it’s good to read this kind of book when the weather is lovely, and things are green and growing.

In the book’s foreword, Christabel Bielenberg acknowledges that although there is ample material documenting this terrible time in Europe, she has “one advantage…I am English; I was German, and above all I was there.”

Indeed, she was. In England in 1934, Christobel married the tall, handsome German Peter Bielenberg. When she married, Christabel Bielenberg gave up British citizenship and became a German citizen. (Twelve years later, she would relinquish her German citizenship to “become a British subject once again.”)

At first, Christobel and Peter lived in Hamburg, Germany.  Both Peter, a law student, and Christabel were upper-middle-class and well-connected. From the jump, they thought that Hitler was “a clown” who would not be in power long. Turns out, they were wrong.

The Bielenbergs had friends who were staunchly opposed to Hitler, and they persuaded the young couple to stay in Germany to help bring down the government. Peter took a job with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce in Berlin to be closer to the Nazi government. By then, the couple had children, and they moved to Berlin, to the heart of darkness.

Things, of course, go from bad to worse. Friends are hanged, and Berlin is relentlessly bombed by the Allies. Christabel moves with her three children to a small village in the Black Forest, where they live in relative safety. Peter stays in Berlin and is eventually imprisoned because of his association with the men who tried to assassinate Hitler. (Peter himself was not involved in the attempt.)

All of this is riveting reading, and I especially liked Christabel’s descriptions of village life in the Black Forest, far away from Berlin. While the village and the villagers were officially allied with the Nazi party, they were kind to Christabel and her sons, and for the most part, they were not fanatical followers of Hitler. (This, of course, does not absolve them of their complicity, but it does add nuance.)

My one complaint about the book is that it covers too much territory too quickly. Those were, after all, eventful years. At times, the book felt rushed, and I think the material would have been better served by being expanded into several volumes, in which the various aspects of Christabel’s life could have been described in more detail. As it is, the book jumps from person to place, and I had a hard time keeping track of those not in the author’s immediate family.

Still, When I was a German is well worth reading, not the least because of Christobel’s insights.

I’ll conclude with one of her reflections, which seems all too relevant in today’s world, where the Right Wing is, alas, in ascendance once again.

“There would be few to pity them {the German People] for the wheel had turned full circle, as deluded by piffling ambition, bent on taking revenge for their failure, they were now slaughtering everything that was best about their country. No nation could afford such extravagance, there was no excuse,  no pardon for such things. This was the punishment, ruins, ruins and more ruins….When I married Peter ten years ago…I did not realize that I would be binding myself to the fate of the whole of this unhappy race.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

News

The Week that Was: Part II

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Somehow, I posted this week’s piece when I was only halfway done. Here is the rest of what I intended to post.

On Saturday, I went to a lovely poetry reading at my library. Jeri Theriault was the poet, and as she read, her husband, Philip Carlsen, accompanied her on the cello. This was a striking combination, with the words and music enhancing each other. I especially liked the way Jeri wove art and the classics into her everyday experiences, giving the poetry depth and a larger meaning.

Sunday was Mother’s Day. Did we celebrate? Of course we did. We met our daughter Shannon and her husband Mike in York, a halfway point for both of us.

First, we had Chinese food.

Then we went to Stonewall Kitchen.

I particularly liked this fine fellow.

After shopping in the store, with its many temptations, we had tea and dessert, which included my favorite, a whoopie pie.

After that, it was on to the movies, to see the fun and charming The Sheep Detectives. Quite a change from the past couple of movies we’ve seen, which have been more on the horror side. What can I say? We have eclectic tastes.

We went to a cinema in New Hampshire, and to get there we had to cross The Bridge. Every Mainer who heads south to New Hampshire and beyond knows this bridge. It is a solid demarcation that gives Maine the feeling of an island. A true Mainer crosses that bridge with a hint of sadness and then returns with a feeling of joy, a feeling of coming home.

Here, we approach the bridge.

Getting closer

and closer.

And then we were in New Hampshire.

But we were back home again in the same day, as my mother might have said.

A perfect trip for this homebody who thinks home is best and loves sleeping in her very own bed.

News

The Week that Was: The Last Leafy Bed

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There is so much going on right now—at least for this homebody (I can’t hold a candle to many of my lovely blogging friends)—that I’m going to touch on several things rather than just focus on one or two the way I usual do.

First, the incredible growing ferns that grow so fast I swear I can see them shoot up in real time.

Here they were two weeks ago:

Here they are now:

What will they look like next week? Never a dull moment at the home by the edge of the woods.

Last week, most of my free time was spent gardening. Because we live by the edge of the woods, leaves blow into my beds in the fall, and it takes a fair amount of time to remove those leaves. (All in all, those leaves are a good thing as they help protect the perennials from the cold that Maine winters bring.)

I am happy to report that I am down to the last leafy bed.

With any luck, the last of the leaves will be gone by the end of the week.

 

 

News

May the Fourth, 2026

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Spring, Spring, Spring is here! Is there a sweeter time of year? I don’t think so. Brief, green, frothy, and glorious, Spring compresses her beauty in one short month in Maine. And that month is May. (When I went to college in Indiana, I was astonished by how long Spring lasted. I found the extended Spring to be a little too intoxicating, making it hard to study.)

First, I want to show you how those sweet little ferns have grown in just one week. I took this picture on April 22.

And this one on April 29.

They grow so fast. Sniff, sniff.

My yard continues to be a constant delight. Clif and I moved the big table to the patio. There’s no umbrella yet—it’s actually been rather cool, which I like. But we have chairs clustered around the table, and all we need is a nice warm day so that we can raise our glasses to Spring.

The seed in the backyard feeder is disappearing at a furious rate. Setting up housekeeping is hard work for the birds, and we are happy to provide sustenance. In the picture below, a hairy woodpecker (I think, but birding friends, do correct me if I’m wrong) comes to eat. I really like the angle of the woodpecker’s body.

Male goldfinches look especially fine among the red flowers of the maple tree. Can you spot Goldy? Should be pretty easy, even though the picture was taken from afar.

This will be a week of gardening when the weather allows—lots of rain in the forecast, which is good, but it does interfere with the yardwork. Just as the ferns grow at an astonishing clip, so do the plants in my garden. Most of the gardening must be done by the beginning of June.

The countdown begins.

But it’s not all work and no play.

Surprise, surprise, we did manage to slide in a movie—the creepy Hochum, featuring Adam Scott. (If horror is not your thing, this is definitely one to skip, but for readers who like horror, add Hokum to your watch list.)

After the movie, we went to Cushnoc Brewing Co. in Augusta for pizza and flatbread.

Both were mighty tasty.

Our friends Dawna and Jim separately decided to go out for pizza, too, and we were delighted to see them. Our server was more than willing to pull over a table so that they could join us, and we had a jolly Sunday evening of talk and pizza.

You might even say it was a finest kind of evening.

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Listening

It’s May the Fourth, so what else? Has it really been forty-nine years? Yes, it has.

News

From Fern to Fern with a Birthday in Between

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In central Maine, Spring is slowly showing her pretty face. Soon, Spring will rush through May as though to make up for lost time. But right now all is tender and new.

While doing yard work, I came across these little fern heads. While the ferns might not be at their prettiest, they are certainly at their sweetest, and this is how I love them best. New life unfurling.

On Saturday, Dee, Clif, and I headed south of the border to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to meet our daughter Shannon and her husband, Mike, for Shannon’s birthday. Now that they live in Boston (for years, they lived in North Carolina), we can get together regularly at places that are more or less halfway between us. I always enjoy these get-togethers, and when it’s a birthday, I enjoy it even more.

Shannon chose a cute little café called Popovers on the Square that specializes in—you guessed it!—popovers. We arrived just after breakfast and just before lunch, a lull when the café wasn’t busy, and we were able to snag a half-circle booth that gave us some privacy.

The food was tasty and plentiful.

We talked and ate and talked and ate some more. There were presents—Clif and I gave Shannon a gift certificate to Stonewall Kitchen, one of our halfway points in York, Maine. From soap to jam, the Stonewall Kitchen store has many temptations, and Shannon will have a good time poking around the store.

By noon, Popovers was hopping, and people were waiting for a table. Time to go, but not too far, across the street to a coffee shop, where we could talk some more. (We are a chatty family with movies being a big topic of discussion.)

Finally, around 4:00, we hugged and said goodbye.

Next gathering? Mother’s Day in York. First, to a Chinese restaurant, and then, if the weather allows, to a park or beach, where we will set up our chairs and have cookies and tea. (Perhaps Shannon will slide in a visit to Stonewall Kitchen.)

I began this piece with a fern, and I’m going to end with another kind of Fern, surely one of the cutest cats in Winthrop.

We were given a cat bed, and Fern has claimed it as her own. If her brother Kai seems too envious, we will, of course, get another one. Just like human siblings, Kai and Fern sometimes squabble. But for now, so far, so good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

News

Earth Day 2026: Our One Acre

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As longtime readers might recall, Earth Day is an important day for our family. First and foremost, it is our youngest daughter Shannon’s birthday. My daughters’ birthdays are always such sweet days for me to remember, the days when we welcomed two darling babies into our family. Really, nothing can compare with this, and their birthdays always give me a happy spark.

On Saturday, we will be meeting Shannon and her husband, Mike, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for a day of festivities. I will be sure to post pictures next week.

Then, of course, there is the actual Earth Day, which to this family of Green Beans is a high holy holiday.

The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970. Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson, an ardent environmentalist, was one of the organizers, and when I clicked on Wikipedia to fact-check, I came upon a photo of President Richard Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon planting a tree on the White House lawn in honor of the first Earth Day. Back in those halcyon days, the Republicans were on board with Democrats, and they passed significant environmental legislation, “including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, Superfund, Toxics Substances Control Act, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. It had seen the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and the banning of DDT…”

All this legislation has directly affected Maine in a very good way. For example, when I was young, bald eagles in our state were a rare sight and were on the endangered list. Now, thanks to the Clean Water Act and the banning of DDT, seeing them is not uncommon, especially by our rivers. Truly, a cause for celebration.

But for this Earth Day, I want to narrow the focus and celebrate our very own yard, our one small acre that sits by the edge of the woods. We do what we can to live as lightly as possible. We use organic compost and fertilizers. No pesticides. No herbicides. Life, in all its various aspects, thrives—birds, mammals, insects (some of which we appreciate more than others), and people. After all, we raised two daughters here.

Here are spring snapshots taken in our yard for Earth Day 2026.

A nest I found on the ground,

a black beetle on the patio,

a six-spotted tiger beetle,

and birds at the feeder in the backyard. Sometimes they have squabbles.

In the front yard, I put together a little stone stack to honor my garden.

On our one acre, we have a charger that fuels our car. This has been a big part of our environmental journey.

Do we miss going to gas stations and filling our car with stinking gasoline? We do not. Charging in our yard is much more convenient. It costs us between $15 and $20 a month to charge our EV. As my Yankee husband would say, a pretty darned good deal.

And finally, here is our Chevy Bolt, which I have unimaginatively named “Bolty.”

Bolty took us through an extremely cold winter with no problems. Without hesitation, it started when the temperature was -20. The heater did shave off some of the mileage, but it was still over the 200-mile range, and Bolty brought us where we wanted to go. Once, when we went beyond Bolty’s range, we used a commercial charger, and within half an hour, we were 80% charged and on the road again. (We used that time to go to the bathroom and get snacks.)

A very happy Earth Day to you all!  And while it should hardly need to be said, may every day be Earth Day.

 

 

 

 

 

Electric Car, Movies

A Trip to Portland-town to see Exit 8

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On a gray, rainy Sunday, Clif, Dee, and I headed south to Portland, the Babylon of Maine, and our biggest city (population: around 68,000). Dee was keen on seeing the movie Exit 8, and as far as we could tell, none of the cinemas in our area would be showing it. Fifty miles one way is a bit of a drive for a movie, but because of the weather, we couldn’t work outside, and our electric vehicle, Bolty, gives us a guilt-free drive. So it seemed like a good day to head south. And as Dee noted, any day is a good day to go to the movies.

We made it to Portland in good time, and the Parking gods were on our side—there was an empty spot across from the Nicholodeon Cinema, affectionately referred to as “The Nick.” This empty spot really was a gift from the gods, as the parking garage, for some unknown reason, was closed, and there was a big event nearby.

So was it worth driving that far to see Exit 8? It certainly was. Exit 8, directed by Genki Kawamura, was so good that I’ve already put it on my list of best movies for 2026. Billed as a “mystery, psychological, horror film,” Exit 8 is actually light on horror and strong on psychological and mystery. Readers who are squeamish about horror films can go to this movie without fear. Exit 8 is also a surreal film, but it is primarily the psychological journey of Lost Man as he grapples with issues that are holding him back. Think Groundhog Day melded with The Twilight Zone with a dash of Waiting for Godot. Despite these twists, the movie manages to be warm and humane as we follow Lost Man on his journey.

I don’t want to give too much of the plot away, as the delight of this film lies in following Lost Man.  Simply put, after receiving an important call from a former girlfriend, Lost Man, on his way to work, gets off the subway and finds himself in a series of white-tiled corridors that lead to Exit 8, his way out. Except Lost Man can’t leave and keeps looping around the bright yet bland corridors. Finally, Lost Man notices a sign with instructions, the most important of which is to turn around whenever he encounters an anomaly. If he doesn’t, Lost Man is back to zero. Literally.

Lost Man makes progress and has setbacks, and I was rooting for him the whole time. The film is moving but never cheesy, a real gem that cost about $1 million to make, which is peanuts nowadays.

Note: The trailer emphasizes the film’s horror elements rather than the humane quest of Lost Man.

After the movie, what to do? Why to Maine Beer Company in Freeport for

and

and finally

As my Yankee husband would say, a pretty darned good day.

Note the solar panels. Yay, Maine Beer Company!
Gardening, Snow-Gauge Clif, Spring

Farewell, Snow-Gauge Clif!

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Last Wednesday, the weather gods had a little surprise for central Maine.

That’s right, snow. Just a dusting, and nothing to get too excited about.

Although I love spring, I’m always sorry to see the last of winter, and I was glad for this final (I think!) bit of snow that left its lovely print on the garden.

But by Sunday, all the snow was gone, and it is time to say farewell to Snow-Gauge Clif. There is no more snow to measure.

I know some readers are worried about what Snow-Gauge Clif will do now that his snow-measuring is done until next year. Never fear! At our home by the edge of the woods, there are jobs aplenty when the snow is gone.

Enter, Yard-Work Clif.

Even though we only own an acre of land, it seems as though there is always something that needs doing, if not in the yard, then to the house. And usually, there is much left undone when winter rolls around again. Clif has a multitude of chores to keep him busy.

With the snow gone from the yard, it was time for me to dig around my leaf-mulched garden beds to see what was what, and I got quite a little surprise. The perennials have apparently decided that, despite the dusting of snow, spring is here, a good two weeks earlier than it was back in the day. We have lived in this house for forty-two years, and I had developed a routine: raking the backyard as soon as it was dry enough—usually the middle of the month—and by the end of April or the beginning of May, start tending my beds.

But not this year. Here is what I found when I started removing the leaves from the bed in the backyard.

Now, for those of you who have flowers blooming in your garden, this probably doesn’t look very impressive. But for this central Maine gardener, it is astonishing. Not up there, perhaps, with the miracle of the loaves and fish, but pretty darned surprising nonetheless. I don’t ever remember seeing this much Iris growth so early.

Those of us who have lived and gardened in one place for many years—and I think forty-two qualifies as quite a few—have seen the changes brought about by the climate crisis, and it’s hard to get used to them.

Here’s another change: no mud this spring. In Maine, March and early April are synonymous with mud. Yes, I know. I should be grateful for a spring without mud, when I can go to the compost bin without having my shoe sucked off.

But it’s downright weird not to have mud in Maine in the spring, and it made me uneasy. Why the heck didn’t we have mud this year?

Turns out, I was right to be concerned. We didn’t have mud season this year because of two things, neither of them good for the water table: a premature melt of the snowpack and drought in 2025, which lowered the soil moisture. Fingers crossed that we get plenty of rain this summer.

Still, it’s nice to be in the yard, digging in the dirt and watching the birds come to the feeder, especially when one of them is a cardinal. For now, I’ll set my drought worries aside and enjoy being outside.

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Watching

The safe return of the spacecraft Artemis II was a joyous event for a country that hasn’t had much to celebrate lately. From the beaming astronauts—how happy they looked—to the breathtaking pictures of Earth and space, this journey to the dark side of the moon was thrilling from beginning to end.

By a happy coincidence, there is a movie out right now that celebrates space and science—Project Hail Mary, starring the great and good Ryan Gosling. The trailer will give readers who haven’t seen the movie a good sense of Project Hail Mary’s plot.

Clif and I have seen this movie twice, something we rarely do, no matter how much we like a movie. It is that rare film that is appropriate for those who are between twelve and eighty. How many movies appeal to such a broad age range? Not many, that’s for sure.

Listening

And for a little bonbon, here is “Two of Us” by the Beatles, a song that was perfectly featured in Project Hail Mary. Just happens to be one of my favorite songs by the Beatles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Environment, Snow-Gauge Clif, Spring

Last Week for Snow-Gauge Clif?

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Well, folks, this might very well be the last week for Snow-Gauge Clif. The backyard is essentially snow-free, and this morning, when I took a picture of Clif, he was in a celebratory mood.

The front yard has a little more snow, but not much, and this is mostly where Clif piled the snow when he scooped the driveway.

And here’s a view of the front yard.

We shall see what the rest of the week brings, but by next Monday, that little patch of snow by the lamp might very well be gone, and the dirty snow by the driveway should at least be greatly diminished. As I’m sure readers have figured out, these are heady times at our house by the edge of the woods.

As I mentioned in a previous post, time was when we hoped that the snow on the patio would be gone by April 22, my daughter’s birthday. That way, we could have a celebratory drink outside in her honor. Some years, the snow was gone by April 22; some years it wasn’t. Last week’s post on March 30 illustrated that the snow was gone, and I don’t think it’s coming back. Even if we have an April snowstorm, it won’t add up to much and will melt quickly.

Last week’s photo of the patio.

Therefore, this year, snow-out on the patio was March 30, a full twenty-four days sooner than April 22, when we hoped the patio would be clear for Shannon’s birthday.

For contrast, here is a picture of the patio taken on April 12, 2015. Eleven years ago, this was normal.  Times. Have. Changed.

Readers might be wondering why we aren’t thrilled to have snow-out sooner, in March rather than in April. To some extent, we are. But remember, we live in the land of the ice and snow, and our climate really does resemble Sweden’s. Snow in winter and spring is normal for Maine. For us, five inches is nothing to get flapped about. It takes a foot or more to make us moan.

Also, an earlier spring leads to a hotter summer. Nowadays,  temperatures sometimes rise into the mid-90s and even higher. This, we absolutely hate. If we wanted to live in a hot climate, we would move south. But we don’t. Even though some people might find our cold weather challenging, Maine’s chilly climate suits us. I don’t dream of moving south. Instead, I dream of moving north.

However, central Maine is our home, and here we will stay. Thank goodness for the heat pumps we had installed last June. Not only do they not require fossil fuels to run, but they also keep the house nice and cool on unbearably hot and humid days.

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Looking

Art: Saltmarsh Moonrise by David Morgan

Last week, we met friends for drinks and a bite to eat at the Maine Evergreen Hotel in Augusta, where there is art for sale on every floor. Two weeks ago, our daughter Dee, an art lover extraordinaire, bought two paintings. Last week, she bought a very beautiful print, Saltmarsh Moonrise, by David Morgan.

Unfortunately, my phone camera did not capture this print well. My apologies. For a better view of this stunning picture, click here to go to Morgan’s website and scroll down.

Dee has all her new pictures hanging in her room—what lovely additions!—and she is done buying art.

At least for now.

 

 

 

 

Art, Movies, Snow-Gauge Clif, Spring

And Away It Goes!

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For those who don’t live in northern New England, it might seem as though Spring is taking her own sweet time to get here. But for Mainers, things are moving very fast indeed.

As a visual aid, here is a picture of the backyard last week.

Looks like a winter wonderland, doesn’t it? Except that the picture was taken on March 23, which is officially spring in the northern hemisphere.

But Spring hasn’t forgotten us after all. Here is the backyard this week, featuring Snow-Gauge Clif.

For this Mainer, that snow melted pretty darned fast.

And look! The snow on the patio is completely gone. Time was when we hoped it would be clear by April 22, our daughter Shannon’s birthday. Now, it often melts by the end of March, and somehow, I have a hard time wrapping my head around this. It just doesn’t seem normal, even though this has been the case for several years.

While the backyard is mostly snow-free, there are still patches by the shady side of the house where the ferns grow in the summer.

Now to the front yard, where there is more snow.

But even in the front yard, the snow has gone down a lot. Here is a longer view.

When will the snow be gone from the front yard? Hard to say. It all depends on how warm it gets, whether it rains, and—dare I mention it?—whether we get another snowstorm. And yes, Maine sometimes gets April snowstorms, which tend to be wet, heavy, and nasty.

One thing is certain: there is excitement aplenty at our home by the edge of the woods.

So stay tuned.

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Looking

Last week, I featured one of the paintings Dee bought at the Maine Evergreen Hotel in Augusta when we met friends and celebrated our 49th wedding anniversary. Dee bought two paintings, and here is the second one: a delicate pen-and-watercolor by Kate Casparius, quite different from the bold owl. Unfortunately, the camera on my phone doesn’t do this lovely painting justice. But it does give readers a sense of the range of work available at the Evergreen.

This Thursday, we will be meeting friends at the Evergreen, and Dee plans to buy a third painting.

Again, stay tuned.

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Watching

Documentary: Herb and Dorothy, Available on YouTube

Dee is crazy about art and buys a piece whenever she can afford it. So far, although some has spilled out to the rest of the house, there is room on the walls in her room for most of her art.

However, when it comes to buying art, some folks have less restraint than Dee. Enter Herb and Dorothy Vogel, a postal worker and a librarian, whose passion for art exceeded that of most everyday folks. In the 1960s, they decided that they could live on one salary and buy art with the other. And boy did they ever buy art. Their small New York City apartment was crammed full of it to the point where they had to get rid of their sofa to make room for more art.

If you haven’t already seen the documentary about this charming, generous, obsessed couple, do yourself a favor and watch Herb and Dorothy. In a world that is often crabbed and stingy, the Vogels stand out as a shining example of the best of what people can be, even if most of us don’t want to stuff that much art into our homes. Slight spoiler: The Bowdoin College Museum of Art in Maine has been the beneficiary of their generosity.

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