The big news story is that the Haselton Purchase for the Schmid Preserve is a done deal! Selectmen met with Gary Haselton and lawyer David Soule Jr. on June 28th to sign the papers. Now the Schmid Preserve is one solid tract of 766 acres.

A memorial service for Barbara Reed Stanley was held at the Stanley home on the River Road Saturday, June 29. Many old friends of the Reed and Stanley families met to remember Barbara and to greet her mother, Veula Reed, her husband Vito Stanley, son Peter, daughters Kathy and Elizabeth and several grandchildren. Another daughter, Victoria, lives in Georgia.

The Reverend Iris K. Burnell has begun her pastorate at the Edgecomb Congregational Church as of July 8. Her first appearance in the pulpit will be this Sunday, July 14.

On Wednesday, July 17, as dark descends, we can Explore the Night Sky with Stan Brower, astronomy enthusiast and founder of the Central Maine Astronomy Society, at Singing Meadow on the Cross Point Road. Bring kids + field glasses, telescopes, whatever you have, to scan the sky for nebulae, star clusters and a waxing moon. Venus will be visible on the horizon. The Singing Meadow Preserve is a Boothbay Region Land Trust property, and they are the sponsors of this fun nocturnal event. Call BRLT at 633-4818 (working hours) if you want an exact time, or just stroll on over whenever you start being able to see stars.

The Edgecomb Congregational Church will be holding a summer supper Saturday, July 20th from 5 to 7 p.m., to benefit the Eldercare Network of Lincoln County. This church outreach program runs Hodgdon Green in Damariscotta and several satellite residential assisted living centers for low income people at Boothbay Green, Waldoboro Green, and the new Jefferson Green; plans are in the works for a Round Pond Green.

Ahoy! We really will have an asparagus patch! Fronds are already up, already 2 feet tall. However, it will take a good 2 years to get edible asparagus. But progress!

Where are all the hummingbirds? Several River Road neighbors are wondering. I must say, I've been disappointed with the summer birdfeeder population. All we get are cowbirds. I wish there were a way to reform cowbirds so they would build their own nests and lay their own eggs in them. The female cowbird lays her eggs in other, smaller bird nests, which often dangerously decreases the populations of warblers, sparrows, and other small birds.

My husband says the ultimate sign of summer has arrived. The large proportion of cars at the nearby farmers' markets are from out-of-state!

Edgecomb residents should by now have received a letter from the Town's Waterfront Committee about the coming inventory of current moorings. Edgecomb will have a mooring area on the Sheepscot immediately south of the Davey Bridge. To assist this documentation, boat owners are requested to print your names on your mooring balls with dark paint or permanent magic marker. Consult Harbor Masters Stott Carleton or Richard Tonry (Damariscotta River) before placing a new mooring. They will advise about weight and tackle requirements and other recommendations.

Support your local writers! Edgecomb has two authors hot off the presses: Van Reid's latest, "Peter Loon," is described as a coming-of-age tale set in Maine after the American Revolution. His three previous titles form his well-loved "Moosepath League" series. Van will be signing his books at the Maine Coast Book Shop and Caf‚ on Friday, July 19 from 4 to 6 p.m.

Lea Tait's new book is also out! "Shadows at the Fair" is the first in her "Antique Print Mystery" series of detective stories featuring antique dealer Maggie Summer. It has been reviewed as "crackling with suspense, intrigue, and authenticity." Lea lives in the Marie Antoinette House in Edgecomb, and operates a special-order antique business with her mother. Her first book was a well-regarded juvenile, "Stopping to Home," featuring two kids growing up in 19th-century Wiscasset. Lea will be signing copies of "Shadows" at the Maine Coast Book Shop and Caf‚ on Saturday, July 20, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. From there she will whiz to the Pownalborough Courthouse in Dresden at 2 p.m. that same day, to address the annual meeting of the Lincoln County Historical Association, and then again, on Thursday the 25th, to a reading and signing at Sherman's in Boothbay Harbor at 6 p.m. She invites everyone to visit her website, www.leawait.com for more information.

Digging into my own antique prints to see if there are any bloody daggers lurking, at 234 River Road, 633-2978, and bonesukl@midcoast.com.

This column appears in The Boothbay Register, The Lincoln County News, The Wiscasset Newspaper and on www.edgecomb.org.