Lighthouse caretaking

Visiting the neighbors

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We were recruited to take our trusty bateau, the Trophy, to pick up two CLLS Board members who needed to do some work on our lighthouse neighbor’s dock. Canadian Lighthouses of Lake Superior is responsible for at least three island lighthouses: Porphyry Island, Trowbridge; and #10.

Most of the energy has been devoted to Porphyry. It has infrastructure, a lovely harbor, docks, mooring, and let’s not forget the sauna. But it was last occupied prior to CLLS’ involvement, in 1989. It had suffered years of vandalism and neglect before hearty crews of volunteers brought it back to where it is today.

Trowbridge was actually occupied during the season until at least 2006 and has not suffered the same degree of abuse but still needs lots of work. There is one floating dock and a cement pier. If I had my druthers, I would have stayed in bed because the seas were not to my liking but the captain said, “Let’s Go!’ I white knuckled the boat ride and at times kept my eyes closed so I couldn’t see what we were bouncing on.

The tower doesn’t have to be tall because the lighthouse is set atop a hill.

The door smiled welcomingly at us while we used the key to step inside. I think there were two ladders and we were greeted by a cozy little room off the lantern room, complete with a bed set to sleep in.

Although there is an auxiliary light, Trowbridge maintains its original Fresnel Lens, always a beauty.

That handle provides access to the bulb inside. One side of the lens is split in two and opens like a door. So clever.

The lighthouse helps mark the entrance to Thunder Bay and we got to see our first Laker ship heading in.

These steps led to a third small harbor, which reminded me of Italy’s Mediterranean grottos.

The keeper’s residence is very sweet, day lilies abound and the rooms are still decorated by the prior occupant. Lots of purple! We found an old stereo cabinet in the whistle house.

We got to tour the island while the workers, worked! Then it was another white knuckle trip back to Silver Islet and then onward to Porphyry, our island home away from home.

Tuned in to weather

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Whenever we’re stationed on an island, we follow the weather, sometimes obsessively. This is especially true when we rely on a small boat to cross a large body of water. And Lake Superior is a large body of water. It is the largest lake in the world by surface area and could cover the entire continents of North and South America with a foot of water! At its deepest, it is 1,333 feet deep!

We gather the apps the local boaters use. For our stay on Porphyry, those included WeatherCan marine forecasts, Windy and weather.com. We looked at projected wind force, direction and wave heights. Normally we would just stay ashore but we had to get Tim to Public Health.

In Australia, we relied on Willy Weather, which provided clear graphics of the wind and waves. In the States, we have relied on NOAA and weather.com but they seem to be a little less reliable these days.

More importantly, we judged the wind at Porphyry Point and listened to and looked at the surf. Especially on days we needed to go ashore. One night, after a very quiet evening, I woke at 0300 to the sound of waves crashing in the east shore. That kept me up for a while because we needed to go ashore. We appreciated the effect wind alone has on creating waves.

Here’s a photo of a Michigan Lighthouse on Lake Superior.

And below are waves breaking at Porphyry Island.

Strong winds tended to come from the northwest. They were cold and played havoc with the propane fridge, which is located on that side of the residence without a windbreak. Tim tried various baffles on the exhaust pipes, but the flame would not light until the wind settled down and shifted. We got ice the next day off island. On a side note, think about this: The fridge needed a flame to stay cold! We wore through a battery on the piezo switch trying to light it. Here is a link to propane refrigerators 101, generally a great appliance for off grid living. If you have a propane fridge and a sauna and you are golden.

I much preferred the calm days to go boating. Here’s the view looking down the west side of the island. You can barely see the tower near the point.

After the storm, Tim did yoga on the helipad to the sunset, Sleeping Giant, and the moon rising.

A gentle end to a windy day.

The many faces of Seguin

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All beautiful. Seguin always delivers. A little rain, fog, the foghorn, great trails, monarch migration, some visitors but then a week without another person (except Tim of course), nightly cricket invasions, clouds, sunsets, waves, the view of Mt. Washington, ships, near and far, lighthouses along the shore, rocks, spider webs, good food, at least one mink this year, bald eagles, the prism rainbow, but no rainbows this trip, the weather was too nice. Feeling on top of the world.

Mt Washington in the distance

All in a day

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Never too old to learn new tricks. We have a problem with the tractor engine, please don’t ask, and it was decided we should remove it from the tractor snd take it off island. We, meaning the Royal We.

I was up to my elbows in grease – no wonder all those you tube mechanics wear black vinyl gloves – when Tim came down to the Whistle House, to check my progress.

So I stopped for the day, cleaned up a little and made salmon cakes.

Yesterday, I went back at it and set it free. The task itself was straightforward, but access to nuts and bolts was ridiculously hard. Now we just have to figure out how to get it down the quarter mile hill, onto the beach, into the dinghy for its ride home.

After I finished, I made a batch of scones and a loaf of bread with somewhat clean hands.

Tomorrow is closing day, our last day on island, which will be a flurry of activity, after no visitors for a week due to windy, wonderful lighthouse weather.

And while here, I finished knitting a baby bonnet in silk/wool, which I spun while at Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse, a pair of mittens and started a hat. All in a day’s work.

Flotsam and jetsom

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It’s been windy here on this offshore island. Seas are big, waves are crashing in the cove and we had a super, high tide, with the full moon and a north wind.

Bottom line, no visitors for a few days and lots of debris and seaweed in the cove.

We had to haul the dinghy up to higher ground. Our next few dinghy trips should be interesting. Not today though. Small craft warning persists.

Land snails seem happy enough, until I hear one accidentally crunch underfoot.

Nothing can keep a beautiful sunset down.

Not even a seagull photobombing me.

Back in business

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Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse was dark for a month after a lightning storm zapped its LED bulb. I met the Coast Guard electrician who told me the bulb was sent to Australia for repair! Yet on my one of my final days as a keeper, four men in blue coveralls arrived in an unmarked truck. Much less dramatic than other locations where they arrived by helicopter.

Bulb repair

And just like that, we had a light again.

It was comforting to see it from my bedroom window once again.

I was very busy my last week, seeing the sites and packing up the house. Tim and I had visited all but one of the bridges on Acadia’s carriage roads. I made a final trip and saw the last of the lot, the Cliffside Bridge.

As its name implies, it is built into the side of a cliff. I couldn’t be sure it even crossed a stream.

Cobblestone bridge is the first carriage road bridge built and the only one made with cobblestones, not granite. It sits just outside the Park and is my personal favorite. I liked it so much, I crossed it on three occasions.

The second time was with Tim when we came upon this whimsical tree carving.

Complete with stick figures and a porcupine or beaver.

Then I cleaned house, packed up the dishes and linens for the NPS and gathered my pantry, projects and clothes and headed home.

I loved living on the sea’s edge with waves crashing beneath my windows but, ” There’s no place like home “. (Have I mentioned I played the good witch, Glenda, in fourth grade).

Sunsets and reflections

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As summer comes to a close, the sun is setting further south and can finally be seen dipping below the horizon here. Sunset is a very busy time at Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse. Everyone hopes for that perfect photo. One night people abandoned their cars on the road so as not to miss it since the parking lot was full. If I sit in the living room, I can see people running down the hill to catch their photos.

Rather than join the crowd lately, I have enjoyed my own views.

This was a beauty.
Sunset and the 1961 bell reflected in the bell house window.

Sunset and bell reflection, and shadows on the bell house.

I march to my own drummer. This seems to be especially true when I swim. My watch tracks my path when we swim in Echo lake.

Apparently I swim in circles.
I spun a lot of wool while talking to visitors outside the lighthouse. I’ll have plenty of lovely yarn to work with for months to come.

It’s almost a wrap and I am enjoying the beauty of these last few days.

Busman’s holiday

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I took a break from Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse and went to visit Monhegan Island and its lighthouse. I have wanted to visit for years because we can often see it from Seguin Island and I romanticize about living there.

It is located 12 miles offshore and boasted a population of 64! in the 2020 census. on the way we passed Marshall Point Lighthouse.

I only had time for a day trip on the mail boat but it was well worth it. I visited the lighthouse, a few galleries and walked along the dramatic, southern cliffs.

The lighthouse museum devoted quite a bit of space to the women who lived there, which is often omitted from the histories. Maybe because it is HIStory! There were various kitchen implements, a spinning wheel and a couple of treadle sewing machines.

Fog settled in for my drive back to Acadia the next day and nearly obscured the Penobscot Narrows Bridge, a cable stay bridge. I know of two people who are afraid to drive over it. Maybe it would be less frightening if they couldn’t see it.

I sprinkled chili powder on my dahlias before I left and every night since. I’m not sure what the pollinators think but it has kept the deer from chomping off the flowers.

Drop spinning is a productive activity while I talk to people at Bass Harbor. Here are some of the fruits of my labors. Just like lighthouse keepers of yore.

Although I slept through the northern lights display, sunset was beautiful from the porch last night. I slipped out among the visitors, and snapped a few photos. Everyone was so busy taking their own pictures they didn’t even see me.

Don’t scare a frog

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I just went up to the garage to take out the garbage. On my way up, I felt a squirt of water and saw an animal – hop – away. At first I thought it was a mouse, because we have had our share of them, but the “hopping” should have given it away. Apparently frogs pee on you, or any predator, when they are afraid. Only one foot and its croc was wet, no odor but yuck. I’ve been slimed!

No such thing as paradise, here at the lighthouse.