These are good times for the Sandy River.

In recent weeks, work crews have been removing a dam on the Sandy in Norridgewock.

The 313-foot wide structure has been in place for more than 100 years but in the interests of a better waterway, it is coming down.

One reason is to give sea-run species like salmon a chance to thrive in the Kennebec and its tributaries, of which the Sandy is one.

The Sandy is not the first waterway to see a dam removed.

The Edwards Dam that held back the Kennebec in Augusta was taken down six years ago.

And the 151-foot Smelt Hill Dam on the Presumpscot was deleted in 2002.

But to think that the unherald Sandy is being prepped for salmon is hard for Your Scribe to believe.

(An aside, perhaps obvious: My camp is on the Sandy River in New Sharon, though the cabin is far from the waterway).

And how is this for good press, from a local paper: "Considered prime habitat for the Atlantic salmon upstream in New Sharon and beyond, the Sandy is already stocked with salmon."

The Sandy?

The river runs from the foothills of the western mountains through central Maine past Farmington and down toward Starks.

It runs through New Sharon - and on the subject of fishing - where Your Scribe has caught only sunfish, yellow perch and an angular white fish that looks suspicously like a sucker.

So I am ready to pull in lunker-like salmon.

The Sandy is 69 miles long, according to a (self-published) text on the waterway.

It has always been in the shadow of such waterways as the Kennebec, Androscoggin and the Penobscot.

In truth, much of the attention paid to those rivers in the '70s and '80s was generated because of pollution.

But the rivers have been cleaned up, and many sections are fishable and swimmable.

Which doesn't take anything away from the Sandy.

It is a clean river, and on many parts of it there is not a house, barn, camp or even another boater on the water.

That was the case Sunday morning, when my son, Drew, and I went for a paddle.

We saw wild flowers, and leafy trees, and small creeks emptying into the river, and one lovely osprey that soared high above the cool (if translucent) water.

No summer palaces or noisy jet-skis, but only one elderly yet blissful woman enjoying the morning with her dogs.

On the same day we were paddling, we read about fresh-water mussels being relocated (for their health) during the removal of the dam.

The news over the weekend was all good: removal of the dam, the preservation of the mussels, and the (hoped-for) arrival of salmon from the Atlantic, via the Kennebec.

Yes, the Sandy appears to be going through an exciting period of upward mobility.

Want to buy some cabins?

Yes, in the plural.

Pete Norris is a seller of camps, which means multiple cabins on the water.

Most of his listings are within a couple hours of Bangor, often to the north.

Norris, 60, says there are plenty of people who think they want a place in the Maine woods.

"I have a list of 250 people who are looking for something," said Norris, who operates out of the Re/Max network

"They don't always have the money, or once they get here they realize that it isn't what the want after all.

"But there's no end to the people who want to get out of the concrete jungle."

Here are some properties that are available:

Nicatous Lodge and Camps, central Maine - Lodge, eight cottages, great room that seats 30. $1,750,000.

Rideout Lodge and Cottages on East Grand Lake - 14 cabins, on the water. $1.45 million.

But there are more moderate offerings:

Five acre island retreat - This is on Nicatous Lake, 60 miles north of Bangor, with a main house with four guest cottages, boats and docks. $849,000.

Camp complex in Oakfield - Four fully equipped cabins in southern Aroostook. Reportely offers year-round activites from fishing and kayaking, to snowmobiling.
$349,000.

Norris himself is a former camp owner, having run operations on Portage Lake and Nicatous Lake.

But now he just sells them, and expects to move about "five or six" this year.

Though sales of all properties are slowing throughout Maine and other states, he says there will always be a market.

"Prices are rising but people still want to be near the wilderness," he said. "Take the Plum Creek project at Moosehead.

"That will be very expensive, maybe $1,000 per waterfront foot. But those developers know their market and they think they'll sell.

"I think they'll sell, too. I've seen it this year, where many camps are full of vacationers, and I've seen in it the past.

"People want to be somewhere where there is a tree over their head and maybe a place to take a canoe, so a camp on the water is turning into liquid gold.'

Norris can be reached at 207-942-8100.

Your Scribe is endeavoring to get an address for the cabin.

I don't really want one, because I don't want the junk mail or census intrusions that can come to the dweller of a rural route.

But I want the town to plow my road.

It is a public thoroughfare, and the plows do come down the dirt avenue.

But they stop at a "real" house about 100 yards from my driveway.

The town clerk says that if there is no number for a house, then the street department assumes to no one lives there.

If I have a number, I can get plowed out so I can inhabit the place deep into December and early in March.

(It's tough heating the place in January and February with only a small Jotul stove.

Also, if I get a street number, the emergency dispatchers can send assitance if I am in peril.

I can see that.

If I called to report fire, it would be hard to say, "I don't have a street number but keep traveling down the Forest Road until you get to the last cabin on the right. It's very cute - but it is in flames."

So I am taking the big step.

But I am having a Catch-22 problem.

The people who run the 911 operation in the county say they want a street number before they put me into the computer.

The post office says it is waiting for the 911 Office to certify that someone actually lives there.

But I am confident that I can straighten out the matter.

I have been paying (increased) taxes on the cabin for years, and that ought to prove that a real person inhabits the property - if only on a part-time basis.

Your Scribe, always trying to do the right thing in the woods, is launching an online response contest the prize of which is a half-cord of dry firewood.

All you have to do is answer the question, "Why I would like a half-cord of free wood this fall."

To enter this contest for the firewood, comment at the bottom of this page where it says Comment.

The response can be truth or fiction.

I will choose the most relevant response, and make the wood available in September.

Note1: The wood was cut two years ago, and is a blend of oak, maple and poplar.

Note2: Though I use firewood in the cabin, I have plenty for myself.

Note3: Firewood is getting expensive, and a half-cord might be helpful to someone this winter.

Note4: The winner will have to pick up the wood. The cabin is in New Sharon, which is between Augusta and Farmington.

Note5: This is not a ruse. I want to see if people respond to a good offer, and meet some readers who follow this blog on MaineToday.

To enter this contest for the firewood, comment at the bottom of this page where it says Comment. Comments of 25-100 words are expected.

A special award will be given to the best fiction response.

Yours truly,

Your Scribe

Cabins are great for listening to the radio.

Though some camps have TV, Your Scribe feels the medium of choice should be radio.

It allows the imagination to wander, and makes some programs more intriguing than they would be on television.

Thought1: The best offering is Red Sox baseball. The broacasters are pretty good, and the mind can wander plenty in visualizing action taking place 200 miles away. Plus, TV ads are so distracting as to ruin the continuity of a game.

Thought2: Local call-in shows that sell merchandise are fun. Recently I have heard callers offer "a stove where about half the burners work;" "a prom dress that's never been worn;" and "a dog that bites children but likes adults."

Thought3: Callers offer Chevys, Fords and Buicks but I have never heard a caller offer a Honda or a Toyota.

Thought4: A radio memory is provided by (Colby grad) Doris Kearns Goodwin in her biography of Franklin D. Roosevelt. She recalls the days of the Depression, and noted that scores of autos would like Lake Michigan in Chicago to listen to his "fireside chats" in which he offered encouragement. She said that the boulevard was lined with vehicles, all tuned into the same program.

Thought5: I doubt if all radios in the Maine woods are ever tuned to the same station. But I would guess that just about everyone listening to the radio late into the evening enjoys this time-honored experience.

Most cabins have multiple beds, often unmatched.

Your Scribe has just activated Bed No. 3, and I am happy to report I acquired it at considerable savings.

Bed No. 1 is the lower bunk of a set brought back from World War II by my father.

Some soldiers returned with medals, or bayonets, or perhaps even girlie pictures from liberated Paris.

My father returned with a set of bunk beds, stamped by a rugged "U.S." imprimatur on the base of each.

I shouldn't be taking this lightly.

Medals that were brought back by servicemen are likely lost, or at least tucked away where they don't have a practical use.

It's certain that the girlie pictures were destroyed during the upright '50s.

I do have a bed.

Note the singular.

Though they stand upright as two, the structure is so weak and brittle that only the bottom bed can be utilized.

But I slept on the bottom bunk as an energetic boy, and now turn to it as a mellowing, middle-aged Scribe.

Bed No. 2 comes from L.L. Bean.

To the urban eye just entering Cabin Country, the unit is a bright red chair.

When the sun sets, the foldout seat can be pulled out into a bed that covers the floor.

I did not realize it was a "floor unit."

I thought it rolled out to stand several feet above the floor, but it's clear I didn't investigate the product very closely.

The good news is that I arrived in Freeport (last summer) expecting to pay $399, and found that this model was reduced by 30 percent.

It is comfortable, and no one yet has been attacked by crawling ants or spiders.

Bed No. 3 has just made its debut.

It is a blowup unit from L.L. Bean, resembling an air mattress with fur.

It is a popular addition to night-time furnishings, because it is easy to use and much cheaper than options I had considered.

One inflates it by using a simple pump that draws power from the car, plugging into the aperture that looks like a cigarette lighter.

(Readers of this column know that my cabin does not have electricity.)

The cost was $69.

This is much less than furniture I considered for months: a daybed from L.L. Bean for $700 and a futon for B.J.s for $500 ($400 if you went through the hassle of joining the club).

So now the cabin has four beds, three of which are functional.

My favorite is the good-old lower bunk.

I wonder what my once-young (and now deceased) father would think if he knew a bunk bed from his Army days was still serving in the night - in the woods of Maine.

Recent rains have delayed plans for lumber cutting at the cabin.

My camp stands on 20 acres, which hasn't been thinned in at least 70 years.

This spring I made plans to have a woodsman take down oak, maple and poplar as well as the dead fir and spruce trees.

But there has been so much rain that he can't get his skidder in.

(An aside: A logger has been taking down trees on a lot west of my parcel. But Your Scribe, a giddy optimist, is not asking the question, 'If he can work, why can't my Bob. Noooo . . . '")

Bob and I will have a 50-50 split of proceeds should this enterprise ever get off the ground.

Notes1: Seeing how many loggers and lumber yards have been idled by bad weather makes you realize again how difficult some Maine trades are. These guys don't get paid if they can't work.

Notes2: We did get the corn planted this week. And the pumpkins have broken ground and have been thinned. The grape "arbor" I put in last fall is also showing progress.

Notes3: If I do make any money from being a lumber baron, I plan to invest in a generator. I was disappointed when I went to Hammond's Lumber, and the (lethargic) salesman said the cheapest they had was $1,500. I could have Central Maine Power run a line in for close to that amount - maybe I should do that.

Notes4: I didn't get much work done during my vacation on the canoe-launch on the river. Too many bugs, brought on by the rains. What did pioneers do about bugs? The Native Americans? Clearly they endured but Your Scribe has trouble functioning unless lathered in a coating of Off, and enveloped in a fog of Raid .. . .

One on the goals of Your Scribe is to communicate with readers who want to buy a cabin.

Here are some possibilities, gleaned from local newspapers and websites.

At Cabin Country, as in life, nothing is guaranteed . . .

Great Pond, Belgrade, 3.9 acres, 200' shorefront. Cabin includes screened porch, woodstove, docks, propane cookstove, water heater. One bedroom. Outhouse. $250,000. Here is the stat that I like: since the property was posted on the Web last September, it has had 3,100 views. Such a hefty number reinforces my view that a lot of people are looking for cabins. (207) 495-3111.

In Limington, a log cabin built in 1993. It is on 10 acres, with 900 feet on the Saco River. It reportedly has two bedrooms, a bathroom, fireplace and full basement. Price $225,000. (207) 637-2966.

On Conroy Lake, near Presque Isle. Two bedrooms, bath, kitchen, with water frontage and heat. Seasonal. Photo looks good. $99,900 but the seller is "motivated." (207) 538-4482. www.allmaine.com/bartjake

Dedham (which is between Bucksport and Bangor), log home, built 1927. Two bedrooms, bath, fireplace, all systems renvovated. It does not appear to be on water. $149,900. (207) 942-6711.

Grace Pond, near Greenville. Two bedroom cottage, on eight acres, with 280 feet on the pond. Supposedly good fishing. $149,500. (207) 695-3731. www.c21muzzy.com

West Lake, one hour north of Bangor. Two bedroom camp "inches from water." The photo looks great, and reportedly salmon are plentiful in the lake. $149,000. Is there something wrong with the place for this reasonable price? More info can be found at trottrealestate@aol.com. Or call 207-989-6979.

Kingbury, near Dover-Foxcroft, "older camp" with 100 feet on Kingsbury Pond. $89,500. (207) 876-3441.

And here is my Witness-Protection Program Special: Furnished year-round log cabin, 2.7 acres with 140 feet on St. John River, near Allagash Waterway. Sounds like it could work for someone "wanting to get away." Call free: 800-537-2105.