Lupines, Lilacs and Foxes, Oh My!
Warm weather is making the COVID-19 pandemic a little more bearable on the island these days. We can at least walk, or run, or drive around and check out what Mother Nature’s been up to.
Nature’s mothers have been busy. Witness this den of kits somewhere on Indian Point Road (we won’t tell you where because we don’t want them disturbed). The songbirds are warning us away from their nests in the most pleasant ways; the seagulls, of course, not so much. A mama duck marched her eight ducklings alongside the Sunshine causeway on Saturday, but hid them in their nest before a photographer could catch up with them.
So this is not quite so bad as it was a few weeks ago. But it’s still pretty bad. The governor has started to crack open the state’s economy, but only by a crack. The farmer’s market in Stonington started, but the widely spaced farmers who depend on it for income didn’t have many customers. Restaurants that have survived on takeout are struggling to figure out how to safely seat fewer customers. Lodging owners have it even worse, with the 14-day quarantine rule causing summer cancellations right and left. Most lodging and campground owners say they expect to lose at least half their business this year.
Yes, the lupines and the lilacs are out, but an undercurrent of worry permeates the island. Businesses that depend on two busy summer months may not survive past 2020. That’s why the Deer Isle-Stonington Chamber of Commerce started the Shop Deer Isle website: to help market island products and services to people who can’t come to the island.
The outlook for nonprofits is as dire as it is for businesses. The Opera House has launched a matching fund drive just so it can keep going over the next months, but many nonprofits have canceled their annual fundraisers. You’ll notice a “charities” section on Shop Deer Isle; if you can spare a few dollars for a beloved island institution, you can do it through Shop Deer Isle.
So please take a minute to click through to the Shop Deer Isle businesses and nonprofits and see what they’re up to. Maybe Dad would like a subscription to Senior Hiker magazine for Father’s Day, or a Geoff Warner owl stool, or a Déjà vu Deer Isle gift box from Nervous Nellie’s. Or maybe Dad has everything he needs or wants. Why not make a donation to a worthy island nonprofit?
If you have a special place in your heart for Deer Isle, please consider shopping the island remotely. We’re not saying it’s the next best thing to being here, but it’s something.