It was so foggy this morning that I realized I was squinting to try to see more clearly.
It’s burning off now and we’ll be able to paint the picnic tables and fascia repair.
The fall colors here are exquisite. Reds, golds, green, purple and lots of greys. We hear different song birds migrate through each week. What a place!
We had a brief break in the fog today and could see the sun on the distant horizon. Then the wind picked up from the south and the fog lifted for a couple of hous before settling in again. Now it’s windy and foggy at the same time.
Yesterday was mower repair and jury rig day. I adjusted the valves on the rider mower(.004 is thinner than a piece of paper, right?), adjusted the carburetor, repaired a faulty switch and got it running. I chose not to go any further and went to sleep feeling pretty good.
This morning, with a few minor adjustments, it ran and mowed the lawn for 30-40 minutes before it died again. Hmmm. Right back where we started.
Tim took advantage of a break in rainy weather and mowed the upper 40 with a push mower, which is riding very rough. I scoured the house and museum for a spring we needed for the governor with no luck. I used a piece of wire instead so we could throttle the governor.
My goal is to get the equipment in running condition for next year’s caretakers.
In the whistle house, I used every power saw we have ( chop, rip and portable) to replace a small piece of fascia board that had to be a mitered and cut into trapezoid. All fingers and toes intact.
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Yesterday we had a small unpredicted(?) nor’easter. Winds averaged 20 knots from the northeast and the seas built over the day. Around midday, a small craft advisory was declared. Visitors hiked the island and left.
Jim made it out late morning with lumber to repair the fascia but we were worried about his trip home. After the fasclaia was installed, we followed him, like worried parents, with binoculars, to the mouth of the Kennebec. He radioed that all was well and that was that.
The wind continued to howl and rumble and I cooked delicious scallops in wine and cream sauce. Tim poo pooed my Newman’s Own wine but I’m a sucker.
My mittens are done and I have moved onto socks made of wool, possum and silk. But first, I have to try to adjust the valves on the rider mower – hoo boy. Can you say TDC?
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It’s cold and blustery this morning, northeast wind at 20 knots and 55 °f. I’m not sure of the wind chill but I call it nippy.
Yesterday, despite small craft warnings, we had workers and visitors. Jim and Cyndy do the work of many. Jim and I puzzled over the rider mower and got greasy, to no avail. Today, we’ll check compression and adjust valves-well Jim will and I’ll assist. Yesterday, I had fun while we took apart the carburetor, valve cover and tried to open the head but couldn’t do it without damaging the gasket. We don’t have spare parts o we took it easy. Did you know a dime=a spark plug gap of .30?
We are motivated to fix this because if we can’t, we have to get this huge tractor down the tram, down the beach stairs and onto a boat. We are seriously discussing using goats for ground maintenance!
Meanwhile, Tim and Cyndy cleared sumac around the helipad, finished painting fascia boards and built a new cover for the cistern behind the whistle house.
Today, more mower repair and we have to replace fascia boards that blew off the house during Friday’s winds. I think I’ll bake scones.
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Yesterday was damp and I had a hard time warming up. I finished my mittens, now I have to work on more socks.
The afternoon brought fog that ebbed and flowed. One side of the island would clear and the other became misty. Sunset was pink fog. After dinner, it wafted over the house like smoke. I could feel it move past me in waves of warm, moist air. The fog horn was on most of the afternoon and all night. Two muffled blasts every twenty seconds. This morning, my clothes were damp inside the house.
The light’s umbrella opened up and the fog rolled over and through it.
This pic may not do it justice.
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Yesterday brought three visitors, including a couple spending their honeymoon at Popham Beach. Just think about that, yesterday I quoted the Honeymooners and then real honeymooners visited. Today’s quote is, “We are the champions…”. I’ll let you know if royalty visits.
There’s another archaeological dig in progress. Capt. Ethan was looking for something to do, and mentioned to Tim he heard there was a triangle marking the helipad. There’s a site map in the museum that depicts it. There was one at our previous lighthouse, which I was unearthing but lost steam. Tim got a divining rod of sorts and hit brick at the apex. Ethan peeled sod and uncovered the northern point. I poked around a bit and found two edges and perhaps the crossbar of the “H”. More to follow.
It has been really windy here the past couple of days. Today’s max wind speed was 33 knots from the south. Yesterday, the flag twisted around the flagpole as the wind shifted and got stuck. It was flying by one hook all day and it was too windy to retrieve it.
Finally, before dinner there was a lull in the breeze and Tim was able to gaff it. Now all is right with the universe. 
Big seas, strong winds, I had a day of domestic bliss – of sorts. First I finished knitting the second mitten of a pair, proudly put them together and discovered the first was two inches longer than the second and the thumbs don’t exactly begin at the same place. Oops. So I ripped back and knit again. They are shocking anyway because I made them from scraps.
Next I discovered some beautiful apples just waiting to be picked. Waiting because they were so gnarly even the birds passed them by. But we haven’t been off the island to shop in two weeks and are out of fresh fruit so…they weren’t as bad as they looked. I made two mini pies, which were pretty tasty. The garden provided a nice salad.
Lastly, I was disappointed by the rider mower, which hasn’t been running since we got here. We have spent two days tinkering with it – checked and added oil, filled the battery with water and charged it, Tim cleaned the fuel filter, I cleaned the spark plug and air filter, tightened the starter and made a tiny adjustment on the carburetor. I got it to run and work for about a half hour and then it laid down and died. Maybe it’s time for a new battery. Now we get to mow with the rickety push mower again. One of our highlights is using the rider mower. Oh well.
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We hiked all around the island yesterday to check out the surf. Loki tagged along for most of the trip. He’s a conflicted hiker. He follows us but mews and meows the whole way. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t know about geocaching.
We saw great waves crashing here, on the surrounding ledges and the neighboring islands. Loki even found an ancient rock carving.
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Click here to see the surf and hear Loki sing
We are feeling the effects of Hurricane Igor, literally. Yesterday the sky was clear, the wind was light from the south while huge waves were crashing on the east and south sides of the island. This sent spray flying and created enough of a haze at Seguin’s summit, 150 feet high, to trigger the fog horn.
There were eight to ten foot waves running from the east across the mouth of the harbor. They are supposed to build more through the day.
I think we will stay home today.
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Island and North Country Life 