What the heck is a 'dooryard'?

Turns out, when you leave a certain geographic area, the word 'dooryard' is not in everyone's vocabulary. It wasn't until I graduated from high school and up and moved 3,000 miles to the west coast that I learned that little tid bit. (and, as other Mainers have probably also learned when they've dared to leave their own dooryards, we begin the ever-popular game amongst new friends of, 'talk more!', 'say that again in your language!', or just plain, 'whaaaaaaaaat did you just say?')

Merriam-Webster's dictionary tells us that a dooryard is "a yard next to the door of a house". I would expand on this by saying that a Mainer would consider their 'dooryard' any of the area surrounding their home. This could include, but should not be limited to - the driveway, the walk to the mailbox (which could be 1/2 mile away) the lawn outside the back door, the lawn outside the front door, the lawn outside ANY door in your house, shed, garage, lean-to, or shack. If you don't have grass in your yard, it means the gravel surrounding your residence. I think you get the idea...

Kids are sent out into the 'dooryard' to play. We have yard sales (pronounced 'yahhd sales') in our dooryards.  We also steam clams or lobsters over open flames there, hang clothes out on the clothesline, park our cars, sit in lawn chairs watching the cars drive by (if you sit there long enough you might see a dozen by day's end!), plant gardens, and generally have a good time in our dooryards! So, next time you're in Downeast Maine (which, by the way means you are EAST of Ellsworth...but I'll save that for a later post) swing by someone's dooryard and say hello! All things considered, we're pretty friendly down here. (hee-yah)

A couple of fellas hanging out - dooryard is pictured in background.