Helpful Hints and Practical Information for Moose Cove Rental

Moose Cove Oceanfront Cottage

Helpful Hints and Practical Information

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RESIDENCY:

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT: For a residential rental Maine requires that the cottage be your primary residence, with very limited exceptions involving work-related residency or moving to Maine in search of a permanent home. (The cottage has not been available to the public as a vacation rental since June 2005.)
NEW RESIDENTS: If you are a new resident of Maine be sure to visit the state's website on Moving to Maine for information on voting, drivers licenses and car registration, taxes and taxes and registration of new businesses.
TOWN FUNCTIONS: Since Trescott is an Unorganized Territory with no local government, most official local government functions are in Lubec. The Washington County government facilities are in Machias.
MAIL: There is no mailbox because of a history of vandalism destroying mailboxes along the road. If you decide to put up your own mailbox you should take security into account. You can open a PO box at the post office in Lubec or Cutler.
“PROPERTY TAX REBATE”: You may be entitled to a partial subsidy for rent under the state's “Circuit Breaker” program under which the state makes selective direct payments to tenants based on income.

INDOORS:

AREA LITERATURE: A white looseleaf binder in the cottage contains brochures, maps, a tide table, restaurant menus and information on the local area.
MOOSE COVE JOURNAL: One of our first vacationers started a notebook to record their practical suggestions, experiences and impressions of Moose Cove and the local area to share with those who come after them. We would love to have you contribute to the journal. You can include anything that you want to – from practical recommendations for places to visit or avoid, to how early you saw the sun rise and how many seals you saw at low tide basking on the rocks. The Journal is in a large looseleaf binder.
BOOKS AND MAPS: Books on the pantry shelves are available for your reading enjoyment (but please don't take them home). Some are classics, there are many Reader's Digest Condensed Books, and some paperbacks came from book recycling centers, so it is pot luck. (There are also public libraries in the villages of Lubec and Cutler.)

References: In the book collection at the cottage you will find Bird Finding in New England, by Richard Walton, which opens with a description of Campobello Island, South Lubec Beach, and Quoddy Head. We also have the Reader's Digest Wildflowers reference, the Peterson-McKenny Wildflowers Field Guide for North Eastern/North Central North America, and the Peterson Birds of Eastern and Central North America.

A nautical chart showing the shoreline and islands near Moose Cove hangs on the wall in the Living Room. A large aerial photo of the cove taken several decades ago hangs in the master bedroom (and clearly shows the outline of a moose head at the base of the cove).

Several large puzzles are usually left near the TV.
NO SMOKING: If you smoke please only smoke outside. Please dispose of the butts safely and not in the toilet. Thank you!

UTILITIES AND APPLIANCES:

TRASH: Put all trash in closed plastic trash bags and place the bags in the barrel outside the side door. Wrap any lobster shells in paper so that their sharp edges will not tear the plastic trash bags and cause leaks. Keep the barrel lid on the trash barrel and heavy rocks on the lid to keep out animals. If you are a residential tenant you will have to arrange for trash pick up or take it to the Marion Transfer Station yourself.

Please do not leave recyclables in the cottage; either throw them away or take them to the recycling center in Lubec (the hours of operation change frequently and they don't accept items for which there is no re-sale market.)
WATER: The water is from a private well, high quality and filtered through a salt-based water softener, mostly to eliminate rust formation. (Heart patients with limits on sodium take note.) There is normally no need to bring in bottled water or a purifier. The water in the stream is also very good, but has the expected bacteria for an open stream through the woods.
SHOWER: The water temperature at the furnace is set high to allow for long showers. Aim the shower head back towards the tile wall, turn the temperature setting knob to point straight down, and push the lever to the left for flow. Adjust the knob for temperature from there (don't turn fully counterclockwise to maximum hot).

There are suction cups to attach the edges of the shower curtain to help keep the outside floor dry.

There is a mat for the shower floor for your safety (but don't cover the floor drain!). To help keep the shower floor tiles clean, please hang the mat on the towel bar over the marble bench seat when you are finished.

The exhaust fan for the bathroom is operated by the right switch outside the bathroom door.

Please spray the shower after each use to make it easier to keep the tiles clean. There is a spray bottle of Clean Shower under the sink. It only takes a second each time.
STOVE: There is an oven, smooth cooktop, and built–in microwave. You can use the fan and light built into the microwave over the cook top.

Please run the self cleaning oven whenever you spill food in it. The cleaning is automatic but must be started manually to ensure that the oven is kept clean.

If you are not familiar with the care of smooth glass-top stoves, please read on. It is so much easier than regular stoves, but requires care to avoid damage. We would like to keep the range in new condition. See the instructions in the drawer. In particular, do not scrape pans across the top or use it as a counter top. There is a special polish kept on the kitchen counter that helps keep the surface clean simply by wiping the flat surface with it. Always be sure that the surface is clean before you turn the heat on. The food does not burn off the surface. If the microwave controls behave strangely, try re-initializing it by removing and replacing the plug in the wall outlet.
DISHWASHER: Turn the dial to Normal and push the door closed to start. Steam will vent in the front during the drying cycle. If the door is then partially opened the dishwasher will not use its electric heater to dry.
SINK: Please do not pour grease, other chemicals or food down the sink drain as it will ruin the septic system. (There is no garbage disposal in the sink.)
CLOTHES WASHER & DRIER: Because the water passes through a water softener only use about 1/3 the amount of detergent ordinarily recommended or you will have suds left on your clothes. If you do use too much detergent, just run your clothes through the rinse cycle again.
TOILET: Please do not flush any foreign objects down the toilet -- no cigarette butts, no condoms, no paper other than the toilet paper, etc. It will ruin the septic system and its pump used to pump waste water up the hill to the leach field. If problems arise, check the pump circuit breaker at the electrical panel.
HEAT: The oil-fired heating system is controlled by the thermostat on the hall wall. (The thermostat out by the furnace controls the zone in that area only.) Please turn the temperature down to 55 deg when you leave.
SMOKE DETECTORS: There are four AC-powered smoke detectors with battery backup: in the bedrooms and hall, and over the furnace. Please test them with the buttons to be sure the batteries are working.
TELEPHONE: There is no telephone line to the cottage.
CELL PHONE: Cell phones work only marginally in the Lubec area and often do not work at all near the Moose Cove cottage. (Satellite phones are not subject to the local cell phone problems.) The strongest signal at Moose Cove is the Canadian NB Tel signal from Grand Manan Island, which is the large island you can see to the south-east about 10 miles out. If atmospheric conditions are good, such as on a clear night, you may pick up this signal if your phone is suitably set to roam. In an emergency, try this first. Test by dialing the standard 611 cell phone customer service number; if the announcement says Alliant you have the Canadian connection.

A much weaker US signal can sometimes be used at the top of the hill at the west end of the dirt road, or out at Rt. 191. (We removed the Yagi antenna on the roof after the US Cellular signal suddenly ceased working. The coax cable for the antenna coiled on the top shelf of the pantry will therefore not help you.)

One of the best locations for local reliable cell phone use is at the fire department parking lot at the top of the hill in the village of Lubec, but there are many other places where it may work, depending on atmospheric conditions. A practical approach from Moose Cove is to try various locations on Rt. 191 on the way into Lubec, particularly approaching the tops of the hills. Reception is worse headed in the opposite direction on 191 towards Cutler.

In Lubec,Canadian signals from NB Tel are also usually the strongest and are often locked onto by cell phones. If you find later that you have been billed for an international call made when you were in the Lubec area, call your cell phone company for a credit. This happens frequently for cell phone customers in the Lubec area; don't be bashful about insisting on a credit if the operator is not aware of the problem. (U.S. Cellular, the primary local carrier, is however changing its refund policy because of the large losses they have incurred -- they must pay the international rates to Canada.) Cell phone calls made while on Campobello Isl. or elsewhere in Canada, however, are international calls.
INTERNET: There is no broadband internet access at the cottage, and since there is no telephone a modem cannot be used unless with a satellite phone (or cell phone with a strong signal if you can get it to work at all).

Satellite internet can be obtained but requires a 1 year committment.

Public access to computers on the internet is available in the Lubec and Cutler libraries.

The Lubec library (open Mon.–Wed.,Fri.&Sat. AM) has several PC's and now has a high-speed T1 connection through the state library system. WiFi is available for labtops and works outside the building when the library is closed if you have a strong enough signal (easily obtained with an external antenna.) There is also an external cable connection in the library's front function room that can be used for a laptop or notebook computer. To use this you have to register your PC with the library, which requires knowing your ethernet card internal serial number (mac address, which you can obtain with the shell command ipconfig /all. Once the data is entered into the library database, ordinarily you have to set the IP addresses manually the first time you connect; from then on you can connect with DHCP/automatic IP).

The Cutler library (open Mon.–Thu.), in the town office on Rt. 191 at the Harbor, is smaller with only one PC, but has a broadband cable connection. If you ask permission you may be able to use the ethernet connection for a laptop or notebook computer plugged into the router. Bring an ethernet cable with the standard oversized telephone-type connector and configure your portable PC for DHCP/automatic IP. (Most people are very nice, but an elderly woman associated with the library but who hates computers has been known to occasionally come in and become incoherently and hysterically abusive – if this happens to you it is not your fault.)
TV/VCR: There is a TV hooked up to a DVD player, but live broadcasts cannot be received at Moose Cove! There is a video rental store 10 minutes away at the corner of 191 and 189 near Lyon's grocery store. A smaller selection is available at McFadden's Variety Store, also on Rt. 189 towards the village of Lubec.
WEATHER RADIO: The small weather radio on the kitchen counter is tuned by the knob in the back. Look for the local station with recorded broadcasts covering coastal Washington County. (There may only be one station available at all.)
TIDE CLOCK: The tide clock over the big windows has a blue third hand that indicates the progression of the tide.
CIRCUIT BREAKERS: The circuit breaker panel is in the back of the cottage in the "basement" area, just inside the door.
PEST REPELLERS: Electronic pest repellers discourage insects and small animals from the woods. The smaller units plugged into several outlets are mainly for insects. Large units are in the "basement" area and the attic (on an extension cord to the outlet below the circuit breaker panel). The higher settings are ultrasonic, but if you are sensitive to the sounds you can adjust or unplug them, but please leave them on when you leave. There are mousetraps in the "basement" area, usually near the furnace, so keep children away.
FAN: A white standup fan and a desk fan usually kept in the "basement" area can be positioned anywhere you think you need it. The kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans can also be used to circulate air.

OUTDOORS:

DRIVEWAY: The gravel road, extending about a mile through the woods to the cottage, is in good condition, but drive carefully, especially watching for eroded sections and tips of tree branches extending from the sides. If you should see a large rock protruding in the middle of the road, caused by gradual erosion (they have all been removed at this writing), drive the wheels on one side of your car over it to avoid scraping the bottom of your car.

You can close and latch the gate to discourage sight-seers who may wander in.

You can park at the bottom of the hill next to the deck, next to the side door, or behind the cottage at the top of the hill.
OUTSIDE LIGHTING: The lights in the front over the deck are operated by two switches just inside the sliding glass door.

The lights over the side door are activated by a motion detector adjusted to operate after dusk. It is also controlled by the left switch (under a guard) just inside the door, which should normally be left on. To force the light on turn the switch off/on twice within 2 seconds. Repeat to set back to automatic. If left on, it will automatically switch back at dawn.

The lights on the roof in the back aimed over the driveway are also activated by a motion detector, but are otherwise controlled manually only at the circuit breaker panel.
LOCK THE DOORS: Always lock the doors and windows when you are away. The sliding doors lock from the inside only, and also have a plastic strip that sits in the bottom track to prevent the door from being forced open.

The side door deadbolt lock operates on both sides with the key. For your safety, leave the key in the lock on the inside when you are in the cottage.
DECK/LAWN FURNITURE: The deck/lawn furniture is kept in the "basement" storage area at the end of the cottage near the second set of sliding glass doors past the deck. When a storm is likely please bring the chairs in so that they will not break the glass doors and windows if the winds are too gusty. There are 4 yellow lawn chairs, a yellow lounge and a brown lounge. There is also is a cedar picnic table which stays on the deck, and a wooden Adirondack chair usually left out at the top of the bluff by the ocean; it need be brought in only in the event of a big storm.
GRILL: There is an electric grill for cookouts, which does not use charcoal. Please keep it clean and covered when not in use. There is a fire extinguisher in the kitchen you should keep handy.
OUTSIDE WATER: There is an outside faucet and hose on the left side of the cottage as you face the ocean. You may use this for anything that is best cleaned outside.
PATHS: The path down to the water is to the right of the cottage facing the ocean. It runs at an angle to the hillside, next to a large tree whose exposed roots form "steps" on the steepest part. Be careful with your footing on the path and on the rocks on the beach.

Behind the cottage and to the right (facing the ocean) there is a path down into the woods to the stream. Upstream towards the road there is a small waterfall. Downstream towards the ocean you can cross over and go up the hillside to a higher bluff overlooking the ocean.

There are no trails maintained in the woods, but you can follow the dirt road in either direction. The road and all the property at Moose Cove is privately owned, but normally no one minds if you walk through if you don't cause damage or disturb other people. If you encounter another cottage don't go up to it without justification. (There are a few, with one very large home on the shore west of the "T" in the road.) Eastern Head, well beyond the end of the road, is owned by the state of Maine. Around the other side to the east is Sandy Cove with an unusual sandy beach, but it is difficult to reach from Moose Cove. There is a path to it from Rt. 191 near a trailer home.
SHORE: Many of the large rocks out by the water are smooth and sculptured, making them comfortable to sit on. Take the path down the hill and look for suitable routes to step up to the rocks.

At low tide it is possible to climb all the way out to Little Moose Island off the end of Eastern Head, but it is very slippery and hard climbing.

If you have a kayak or canoe light enough to carry down the path to the shore you can launch it directly in front of the cottage. This is most practical when the tide is high enough to cover the seaweed-covered rocks off the fine gravel beach to the left or the rocky inlet to the right of where the path goes down. (See the section below on safety.)
LIGHTHOUSES: At night you will normally see the distant flashing lights of two lighthouses in the ocean: the southern tip of Grand Manan Island is almost directly in front of the cottage, and Machias Seal Island is to the right.
MOOSE: Yes there are moose in the woods at Moose Cove, and elsewhere in the area as well, but few visitors have seen them. They won't bother you if you leave them alone. If you are in your car, do not honk at them, and be careful on the road – people have been killed driving into a moose.
HUNTING: Please, no hunting on the grounds or on the beach. If you walk anywhere in the woods during any hunting season be sure to wear bright-colored clothing, preferably including orange. For hunting season schedules or if you are otherwise interested in hunting check the Maine state hunting and trapping website and the Lubec town office.
FISHING: You are unlikely to catch fish casting from the rocks. If you fish elsewhere, check the Maine state fishing regulations and licenses website. Fresh water fishing licenses can be obtained from the Lubec town office.

SAFETY:

Moose Cove is generally safe, but use common sense. It is a remote area with no one around to help if you get into trouble. There are no life guards!

In winter weather, be careful of “black ice” on the roads, which can appear to be dry when they are not.
The path down to the water is negotiable by people with normal strength and health, but is steep. Watch carefully for the best footing on the rocks and the large tree roots forming "steps".
Down on the beach and the rocks by the water watch carefully for the best paths across and over the rocks to avoid unnecessary climbing and potential falls.
The greenish seaweed-covered rocks covered by water at high tide are very slippery and should be avoided.
The water in Moose Cove and throughout the area is very cold, and some areas can have very strong currents from the tides. Swimming at Moose Cove is not recommended because of the cold water temperature and the slippery uneven rocks under water.
Be very careful climbing and walking on the rocks, especially near the edge by the water. The depth of the water is about 30 feet just off the rocks, except near the gravel beach (according to the nautical charts). The tides go up and down vertically about 12 feet, so there can be a long drop down the rocks into very deep, very cold water.
There is erosion under all of the dirt bluffs, so do not stand too close to the edge. This includes the lower part of the path down to the beach.
The ocean at Moose Cove is normally very calm, but in a storm, waves crash onto the rocks. In this situation do not go out on the rocks at all; rogue waves can come in much stronger and higher than expected, forcefully sweeping anything in their path down the rocks or into the sea.
If you go out in a canoe or kayak anticipate the tides as well as potential stormy weather causing waves. When the tide is out it can be very difficult to get back up to the shore over the exposed slippery rocks. There is a tide table and tide clock in the cottage; there are roughly six hours between high and low tide.
If you go out in a canoe or kayak, remember that the water is very cold, use a life jacket (PFD: "personal flotation device", according to the Coast Guard), and watch out for fog. A heavy, disorienting fog can come in very rapidly under certain weather conditions. Be sure to bring a compass and preferably GPS with you. (If you don't have a PFD or GPS you can pick one up at L.L. Bean in Freeport, which has nice selections of both, on your way through southern Maine to Moose Cove.)
If you go out in a canoe or kayak, and watch out for fog. A heavy, disorienting fog can come in very rapidly under certain weather conditions. Be sure to bring a compass and preferably GPS with you.
It is easy to become disoriented or lost in the woods. There are no trails and everything can look the same after a while, sending you in circles or meandering in the wrong general direction. Don't venture into the woods late in the day when you might not have time to recover before dark. Be sure to bring a compass and preferably GPS with you if you walk into the woods.

Enjoy!!

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last updated 8/12/07