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.