Trading BBQ and Collards for Fiddleheads and Whoopie Pies

I am in a new world that looks familiar. This part of Maine looks much like extreme north Georgia or even North Carolina.  Beautiful rolling hills and mountains with lovely trees and breathtaking views. I do feel at home here and when I am just with my husband and kids nothing much seems changed and Georgia doesn't seem all that far away. Then we go to the grocery store or try a new restaurant and this is where the differences begin to show.  Here are a few things I have noticed about life in Aroostook County, Maine:

• Fiddleheads are in season (see picture to the right).  I had never heard of fiddleheads until I came here.  Apparently now is the time to pick them.  They grow near elm trees and in marshy places and are supposed to taste much like asparagus.  We may try to find some tomorrow and give them a try... I'll let you know how that turns out...
• Whoopie Pies are divine and I could have that marshmallow fluff every day if it were possible and I didn't want to be as big as a house. They also cause 3 year olds to go into a sugar high that is impossible to come down from without a few laps around the playground and they probably keep the dentists in business here. The picture to the right was staged.
• The snow melts away the lines in the road and you have to be from here to know where the lines are supposed to be. Between the lack of lined roads and the frost heaves we will probably keep a mechanic in business.  The roads up here make Alabama's roads seem like perfection. 
• There is no such thing as a private dinner-conversation in a restaurant.  Emalee, with her beautiful red curls and sassy attitude, is quite an attention-grabber and people are simply friendly.  
• Everyone knows what my husband does simply because we are new to town.
• I looked everywhere for hot dog buns today.  Here they have "frankfurter rolls".  I think I like them better... 
• All of the restaurants have Coca-Cola signs. Whoever the Coca-Cola salesman is up here is doing a fine job.  In Georgia, restaurants have a logo and "brand".  Here, every restaurant has their own following and specialty but you would never know it by their sign - it is almost funny.   I guess that is how they get around the fact that Maine doesn't allow billboards.  Coca-Cola is doing just fine with the advertising it is getting from restaurants and country markets.  I'll post some pictures of what I mean soon...
• The black flies are out. They are a pain. I want them to go away. 
• When someone says that plowing is included with your rent they are not referring to helping out with the garden.  They mean that they will plow the snow from your driveway. I arrived too late for that to be necessary, but it is a great benefit.  Imagine my surprise when I was negotiating my rent with our landlord while in Georgia and he said he would do the mowing and the plowing.  I was so excited to be having a garden until I realized what he meant.  I have a lot to learn about the winters up here...
• Snowmobiles are called sleds. 
• The driveway is called the "dooryard". Don't ask, I don't get it either. 
• Many of the homes out in the country are literally connected to the barns. It is funny, almost like the house was originally built away from the barn and they added it to it so many times that it finally was connected to the barn.  I guess that is their way of avoiding the snow when they go to check on the cows in the winter. I will have to get a picture of that, too... 
• I still can't force myself to use the word "wicked".  I also can't stop saying "y'all" and am more aware of how frequently I say it. 
• Maple syrup tastes better up here.

These are just a few things I have figured out since our arrival nearly a month ago.  As we explore I am sure we will make more discoveries... but life is good in Maine and I am enjoying being a tourist for a few years. Now I need to go find some fiddlehead recipes...