PHOTO: The Jagger family of Winterport at Lake St. George State Park (Ralph Wilkinson photo)
T.S Eliot wrote that April is the cruelest month. I guess he didn’t spend too many Februarys in Maine.
Like most Mainers this time of year, I’m at war with cabin fever. It’s our annual enemy, a sinister opponent infinitely talented at creeping up on us and wreaking havoc on our mental well-being. Nights are long, tempers are short, and at our house, the furnace relentlessly re-circulates February’s staunchest allies: billowing tufts of dog hair and the pervasive smell of wet wool socks.
Thankfully, we need not go into battle unarmed. Our Maine state park system provides us with a spectacular arsenal, a stockpile of 48 panoramic parks and historic sites, each one a “no-whining zone” sure to make our seasonal crankiness evaporate into fresh air.
Eric Jagger of Winterport is using them to his full advantage.
I ran into Eric on the ice at Lake St. George State Park in Liberty. “The whining got to be too much,” he told me with a loving wink towards his 5-year-old twins, Sam and Charlie, “so I googled ‘cheap Maine winter fun’ and ended up here.”
Sam and Charlie, swaddled in brightly colored snowsuits, peered up at me and offered wide, identical smiles before turning their attention back to the hole their dad had drilled in the ice. Although no one in their group had been ice fishing before, it didn’t take them long to figure out the mechanics.
“When the big fish eats the little fish, the flag goes up and you come running.” Sam explained.
Charlie closely examined his small container of bait fish in that certain way 5-year-olds have of examining such things, while Sam positioned himself on his stomach to look directly down into the hole. “Nope, nothin’ yet!” he called out. Charlie sucked in his cheeks, making a fish face at the minnows in his container.
The Jagger family joined me and more than 600 other people recently at Lake St. George State Park for the outdoor kickoff of Maine state parks’ year-long 75th anniversary celebration. The event was a generous dose of fun for all ages, and I heard plenty of laughter all day. I heard sled dogs yipping, and the zinging sound that nylon snowsuits make when kids transform themselves into human sleds and take turns tugging each other across the ice. I even overheard a secret fish-calling chant or two.
But Eric Jagger’s plan came together beautifully, just as it did for so many other families that day. He won his battle; I did not hear a single whimper. No sniveling. No high-pitched mewling. Nary a grumble nor a grouse — not even a small one.
Score one for Eric Jagger, and for all of us who got the better of winter that day!
You don’t have to fight February alone either; our state parks are waiting for you now – with no bugs, no waiting lines, and absolutely no whining!
Upcoming events at Maine state parks:
- Feb. 17 — Winter Family Fun Day – Fort McClary State Historic Site
- Feb. 19 — Kid’s Ice Fishing Derby – Range Ponds State Park
- Feb. 20 — “Take It Outside!” Winter Family Fun Day – Aroostook State Park
For more information, go to www.parksandlands.com
