News — Living in Maine

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World Ocean Day was June 8th and this year the theme was plastic.  “Healthy Oceans, Healthy Planets” encourages individuals and organizations across the planet to take action for preventing plastic pollution in our ocean.

In a nutshell, here is what's happening- we as humans are simply becoming far too dependent on plastic.  Plastic is everywhere.  And as our lives get busier and busier, convenience is what we want and plastic is often the solution.

The problem is plastic is a material that is made to be durable.  Yet so much of the plastic we use is single use- think water bottles, grocery bags, coffee cups, lids and straws.  Single use plastic is the term used to describe this type of plastic.  It’s often used only one time.  And let’s be honest- this type of plastic has the least chance of actually being recycled.  For example, after a great movie, it’s easy to toss your popcorn, soda cup and straw right into the trash.  The result, in America we use about 30 million tons of plastic per year and only 8% gets recycled.  The rest is incinerated or simply allowed to settle on the Ear

Plastic is made from oil.  17 million barrels of oil are used to make water bottles that are used only once.  It’s not healthy to reuse many plastic containers because you have no idea what chemicals have been added.  Chemicals like BPA can seriously affect our bodies.

When plastic settles into the Earth it simply keeps breaking down into smaller and smaller pieces.  These pieces end up in the water system and finally dumped into our oceans.

The reason World Ocean Day focused on plastic this year is because our oceans make our Earth livable for all creatures big and small, land or water.  We need healthy oceans for a healthy Earth no matter where one chooses to live.   And sadly, much of our single use plastic ends up floating in our oceans.  Sea creatures mistake plastic for food and this leads to all sorts of serious issues.

Dulse and Rugosa is an island based business.  We harvest seaweeds from our shores.  We want clean oceans now and for future generations.  And if that is a bit inconvenient- tough.   

Here are some great resources-

http://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/

http://www.lonelywhale.org/ 

It’s the 100th anniversary of Acadia National Park and this is something to celebrate.   One hundred years ago, the deeds to the land that is now Acadia were given to President Woodrow Wilson.   Like all our parks, Acadia has an interesting history, and Acadia is our only national park to begin with donations from individual families donating parcels of land.  The island of Mt Desert was populated by wealthy landowners who summered in “cottages”.  These cottages were large mansions with plenty of room for family, guests and servants.  These summer visitors were know as “summercators” or “rusticators”.  Most of the original families have last names Americans are familiar with including Rockefeller, Morgan, Ford and Vanderbilt.

Living near a national park is a combination of joy, wonder and frustration.  I talked with Carly on the phone yesterday and she planned on making shampoo bars except she was out of rubber gloves.  She’d spent the day before buying groceries in Bar Harbor and parking was such an issue she couldn’t go back.  The last time I drove thru Bar Harbor I was struck by the beauty of the mountains in the distance and then freaked about cars and people.  That’s the frustrating bit about living in a totally breathtaking place.

And then there is the beauty.  Most people think of Maine as summer, beaches, lobsters and blueberries.  Maine is stunning during the short but oh so sweet summer months.  But Maine, and Acadia is beautiful all year round.  In fact, I enjoy fall the best.  Summer is such a busy season and you are always figuring out alternative routes and stressing about parking.  How much extra time do you need to allow to catch your boat?  You can never get that question answered correctly.

Something happens in the fall with the light.  Out on Gotts Island the days become magical in September and sunny October days.  Perhaps it’s the shortness and the crisp wind but wandering the roads, lobster boats in the horizon is one of my life’s simple pleasures.

Dulse & Rugosa is a mother and daughter business with our feet firmly planted on a small Maine island.   In fact, Carly was just about born on remote Gotts Island thirty years ago.  Back in those days- this is before cell phones and internet our only way of communicating was a CB radio with a link to the Camden Marine Operator.   Gotts is one of the super remote islands with no ferry, real cars (by that I mean inspected regularly) and no electricity except from the sun.  So, when it was near Carly's due date, we thought about the tides a lot!  In my experience, it is always low tide out on Gotts when you really need to get off.

We'd already decided on Carly's name- I knew she would be a girl.  She is named after our dear island neighbor, Carl.  When my contractions started we knew it was time to get off.  Wondering about the tide?  Low of course.  This meant we had to go around another island which was an extra 20 minutes.  We left at dawn and the sky was brilliant- one of the rare occasion I've seen the Aurora Borealis. The thought went through my mind to name her Aurora but she has always, even in my tummy been Carly.

We had a few more adventures on the way to the midwife including our car overheating and needing to call for a tow.  We started at dawn but Carly wasn't born until six that evening.  I guess she wanted to wait until all the chaos had settled.  The next day, we headed back to the island.  Of course, it was low tide again and we had to land on an awkward beach.  A kind neighbor gave us a ride up the hill in his WWll jeep.

Because Carly spent her early years roaming the fields, forest and shores of the island she has a deep love of place.  Dulse and Rugosa started with this love of place.

Our mission reflects the experiences and joys of Maine island living.

At Dulse & Rugosa our mission is to bring you nourishing and effective skincare made with botanicals harvested from our Maine island home.  From our farm, our island shores and the sea we gather hardy Maine plants with benefits to your skin, hair and scalp.  Our botanicals include four varieties of Maine seaweeds, hand harvested from our mineral rich waters.  Dulse & Rugosa, nourishing body and soul.