Book of the Week: Secrets of the Greek Revival by Eva Pohler

I recently enjoyed the book, "Secrets of the Greek Revival, " by Eva Pohler. This is the first book in the "Mystery House Series" where three female friends in their 50s investigate seemingly abandoned properties. In the first of the series, they purchase the property and uncover the history and mysteries of it, focusing on a reputed haunting, hidden gold and a house that held secrets of tortured or abused patients. It's a well-written story that will keep you reading. I finished the book in a week, which is pretty fast for me! The characters are all likeable and the mystery that unfolds is more history than paranormal (I read it for the paranormal aspect), but I enjoyed it. It's a good story and a 5 of 5 star read.  

ABOUT THE BOOK: Some houses remember what the world tried to forget.

When three empty-nest friends purchase a neglected 1860s Greek Revival in San Antonio's historic district, they believe they're investing in a renovation project-and a fresh start.

They aren't expecting the attic footsteps. Or the woman in white.

Ellen has always been practical, skeptical, grounded in reality. But when strange occurrences escalate and long-buried records surface, even she can't ignore the truth: the house is holding onto something.

Decades earlier, the property operated as a private medical residence for women-patients declared unstable, difficult, or hysterical. Their diagnoses were signed. Their confinement justified. Their stories erased.Until now.

As Ellen, Sue, and Tanya dig into hospital archives, interview guarded neighbors, and uncover evidence someone doesn't want exposed, they realize this isn't just a haunting.It's a reckoning. Because the women who suffered behind those walls were silenced in life. And they will not remain silent in death.

In this gripping opening to the Mystery House Series, friendship, history, and the supernatural collide in a story about forgotten voices, buried truths, and three women brave enough to listen. Content Note: This novel explores historical injustices, including references to sexual assault within the context of institutional abuse.

CLIMATE: El Niño is officially here, and will be among the strongest ever recorded, NOAA announces

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration gives the climate event a 63% chance to "rank among the largest El Niño events in the historical record going back to 1950. El Niño is a naturally occurring climate phenomenon characterized by unusually warm ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. During a standard El Niño event, the usual atmospheric balance is disrupted, triggering cascading consequences globally. During strong event, that imbalance can be greater. That's today's blog.

To read the latest update on El Nino from NOAA, visit the El Nino Watch page: El Niño conditions are present and expected to strengthen into the Northern Hemisphere winter 2026-27.

https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_advisory/ensodisc.shtml 

El Niño is officially here, and will be among the strongest ever recorded, NOAA announces

Live Science, Ben Turner, June 2026

It's official: El Niño is  shaping up to be among the strongest ever recorded.

The natural climate cycle, which supercharges temperatures and shifts weather patterns across the planet, officially took hold over the past month, according to a June 11 update by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center.

What's more, an accompanying average of various forecasting models gives a "63% chance of a very strong El Niño during November-January that would rank among the largest El Niño events in the historical record going back to 1950," NOAA officials wrote in the update.

That prediction is increasingly shared by the world's best climate models, with about 75% of them now forecasting a record-breaking surge of at least 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit (2.5 degrees Celsius) above average sea surface temperatures across key parts of the Pacific Ocean, according to Europe's Copernicus Climate Change Service, with other model scenarios climbing as high as 7.2 F (4 C).

'One of the most rapid transitions that I've seen': NOAA forecaster on how this year's El Niño could shatter records 

For reference, the past two strongest recorded El Niño events (2015-2016 and 1997-1998) sent ocean temperatures to 4.1 F (2.3 C) above average in the Niño 3.4 index, which measures sea surface temperatures across a key region of the Pacific Ocean.

What is El Niño? 

El Niño events occur every two to seven years as part of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) natural climate cycle in the Pacific Ocean. The ENSO cycle flips between the warmer El Niño phase and the cooler La Niña phase, with neutral periods in between. El Niño periods bring elevated sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific, thereby weakening or reversing trade winds and strongly disrupting global temperatures and rainfall patterns.

Earth's last El Niño ran from June 2023 to April 2024, delivering an injection of heat to our already-warming world that made 2024 the hottest year on record. That year was also the first to breach the 1.5 C (2.7 F) warming limit — a key guardrail set by the Paris Agreement, beyond which the effects of climate change are predicted to become increasingly disastrous.

The current El Niño will also raise global temperatures this year and next, making it likely that Earth will reach, or even surpass, those previous records.

Now that El Niño's onset is official, scientists can advise people around the world on how to prepare. The impacts of this extra burst of heat stand to be profound, with studies linking previous El Niño periods to famine in Europe; civil wars in tropical regions; and droughts, floods and forest fires around the world. This year's El Niño will arrive during a period of already-increased global food insecurity driven by the Iran war.

And while El Niño would have occurred regardless, scientists are seeing signs that this El Niño's quicker-than-expected onset was driven by humanity's warming of the planet.

FUN FACT- The 1960s Music "British Invasion" Started with a Clarinetist!

 I always thought music's British Invasion in the 1960s started with the Beatles, but I learned it was a clarinetist who kicked it off in 1962.The Beatles first hit the U.S. Billboard pop chart on January 18, 1964, when "I Want to Hold Your Hand" debuted at No. 45 on the Hot 100. Just weeks later, on February 1, 1964, it became their first No. 1 hit, officially launching the British Invasion, two years after Acker Bilk!   

The British Invasion has an odd beginning with clarinetist Acker Bilk

HISTORY.com , Last Updated: May 27, 2025

If you’d told a randomly selected group of American music fans in the spring of 1962 that a British act would soon achieve total dominance of the American pop scene, change the face of music and fashion and inspire a generation of future pop stars to take up an instrument and join a band, they would probably have scratched their heads and struggled to imagine such a thing.

The Beatles were complete unknowns at this point. Instead, if there was any image that would have come to mind, it would have been of middle-aged men playing the clarinet in bowler hats and stripey waistcoats.

Up to that point, the single, solitary Briton ever to have reached the top of the American charts in the rock and roll era was a man by the name of Mr. Acker Bilk. His instrumental single, “Stranger On the Shore” provided the first, false hint of the British Invasion to come when it went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on May 26, 1962.

"Stranger on the Shore" written by Acker Bilk for a British television series was a big hit in both the U.K. and U.S. in 1962. Bilk's clarinet was backed by the Leon Young String Chorale. "Stranger on the Shore" was issued by Atlantic Records on the Atco label. LISTEN: https://youtu.be/_cEr4CCtllA?si=JQYm2VY-xrGmXRZJ

As popular as it was however, the song that went to #1 on this day in 1962 did not set off a prolonged period of "Acker Bilk-mania.” “

Stranger On The Shore” proved to be the only significant hit for Mr. Acker Bilk, whose greatest legacy is possessing the honor of being the very first British artist to top the American pop charts—something that would happen 173 more times over the course of the next 35 years.

We Explored Gloucester, Mass #2: Hammond Castle

This is the second and final blog of our trip to Gloucester, Massachusetts to visit Hammond Castle. It today's blog, I'll tell you about the castle, the crazy mash up of styles used to build it, some interior highlights and the man who built it.  

WHAT IS HAMMOND CASTLE? With nearly 100 years of history, this medieval-style castle was the creation of famed inventor John Hays Hammond Jr. and now serves as an STEAM-inspired museum that blends history, science, and art. Today, you can tour the castle, attend community events and performances there, or rent it for events and weddings.

A STRANGE MASH OF ARCHITECTURAL STYLES - Because Tom is an architect, the first thing he noticed was that the castle had 5 different styles. To me, a layman, it looked like a mashup! - Because of the different styles, it wasn't linear. Hammond Castle was built between 1926 and 1929 and is said to be a romantic architectural pastiche blending a medieval European castle, a Gothic cathedral, and a Renaissance French village. Designed with the Boston firm Allen & Collens, the structure incorporates authentic 15th-, 16th-, and 18th-century European artifacts salvaged from war-torn and historical sites abroad. 

(3 Photos Inside the Great hall. Credit R.G.) 

BUILDING HIGHLIGHTS 

The Great Hall: A soaring, cathedral-like space dominated by a massive, multi-story pipe organ containing over 8,200 pipes and illuminated by grand medieval stained-glass windows. Most of the pipes are actually for show and are NOT connected to the organ! - The guide told us that the organ was being repaired, but when it's working there are sometimes organ concerts in the Great Hall. 

The Cloister Courtyard: An indoor-outdoor medieval garden area featuring authentic architectural salvage, including a church archway carved from Mount Vesuvius lava rock and facades from old European shops. Within the courtyard, one of the sides of the interior wall was an actual medieval tavern wall from France, brought over and reconstructed. - **WHY? Because when you have untold riches, it's what you do.  

CREEPY SARCOPHOGUSES - There were also three ancient Roman sarcophogus' there. Two of them were for children. They were all empty, though, as the bodies had either deteriorated or the bones were removed.  

  (Photo: The casting of Hercules (left) as discovered in the ruins of Pompeii).

 POMPEII STATUE - One of the ancient artifacts I found particularly interesting was a casting of Hercules, and it was found in Pompeii. 

GHOSTS & WHISPERS IN THE LIBRARY -  Well, there wasn't an actual ghost in the library, but he had a book called "Gallery of Ghosts" by James Reynolds. That caught my eye, so I'm planning on ordering it, if I can find it- since it's at least 75 years old!   Also in the library was a "whisper ceiling" where sound travels cleanly along the curved architecture despite appearing flat, alongside hidden passageways and spiral staircases.

WRAP UP WITH MY FAVORITE ARTIFACT - 

I don't know who this statue is supposed to be, but he's a handsome muscular guy, and he was a highlight. The statue was in the statue was in the Cloister Courtyard, next to one of the sarcophaguses (the white rectangular box shaped stone to the right).  I decided to focus my attention on the statue instead.

***************************************

IN CASE YOU WONDERED- WHO IS JOHN HAYS HAMMOND JR? -  (1888 – 1965)  He was an inventor, including being known as the “Father of Radio Control” for his pioneering work in that field. -He is known to have made over 500 inventions during his time, although most are obscure now with the advances in technology. His inventions did lead to tech that is used today in missles and radio controlled toys and vehicles. 

MOST WELL-KNOWN INVENTION - Hammond’s lifetime achievements in radio control would earn him many accolades, including the prestigious Elliott Cresson Medal in 1959, the Franklin Institute’s highest accolade, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ (IEEE) Medal of Honor in 1963.

We Explored Gloucester, Mass #1: Eastern Point Lighthouse

In my quest to see as many lighthouses in New England as possible, we recently took a day trip to Gloucester, Massachusetts to visit Hammond Castle, which you'll read about in the next blog. But today, we'll show you Eastern Point Lighthouse (from a distance) and tell you about it and whether or not it's haunted.

(A zoomed in view of the Eastern Point Lighthouse from our location on the shore)

ITS TOUGH TO GET TO - Because it's on a peninsula that has very limited parking and the lighthouse itself isn't open to the public to tour, we opted for the longer-distance view from Hammond Castle.

(Rob and Tom with Gloucester Bay behind us, where the lighthouse is located)

Eastern Point Lighthouse marks the entrance to Gloucester Harbor and stands as one of Cape Ann’s most iconic maritime landmarks. Originally built in 1832 and still an active aid to navigation, the current lighthouse dates back to 1890 and remains operated by the U.S. Coast Guard.

NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC -  Although the lighthouse station is not open to the public, visitors can walk the adjacent Dog Bar Breakwater, a dramatic 2,250-foot granite jetty that extends into the Atlantic. 

(This is actually how far the lighthouse was from us!) 

From the breakwater, it's said you can see sweeping views of Gloucester Harbor on one side and the open ocean on the other, with the Boston skyline visible on clear days.  **But we didn't go to the Breakwater, because we enjoyed the views of Gloucester Harbor from the Hammond Castle, without the parking issues! 

HAUNTED? -Eastern Point Lighthouse is not widely known as a haunted site, though local folklore occasionally links it to phantom footsteps and shadowy figures due to the heavy loss of life in nearby waters. However, there are documented ghost stories, so it's likely not haunted. and people tie in the nearby deaths and assume it's haunted.  

Double Weekend Event! Wadleigh Library - Pets Talk and Monique Book Signing

This weekend was busy for Rob. First there was an interactive talk about how pets communicate from the afterlife at the Wadleigh Memorial Library in Milford, New Hampshire. It was there Rob got to have coffee with his old friend Bill who relocated nearby several years ago. It was also at the library event there was a "deja vu" moment.  Then Rob joined his friend, paranormal co-author and colleague, Monique Toosoon at the Mall of NH in Manchester, NH for her book signing event. Today's blog covers those events.

(Rob with a couple who attended the library event. This was a deja vu moment).

ABOUT THE EVENT - Michelle Sprague, the Adult Services and Reference Librarian contacted Rob months ago after seeing the fundraising lecture he did at the nearby Animal Rescue League of NH, and asked if he could do it in Milford, so it was arranged.  The library is located at 49 Nashua Street, Milford, NH and the website is wadleighlibrary.org.   

Rob's lectures are interactive, and when he discusses signs that pets give us from spirit, he asks people in the audience to share their own story about a particular sign they recognized. There was a lot of acknowledgement, some tears and understanding. People are less likely to hesitate sharing experiences because they are in a room with others who experienced similar things. 

 A DEJA VU MOMENT - Have you ever met someone for the first time, and immediately knew them by sight? It's happened to me a couple of times. The first time was 20 years ago at a wedding when I met a woman sitting at my table, whom I didn't know, but we both felt we had known each other. -It happened again during this event. There was a man and his girlfriend sitting in the front row of the lecture, and I instantly recognized him. However, I never met him before... In THIS life.

  Whenever you meet someone in this life and you don't actually know them, but feel as if you do, it means you met in a previous lifetime.  

   He assured me he never met or spoken with me before, and didn't know me. But I knew him.  

PARACLAUSES VISIT!  Candace and Derick Fedders are known affectionately as the "Paraclauses" because sometimes when they go on paranormal investigations, they dress as Mrs. Claus and Santa. They do that so that if there are child ghosts, they won't be afraid to communicate and it works!  - They're featured in my book "Haunting of Emery Estate." 

BONUS!  SEEING AN OLD FRIEND! - Our friends from Maryland moved to New Hampshire a year before we moved to northern New England, and the library was close to their house. So, our friend Bill met me for coffee before the library event. It was great to catch up.                                           Slideshow- https://www.tiktok.com/@robgutro/photo/7666601680540077342is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

SECOND EVENT OF THE DAY ! -  I stopped by The Mall of New Hampshire in Manchester, NH where my amazing co-author Monique Toosoon was signing copies of our "Haunting of " series of books. I had just come from giving a pet in the afterlife talk at a New Hampshire Library.

if you didn't get a chance to drop by either of our events, you can get our books on Amazon. this series takes you through our paranormal investigation from beginning to end and there have been some amazing interactions with ghosts, some of whom we have crossed over!

Karma: Man killed in car crash after threatening people

When people do bad things to others, or threaten to harm them, karma has a way of coming back at those people. This is a very sad and tragic story about how a man threatened people's lives with a gun, then lost his own life later in a car accident of his own doing. The lesson here is be aware that whatever you put out in the universe has a way of coming back.

Man killed in crash accused of threatening people with gun before

WMTW-TV Jun 22, 2026, Russ Reed

CHARLOTTE, Maine — A Maine man who died in a car crash in Washington County is accused of threatening people at a bar with a gun before the fatal crash, according to authorities.

Maine State Police officials said that shortly before 12:50 a.m. Saturday, June 20, 2026, the Washington County Sheriff's Office notified troopers of the crash on Charlotte Road in Charlotte.

A male driver and sole occupant of the vehicle, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Troopers who investigated the crash learned that the man had been at a bar, where he had reportedly threatened people with a firearm. He fled from the bar before law enforcement officers arrived.

According to police, he was spotted driving a red Chevrolet Corvette at an estimated speed of 150 mph on Route 1 in Calais. Baileyville police attempted to catch up with the car, but were unable to do so.

A Washington County Sheriff's deputy who was on Charlotte Road saw the man's car drive by him at a high rate of speed. Police said the deputy was unable to catch up with the car until the officer came upon the crash scene.

Police said the man was thrown from the car and his body was found a significant distance from the vehicle. Investigators said high speed was the most significant contributor to the crash. State police said the investigation into what happened before the crash is ongoing, and that toxicology results are pending.

The area of Charlotte Road near the crash scene was closed for several hours while troopers documented and investigated the crash.

Heroes of the Week: Taos, New Mexico County Fire and EMS rescued from Taos Rio Grande Gorge

This week's heroes are the Fire and EMS crews from Taos, New Mexico, when they had to drop a rope line into a gorge to rescue a trapped pregnant woman who was hiking. The Rio Grande Gorge, located just 10 miles northwest of Taos, New Mexico, is a dramatic 50-mile-long, 800-foot-deep canyon carved by volcanic activity and the Rio Grande.  

(Photo: Rio Grande River Gorge. Credit:  newmexicoriveradventures.com/)

Woman, 28 weeks pregnant, rescued from Taos Rio Grande Gorge 

By Geoffrey Plant The Taos News

TAOS — Taos County Fire and EMS rescued an injured pregnant woman from a trail in the Rio Grande Gorge on Saturday, when drought conditions in part determined the nature of the rescue.

“What we would be able to do in a normal year is we would be able to float her down in a raft — that would be our easiest option,” said James Hampton, the Taos County fire marshal. “But because the water’s so low this year, we can’t float them down because the raft just basically bottoms out on the river and they have to basically carry the raft the whole way.”

(Photo of the Taos County EMS and Firefighters. Credit: Wesley Foote)

The fastest way for a rescuer to reach her, he said, “was to go over the edge and send a rescuer down on a rope.”

After the rescuer determined the woman had an injured leg and was unable to walk, he said, they made a call: “We’re going to have to bring her up over the side.”

Hampton said the injured woman was on a trail that would have created dangers for anyone trying to carry her out.

The rescue, from dispatch to ambulance, took about six hours. The woman was then taken to Holy Cross Medical Center.

(Video of the Rescue as filmed by Wesley Foote. Taos County Fire and EMS rescued a woman, 28 weeks pregnant, from the Rio Grande Gorge July 4, according to officials, who emphasized the nature of the rescue was partly determined by drought.  SOURCE) 

Officials did not release the name of the woman, who reportedly had been hiking to or from hot springs in the area when she suffered an injury.

Deputy Taos County EMS Director David Varela said the woman, who was 28 weeks pregnant, was expected to make a full recovery.

Hampton said the woman was located by her cellphone’s GPS signal in the gorge, a 600-foot-deep crack in the Earth’s surface that defines the Taos Plateau. Cellphone service is poor or nonexistent in the gorge.

“They had an SOS on their iPhone, and when they sent that, it sent to the Apple Center and then they forwarded that information over,” Hampton said.

“One thing I want to highlight,” he added, “is that the people that were with her, and the injured person, they made the absolute right call: As soon as they recognized they weren’t going to be able to get her out of there, they called 911 immediately.”

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This story first appeared in The Taos News, a sister publication of The Santa Fe New Mexican.

Book of the Week: 5 Stars! The Sigil Murders: A Knight's Chronicle by C.C. Cutts

 Wow. I haven't been this enthusastic about a new book series in a long time. Brand new author C.C. Cutts from the United Kingdom just published his first novel called The Sigil Murders: A Knight's Chronicle, and it's a mystery with some paranormal mixed in, and set in 1889 in York, England!  5 of 5 stars. I really can't wait for his next novel. The characters are fascinating, likeable, and the mystery is gripping. Today's blog is about this incredible book!!

I saw an ad for The Sigil Murders: A Knight's Chronicle come up on Facebook, I think. The cover caught my eye, and so did the title. When I read the book summary I was intrigued and ordered it immediately. I read the entire book in 4 days, which is really fast for me. I carried it everywhere and read what I could when I had a minute. It's THAT good.

The characters are wonderful. Jason Knight is a newspaper reporter in York, and he becomes a contracted investigator of sorts. He's kind to everyone, and has an insider working for him named "Lil Tom." His best friends are Lucy and Tim who manage a tavern. There are also supporting characters in the police force and newspaper, but his love interest, Sarah, helps Jason with his supernatural abilities, and they track down the mysterious murder who leaves sigils on the bodies of his victims.  A sigil is a symbol considered to have magical or symbolic power. 

I'm a medium, paranormal investigator and author, and this author knows the paranormal, how to write captivating characters, and paint the picture of the settings. I also learned quite a bit of "Yorkshire" slang reading the book with the help of a glossary the author included. The slang really made you feel like you were in old York, England. 

I cannot wait for the next in the series. This will leave you wanting more from this author. 

ABOUT THE BOOK: Evil lurks the streets at night, ready to strike down the unsuspecting without mercy to sate its need for bloodlust.

The year is 1889 and a series of strange murders are occurring across York, England.

A killer carves a strange symbol onto the skin of his victims, the meaning of which is unknown and has the local police perplexed and scared.

With nowhere left to turn, they seek out the help of investigative reporter, Jason Knight, known for his ability to help solve the unsolvable.

Unbeknownst to those around him, he has a unique gift that allows him to see events that have happened in the past.

Will these gifts help him solve the murders? Or will they prove to be his burden?

World's largest scorpion prowled UK 415 million years ago

I love prehistoric creatures, but this one is unsettling. I'm not a fan of scorpions, and this recent finding is about the largest (3 foot long!) prehistoric scorpion, who lived 415 million years ago in what is now the United Kingdom.

(Image:  A life reconstruction of the newly named giant scorpion, Praearcturus gigas, in its Early Devonian habitat. (Image credit: © Franz Anthony High Res)

 

World's largest scorpion had 6-inch pincers, and prowled UK land and waters 415 million years ago 

 LIVE SCIENCE, JUNE 5, 2026, Aristos Georgiou

The world's largest known scorpion lived at a time when other land animals were relatively small, around 415 million years ago in what is now the U.K., a new study finds.

The prehistoric creature, named Praearcturus gigas, is estimated to have grown to lengths of around 3.3 feet (1 meter) and was equipped with formidable pincers measuring roughly 6.2 inches (16 centimeters) long, according to a statement from the University of Manchester.

The scorpion would likely have been a fearsome apex predator that stalked floodplains during the Early Devonian Period, when life on land was still in its relatively early stages and dominated by small arthropods. Arthropods are now the most diverse animal group on Earth, as they include insects, crustaceans, scorpions and spiders.

The discovery that such a large scorpion was living 415 million years ago — long before the appearance of complex terrestrial ecosystems, such as forests — offers new insights into the evolutionary history of gigantism in arthropods.

"Confirming that this animal is a scorpion fundamentally changes our understanding of how and when these creatures evolved to such extraordinary sizes," study first author Richard Howard, curator of fossil arthropods at the Natural History Museum, London, said in the statement. 

Researchers initially suspected that the remains represented a large woodlouse-like crustacean. Then in the 1980s, research suggested that the fossils instead belonged to a scorpion. But that interpretation was subsequently challenged due to the fragmentary nature of the known remains and a lack of the characteristic scorpion tail.

In the latest study, published Tuesday (June 2) in the journal Palaeontology, the authors re-examined key P. gigas specimens held in the NHM's collections using modern imaging and analytical techniques. They also compared them with other fossil material and recently described prehistoric animals that were more confidently identified as scorpions.

Their analysis indicated that P. gigas is likely a scorpion, and the team also reassigned several other specimens found in the same geological formation to the species, the study reported. Furthermore, the researchers suggested that the creature may have been at least partially aquatic based on the presence of flap-like structures known as epimera — similar to those which provide support and protection to the hard upper shells of lobsters and crabs — in some of the fossils.

Last Minute Plan #3 of 3: Short Hike at Fort McClary

In the previous two blogs, you learned about Kittery Point, Maine, Pepperell Cove and two more Maine lighthouses! In today's blog, we'll take you to Fort McClary for a short, scenic hike and a little history. 

 (Photo: L to R: Tom, Rob, Albert, George, hiking the trail around the fort).

WHERE IS FORT MCCLARY? - Fort McClary State historic site in Kittery Point, Maine. The fort sits atop a hill facing the mouth of the Piscataqua River. It is a former defensive fortification of the U.S. military located along the southern coast at Kittery Point, Maine.  It was manned during five significant wars including; the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I and World War II.   FOR MY 2024 BLOG ON ITS HISTORY, CLICK HERE.  

THE HIKE - Although we had visited the fort back in July of 2024, we didn't know about the short hiking trail that went around one side of the fort. George pointed it out and led the way through inclines and declines in the woods. It was peaceful and quiet, and every now and then you could look through the trees and see Pepperell Cove.

(Photo: Fort McClary's blockhouse as seen through a small clearing on the hike around one side of the fort. Credit: R.G.)

At one small clearing we could clearly see Fort McClary's Blockhouse. The Blockhouse is a white painted, uniquely designed military structure that sits atop the highest point in the fort. It's 3 stories high, including a basement.  

A RESIDUAL HAUNT INSIDE - When we visited the Fort back in 2024, we went inside the main building. There was no earthbound ghost there, but there was a lot of energy left behind by people who manned the fort. TO READ THAT "RESIDUAL HAUNT" BLOG and see my short video, CLICK HERE. 

Last Minute Plan #2 of 3: Two More Maine Lighthouses!

I love lighthouses. They are beacons of hope and safety, and I've always tried to be like a lighthouse in life to people (Despite those who try to squelch my light, but that's another story). Yesterday, you read about our visit to a nice restaurant and Pepperell Cove, Maine. From Pepperell Cove and nearby Fort McClary, you can see two lighthouses. You'll learn about them today. 

(Photo: Rob zoomed into Portsmouth Harbor Light from Fort McClary)

Last week, you read about the Ram Island Ledge Lighthouse and the Portland Headlight Lighthouse that we visited. Now we've seen two more of the 12 that line the coast of Maine! 

1) PORTSMOUTH HARBOR LIGHT - Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse (also known as Fort Point Lighthouse, New Castle Lighthouse and the Fort Constitution Lighthouse) is located on U.S. Coast Guard Station Portsmouth Harbor in New Castle, NH, adjacent to Fort Constitution. Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse was first established in June 1771, making it the first light station north of Boston in the American colonies. Today’s 48-foot tower was built in 1878. In early 2000s, the American Lighthouse Foundation was issued a license to care for the lighthouse. Although it is on the mainland, Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses noted that because of storm damage, the lighthouse is no longer accessible to the public so the only way to see it is from Pepperell Cove or nearby Fort McClary.

(Photo: Rob's zoom pic of Wood Island Light as seen from Fort McClary) 

2) WOOD ISLAND LIGHT - Wood Island Light is Maine's second-oldest lighthouse, established in 1808. Located on a 32-acre uninhabited island off the coast of Biddeford, it features a 47-foot granite tower that emits alternating white and green flashes every 10 seconds to guide ships into Saco Bay.  

(Photo: A closer pic of Wood Island Lighthouse taken from Frisbee's Wharf Restaurant at Pepperell Cove, Kittery Point, Maine. Boat lifts got in the way of the picture.) 

The Friends of Wood Island Lighthouse, offers special tours during the summer of the light tower and keeper’s house. Visitors would be transported by boat to the island and then tour the lighthouse. We learned that the tours are sold out a week or two in advance.

NEXT: A Short Hike at Fort McClary