Greetings from the Harraseeket Inn! March came in a like a lion and is still acting like one. Another potential nor'easter is bearing down that could be bringing heavy snow and high winds but this is fairly normal behavior for Old Man Winter when spring is breathing down his neck. It's this perennial battle between the seasons that makes March such a long, tough month to endure here in the northeast. One day the crocuses are brightening our world with their blooms, the next they're buried under eighteen inches of heavy wet snow. March brings on the worst cases of cabin fever, which is why our Cabin Fever package is so popular right now. Check out the bottom of the page for more details.

Another great deal coming up in April is our annual Hospitality for Habitat offer. The Maine Innkeepers Association has been promoting this event for fourteen years and folks are already calling to see when we're going to be offering it this year. This program is designed to raise funds for local chapters of Habitat for Humanity.The offer is very simple. Between April 16 until May 24, 2018, we're offering a designated number of their rooms at half the regular rate, in exchange for a $35 check payable to Habitat for Humanity.

These funds will be distributed among the eight local chapters of Habitat for Humanity. Habitat for Humanity International is a Christian ministry dedicated to eliminating poverty housing. Founded in 1975 by Millard Fuller, along with his wife Linda, Habitat for Humanity International and its affiliates in more than 3,000 communities in 92 nations have built more than 800,000 homes for partner families around the world. Their website is www.habitat.org. Reservations must be made in advance, and the contribution to Habitat for Humanity must be in the form of a check.  This is a great deal for a great cause, and another great reason to plan your getaway!

Maine moose are in the news this winter as the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife recently announced an increase in moose hunting permits for the upcoming season in the fall of 2018.  New Hampshire and Vermont are losing their moose to winter ticks and have cut back the number of their permits drastically, but Maine's IF&W believes the way to a healthier moose population is to increase the number of hunting permits and further thin out the moose population. The theory being, the fewer moose, the fewer moose ticks.
"Ghost Moose" infested with winter tick, note the hair loss from trying to rub off the ticks.
Apparently cool spring and fall temperatures and early snow slow down the ticks and limit the number that attach to moose, who can tolerate up to 30,000 ticks during the winter months but 50,000 can kill them.  That's enough to make any tick-phobic person glad they're not a moose. 
Trained dog finding moose sheds.  Good dog!

Several years ago I was up in the county gassing up at an Irving station when a pick-up truck full of moose antlers pulled in.  The driver was a Passamaquoddy who had a trained dog riding shotgun in the passenger seat.  The dog, he told me, was trained to find moose antlers after they're shed by the bulls in early winter.  He then said that the pattern of lines and ridges on each moose antler was unique to the moose the way our fingerprints were to us.  He claims to have found matching antlers in the same area in different years, allegedly dropped by the same moose. He gave me one of the moose sheds from the back of his truck and it sits in a place of honor atop my bookshelf. 
Imagine finding this treasure on your walk!

One of these moose antler hunters, with his dog, was out in the woods earlier this winter when the dog began barking, guiding him to a mucky spring hole where a cow moose had gotten bogged down and trapped.  She'd been struggling to free herself to the point of exhaustion while her calf watched from the edge of the woods.  The moose antler hunter summonsed the Maine warden service and this video shows them freeing the cow moose, whose leg had become ensnared in a tree root.  That poor cow would have suffered a long and miserable death had she not been found by that specially trained dog and rescued.  Good dog!

Special Offers and Upcoming Events:

maple sugaring
Maine Maple Sunday is always the last Sunday in March and participating sugar houses will be open to the public with all sorts of maple sweets being offered for sample and sale, and in many of the sugar houses you can get a close up, first hand view of the sugaring process, which is fun for kids and adults both. So far this has been a great sugaring season.  

*Maine Flower Show runs from Thursday March 22 through Sunday March 25th in Portland, Maine.  Come enjoy a preview of spring and get some fabulous ideas for your own gardens!

*Easter Sunday is coming up fast.  Check out our incredible Easter Grand Buffet  on our website and make reservations soon at 1-800-342-6423.
 
*Our popular Cabin Fever Package runs from now until June 14th, Sunday through Thursday only. Why suffer when the cure's waiting for you right here in Freeport?

The Cabin Fever Package includes: 
*Two nights lodging
*$50. LLBean Gift Certificate
*Dinner for two one evening in our Broad  ArrowTavern
*Tavern Lunch Buffet for two one day
*Full buffet breakfast each morning
*Afternoon Tea daily

$435. per couple, standard room
$510. per couple, deluxe room
fireplace!
Check out our website for more great values for off season travelers.  Call us toll free at 1-800-342-6423 to book your reservation direct and receive complimentary afternoon tea and full buffet breakfast for two. Leave the snow shoveling to someone else. Come for a visit and let us  pamper you with great food and hospitality that will warm your spirit and banish the winter doldrums.  

*Check out LL.Bean's Calendar of Events ; everything from snowshoeing, fly tying, bike maintenance, cross country skiing...and some great presentations from world adventurers! 

* Wolfe's Neck Farm  Backyard Gardener Workshops   Just because it's winter doesn't mean you can't be learning new skills (like winter gardening) and getting ready for spring.

*Freeport USA  Check out the winter sales events and fun happenings in town!
wolfes neck
*Wolfe's Neck Woods State Park There's always a selection of family oriented and educational outdoor events planned at the park and it's just a short drive from the inn.  Beautiful walking trails along the rugged shoreline of Casco Bay. 
  
*Maine Harvest Spring Wine Dinner at the Harraseeket Inn is coming up in May 4th, $55./per person, starts at 6 pm.  This is a five course dinner paired with wines, guaranteed to delight! Call 1-800-342-6423 to reserve your seats!
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This month's trivia question will have NOTHING whatsoever to do with Roman or pagan holidays around Valentines Day because apparently there are at least forty holidays of that description in February.  March will be a moosey trivia, and a simple one at that.   Where in Maine is this moose hanging out?
   All correct answers win a voucher worth $5. toward food or lodging on your next visit.  You must answer within one week or take your chances on getting a response.  One answer per household, please.  You may redeem up to 12 vouchers at one time, a total of $60. Please be patient with my replies, it takes a long time to get through hundreds of emails and lately there's been lots of snow shoveling to do.   Good luck, think spring and we hope to see you soon!
Penny Gray
The Gray family



Harraseeket Inn | 162 Main Street  |  Freeport, ME 04032

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