Father's Day is coming, and since I am a father I can't wait.

I am hardly the Dad who has everything.

After all, the cabin has no water, no light, no power of any kind.

And that's just the major stuff.

So I am making my list of what I would like from my devoted flock.

Not all requests are essential, if you get my drift . . .

10. A generator. Candles are good, but I get tired of reading by a flickering light in the dark.

9. An autographed daguerreotype of Benedict Arnold. True, he made some bad career choices at the end. But he was aces when he marched through western Maine on his way to Quebec in mid-1760s.

8. Better birds. Woodpeckers are cool - I guess - but ravens are tiresome. For all the thistle I am putting out, you'd think I would get some colorful songbirds.

7. A copy of "Scrabble for Dummies." I have lost a dozen Scrabble games in a row, and I am ready for remedial study.

6. A biography of Chester Greenwood. The long-gone native of Farmington is known for inventing the earmuff, but he had dozens of other discoveries. I will offer to write his bio if it hasn't been done yet.

5. A dock that the state EPA will not condemn. With all the erosion on the Sandy River, it is hard to put the canoe in the water. But placing structures in our part of the river is sketchy.

4. A weeding service. I know, why weed the grounds of a cabin? But I hate to see new weeds cropping up every time I am gone for a few days.

3. A few deer walking by. In past decades, my area of New Sharon was great deer hunting. It had woods, fields, water and much to eat. But hunters picked up on this, and have picked the place clean. I wish a new family would move in.

2. More comments from readers. Who knows if anyone reads this blog, which has been up for three months. It's not controversial or hip, but I would like to hear comments from readers.

1. That's all. I am fortunate to have a cabin in a woods on a river in Maine. I can't ask for much more.

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