Tim has wanted to use his Captain’s license all summer. Yesterday he got to use his towing endorsement skills when Jim Bennet stopped by to visit. They hauled a huge log to Jim’s boat and then he took it further ashore.
The weather has been cool and we are happy to have electricity and the vintage USCG heater in the morning and evenings. Pretty soon, I will be wearing all my clothes at once.
We had 3 visitors. One adult was last here when he was 11 and took photos of the same views he had from that trip.
I finished clearing brush off the top of the tram. Time to return below. We are figuring out how to rehang the 8 foot sign at the cove, which advises boaters they can’t anchor there because of the electricity cable. Right now, it is dangling by one screw.
Please excuse typos – sent from my Palm
Furry and feathered friends
Yesterday was filled with wildlife and work. Loki joined me on at least 3 trips down to the cove. There was a baby seal languishing in the seaweed at low tide. Unfortunately, I can only upload phone shots at the moment and it looks like a Where’s Waldo photo with the seal camouflaged among the rocks. Photos to follow.
I was using hand loppers from the tram to clear the branches next to it. Hand tools to enjoy the sounds of the sea – not. Shirley and Loki followed me but then were making a racket followed by a whoosh. The local seagull in residence had followed us down the tram. Tim had tried to lure it down earlier, with dog food and words like, “come on, you know this tastes good” but it turned around midway. I took the opportunity and walked behind it and encouraged it down the tram, onto the boat house deck and into the water where it belongs. It immediately began bobbing its head and eating. Then it took off and flew from the water to another part of the cove.
Later, I made a hummingbird feeder, ala Andre (Dr. Dre), from an old water bottle and the case from the weed whacker string. We will see.
Please excuse typos – sent from my Palm
A hard day’s work
What a great day. It was cool (I am thinking of breaking out my new long johns) and Tim and I worked on trails. He broadened the north trail and I used the weed whoacker to clear the brush under the tram, under the stairs from the beach and boat house. I stopped when I could no longer stand up straight. Oh my aching back. I love it. Productive exercise. More of the same tomorrow.
Tim wrote a narrative for the visitors. We can’t print photos so I added our new picture, which Tim labeled, Wolf Woman and Rock Hudson. We walked the trails: north, cove and cobblestone. I climbed the steep lighthouse path at least 4 times.
We had a boatload of people from Small Point who plied us with cookies and snacks. They haved lived there for 30 years and this was their first trip to Seguin. They donated money (and food) and promised to return.
We had news today from a couple we met here in 2008. They were cruising offshore near Tahiti when she had a stroke. He had to sail for 13 hours with her to meet EMT’s. She was in a coma for at least a week with a grim prognosis for most of that time. She beat all the odds, with a strong determination, and is now in rehab, walking and playing the piano. Her only wish is to get back on the boat. I remember meeting her here when she was foraging and had to be dissuaded from eating our marigolds.
Palm
A hard day’s work
What a great day. It was cool (I am thinking of breaking out my new long johns) and Tim and I worked on trails. He broadened the north trail and I used the weed whoacker to clear the brush under the tram, under the stairs from the beach and boat house. I stopped when I could no longer stand up straight. Oh my aching back. I love it. Productive exercise. More of the same tomorrow.
Tim wrote a narrative for the visitors. We can’t print photos so I added our new picture, which Tim labeled, Wolf Woman and Rock Hudson. We walked the trails: north, cove and cobblestone. I climbed the steep lighthouse path at least 4 times.
We had a boatload of people from Small Point who plied us with cookies and snacks. They haved lived there for 30 years and this was their first trip to Seguin. They donated money (and food) and promised to return.
We had news today from a couple we met here in 2008. They were cruising offshore near Tahiti when she had a stroke. He had to sail for 13 hours with her to meet EMT’s. She was in a coma for at least a week with a grim prognosis for most of that time. She beat all the odds, with a strong determination, and is now in rehab, walking and playing the piano. Her only wish is to get back on the boat. I remember meeting her here when she was foraging and had to be dissuaded from eating our marigolds.
Palm
We’re back
We have settled in back at Seguin. The keeper’s house has been painted and spruced up inside since the last time we were here and looks very homey. That gives us a chance to work on the grounds.
It’s like returning to a furnished apartment where all the same things are here just arranged a little differently. The views remain the same and are spectaculor.
We had 3 sets of visitors, a power boat family, a cruising couple and a group brought out by the Seguin Ferry, which included a green builder from the Adirondacks. He looked fine to me and we got his card.
We celebrated our anniversary yesterday and I surprised Tim with a new duct tape wallet. He took me sailing last week.
Palm
Long day’s journey
We and the cats had a long day today. We got up at 6 to finish packing and close the the keeper’s house. I got Shirley into her carrier when I spotted Loki outside. He saw me with the towel I use to get him in his carrier and bolted to the bushes. There are acres of bushes to hide in. Then thunderstorms barrelled through and he was gone. He’s the biggest chicken.
We gave up trying to catch him and brought our stuff off the island and loaded the car. We returned to the island in nice weather and he was out and easily captured.
Then they went for rides in a dinghy, boston whaler (they really howled during this one), three hour car ride. They were lowered off a pier by boat hook to Capt Ethan’s new lobster boat, took a ride in it and another dinghy and up the path to the keeper’s quarters on Seguin. We are all tired and happy now that we are back. We have a dismal internet connection but we have hot running water and a freezer!
The sun sets over our summer
There was a flurry of activity on the island yesterday as islanders closed houses for the season. We brought a boat load of our stuff ashore (including Tim’s rowing machine). We did a final load of laundry and brought the rugs back to dry.
The Friendship motored by in the late afternoon. Our meals are interesting as we clean the pantry and refrigerator. Today we will finish packing, drain the pipes and winterize the house.
Tomorrow we head for our next adventure in Maine.
Finishing touches
It’s a regular day again today. The lobster boats are out and the water seems calm. the last two days have been windy and sunny and I mowed the upper and lower forty – about six hours. All’s tidy. Tim painted the new doors for the keeper’s house and it looks spiffy – still needs a new roof though. 
Windows are secure, for the most part. Someone installed a skylight in the keeper’s house,with a direct view of the lighthouse, which would be good if you had to keep it lit. Tim has caulked it at least three times and there is still a small nagging leak.
Power tools are winterized, the workshop is swept and now it’s time to clean the living quarters. We’ll start moving some stuff off the island today because the beach is calm(er). We haven’t told the cats we’re moving again yet. They’ll be happy to return to Seguin though. Nice weather provided another gorgeous sunset last night.
My Urbanista hat is almost complete, now I just need a pair of mittens. I think it will take some stretching to fit my head.
The sound of the waves was great the other day. The outgoing water pulled all the rocks out and they made a neat sound while they tumbled.
There was a schooner festival and our local boats, the Fame in the foreground, and the Friendship were on the water. It looked like we were living in another era.
Earl stood us up
How weird is this? The hurricane passed us by and I have to admit, I am a little disappointed. It was on my mind all week. We don’t have television but we checked every updated weather report to follow it’s projected path. I read about cones of probablity and the 100-200-300 Mariner’s rule, which visually display the probability of a storm’s path. First it was predicted to be offshore, then about 35 miles away and in the end…I slept through it. I stayed awake until midnight but all the action took place while I was sleeping. Hurricanes are much more dramatic when they happen during daylight hours.
The day began with an amazing sunrise sky. In the afternoon, it got dark when the fog rolled in. Other than the red sky in the morning, I couldn’t see any signs that would have warned me that a storm was brewing and headed this way.
I finished up the three sweaters I have been working on for my friend’s daughters. Today is sunny and the winds are gusty so it is a perfect laundry day. I will wash and block them. I designed all three sweaters and at least I had fun working on them. The castle picture is from Barbara Walker and I used Ann Budd’s set in sleeve sweater. The aran sweater is a raglan cardigan knit in pieces with 3 stitch patterns. The last is a top down raglan with a slip stitch pattern from Barbara Walker. Now I am knitting a hat to keep me warm when we head to Seguin Island in Maine, next week for the month.
Anticipation
We had to go ashore today to deal with lots of administrative PITA’s. The good news is that we may have sold our boat, bought land behind our house and arranged for new car insurance. We went to a library to print a power of attorney, contracts and insurance ID cards. Normal paperwork always becomes a small nightmare. We don’t have a printer or fax and can’t send mail from the lighthouse. Once again the internet pulls through. We printed all the attachments and headed to a local UPS store, where for exorbitant fees, we got a notary stamp and a few faxes.
We bought extra line for our whaler and tied it securely. We took everything that might get blown off in big winds off the boat. I saw more people today, preparing their boats for the storm, then i have seen all summer. Once again there’s this window of anticipation. it’s still nice out, skies are clear but we are expecting at least a tropical storm, with 65 mph winds. It will be a good test of all the repairs we did after the last nor’easter. We can only hope that the dinghy and whaler are still there when we need them.
At least these houses have been standing since the mid 1800’s. I’ve got movies, books and knitting to complete.
Island and North Country Life 