“You’re away from the big, stupid boats going by, the planes…everything,” Bailey says. “This place is spiritual.” 000 1 7 m Phoebe High SeSSi nS 100 P r t L a n d montHL maga ine are 22,370 acres of state-protected land, in- cluding the elaborate coves and beaches of Nicatous Lake, on whose waters not even jet skis are allowed to make waves. Good riddance, interlopers! The main house is surrounded by four guest cottages, a free-standing summer kitchen/living room, and a generator cab- in. “You have all the creature comforts,” says agent John Calannino. The island’s Corrections. “You spend 11 months there, and you need to get the hell out.” Taxes: $734. Ph e e iSLand 000 aCreage 0 11 I n the 1930s, no roads reached Sebec Lake. Enter an indefatigable dentist who decided to build a cottage on ti- ny Phoebe Island, its .11 acres set just 100 feet from the shore. Materials were shipped out on the ice after the lake froze. Eight de- cades later, the cottage is still standing. Nowadays, Phoebe is a birdwatcher’s par- adise. “We watch our eagles’ nest with the adults going in and out and the young learn- ing to fly,” says seller Jay Bailey. Ospreys, cor- morants, and raucous kingfishers do drop in. Because the cottage sits so close to the wa- ter, stunning views are right on your door- step. “You’re having your coffee at the table in the morning with the loons swimming by you,” says Bailey. “The loons even sound dif- ferent out here. They have a lonelier cry.” All the while, hummingbirds battle for position at feeders outside the cottage. The cottage has been renovated with an updated interior of polished pine panels and five acres are covered with mature pine and birch trees. “There’s a little network of trails, and you can swim almost anywhere off the island.” Because while you’re luxuriating in all this silence, who’s going to stop you? As for Phil Brown, escape was exactly what his family needed. “We lived in down- town Boston only three blocks from the “Cheers” bar on Beacon Hill,” says Brown, a former employee of the Department of from toP: a BaiLe courtes PHoto