Day 75, 31 July

27 Visitors

Spider Web in the Morning Dew

This morning started off foggy with Tooter tooting away.  I got up to raise the flag and noticed many little spider webs coated in dew. I ran around taking photos of various ones that looked beautiful in the morning light. The rest of the morning was spent knitting and catching up on emails.  Ethan arrived with the ferry and about 25 visitors. Fred gave them tours while I manned the gift shop. As the afternoon progressed the fog eventually dissipated. Sac was outside napping in her usual spot and visitors were milling about everywhere. I gave one last tour to a group of five at around 1:30 pm. They had the nicest weather since the fog was completely gone by then. Fred was at the cove helping the visitors board the dinghy to the ferry. After all the visitors left I worked more on my knitting and finally had a late lunch. Fred had eaten and went down to the cove area to do some repairs on the injured tram and mow the lower areas.

I gave Sac her afternoon walk and meds and finally got down to the cove at around 5:30 pm. Fred was relaxing after his strenuous afternoon and we noticed a nice sailboat moored in the cove. A couple from the sailboat came ashore and we greeted them. The man’s grandfather was a Keeper at the Cape Neddick (Nubble) Lighthouse. Fred gave them a nice tour and I went over to the bench area off of the Cove trail to relax in the late sun and read the Icelandic Horse book lying on the grass. It was a luxury to spend a few hours like that to enjoy some reading instead of doing a million other things. I finished two chapters and wandered further

My patch on the tram support truss. Also reinforced cross members.

down the Cove trail to the end getting some nice sunset pictures of the sailboat in the cove. I went back to the cove and took some pictures of more flowers in my flower box at the kiosk and then went down to the cove beach to look for sea glass in the fading light. I found some nice pieces and gathered my stuff and hiked back to the house. Along the trails the raspberries are ripening and it is fun and delicious to pick them off as you go and enjoy them. There was still some pretty late evening light when I got back to the house and I gathered some lettuces and herbs for a salad. Sac was sleeping soundly in her spot. I made my Singapore Sling with my newfound proper cherry brandy, which is the required ingredient and it did taste perfect. It’s so hard to find cherry brandy and I found it at Bracket’s in Bath. I love that little market.  I was using blackberry brandy but it’s not the same. A shot of apricot brandy made it real nice also.

Sunset over the cove

I completed a salad and took a shower before settling down to write the blog and munch on the salad. Fred cooked up some sole with lemon, dill, butter sauce which was yummy. We watched Jimmy Fallon and more knitting to complete the day. Off to bed we went and dreams of Icelandic horses running free and happy in the stark barren countryside of their beautiful homeland.

Day 74, 30 July

14 Visitors

We finally got off on our designated Wednesday. The morning was foggy but the seas were minimal. This morning also brought the Armada gang to get roofing supplies brought onto the island. We departed before they arrived. The crossing was uneventful and I looked back at our little island to see Beauty shining her great light, high on her hill. What s beautiful sight she is. We did our usual bottle and can donation to the school and stopped at Cyndy’s for water and trash disposal. The most important task was to give hugs and kisses to Hinkley. We continued on to Bath for breakfast at the Creamery and stopped in the office to see Catherine, drop off sales stuff, get mail and pickup a few more things for the gift shop. We ran a few errands around Bath and then a drive up to Augusta to see what was up there. We saw the state capital shrouded in scaffolding with obvious repairs going on to the capital dome.  Other than that, not a whole lot to interest us and we checked out a few more towns as we headed back southeast toward Lewiston/Auburn.

This is Some of the Wood brought Ashore.  It was either Floated or Carried
on the dingy.  15 80 lb. bags of Shingles were also Brought in.

As we headed toward Lewiston/Auburn on highway 196, I spied a little blue sign that said Yarn in a Yurt. So we headed down a minor road to find Friends Folly Farm in near Monmouth. There was indeed a big yurt filled with wonderful local wools for spinning and yarns to knit as well as other goodies. Out side the yurt were the Angora goats with their curly coats of mohair that the fibers came from – how neat to see the actual animals that produced the yarns. I did get yarn in a grayish, heather with flecks of rich purple, teal, and rose colors for a sweater and a matching little bag made from the same felted wool. I also got a skein of pale pink to lavender yarn that is made from their precious fluffy angora rabbits mixed with wool and a scarf pattern. What a lucky find to come upon this local place with their gorgeous fibers and to see the animals that it comes from. There was also a cute black and white cat wandering the area with a white moustache named Fred. I hopped back in the car and we continued heading toward Lewiston/Auburn where we stopped at Gritty’s pub and had a very nice lunch outside next to the Androscoggin river.

Gritty's Brewery & Pub in Auburn, ME

After lunch we headed toward Bath and arrived at Shaw’s to do our grocery shopping. After Shaw’s we had just enough time to get some ice cream at Wicked’s Ice Cream before we headed to the dock at Popham. As we approached the dock the fog got thicker. We stopped at Percy’s store to pick up some ice cream and post cards and headed to the dock where we unloaded our stuff and changed to our nylon shorts and water shoes. I drove the car back to the church where there was an art show going on but I couldn’t take a look. Back to the dock I walked and a few minutes later we saw Ethan arrive in the Leeward with some visitors and some of our work crew.

Tram Damage, Red Arc shows how the tram turned 90 deg CCW bending
the rail as it went

Just before they arrived Fred informed me that there was a problem with the tram and we wouldn’t be able to use it to bring up our stuff. We would have to carry it all ourselves up the steep trail. Fortunately we didn’t have a lot of stuff – one cooler, two large bins and a small bin. We would leave the water cube and gas can in the Donkey House. We loaded our stuff onto the Leeward after everyone else got off and a fishing party got on the boat. We chugged out to Seguin on a pleasant but cool and partly foggy ride. Everyone had left the island and they tied the dinghy up to a mooring for us to use. It took two loads to get our stuff and us back to the shore. We hauled up the heavy dinghy and tied her up and proceeded to take up our stuff to the base of the tram. I went ahead with my waterproof bag and the small bin. Fred started up

When the Pulley holding the Cable Broke the Tension in the Cable broke
the No. 5 Support Causing it to Separate from the Horizontal Supports

with the cooler so I could get the cold and frozen stuff into the fridge and freezer. I checked on Sac and gave her a quick walk and left her outside in her favorite spot. I went back to the tram top to see the damage to the track that was ripped up and curved with the cart sideways. The cable was off of the pulley wheel – what happened? There was damage down at the donkey house with the chain broke, cable a mess and even a tram support torn apart. We were told there would be someone coming out to fix it but it would probably be two weeks of no use before then. So next week we will have to haul all our stuff ourselves. Good thing we have more water cubes at the house already – they are very heavy – 50 pounds. We eventually got all our stuff up to the house and emptied some heavy items into Fred’s backpack and another smaller bag to carry. It took five trips up the hill.  The fog returned to the island and the horn started tooting. Fred tried to lie out to relax on a bench before the fog arrived and I put all our stuff in its places around the house.

Since it was getting cold and damp we relaxed inside and caught some news and Big Bang Theory on the computer/TV. We were tired from our long day and hauls up the hill. Fred made a nice salad and I had that with some squash soup for a very late dinner after my knitting and nap on the couch. Went to bed very late after writing the blog with the horn tooting in the foggy mist. Earlier when we went out with Sac the foggy mist was swirling about the dark lines projected from the tower and some stars could be seen through the wavering clouds. This has got to be one of the most beautiful, spectacular eerie sights from our beloved Seguin lighthouse – somehow I have to capture it in a painting!

Day 73, 29 July

23 Visitors

Ladies Sailing Group in Front of Lighthouse

Today started with Sue arriving in three 40+ foot sailboats with about 16 ladies who are part of a ladies sailing group.  Because of their large boats they required the 3 outer most moorings.  Unfortunately, a powerboat was using one of them. When these two people came ashore Fred asked them if they would move their boat to a different mooring to accommodate the three shortly arriving sailboats.  They were more than happy too and moved their boat.  When the three sailboats arrived, Fred helped the ladies onto the beach and helped bring their dinghies up the beach.  Once they all made it to the lighthouse, Fred gave them tours while Cyn manned the gift shop, museum and talked to them down below.  The two that graciously moved their boat had already had a nice tour by Cyn.  The ladies had a nice lunch and invited us to join them for a very nice shrimp salad.  Since we were still busy with them and some other visitors we accepted some salad and had it after all had left.  Fred saw them off as another sailboat arrived with a lone gentleman on board.  Fred gave him a tour too.  We finally ate our salad that was very good with a bit of extra dressing on top.

Tomorrow will be “armada” day, the day a whole bunch of wood and materials will be delivered to the island by multiple boats taking multiple trips.  Included will be 250 large pieces of wood for the tram repair and 15 80lbs bags of shingles for new tram and boathouse roofs.  To prepare for this Anne asked Fred to have various items ready at the cove for the next morning including drills, chainsaws and a wheelbarrow.  He loaded up the tram with all this and brought it down.  He also brought down most of the items that will go to shore with us tomorrow.  Even thought there will be much activity tomorrow it is still our day off the island.  Cyn worked in the garden and around the lighthouse tending her plants and removing weeds. 

Sacatar, Cynthia and Fred

Cyn finally found a little bit of spare time to do a pencil sketch of the lighthouse from the east side.  This is the first step to paint the lighthouse.  She was very happy to finally be an artist on the island. 

After several hours of sketching, Fred brought up a heavy 5-gallon bucket of seaweed from the cove that Cyn placed between the rows of plants.  Fred decided his hair was too long and cut his hair with some power clippers he brought.  Cyn finished the cut by trimming around the ears and neckline.  Since he retired, that is the way he cuts his hair.

For dinner, Cyn made a salad with lettuce and other greens from the garden and prepared the “Ronald Reagan” Mac and Cheese she had made previously.   She added to it Teriyaki and pineapple meatballs.  It was really good.  We went to bed as a reasonable time as we have to get up at 0600 to make the 0700 ferry to Fort Popham for our day in town.

Day 72, 28 July

0 visitors

The new GIFT SHOP Sign that Cyn Painted

Monday started off with heavy fog and, at times, very heavy rain.  The haunting fog horn tooting all the time.  Fred started the day with a walk down to the cove in the rain, out the cove trail, along the rocks and back the cobblestone trail.  Since it was not very cold, he wore a rain jacket and wore just his underwear down below.  This way his pants or shorts would not get wet.  Cyn worked on the blog, which we were a little behind on.  Once Fred returned, he entered the blog along with some relevant pictures.  The rain continued on and off most of the day.  There was a break in the rain around 1500 so Fred and Cyn went down to the cove to mount the new GIFT SHOP sign in a prominent position where arriving boats could see it.  Cyn decided to look for mussels in the cove but could only find one so she looked for sea glass instead. It continued to brighten up and due to very brisk winds the lawn dried a bit.  Fred decided he had time to mow the upper area lawn before it rained again or the heavy evening dew settled on the grass.  He just finished the 3-hour job as the grass began to get wet from the dew.  When he finished he couldn’t find Cyn.  Looking around he noticed her violin was missing.  Aah, he said, she is playing

Flowers in one of the Cove's Flower Boxes that Cyn Planted in June

in the tower.  So he grabbed a snack, drink and iPad and headed up the tower.  Sure enough, beautiful music was echoing down the tower.   Cyn was playing away and Fred sat and enjoyed his private little concert.  It took her a while to get her hand comfortable to play. Her injured ring finger still ached a bit and the entire hand was aching after playing for 1.5 hours. She hadn’t played since her brother Karl came for a visit around July 10. During the “concert” a violent rainstorm hit and battered the tower with sheets of rain.  This was accompaniment for Cyn.  We could still hear the foghorn tooting and Cyn tried to find the note on her violin – it was close to an “A”. Some rain water even got on the great lens due to the vents blowing the rain up from the outside. Cyn gently wiped off the blown raindrops on the prisms and polished a few more. The rain finally subsided, and the dark skies opened up, ever so briefly, as it got dark.  Cyn made a salad full of all kinds of fruit and veggies (much from our garden) and Fred cooked up some salmon fillets with garlic and herbs.  He chopped up some mango slices and we used this as salsa on the salmon.  We both stayed up a bit, Cyn knitting, and Fred doing finances on the computer.  We managed to watch the news at 11 and the beginning of Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight show.  Off to bed, thinking about a group of sailing ladies arriving in the morning.