I’ll be honest, back in California, I assumed all blueberries were the same when it came to making my protein (peanut butter counts as protein) smoothies. Once again, Maine has educated me and made me a wiser and more informed human. It makes sense this education would occur here considering over 95% of wild blueberries in the U.S. are produced in Maine. 

Maine Wild Blueberries VS. The Imitator Blueberries

That’s right, there’s a significant difference between wild blueberries and cultivated blueberries. According to wildblueberries.com, and yes, they may be a little bias considering their website address, but it also doesn’t mean that they are wrong, wild blueberries are filled with far more nutrients and most importantly, flavor.

Wild blueberries have 72% more fiber than regular blueberries, and that is just one little W for the wild.

For generations, Maine families have nurtured these wild berries that boast an intense blueberry taste. Ranging from tangy tartness to succulent sweetness, wild blueberries are frozen fresh and loaded with 33% more brain-healthy anthocyanins than ordinary blueberries. Their smaller size means twice the berries—and twice the antioxidants—in every bite. – wildblueberries.com

Bigger Isn’t Better Against Wild Maine Blueberries

The blueberry on the left is a “natural” cultivated blueberry, while the smaller blueberry on the right is wild from Milbridge, ME and produced from Mainers who began selling Wyman’s Wild Blueberries in 1874.

I can Google facts all day, but what do my tastebuds say? It was quickly revealed that wild blueberries from Maine destroys any competition. I had no idea the significant difference in flavor until I compared the two.

It’s safe to say that I will be spending the extra money and only purchasing the smaller, yet more succulent wild Maine blueberries going forward. As for the claims of more antioxidants and nutrients? If I live to 100, I will give all credit to Maine and her blueberries.

8 Fresh Fruit Salad Recipes

Best known for hit songs like, “Same Old Lang Syne,” “Leader of the Band,” “Longer,” and the Kentucky Derby theme, “Run for the Roses.” Fogelberg was an accomplished multi-instrumentalist who performed a one-man show at Carnegie Hall when he was 27. With seven platinum albums to his name, he was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame, the Red Rocks Performers Hall of Fame, and the Colorado Music Hall of Fame in 2017 for his contributions to the music industry. “The Reach,” his song about life and lobstering on the coast of Maine, is a local radio staple.

Thomaston Place owner and auctioneer Kaja Veilleux said: “We are honored to have the opportunity to handle Fogelberg’s amazing collections from his Maine home.”

Fogelberg’s wife Jean noted: “Dan’s taste in art was as diverse and eclectic as his taste in music and he collected from all over the country. As an art major at the University of Illinois, he studied American and European masters and their techniques. After his first hit records, he left Los Angeles for a ranch in Colorado and became immersed in the western and Native American cultures of the Four Corners region of the southwest. In the mid-eighties he purchased an old Captain’s cottage on Deer Isle and sailed the coast of New England until the last months of his life.”

The sale will include outstanding examples of European marble and bronze sculpture, important European prints, finely crafted Native American woven and beaded artifacts, and decorative arts. Featured items will include: a Carrara marble sculpture depicting a young Neapolitan fisherman by Cesare Lapini (1848-1893), a circa 1652 etching with drypoint titled “Faust” by Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn (1606-1669), a beautiful watercolor depicting a grey whale mother and calf by Robert Wyland (1956- ), a 19th Century Sioux Native American beaded and quilled pipe bag, an early 20th Century Navajo eye dazzler Germantown rug, and a pair of Buccellati Italian sterling silver dolphin form candlesticks. The auction will also offer a man’s moose skin fringed and beaded jacket by the Overland Sheepskin Co.

All lots will be available for viewing at Thomaston Place Auction Galleries’ website, www.thomastonauction.com. Virtual catalogs will be available; and live in-person bidding, telephone, absentee, and online bidding on three internet platforms will be available for each auction.

Thomaston Place Auction Galleries is Northern New England’s premier international auction company located on U.S. Route 1 in Thomaston, ME. Thomaston Place is a leader in discovering antique and fine art treasures by offering Free Appraisals each Tuesday at the gallery, creating fundraiser events for civic and charitable organizations, and providing house call appraisal services. Their expertise in researching and marketing antiques and fine art has earned Thomaston Place the respect of buyers, collectors, and experts worldwide.

SOURCE Thomaston Place Auction Galleries

There is nothing like a Maine summer, and as this summer approaches, three enticing new hotels have just opened their doors for the 2024 season.

Dunes on the Waterfront, Ogunquit

Dunes on the Waterfront, a group of 21 white clapboard cottages with green shutters on 12 acres of lawns overlooking Ogunquit’s famous beach, dunes, and tidal river, debuted this month. Ranging from one to three bedrooms, the cottages date back to 1936 and were owned by three generations of the Perkins family. Hotelier Tim Harrington and his company, Atlantic Hospitality, bought the cottages last year from the Perkins’ and spent $10 million renovating the property. Harrington has a strong record of restoring and reimagining vintage Maine coastal properties, including The Claremont in Southwest Harbor and Salt Cottages in Bar Harbor. He’s also a partner in the Kennebunkport Resort Collection, 10 hotels that include Hidden Pond in Kennebunkport. You can stroll to the resort town’s many restaurants, bars, and shops or take one of the hotel’s complimentary bikes and ride into town. It’s a short distance from the famed Ogunquit Playhouse, Maine’s most beloved summer stock theater. All cottages have a private porch or patio, the better to soak up the coastal atmosphere. Pursuits include relaxing in the heated swimming pool with ocean views, paddle boarding, kayaking, and waterfront yoga classes.

The Rockport Harbor Hotel, Rockport

The Rockport Harbor Hotel has been flying under the radar since it opened in December 2023. This 20-room boutique hotel is now ready for its first summer, a new luxury property on Rockport’s busy main street, with its restaurants, galleries, and shops. Rooms are traditional in style—no trace of trendy minimalism here — and every room has a marble bathroom, a gas fireplace, and a balcony, with views of either the harbor or the Camden Hills. The Oak Room restaurant, which looks like it’s been there for about 100 years but is, in fact, brand new, offers creative comfort fare from Chef Travis Nestor. Atrium, the hotel’s fine dining restaurant with views of the harbor and Penobscot Bay, will open soon on the hotel’s fourth floor. There’s plenty to do in town, and if you need more, the tony port town of Camden is just up the road. The Farnsworth Art Museum’s incredible collection of Maine-born artists, including three generations of Wyeths, is a short walk from the hotel.

Longfellow Hotel, Portland

Longfellow Hotel, originally scheduled to open in 2023, finally opened this month in Portland. The Congress Street location is in Portland’s historic West End neighborhood, one of the city’s best locations, amidst 19th-century Victorian and Italianate architecture. The hotel is within walking distance to areas like the Old Port, East End, and the Arts District. The city’s first independent, full-service hotel to open in many years has 48 rooms and a Nordic-inspired spa. The 1,800-square-foot spa, Astraea, focuses on whole body and mind wellness. Dining options include the Twinflower Café, a wellness-focused restaurant serving wholesome breakfast and lunch offerings. The Five of Clubs is the bar and serves cocktails, beer and wine, and small bites. The Maine-based, family-owned hospitality group Uncommon Hospitality is behind the Longfellow Hotel, named for Portland-born poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, one of America’s most-beloved bards.