27 August 2011 Last Log

A word of warning: this is my last blog entry for the summer, and it is a long one.  The plan was for Amy to spend this week ashore prepping for the wedding, while groups of my friends filled in for her on the island.  These plans changed to a certain extent on Wednesday, when I found out not only was a predicted low pressure system on its way for Thursday, but Hurricane Irene had decided to come marching straight up the coast with a high probably of landing in New England as a Cat 1 or Cat 2 storm as early as Sunday.  This changed a leisurely week with buddies into a slightly frenetic (albeit fun) few days where I pressed them to work with me closing up the island.   

Ben, Ashley, Jason, and I rose on Thursday to a sunny day, with 10-15kts of SE’ly breeze, and the seas stacking up into the 4’-6’ range, as predicted.  We began the mission of emptying the refrigerator & freezer of food before moving to the Whistle House to clean & begin stowing the staging & lawn furniture in advance of Irene’s approach.  This chore was finished in short order, so we headed down to the Cove to perform the same tasks, except this time in the Boathouse.  While down in the Cove a beautiful wooden sloop named Fiery Jubilee sailed in and picked up a mooring.  Her captain, Nick, had pulled in with the intention of taking a nap, but decided to stay the night after he & I had conferred about the weather.

The low moved in after lunch, bringing gusty winds up to 25kts, fog, and a line of rain squalls.  We retreated inside for an afternoon of music, cards, and eating.  Jason is an accomplished banjo player, and my mandolin skills have become adequate enough to play along, so we used the stereo very little, enjoying our own tunes instead.  Not wanting Nick to be cold, wet, and alone, down on his boat, I had invited him up to dinner, which he accepted.  Fueled by some adult beverages, we had a lively discussion about climate change over dinner, as well as general chat about work & life.  We very much enjoyed his company, and when he headed down to his boat, we cleaned up and carried on with the tunes until late.

Friday was a beautiful day from the start- light breezes and very sunny to dry the island out.  With Irene still tracking up the coast, there was a huge amount of boating activity as people shuffled to hurricane harbors, or to haul their boats out, ahead of Irene.  With the Seguin Ferry blocked on Thursday, we were expecting visitors, so did short projects to fill the time before the tours started.  We cleaned the museum and dwelling, than Jason & Ashley tore up the garden, while Ben & I boarded up the Donkey Engine House & Oil Shed.  We accomplished all of this just as the visitors came flocking to the top of the island, dropped off on the belated Seguin Ferry.  I took care of the tours while Jason & crew prepped lunch.

After lunch was finished we spent the afternoon working.  Ben & I mowed the lawn one last time; Ashley did some more cleaning & stowing small things, while Jason painted the last window that needed attention.  Work completed we took advantage of the low tide to harvest mussels for dinner- aside from the one dinner we shared with Nick, we didn’t really cook any meals, we just laid out a smorgasbord of vegetables, cheese, bread, dips, and other leftovers.  Along with additions like fresh mussels, the food couldn’t fail.  Having emptied the fridge at dinner, we moved along to finishing the fermented barley liquids, while playing a rousing game of Liar’s Dice, for the rest of the evening.

Saturday morning was intense, to say the least.  Up early, Ashley made us delicious egg sandwiches for breakfast, while Ben, Jason, & I, packed up the rest of the gear and began loading it on the tram, while the foghorn droned on in the background.  The visibility was down around 50 yards, which surprisingly did not stop a wedding from happening, with about thirty people in attendance.  Ethan brought them out on Leeward, and I helped transfer the group ashore.  While the wedding was happening I ran the tram down the hill, boarded up the last couple of windows, and trooped up the hill to begin shutting down power.

By 1015, the wedding party was gone into the mist, Jason, Ashley, & Ben, were headed out on Larry Gustav’s boat (THANK YOU Larry!), and Darcy Dog & myself were left to finish securing the island.  It was not long before Ethan had returned to pick me up, bailing off the island early, so I wouldn’t miss Amy & my wedding date, if Irene proved to be a big storm.

I knew the summer had to end at some point, but I did not expect it to end in quite this fashion.  It was an inglorious end to what I felt was quite a season on the island.  Ready to let it go or not, my fantastic time on Seguin is over, I could not have pulled off the summer as a whole with Amy, Darcy Dog, my parents, a huge number of friends, and the help of the On-Island Committee.  It was a great three months, the best I’ve ever had, and Irene or no, I couldn’t ask for a better one.

NATE POWER      

18 August 2011 Picture Perfect Retriever?

In true August fashion, there was a decent bank of fog surrounding us this morning while we ate breakfast. Amy & I are hosting our friends Mike Dudley & Shannon Levesque for a few days, and after we ate Mike & I went down the hill for the morning check of the condition of The Cove.  As is usual on foggy mornings, our moorings were almost completely full, with the skippers waiting out the fog in the comparative safety of our harbor.  I was concerned by one gent who had anchored about forty feet off of the rocks on the NE side of the Cove, who also was clearly not securely anchored.  As it was low tide I walked out to on the rocks until I could almost spit onto the deck of this sailboat, and offered a polite salutation to the owner, and pointed out we had moorings available still.  He looked around, and replied “Nah, I think I’m fine”.  I blinked, responded “roger that” and left.  If someone wants to do something goofy after they’ve been warned, it is not my problem.

Visitors to the island get a good laugh when I command Darcy Dog to “stop being a nuisance”.  He generally speaking is a well behaved pooch, he just rarely does anything useful other than provide cheap entertainment.  Imagine my surprise this morning when he waltzed by me on the main trail, with a camera case dangling out of his mouth, looking rather smugly satisfied with himself.  I have no idea where he found it, there had been no visitors to the island at that point, but find a very nice camera & case he did.  He certainly got a Scooby Snack when we got to the top, and although he didn’t know why he got a treat, he was satisfied.

I was also satisfied this morning, as I made more huge strides working on Dory.  Amy & I are hosting our friends Mike Dudley & Shannon Levesque for a few days, and I took advantage of another pair of capable hands to help me fit the port gunwale onto Dory.  With Mike’s assistance, I managed to complete the work in a few short hours, making me think there is still hope to launch her once before the summer is over.  My last task is to steam & fit some stiffeners in place; stay tuned for further developments.

Mike & I had just finished our chores with Dory when the Small Point Summer School assaulted us for the second time this summer, with their Army of Darkness.  In all seriousness, they had called ahead so we were expecting them, and the kids are pleasant enough.  They tried to provoke me into letting the throw things off the tower again.  I out-smarted them this time round however.  I had gotten rid of all the balsa wood planes & other toys prior to their arrival, and thoroughly confused the younger kids by denying that they had ever been there.  They have their fun, and I have my fun.

Everything became reasonably peaceful when they departed.  Amy & I mowed the lawns while Mike & Shannon wandered the island a bit, enjoying their explorations all the more for never having been here before.  The fog had lifted around 0930, and stayed out, although visibility remained reduced throughout the day.  It cooled down fast tonight, so we made dinner & retired to the living room to play hearts for the duration.

19 August 2011

By this point in the summer I should pretty much disregard any weather forecast provided by NOAA.  I believe those scientists know what they are talking about; I also believe that Seguin lives in its own little bubble of uncertainty.  Based on the predictions, I had all but promised Mike & Shannon a quiet Friday of mostly fog & rain, with few visitors.  Long, intense games of Scrabble seemed to be imminent when we went to sleep last night.  Imagine our disappointment then, when we rose early this morning, to find the weather was foggy, but otherwise warm & sunny.  I knew then and there, as I was cooking sourdough pancakes, that our laid back day was doomed. 

I discovered shortly after breakfast that “doomed” was too mild of an adjective to use for our day.  I carried a cup of coffee out onto the porch to see five boats loaded down with people zipping towards the island out of the thinning fog; indeed, the Southport Yacht Club had returned.  For the second day in a row our peace was shattered by fifty loud kids.  I managed to get them in & out of the tower in reasonably short order, and they had just left when a clutch of forty people came up the hill, some from the Leeward, and some from their own boats.  We tied our record for busiest day by the time the fracas ended around 1500; the main difference today was that Alicia & Rich (a very nice couple from Westport) brought us an unlooked for gift bag of wine, cheese, and other snacks.  Thank you Alicia & Rich!  If you’re reading this, it lasted about two hours after you delivered it to us.  We put it to good use.

Aside from the huge amount of tours Amy & I gave, Mike & I managed to get three more windows painted, and I managed to get Phase II of Darcy’s physical therapy started.  The vet wanted us to begin attaching a weight to his lame leg in order to encourage him to use it.  Let me just say, our poodle puppy did not fancy having a 1lbs sand bag lashed to his leg with an ace bandage.  I got to hear all kinds of new disgruntled whining noises from our hound.

We finished today much like yesterday, playing hearts with Mike & Shannon, eating, drinking, and making merry.  It is a good end to another good day, for sure.  The weather is still holding steady, no rain, a steady gentle S’ly breeze, but with the high clouds definitely starting to shape up.  I (yet again) have full expectations for a relaxed day on Saturday.         

20 August 2011 Socked In

Mike & Shannon discovered what a good Seguin Fog looks like this morning.  The horn tripped on between 0430 and 0530 this morning, heralding the solid wall of grey I crawled out of bed to see an hour later.  It was thick enough that I was doubtful my father would be able to get out to the island to pick up the Dudley clan.  I should never doubt my intrepid dad and the Lovely Linda however; we had to scurry when his voice came booming over the radio that he was passing Pond Island heading our way.

Fortunately we had already eaten breakfast at this point, and I think we only delayed him about five minutes while we finished getting everything down the hill.  We chatted with Dad, said our goodbyes to Mike & Shannon, and they headed off into the fog, while Amy & I went back to the top to clean up & prepare for the next round, which began when Ethan brought out a tour group a few short hours later.  While the visitors were all duly impressed with the tower and the Fresnel Lens, but that was all they could see.  The fog persisted through their entire visit, denying even a view of the Whistle House at times.

Ethan’s crew departed at their accustomed time, leaving us, and Judy & Chuck Reeves, with the island to ourselves.  Judy (who is our office manager) and her husband are making use of the guest quarters tonight; we had only one other visitor tonight, Capt Ralph Ferguson & his wife.  Captain Ferguson & I graduated from Maine Maritime 40 years apart from each other, he in 1965 and I in 2005, and had a good time chatting and looking at the light.  The Fergusons got to enjoy the view from the tower, as the fog had finally lifted around 1500.  After the Fergusons left, we invited Chuck & Judy over for dinner.  I made a batch of sourdough pizza, while Judy provided the beer & the dessert.

The evening has come to a peaceful conclusion.  I am writing this while Amy finishes the dishes, and Judy & Chuck are stargazing.  The fog has not rolled back in, and while the setting sun silhouetted a beautifully formed anvil cloud, the gentle SE’ly breeze and steady barometer is not indicating any treacherous weather approaching.  The forecast is calling for a cold front to disrupt the streak of good weather tomorrow, but I am thinking it may hold off until the evening.  We’ll see.     

21 August 2011 Alone At Last

So after I finished writing the blog last night, my intention was to practice my mandolin.  I played through two songs just fine, had large amounts of trouble playing the third piece, and had fallen asleep before I could try to play the fourth.  This was at 2030.  Clearly cooking all that food and playing host had pretty much tapped me out.  I only got up long enough to slide into bed from the couch, and slept the rest of the night through. 

When I finally woke up this morning, it was to the sound of the foghorn going off yet again (big surprise) although today it only last to about 0800 before the visibility cleared up.  We never had great visibility today, but I could at least pick out Popham Beach and Sheepscot Bay for the better part of the day.  This made the folks Ethan brought out slightly happier, as they see more than a wall of grey.  The only visitors we had today at all were from Leeward; Judy & Chuck left when they did, leaving Amy & I to ourselves on the island for the first time since Tuesday.

After our guests left Amy & I again began cleaning things up, we played a game of cribbage, and I had every intention to do some minor work around the Quarters.  This was not fated to be, as a severe thunderstorm warning was broadcast for our area, so instead performing work, I had to scurry around closing windows and doors, battening down the proverbial hatches.  I had everything closed up by 1630, and had a couple of hours before we finally got slammed by some thunderstorms around 1830.  There wasn’t anything really exciting like hail, but the winds & rain were enough to keep my attention.

Clearly we were spending the remainder of the evening inside, so we heated up leftover pizza for dinner, played some cribbage, and hung out until it was time for me to type this up and head for the rack.  There are more severe weather alerts being broadcast via VHF as I’m wrapping this up, so I’m expecting an unsettled night. 

22 August 2011 Know Nothing NOAA

Yet again today I am annoyed with the weather forecast.  While the 90% chance of overnight thunderstorms delivered (a particularly violent one woke me up at 0515 this morning) the rest of the day’s predictions were wrong.  Normally this isn’t too big of a deal, today however the folks at the National Weather Service called for winds to die this afternoon, and planned on ending a small craft advisory at 1400.  Accordingly, I saw no one, and I mean no one, out on the water this morning, but by noon there were quite a few pleasure craft out, expecting conditions to moderate.  Except they never did moderate until around 1700, and in the meantime, the wind veered all the way from SW’ly to NW’ly, and freshened, churning up some beautiful seas, and wreaking havoc on the stomachs of the boat crews.  I am not impressed with NOAA and NWS at the moment.

Aside from the winds and seas, it was a beautiful day.  We had sun almost all day, and it the temps remained cool, primarily due to the wind.  I got the outhouse cleaned, moved stuff down the hill for Wednesday, scraped the windows Mike & I painted, sealed one window frame that needed it, and with Amy’s help mowed all the grass.  I also gave a few tours; four people on their trimaran braved the seas to get here, and USCG Helo 6002 from Air Station Cape Cod paid us a visit so her crew could make a head call.  For those of you counting, the USCG has been here three times, twice in Helo 6004 and once in 6002.  All have been pleasant visits.

I spent the remaining time in the day with my ear glued to my new cell phone (dammit Amy), preparing for real life to start up again in a few short days.  I coordinated getting friends back & forth to the island during my last week here, set up appointments ashore, contacted my office & my ship about my imminent return to duty, and generally put myself in a funk thinking about the world outside of Seguin.  Helping Amy, who is leaving on Wednesday, pack her stuff up did not help my mood.  I am going to leave ten furrows in the beach with my fingers when they finally pull me off of here.

Enough moping about something that isn’t happening quite yet.  I made dinner, Amy & I played cribbage, I practiced mandolin, did some editing on the job description for future caretakers, and now am finishing up this entry.  The weather has finally settled out, I think (hope).  The breeze has moderated to a gentle NW’ly, the seas are dying, the sky is nice and clear, and the barometer is rising.  This all bodes well for the morning, when I am expecting a visit from a former caretaker who is rather dear to me.

23 August 2011 Salty Lady

I set out to Seguin with one goal in mind: to become a little salty.  Though I will probably never be referred to as the saltiest dame alive (that honor goes to our guest tonight, Ann Luken), the saltiest lady around, nor even one who can ring salt from her socks, I like to think that this summer seasoned me well with a little bit of salt.  

My last evening on the island of course lends itself to reflection on what I’ve learned.  I am happy to report that I can now differentiate between a sloop, a yawl, and a ketch and I finally know what a Hinckley is.  I can determine which direction the wind is coming from, identify what different cloud patterns indicate for weather to come, know how to read a chart, know what a freshening wind is, know what the barometer indicates, and can communicate correctly on the VHF radio.  I also know a little bit about waves, swells, how to row, and of course the difference between oars and paddles.  For the moment we will ignore the fact that the one time I set foot on a sail boat this summer I became ill.  Moral of the story: I’m pretty pleased with my increased level of salt.

In addition to reflection, this evening also shows potential for proving epically fun.  As mentioned we have a house guest, the Salty Ann Luken, in addition to Nate’s sister and former Keeper, Kate Power, Stephanie Manning, and Matt Farmer. Ann, Stephanie and Matt are all former MMA class mates of Nate, and Kate… is well… Kate. 

In preparation for this evening, Nate rowed nearly a mile off Seguin’s shores this morning to procure lobster for our festivities. He also provided one of the most delicious risottos to ever pass my lips (Nate makes a mean risotto). Moreover, our bevy of company hauled enough fermented joy to appease an army. They also provided ample “Rom Noms” in the form of crackers, brie, goat cheese, olives, summer sausage, and many other delicious delicacies that my gastro-intestinal tract will remember that my mind does not. All I can say is THANK GOD my wedding dress was slightly too loose at my last fitting.

So off I go to frolic with friends and I leave you, and Seguin, happy to be here, but excited to see what comes next.



11 August- 17 August Unfortunate Event

A most unfortunate event has occurred.  Nate and I were moving our Seguin files from my computer to his since my hard drive is full of Grey’s Anatomy and Gossip Girl to the point where Word can no longer auto save. This greatly peeved Nate. Not realizing he had the blog open (and saved on the flash drive), I pulled the flash drive out of his computer to move our gift shop files from my computer to his.  And now the blog from last week is corrupted and lost. Hence this one condensed and Amy-fied version of last weeks events. Lesson learned (I hope): always properly eject flash drives.  Always.

This past week we had a moderate flow of visitors which began on Thursday with Nate’s father who came out to help Nate work on Dory and test drive the “steam box.”  They rigged up a lobster cooker and an old gutter to create a contraption which they anticipated would help bend the bits of wood into place.  The key word here is “anticipated”. I have never seen Nate quite so angry with an eventual success as when he realized 1) that his steam box did not work, 2) that all he needed to do this whole time was soak the wood in the bathtub for a day or so, and 3) that Dory could have been complete weeks ago had he known 1 & 2.  He’s over it now and Dory is well on her way to completion and her maiden voyage.  Stay tuned.

Our visitor count continued to climb and eventually peaked for the week on Saturday which added to an already busy day as a work party descended upon Seguin in a flurry of activity and productivity. Ken Young could be spotted anywhere and everywhere as he enthusiastically erected a structure which illustrates the size and location of the original tower. In addition, he also installed corner pieces to the Second Assistant Keeper’s house which illustrate its size and location.  The rest of the work party took up the Window Warrior effort by repairing and replacing window sills and frames.  Finally, the volunteers rounded out their day of service by hauling the remaining garbage off of the island. Over all Nate and I were thoroughly pleased with the day’s events, especially since amid all the tours, and helping where we could with the work party, we even managed to get the lawn mowed. Now that’s what I call a productive day. 

With Sunday came the rain. And the fog. We honestly didn’t expect to see a soul, which is why we were caught a little off guard by the persistent tourists who came out with Ethan despite the clouds, and again by two family groups who braved the seas to enjoy Seguin.  We happily showed everyone around, enjoyed a few savage games of cribbage and Scrabble and called it an early night.

Monday and Tuesday were more what we had been expecting with the onset of awful weather- two visitors between the two days. Dick Walker and his friend, Tom, were beginning a two week cruise, and decided to make a pit stop to visit us. With them came a plethora of lobster, steamers, and good conversation.  Understanding the summer is almost over, I will still throw this out there: anyone who brings lobster to share is allowed to come, hang out, and use our kitchen. Just saying…

I also came to a conclusion on Monday and Tuesday.  I love rainy days on Seguin.  There is a certain peace that falls over the landscape along with the mist and fog.  I greatly enjoy conversing with the people who visit and learning about them and where they hail from.  However, after a busy week there is nothing quite so welcome as a day or two of nothing but the pitter patter of rain drops, and yes, even the distant drone of the fog horn.  And thus ended our week, with peace and relative quiet.

17 August 2011

Soooooo-

Due to technical difficulties I am unable to post our entries from the past week.  Seriously, I wrote them, something is wrong with my thumb drive.  I'll have it fixed next week.

If this had to happen, this is a good week, as not much happened last week at all.  Pretty dry.  We'll see you all on the island in the next two weeks!

Best,
NATE & AMY 

04 August 2011 Picture Day

Seguin Island is a place where time has stood still, to a certain extant.  The buildings are all approaching, if not past, 100 years old.  There are no phones, no television.  The electrical system is cranky at best.  The sights and sounds of the fishing industry and the natural Maine coast predominate, and are only enhanced, rather than drowned out by, the foghorn.  Even the very reason for the station here is based on a technology that long preceded GPS & satellites.  For all of these reasons, Seguin seemed like the perfect place to help resurrect an old art form.

Ferrotype photography, otherwise known as tintype, was a photographic process used in the latter half of the 19^th century, where the photographs were developed on a tin plate and varnished for durability.  One of the few remaining adherents to this art, Troy Bennett, approached Amy & I about being the subjects of some tintypes on the island.  Truthfully he wanted some shots of lighthouse keepers, and Amy & I, as the current residents of Seguin, where the closest match he could find.

Mad photographer Troy at work

Without hesitation we replied in the affirmative.  Accordingly, on our return from our day off yesterday, Troy joined us on Leeward, with an impressive array of gear packed with him.  I have seldom been so loaded down in the dinghy, but we got all the stuff ashore without incident, and with the tram’s help, up to the top.  We spent a pleasant evening with Troy chatting about island life, antique photography, and music (in which we have similar tastes).

Troy plying his trade, and practicing his cape flourish

Today dawned cool & cloudy, which apparently is perfect for tintype.  While not a particularly time consuming process, ferrotype is not a digital camera.  By the time we had all woken up, had coffee, set up the portable darkroom, and taken a dozen pictures, it was 1130 and Ethan’s visitors were rolling up the hill.  Timing is everything, and while Amy & I took care of the tourists, Troy packed up his gear.  We got it all to the bottom and into the dinghy (again, with the help of the tram) just in time to load Troy back on Leeward, with reciprocal promises to keep the new friendship going. 

Amy lined up for the shot

I left out pretty much everything about the photographic process; I can sum it up by saying it was fascinating, and very exciting.  I was, and am, completely jazzed to be a part of this project.  As an extra bonus, one of the two portraits he took may be the best picture ever taken of me.  It’s a little creepy but still the best.

Seriously, the best picture ever taken of me

After Troy left, our day took a turn for the usual, with lawn mowing and composting toilet battles dominating the afternoon.  The weather remained cool & damp, with bursts of sun that never really managed to warm up the day.  The wind did veer from NE’ly to SE’ly in the afternoon, which helped air the house out nicely.  Tonight we have the space heater on again, with Darcy Dog hogging the space in front of it- he is especially tired tonight, as he had never seen a camera on a tripod before, and being baffled by this new devilry, appropriately tried to dominate it with howling & growling at every opportunity.  This good start to the week bodes well for the rest. 

05 August 2011 Slow Start, Fast Ending

For a day that ended busy, we started very slow.  Amy & I (and the mutt) all slept until 0700 and continued the morning routine in a very sluggish fashion.  The sun was shining and the temperature was relatively warm, so there was no reason behind our dawdling, it just was happening.  The first hint of the pace picking up was when I turned on the VHF to find the weather reports had changed, pretty much stating that from Sunday afternoon through Wednesday were going to be nasty.  As Amy’s sister, brother in-law, and nephews, were coming to visit Sat – Monday, this was trouble.

A flurry of phone calls later had bumped their trip up a day, meaning that they were coming tonight, so Amy & I had to get rolling with cleaning & preparing.  It also meant I had to try to get some small amount of painting done; these plans are all well and good, but Seguin always has other plans.  Starting at 0945, we had guests looking for tours, and they never stopped.  The culmination of the day was when two tour boats arrived at nearly the same time, dropping off almost fifty people in one shot.  Woah.  In the flurry of activity, we saw once again what a romantic rock Seguin is- Nick Carter & Holly House got engaged today, right on our back lawn, next to the compost pile (I really should have started it in a different spot, how was I to know there would be an engagement, and a wedding, right there?  Maybe compost is actually an aphrodisiac aroma?).  Congratulations to them!

The happy couple

Happily I was giving the very last of these tours when Father brought out the Lamson Family: Mike, Mary, and Amy’s nephews Cameron & Levi.  I did not make it to the bottom in time to actually help them land; Amy rowed them & all their stuff ashore.  I was there to fire up the tram and pull the load to the top of the hill.  Thank God for that tram, it is doing double duty this week and working like a champ.  Mike, Mary, & co were all very impressed with the island from the get go.  On a side note, I have found that everyone is pleasantly surprised at the living conditions, when they arrive at the top.  To a man (or woman) every guest has said “Oh, this is much better than I expected”.  What on earth is everyone expecting?  I like it rough, but I don’t want to live in a dump.

Capt Kidd's treasure, waiting to be hidden

The treasure map

 Regardless, I’m very happy they made it.  I haven’t seen a little kid I know (Cameron is almost five) on the island in a long time, and it has already been awesome showing him the lighthouse, the tram, going swimming, and the rest.  Tomorrow is going to be even more epic, I hope, because my plans to hide pirate treasure should be coming to fruition.  The map is done, the treasure is done, all we have to do is hide it, and let Cameron find it.  I am stoked.

Arrival of Family Lamson

Mike & I grilled dinner, burgers & hot dogs, with potato salad and corn, and we ate outside with the sun setting.  Excepting one hamburger roll that a seagull absconded with, the dinner & the setting were flawless.  Dad called us to tell us the Northern Lights were probably going to be visible tonight, but I never saw them…I’ll be disappointed if they did occur and I missed it.  Ah well.  I still have to get to bed early, so I am ready for a treasure hunt in the morning.      

06 August 2011 Pirate Treasure

In the words of Father, I love it when a plan comes together.  I woke up early this morning, around 0530, and with Darcy Dog’s enthusiastic support proceeded to “bury” the pirate treasure on the south end of the island among some rocks.  I made it back to the Keeper’s Quarters about ten minutes before Cameron woke up (whew) and got him to help me make pancakes for breakfast.  I then announced I was going to take the dog for a walk, and put the bottle with the treasure map in the Cove.

Cameron finds Capt Kidd's map

When we all trooped down to the Cove and Cameron found the map, his reaction was very matter-of-fact “This is a treasure map.  We have to go find the treasure”.  He then announced we had to get ready for the adventure, took the bottle I had put the map in, and filled it with seawater “in case we get thirsty”.  After attempting to lead us into the ocean, Cameron got the right idea to lead us up the hill.  Once we got to the south point it took a little bit of searching to find the right cave, but in due course Captain Kidd’s treasure was located, Cameron was elated, and Mary was annoyed with Amy & I for giving Cameron a sword.

Finding the cave with the treasure chest

We had just returned from the treasure hunt when a man named Earle Davis was dropped off on the island with his family.  Earle asked me if I was the keeper, and when I responded in the affirmative, he shook my hand hard, informed me he had been the USCG Keeper from 1971 – 1973, and asked if I still had trouble with the gasoline donkey engine (which is no longer on the island, our donkey engine is diesel).  In this question/ answer fashion I learned many things about how Seguin use to be, that are deeply interesting to me, and perhaps to a dozen members of the Friends, but not to our general readership.  As much fun as I had learning about Seguin’s history, I had even more fun just talking with Earle.  He hadn’t been back to Seguin since he was transferred, almost 40 years back, and was thrilled that many of the things he remembered were still here.  It was truly a privilege to meet him.  

One happy treasure hunter

Saturday came to a close with more food on the grill, more adult beverages, and some good times just hanging out when the little guys finally went to bed.  The Lamson family is due to depart in the morning, but with the weather forecast looking shaky, it is possible Amy & I will have company for a little while longer.  While Friday and Saturday were beautiful, warm, & sunny, tomorrow is sounding not so good.

07 August 2011 Pterodactyl Baby

"Your kids are really funny", I told Mike & Mary last night, "I like them a lot".  Mike laughed, and replied "You haven't seen Pterodactyl Baby yet".  "What's that?  Does he hunch over & swoop at stuff?" I asked.  "Oh, no, you'll find out" he promised in return.

We woke up this morning to the predicted bad weather, with fog, rain, and seas that were stacking up wonderfully.  After conferring with Mike & Dad (at 0615), we decided to host the Lamson family for another day & night instead of trying to bail them out at 0700.  An island is still fun, even in bad weather, it just means most of the fun had to be inside.  That is when, after being in the Keeper's Quarters with everyone for the duration of the day, I discovered why Levi is Pterodactyl Baby.  Mother of God, can the kid shriek.

Cameron climbing the walls, with Levi "Pterodactyl Baby" flying below

Adjectives fail me when I try to describe that eighteen month old baby shrieking "NA-NA" at the top of his lungs and moving around as fast as his little legs could carry him.  I personally lost two pounds chasing him off of the stairs and away from the space heater- if you're trying to imagine this, keep in mind I was only 25% of the adults trying to keep him from damaging himself.  In shades of what is to come when Amy & I decide it is time to spawn, our neat little living space was destroyed by a fury of toddler energy, as he squealed in anger/ joy like his dinosaur namesake.

Happily Cameron was much better behaved, only wanting to play Uno and go for the occasional walk outside, which we were more than happy to oblige.  Really, despite the foul weather, we had an awesome day.  We hung out, ate food, listened to tunes, played Uno, I helped Mike rescue another stranded baby seal (really, I prodded the little guy once with my finger and it was enough to prompt him back into the water), and went for several romps around the island.  Now that the kids are down for the count, and we have time to have a couple of libations and write this, we're all happy & exhausted, thinking about tomorrow.....

08 August 2011 Fly’s Time

Initially we had take it on faith that the sun had risen this morning, as the fog was pea-soup thick when I got up at 0630 to let the puppy out, feed him, make coffee, and hit the galley to begin making breakfast.  Despite the zero visibility and the droning of the fog horn, Amy & I had the whole place to ourselves until past 0800, proving that even guests can sleep through the Seguin horn.  This worked out just fine for us, as I got to bake berry muffins & banana bread, before the hungry Lamson family joined us.  Cameron has decided I am an acceptable cook as he devoured two baseball sized muffins in short order.  Impressive.

The morning passed easily, with Cameron helping me plant flags in the approximate locations of the barn, bell frame, and fog horn, based on a survey from 1870.  I’ve had the information & the tools needed to complete the chore for an embarrassingly long length of time, I just need the proper motivation to get it done.  Like the assistance of a five year old kid, who could barely move due to the weight of muffin in his belly.  That task done we turned attention to packing up, as the visibility began improving and seas diminishing, Father would be on his way to collect The Lamson crew.

Cameron, with the un-cursed part of Captain Kidd's treasure

When the Lovely Linda arrived around 1030, getting everyone off the island into Dad’s boat went surprisingly smooth.  They forgot nothing except a wiffle ball & bat, Cameron didn’t cry at all about only getting to take some of Captain Kidd’s treasure, and Mike only cried a little when Mary wouldn’t let him take home a nice piece of slate he found.  Their departure ended a great visit that we all enjoyed, and one that went by too quickly, but did not return Amy & I to isolation.  A steady stream of visitors throughout the afternoon interspersed with a couple of thunderstorms effectively prevented us from getting anything meaningful done.

Additionally, there is no way to be truly alone on Seguin, with the flies everywhere.  I have come to two conclusions about the flies: first, they hatch huge clutches of eggs after heavy rain, and second, they only congregate when it is hot.  I’ll admit it, they won again today, driving me inside for the second time.  But I’ll have my revenge on them.  Somehow.

The flies were the only downside of today; even my first dose of poison ivy is more annoying than anything.  Yes, despite the fact I thought I was immune, I contracted a small batch on my ankle.  It probably happened when I was carrying Cameron over a bush of it last night, and inadvertently put my foot down in some.  Regardless, this morning when it erupted, I didn’t even recognize it.  Mike had to point out to me not to touch it.  Moving on from my ankle, even the weather wound up cooperating, cooling off this evening with a freshening NE’ly breeze to make sleeping pleasant.     

09 August 2011 Amy's View

As predicted, the island has been a tempest of activity.  Old friends, photographers, tourists, and baby pterodactyls (Levi) have filled our little lighthouse to capacity and provided hours of entertainment.  Today was a pause in activity and a chance for Nate and I to catch our breath.

Even the best behaved children (and I count my sister’s kids as some of the very best behaved children out there… thankfully) can be loud and a little raucous.  Then they leave, and you are left with a very pleasant peaceful calm.  Nate and I took full advantage of that this morning with a leisurely breakfast, time spent reading, and generally being a little lazy. Glorious.

Seguin Salad, all from our garden

 It didn’t take long, however, for the visitors to start rolling in. We had a steady stream all day, including two reporters from the Boston Globe who arrived to do a bit about Seguin for the travel section to be published at the beginning of the summer next year. While that was interesting, the highlight by far was lunch.  For the first time all summer, Nate and I enjoyed a meal entirely derived from our garden.  We had salads comprised of lettuce, arugula, roasted beets, carrots, and cucumbers. It was amazingly gratifying.

The day ended slightly abruptly when Ethan called and asked if he could pick us up tonight instead of tomorrow morning due to weather.  This made me happy, all be it a little rushed.  So our leisurely morning gave way to a hectic afternoon of packing, money tallying, and closing everything down. It was definitely worth it, however, to be able to spend a night ashore and eat one of Linda Power’s delicious dinners.  On the ticket for tomorrow is another monumental event. Nathan Power is FINALLY going to get a cell phone. Stand by.

30 July 2011 Back Again

Given the nasty weather Friday night, and the fact I wanted to reacquaint myself with Byrne’s Irish Pub, we did not get out to the island immediately after Summerfest.  We held off until about 0930 this morning, waiting for the seas to calm down (really, we weren’t milking the situation), and also enjoying the company of my parents and cousins while eating breakfast.  When Father & I determined it was time to make the trip, he & I loaded the boat at the pier, & brought it down the river to pick up Amy, who met us at Popham.  The trip out was pleasant and fast, the remaining seas just reduced to large swells.

A final note on the weather- the amount of rain the island received last night must have been stupendous.  All of the rocks faces in the Cove are covered with running water, at low tide the beach was cut through with runnels as more water drained into the ocean, most of the yard is spongy, and there is two inches of water in the basement.  While we needed it, and it will give the well a much needed boost, the precipitation kicked the grass back into high gear, so we will probably be mowing again on Monday.

The intention was to use today as a cleaning day, getting our quarters and the museum quarters squared way, after a week of use.  Unfortunately the best laid plans of mice and men do often go awry, and Amy & I got precisely no cleaning done today.  We had our normal return to the island chores of getting everything on island, then to the top & stowed, and eating lunch.  After that the visitors started rolling in, and by the time we had met, greeted, and toured everyone, my motivation to change dirty linen was g-a-w-n gone.  Fortunately I am able to distract myself by hoisting the mandolin and caterwauling away, so I did.  And thus ended the evening.    

31 July 2011 Another Month Down

Typically I am not a fast riser.  Oh I have set speed records getting to the bridge of a ship, when I awake to the fire alarm sounding, but otherwise I prefer to take about ten minutes to come to full consciousness.  This morning however, Amy coolly informed me, at 0630, that she had locked the dog outside at 0500.  That prodded me out of bed rather fast to find a verrry excited little puppy waiting at the screen door.  He promptly engaged me in a wrestling match before I even got a cup of coffee.

Since I was awake I started getting work done, and actually accomplished a fair bit prior to our first guests making an appearance.  After making coffee, feeding the dog, feeding the sourdough, feeding myself, making salad dressing, making hummus, and filling the cistern, I cleaned the bathrooms and guest quarters (this last with Amy’s help), before the crew of the boat who over nighted in the Cove made it up at 0930.  Not your typical lazy Sunday morning, but not too shabby either. 

The only other item on my list was to complete the North Trail by making the two forks connect into a complete loop.  This did not happen.  I made it out to the end, cleared maybe another 100’ of trail, and then was completely overwhelmed with flies.  I lack the adjectives to describe how awful the horse flies are out here right now; I am about ready to cede control of the island to them at this point.

Having to abandon the North Trail to winged pests was not really a problem however, as from about 1100 onwards we had a very steady stream of visitors.  This was to be expected as the seas never got above 2’, and with a sunny day, and the temp closing on 80F, why wouldn’t people go boating?  This parade of folks included my folks, coming to visit with lunch & the errant cell phone, and bring along some of our mutual friends to boot.   Our final visitor of the day came up just past 1800 with her two border collies to give them, and Darcy as it turned out, a run.  After that the normal nighttime routine commenced, shutting down the island, eating dinner, and lazing around before it’s a decent bedtime.  

01 August 2011 Arrival

Whenever asked how foggy it gets on Seguin, my answer usually ends with “Just wait until August.  It’s always foggy in August”.  This morning, for the first time in two weeks, we woke up to a solid wall of fog.  Hello August. 

Foggy though it was, the seas were calm, which is what I mostly cared about, as four of our friends were driving north from Massachusetts & Pennsylvania to Phippsburg, to be picked up by my intrepid father, to be brought out to Seguin for a visit.  Other than tend to our couple of tourist-type visitors, Amy & did little else this morning except prepare for their eventual arrival- this included harvesting some beets & greens from the garden to serve up.

It was around 1400 when I got the radio call from Father, “I’ve got everyone on board, come meet us”,  and minutes later I was ferry Chris & Andy (shipmates from MSC), and their lady friends Alyssa & Jessica, onto the island.  When Chris & Andy landed so did my summer of clean living.  I don't mean that in a derogatory fashion at all, just that they pulled me into true island living, and what a time we had.  Showing friends the light for the first time is always fun, touring around the island, swimming, and all the rest, make for a good time always.

We eventually sat down to a dinner of fresh pizza I made with a sourdough crust (first time recipe, was a success) before doing a couple more tours and then retiring to the living room to catch up.  Bedtime came later tonight than normal, and tomorrow is going to come early. 

02 Aug 2011 Guest Post

I’ve been hearing and reading about “Island Life” over the past 9 months and I have finally had the opportunity to come visit Seguin.  My name is Alyssa and I’m a friend of Amy and Nates.’  I arrived on Seguin on Monday afternoon on a beautiful sunny day and enjoyed an evening of homemade pizza and a tour of the island.  I was nervous that this morning would prove freezing and windy, but to my surprise the humidity awoke me for an easy jog along Amy’s jogging course… jogging on an island gets a bit monotonous and I gave up after 20 minutes.  If you have never spent time with Nate and Amy you definitely should because they are the best hosts, and provided my running efforts with a hearty breakfast of sourdough pancakes with island berries, bacon, and coffee. 

Front of the squall

Under the squall

The day ensued at a leisurely pace, spending the morning in the sun by the water, and learning how to row about the cove.  I was a happy camper while the sun was shining.  We got a call from Nate’s dad, warning us of a brief storm passing by the island, and yes it did!  I love to travel and have been privy to many a sunset, lightning storm, and breathtaking view but this was my first time seeing a storm from an island and it was something awesome.  The clouds passed quickly, the wind made the grass whistle, and we all had to throw on a sweater. I had to follow the sweater up with a pair of pants as well.  This storm only lasted about an hour and left us with plenty of daylight to try our hand at “musseling.”  This was my small taste of the island life when things do not happen as planned.  We originally intended on waving down a lobster boat for dinner but did not succeed, leaving us with secondary dinner plans.  Mussels for dinner are nice and hot as I type and I must bid you all adieu.  The night will continue forward with fresh roasted vegetables and a bit of red wine. P.S. Darcy Dog may be one of the more pleasant pups I have ever spent two evenings with.

21 July 2011 Airish

For a day I expected to be rather lonely, due to the weather, Amy & I managed to have some interesting interactions with the outside world.  For instance, I got to debate the usefulness of lighthouses in the age of GPS, getting deep enough into the discussion I had to drag up some esoteric information such as the various codes GPS is broadcast on and the functionality of WAAS & DGPS systems (thank you Wild Bill Erlenson).  In another instance, Amy & I received a standing invitation to visit a coffee plantation in Panama.

While escorting two of our visitors, Sarah & Craig, into the tower, and discussing their travels, I was asked how I could take off enough time to be a lighthouse caretaker, which led to me talking about the merchant marine.  This prompted Sarah to tell me she is a retired Panama Canal Pilot, and now the two of them run a coffee plantation on a mountainside near the Pacific.  This fed into talking (bitching, really.  A sailor’s one God-given right is to complain) about the vagaries of shipping long term and dealing with the USCG to receive professional credentials, and all of this somehow led into an exchange of email addresses and the invitation.  Randomness is the spice of life.

Although we only had eight visitors today, in contrast to the ninety we had a week ago, it was still far more than I expected to see.  As I alluded to, the weather, while sunny, was what my shipmate Preacher would refer to as “airish”.  After 0900, the breeze never dropped below 15kts, and the seas were rolling into the south side of the island steadily in the 4’-6’ range.  We used the weather-enforced isolation to best advantage, and got all the buildings cleaned, the grass mowed, and I painted the galley window & doorframe.  We also took a walk down the South Trail and got a few good pictures of the surf on the rocks.     

   

As the sun went down so did the thermometer readings, so Amy & I retired inside for the duration.  While I initially intended to pursue a quite evening, I was struck by a muse to create a pirate treasure map on Seguin, which I fueled with the soundtrack to Pirates of the Caribbean blasting on the sound dock, and a generous amount of rum.  So the quite evening failed to materialize, but fun was had regardless.  We go to bed with the temperature hovering in the mid 60F’s, the wind still blowing around 20kts, and the fog horn sounding in the background.