Or home cooking?
First a batch of bagels.
Then two loaves of uneven, leavened, bread.
With an apple pie for dessert!
Author: one2travelfar
Snug as a bug
We closed the keeper’s quarters and pulled the plug. Although the temperature dipped into the 30’s and we didn’t have central heat, we were snug as a bug in a rug. We put up grates and plywood on the windows.
I scared this timberdoodle (American woodcock) in the alley by the tower. It took cover on a windowsill and I ran inside to get its picture.
I went up the tower for the last time to look around, take some pics and secure the inside door.
Then sent our stuff down the tram to the cove.
Our intrepid crew arrived in shorts! The first mate, Pepper, kept a sharp lookout on the bow. They arrived to drain the plumbing and finish the task.
I presented her with a leash I wove with my tablets and copper loom for being so cute.
We locked up, boarded the boat and headed home.
We still saw a beautiful sunset, just a little differently.
Sunrise, Seguin
Parting shots
We’re finishing our projects as we prepare to close up. Tim painted the picnic table he repaired (we seem to repair and paint at least one a season), applied Linseed oil to the wood gutters on three buildings while I did what I am best at.
That’s Tim above. What you don’t see is me standing on the bottom of the ladder serving as ballast in the gusty breeze. Very important work.
The resident seagull is up to its usual shenanigans. It helped me clean the garden yesterday.
The sun keeps rising and setting.
Rainbows form and the lighthouse and quarters remain cozy. I hope so because the temperature is expected to drop tonight.
All in a day
Monday was a blur. The weather was perfect, monarch butterflies were swarming the island and we had a work party of window warriors and more arrive with a journalist documenting Seguin as unique home.
They traveled by boat and dinghy with windows, lumber and lots of camera gear. Amazingly, only our feet got wet.
They installed two complete windows in the foyer; finished, caulked and painted a window in the museum; blasted and pointed brick mortar; stowed benches; installed window grates; packed up the store and museum; and greased the tram’s cable.
While at the same time, butterflies swarmed and a Coopers hawk and several sharp shinned hawks circled the island.
Reflecting
Why be a lighthouse caretaker?
I had an epiphany while mowing for several hours yesterday. I ran into the typical problems: mower hard to start until I got the nack; wheel fell off and I had to hunt the fresh mown grass for it; and the shooter kept falling off.
The morning was glorious and we had lovely visitors, they arrived and left early because the weather was predicted to change.
And it did. The wind picked up while I finished the lawn and I had my aha moment. My hair was whipping in my eyes and mouth, the fog horn was blowing and the flag was flying straight off the pole.
I love offshore lighthouse caretaking for the extremes of weather I get to experience. Strong wind and gales, pea soup fog, crashing waves, rainbows and amazing sky. I explained this to Tim in the afternoon and then, as if to prove my point, a front blew by last night.
Here’s the real time Radar imagery.
Make that 51 shades of gray
I spoke too soon. Yesterday was forecast to be partly sunny. If that means fog so thick you can’t see 100 yards, then it was. We were surprised by a knock at the door in the dark and fog by a trio of young men who sailed here from Portland. I expect we’ll hear more from them this morning.
We had a few other visitors during the day.
A photographer, Friend of Seguin, came out to photo-document the buildings. Capt. Ethan also brought a young family from our neck of the woods, Lake Champlain. They own a CSA, Blue Heron Farm, on Grand Isle, VT and were here for an end of season vacation with their adorable daughters. Their CSA includes yarn!!!
I have yet to identify a family of small hawks who call the island home. I can’t find the Peterson bird book that used to be here, so I am using my Audobon app which is even better.
Today is glorious. Sunny and warmer. I’m not even wearing any wool. Very optimistic.
I may even need my sunglasses with their homemade croakies.
Fifty shades of grey
I mean fog. We had another perfect day of lighthouse weather. Rain and fog. The fog horn blew all day but it’s much quieter than I remember. The windows are closed but I think it’s more than that.
I could tell the fog would settle last night. There was a feeling in the air. More damp and still. The scenery came in and out of focus all day as the fog lifted and fell. We could often hear a boat engine without being able to spot any boat. The birds frolicked all day.
Wool socks kept me happy on the trails. They were saturated but my feet were warm. I donned full foulies for a trip to the cove and was quite content- rain and all.
We cleared some sumac and I made a Hawaiian pizza and apple pie. Another amazing day.
Taking stock
We’ve had a couple of days to settle in and meander about the island. It stirs so many memories. We learned so much our first summer as caretakers and got to share it with friends and family and those memories abound: Kristi’s lighthouse door, sanded, steel woolen, painted and painted; Andre working the rider mower ( which is presently disassembled in the whistle house) and his panoramic photo with labels; the Mount brothers’ glass block window in the lighthouse; our first Aldo Leopold bench. Now we rip and saw, carefully, but without hesitation.
The trails are in great shape and the keeper’s quarters are homier than they have ever been. We even have the resident, annual, abandoned, juvenile seagull.
I’ve knit a pair of socks each time I have been here and this trip will produce a new pair. In the meantime, I am wearing the old ones.
