As I sit by my open windows enjoying the cool evening breezes, the peacefulness of now-quiet roads and a cup of fresh coffee, I appreciate the simple and uncomplicated life of a small town.

Oakland and its surrounding areas have so much to offer for both residents and visitors. We moved back to this area after 17 years in the chaotic world called Florida. With a wide variety of towns to chose from, there was never a question where we would end up, right back in the spot we had left all those years ago.

Sound like a novel in the making? I wish. Oakland, like many small towns, has no real property codes or ordinances. We live right on a main road, next to all three schools, houses mostly sitting on one-half to three-quarter acre lots.

Two doors down from us live 100-plus chickens in a back yard area that is so filled with chicken droppings, the smell drifts with the slightest breeze.

Don’t get me wrong, I think the idea of someone harvesting their own eggs is wonderful. What frustrates me and many nearby neighbors is the unbearable smell that comes from these in-town farmers, which hardly allows us to enjoy the outside yard, our decks or leave our windows open.

It just seems as if there should be some guidelines or regulations for this type of small livestock farms.

Back to my first line in this letter, I’ve now had to close all my windows because the smell is flooding my entire home and making my eyes water. A trade-off for living in a wonderful small Maine town or a sentence?

Pam Natole

Oakland

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