A little black-and-white goodbye from Maine

We were Down East last week for Dee's brother's memorial in the little town of Lubec, Maine. It's a tiny fishing town far to the east on the Maine coast, hard up against some Canadian coastal islands. Jim Dorchester died last November, as longtime readers of this blog may remember. He lived near the clam flats just outside Lubec for most of the past 40 years, a man committed to a Thoreau-like existence on a small piece of land with a simple house, no indoor plumbing and only a modicum of electricity.
His 63rd birthday would have been last Friday, June 22, and 29 members of his family and even more local friends gathered to celebrate his life. Friday, the family hiked out on the Lighthouse Trail at Quoddy Head State Park, looking out toward Grand Manan Island, shared memories and then walked the length of the up-and-down cliffside trail, scattering his ashes along the way. Saturday evening, family and friends gathered at what is now his girlfriend Marilyn's home, played music, ate potluck food, drank beer and wine and shared more memories.
There were four generations of family in Lubec for the event, including the next one, still in utero. Our son Marcus came out from Seattle, joining most of his cousins on that side of the family. It was a good time and Jim was sent off well.
Some photos of our trip are below: Dee clasping a pot with some of her brother's ashes; Jim and Marilyn's house, with friends and family; Dee's cousin Sue Potter and Jim's girlfriend Marilyn Alexa; rock musician and cousin Jeff Potter, performing on the harmonica; rocky shore at West Quoddy Head.