I guess I am behind the times, but I just discovered the magazine, "Maine Home and Design."

The Portland-based publication is artfully conceived, sympathetically written and offers features that are interesting to read - and look at. The cabin pictured here was not found in the pages of the winter edition. It, of course, is the Franklin County retreat of Your Scribe.

The magazine can be found at www.mainehomedesign.com. I liked the feature on fireplaces, though one rock-ribbed version was so large that the builders must have emptied half a quarry to complete it.

I also was intrigued by a story on a serial home dweller named Dyke Messler. That's right - Dyke.

I have never met another person named Dyke, nor have I run into one in print as I did in this magazine. (An aside: I did meet tennis star Martina Navratilova once when I was a sports writer, and she thought my parents had been nuts to give me such a name).

In years past, I picked up magazines like this with dreams that I would someday have a home like those featured here. I believe that is called escapism. Now I do have a (modest) cabin, and I still think of how to improve it.

It will never look like the gorgeous retreats featured in this magazine . . . but it is mine, and I love it.

Quick thought: With news that the real estate and lending markets are going south, could it be that the mammoth Plum Creek luxury-housing project at Moosehead Lake could be put on hold? Or at least be forced to rethink its plans?

Here is a photo of quiet Moosehead, taken last summer. Maybe it can remain quiet, though I realize public hearings have been held throughout the state this winter to get "resident feedback" on if and when the project can be finalized.

But here's my take on this week's economic news, which could affect the project:

Plum Creek executives are probably not concerned that their prospective buyers won't have enough money to swing a deal. The folks that are looking at $500,000 - $1 million EscapeMansions will still have the resources for such an extravagence.

But buyers likely will be looking for lower purchasing prices.

Scenario:

Mogul and trophy spouse to jittery Greenville real-estate agent: "We are interested in pursuing our goal of buying a house at Moosehead but things have changed."

Jittery agent: "Changed? How? You are very wealthy people; I Googled you. I know that you can swing $800,000 for that mountainside estate."

Mogul: "Oh, we can afford it. We got into Krugerrands before Alan Greenspan even started cleaning out his office at the Fed. But the thing is, we don't want to pay $800,000. It's a different ball game. We want to pay less, a lot less."

Agent, calculating loss in commission, begins stuttering. "But, but, we, we were talking about $800,000."

Mogul: "That was then. This is now. Those brochures about projected house prices and luxury amenities at Plum Creek aren't worth the value of a weasel pelt. And I know something about weasels and Maine trappers . . . We are interested in a house, sure, but not at the prices that you folks projected. How does $375,000 sound?"

There it is. Prices are falling fast even on houses that haven't been built. Perhaps Plum Creek will rethink its game plan. Surely its accountants have to rework some numbers.

Like the Mogul said, it's a different ball game now.

If a tree falls in the woods and there is no one at the cabin to hear it, will Nick the 'Coon Hunter learn about it and saw up the wood?

As you can see, a tree has fallen across the dirt road that I must traverse to get to the cabin.

Last year a tree fell across my driveway. A local woodchuck hunter (and landowner) named Nick was walking by as I was surveying the scene, and he offered to saw up the tree when he got the chance.

I offered to pay (really) but he graciously declined. And when I returned in a week, the tree was chainsawed and the logs stacked on the side of the property.

Now it looks like I need Nick again. Sure, I should have just PAID the guy, but I didn't. And then I didn't see him for the rest of the summer. (Maybe he shot all the woodchucks in his field at the end of the road, and had no reason to return).

So removing the tree has just emerged as Task No. 1 as I prepare for the new season. I kind of like thinking about this project . . it suggests that when the road is clear, I can return for another spring at the cabin.

Today is the day we remember Martin Luther King, a hero to most Americans.

Here are a few of my heroes though I don't suggest they reached the same elevated tier as MLK.

Kenneth Roberts - This Maine author started as a newsman, and moved on to write close to a dozen historical novels some of which were made into films. The most memorable for me his "Arundel," which showed his remarkable knowledage of the outdoors. It also demonstrated an authoritive take on New England history, as it depicted Benedict Arnold's 1775 march on Quebec (in service of the fledgling Americans). Roberts provided riveting portraits of life in the wild - and the challenges of canoeing and portaging through (what became) Maine and eastern Canada as winter closed in.

E.B. White - This versatile writer was one of the first "dropouts." Disillusioned by life in New York, he left the city in the late '30s to live and write on a farm in North Brooklin. A native of the suburbs of New York, he acquired his love of Maine from summers as a boy in the Belgrade Lakes. He settled on the coast, where he indulged in activities ranging from sailing and clamming to raising fowl and canning produce. My favorite work is "One Man's Meat," a collection of essays from the New Yorker (which was happy to retain him from afar). He must rank as one of the most commerically successful writers of his generation or any other, given that classics like "Charlotte's Web," "Stuart Little," and "The Trumpet of the Swan" have sold millions of copies in dozens of languages. Plus he co-wrote a leading text on the craft of writing, "The Elements of Style."

George Mitchell - I don't know that the former senator knows a lot about cabin country or the Maine coast, but few have achieved more than this Waterville native. He was majority leader in the Senate; he helped broker peace in Northern Ireland. In recent weeks he emerged as the face of integrity, when he headed a commission to investigate the use of steroids and other substances in Major League Baseball. He reportedly turned down offers to be a Supreme Court Justice and commissioner of baseball. He has served on at least six corporate boards, including Disney Corp. and the Boston Red Sox. For a guy whose demeanor appears modest and soft-spoken, here is a dynamic man for all seasons.

Harold Alfond - Was there ever a man as generous as the late Harold Alfond? There's hardly a college campus in Maine that hasn't benefited from his contributions, and many community buildings and health centers also bear his name. I met him once, at his camp near Belgrade. The founder of Dexter Shoe was cordial and unassuming, and it would have been impossible to know that he was one of the wealthiest executives, and the most generous philanthropist, in Maine history.

One of the magazines that intrigues me is "Maine Food and Lifestyle." It is published in Rockland and focuses on statewide food, restaurants and culinary profesionals.

It has got to be the most lavishly illustrated mag in Maine. A recent story on Brian Hill, owner and chef at the Francine Bistro in Camden, ran eight pages and had 16 color photos and/or illustrations!

A story on Maine grapes and vineyards had 15 illustrations over six pages - and the vineyards are works in progress, not established entities.

As one aware of the southerly spiral of print media as it relates to finances, Your Scribe is astonished that a 64-page, full-color magazine can prosper, especially through the lean winter months. But God Bless if publisher/editor Merrill Williams can make it work.

I must have picked up a dated issue, because all stories in the edition I am looking at depict warm-weather foliage and subjects in short sleeves. Great idea. I hate seeing Maine in winter because the summer is so much more pleasant.

(An aside: The current issue of "Down East" magazine features Bangor on the cover, whose downtown streets that the writer is lauding are buried under about two feet of snow. I didn't buy a copy. Wouldn't it be interesting if a Maine monthly publication insisted on running warm-weather stories and photos throughout the whole year?)

(Another aside: On the theme of food . . . several Ice Ages ago I was on a junket of food writers in New Orleans. One restaurant we visited was Antoine's, a world-renowned eatery in the French Quarter. Because the press was there, owner Roy Guste IV came out to speak with the free-loading scribes. When he saw by my name tag that I was from the tundra, he asked, "You're from New England . . but your regional dinner is boiled meat, boiled vegetables and boiled potatoes. Do you really call that good food?" As a genuflecting guest, I did not challenge the mindset of the host. How can you, anyway? New Orleans has more rues and spices than any city in this country. But we do have our share of good food in Maine.)

Back to the point at hand: "Maine Food and Lifestyle" whose subhead reads "Connecting People to Local Resources" is a gloriously handsome (quarterly) publication. I hope it can generate enough readers and advertisers to become a staple of those who relish Maine dining.

Its website is www.mainefoodandlifestyle.com.

Your Scribe's new contention about winter activity is that snowshoes are great fun, and cross-country skiing causes undue hassle and pain.

This photo depicts a great spot for winter activity. It is on Cape Cod Hill Road in Franklin County, and in my view . . it is a breathtaking view. Perfect for snowshoeing . .

In my days as an aspiring Yuppie, I got deep into the cross-country ethic. Waxes and klisters; alterations in temperatures and the changing granularity of the snow.

There were excursions in Kennebunk, Freeport, North Conway, you name it. (An aside: The sport did bring Nordic skiers and snowmobilers closer together, for the once-snobby skiers realized that trekking wasn't much fun without a good trail to follow. And the snow machines were built to do just that).

But as I approach my dotage, I find that snowshoes snap on easily and you can be traveling almost immediately. You don't need a great trail to follow, plus it is better exercise.

I rarely fall on snowshoes. But any tumble on Nordic skis these days could provide me with broken bones, which I would like to avoid.

Snowshoes or cross-country skis would be perfect tools with which to enjoy this outdoor setting. But I will take snowshoes, and have a great time trudging about on this scenic white carpet.

Your Scribe visited the cabin recently - at 45 degrees and sunny, who wouldn't?

Here is a photo before the recent storm. There is about 12 inches of snow on the ground, but my snowshoes did the trick.

I wonder if I should winterize, a thought I've had in the past. The walls are winterized but the floor and ceiling (20 feet at its peak), are not.

So I would have to lower the ceiling, which would block my skylight. Or I would have to put stuffing into the ceiling, and then board that up with drywall.

I would have to do the same with the floor. Needless to say, I am not handy enough to either myself.

Then I would still be wondering whether a tiny 720 Jotul could keep the place warm.

That being said, I sure would have liked to have cooked a meal and stayed overnight at the cabin last weekend.

I caught the governor's state-of-the-state speech this week, and what jolted me like a chainsaw striking a steel-toed boot was the prospect that I could sell wood pellets.

I had harbored dreams of becoming a Lumber Baron, but that hasn't worked out. Bob the Woodsman has retired his chainsaw due to a bad ticker, and Gary the Energetic Logger has dedicated himself to clearcuts, not judicious thinning. I am not in a position to fell trees by myself.

But there was the Gov. Baldacci talking about a potential new industry in Maine: bludgeoning your backyard wood pile to create pellets that can be used in home heating.

A few verities:

Heating oil costs more than $3 per gallon. It is not likely to retreat. (An aside: The governor mentioned a plan that would ensure that oil companies would deliver even to small users but we know that will never roll out to more than 10 percent of the eligible - if that). People are increasing looking for alternatives to oil.

Cutting cordwood is expensive and cumbersome. Anyone with a woodlot thinks about selling wood to those with stoves or fireplaces, especially since the price per cord has been rising. But knocking down the trees, storing logs while they age and then cutting them up to useable lengths is a complicated process that foils all except those who have several years to invest in planning, execution and delivery.

Selling lumber to the mills is a tough chore. The woodsmen that I talk to at the Farm Store say that selling logs to the mills in Maine is getting harder every year. To clarify the term "harder": It can be done but you have to acquire the wood, provide saws and labor, and then pay for trucking. And then you have to hope that when you arrive at the mill, the I've-got-you-over-a-barrel buyers need what you are selling.

So wood pellets it is. I don't know much about this aspect of providing a fuel source for warming up a house but I plan to learn.

I do hope it shakes out better than corn. For all the press that burning corn has received over the years, it has not proved to be a viable product for buyer or seller, as far as Your Scribe can tell.

Before ambling any further into 2008, Your Scribe must thank those who wrote comments on the Cabin Country blog in the last year.

Most responses were pleasant and/or informative. For instance, "Nancy" recently identified a website for furniture after I had mentioned my need to get a new bed. She evidently has a camp in Phillips. In answer to her question, I have not been to my camp in New Sharon since the snow started to pile up.

And "Dara" wrote a very kind note saying that she likes reading the Cabin Country blog on a regular basis. Also to "Drew,"who helps with accuracy issues such as the full retelling of the jaunt to Moxie Falls.

Also on the positive side, readers sent in comments about what to do when my mammoth spruce tree falls into the river and others suggested which roads to take to find moose when I am motoring upcountry. I benefited from such responses.

Not all comments have been supportive. Several bloggers recently wrote that they didn't like to read columns with political overtones. Their remarks were in response to my thoughts about the upcoming Senate race between Tom Allen and Susan Collins.

And then there were the trappers. I made some compromising remarks about the sport, and the trappers' booth at the Maine outdoors show in Augusta. As a result, I got close to a dozen (testy) comments from offended outdoorsmen.

When I started the blog, I thought I would get many comments. That hasn't happened (though the cumulative number of responses is over 100). But I appreciate the opinions that are sent in.

I could generate more comments if that were the goal. I could revisit the sport of trapping or offer some controversial comments about the political scene in Maine. But that would defeat my purpose, which is to write about something that I love - having a cabin on a river in Maine.

When I launched the blog 18 months ago, I also thought a "community" might congregate around it. You know, people with the same interests as mine reading and responding.

That hasn't happened either, as far as I can tell. Web managers say there are "a couple thousand" unique visitors per month to this blog, but since most don't identify themselves I don't see this as a community.

(An aside: I still think I might invite readers to a free party at the cabin this summer, where the only thing you have to bring is a photo of your own cabin or camp - or one you hope to have some day).

So there it is - my gratitude goes out to the "first responders" for sharing their thoughts in the Comments section. And thanks to everyone who takes the time to read Cabin Country.

Your Scribe has been thinking mightily, and here are some notions for 2008:

- The mayor of South Portland is daft and/or a publicity hound for suggesting that Maine be broken into two states, north and south. He says communities in the south pay too much in taxes in support of communities to the north that have smaller tax bases. So he is suggesting southern Maine "secede" to make its own state. Several points: He is elected by the council, not the people; it is inordinately hard for a "region" of a state to withdraw; and lastly, it's a dumb idea smacking of elitism. But he received much attention after he made the suggestion several weeks ago, and then repeated in the presence of media.

- Plum Creek will begin work in the Moosehead region sometime this year. I hate to say it but the corporation's money and persistence is starting to pay off. Two major battles against the "people" that I remember over the years were won by those in the corporate corner: the nuclear plant in Wiscasset and the nuclear plant in Seabrook, N.H. Different issues I agree, but there it is. I admire the Land Use Regulation Commission's willingness to hang in there, but as long as those who own private property have the RIGHT to develop their land within the state and/or community guidelines, then Plum Creek is holding the cards. In looking for something positive in this distressing scenario, we must remember that the LURC has forced Plum Creek to make noteworthy concessions in the amount of land and lake frontage that has been earmarked for conservation.

- Tom Allen will beat Susan Collins in the race for the U.S. Senate. I know, Collins is ahead in the polls. But I can't believe that Democratic strongholds in Biddeford, Portland, Lewiston, Augusta and Waterville won't result in an Allen victory. Has Collins done anything except agree with the Bush Administration? (That's a rhetorical question. Please don't respond with a list of achievements as my mind is made up on this subject).

- Interest in building camps and cabins will increase this year, despite palpitations in the banking and real-estate industries. A lot of people have made money in the last decade (this group does not include me), and recreational land is looking good compared to stocks, bonds and real-estate investment trusts. (An aside: I recently read a book about Enron, and will never be comfortable with the statements of corporate executives and accountants again.) Rangeley and Jackman will be two areas that will see increased traffic.

- I am considering throwing a party this summer at my cabin in New Sharon for those who love the outdoors. Food and beverages will be free but attendees will have to bring a photo of their camp or cabin. I always enjoy talking to camp aficionados about the rewards of this type of rural retreat, and I think a gathering would be great fun.