Great Loss
Today marked the passing of Aunt Janet.
Aunt Janet provided, among many other things, one of my main motives for doing this blog. She often claimed she liked the photos and she was always encouraging.
Fine Day Despite the Wind
NE blow but still good swimming, playing, frogging, and a little boating.
Arrival
Long drive, but arrival before dark and in time for pier, sandbox, dinner, and books.
Hot Day for Odd Jobs
But good day for swimming.
Opening day of zucchini season.
Strong south wind. Marina full up. Is it really August already? How can that be? At least it's opening day of zucchini season.
Carter Bay Strategy Session
Perhaps...a world class eco-reserve. With changing ownership of the beautiful and unique beach/dune/costal forest property, there might be a chance to pull off something quite a few of us Islanders have been dreaming of for years. Today a strategy session at Therese's place on Dean Bay (not far from Carter). Interesting participants, interesting ideas. My job—to write up a preliminary proposal.
Cloud over Serendipity, just as we jumped in for a late afternoon swim. No problem, though, as it was still plenty hot, even without sunshine.
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The Moment
The moment when, after many years
of hard work and a long voyage
you stand in the centre of your room,
house, half-acre, square mile, island, country,
knowing at last how you got there,
and say, I own this,
is the same moment when the trees unloose
their soft arms from around you,
the birds take back their language,
the cliffs fissure and collapse,
the air moves back from you like a wave
and you can't breathe.
No, they whisper. You own nothing.
You were a visitor, time after time
climbing the hill, planting the flag, proclaiming.
We never belonged to you.
You never found us.
It was always the other way round.
Bay Breeze
Brunch at JD Greenhouse. Heliotrope out in the bay for a few hours, loping along under mizzen and half jib, with a bone in her teeth. A brief swim (west wind blowing the warm surface water out). Some distant thunder about dinner time, putting Pax off his grub.
If I put this on Facebook would you lichen it?
Wolf doing the Tango
Nice variety, and pretty tasty.
All Out Summer
Cloudless and almost hot. Perfect for the last bit of pier work, a little Windriding, les aperitifs on the lower deck, and even a bit of swimming.
Plus pea picking.
And the pea picking resulted in a Pea-tata, illustrated above. Garden peas plus onion, zucchini, chives, thyme, and brown rice, all tied together by a few eggs.. Recipe available on request.
Yon Twelve Winded Sky
Wind from every direction the past 24. Big surf last night about 2, motivating us to take flashlights into the night to make sure the dingys, kayaks, and pier were not being further abused. Brisk, cool wind from the west now, but a midday interval of calm which permitted the near completion of pier repairs.
Above is a view of Sandy Beach during last week's blow. Thanks to Pat Hess for this photo.
And, here the pier, almost fully restored, with only the on-ramp to go. Now (with a few longer poles) a foot or more above our very high water.
And here, the farm jack (with custom extension) that makes pier work much easier.
Pier Pressure
Disassemble, repair, re-assemble.
Photo courtesy Mary Ellen
A full, eight-hour workday devoted to this project (not counting lunch and naps), and we are close to completion. Luckily, no super-major destruction. The newly purchased high-lift farm jack, while heavy, made light work of all the heavy lifting.
Sue met the Geisers on the Lane, and George opined that the pier-destroying storm last week was the worst he has seen in forty-plus years of cottaging along the bay.
Today's weather perfect for pier work—sunny, warm, and mostly windless (and therefore waveless). And that is good because we spent quite a long time in and under the water. Hot shower before dinner felt good, none the less.
The Tapestry Is Up
Two years ago, when the Spaldings were here, Jeff, the physicist and audiophile, surveyed the cottage trying to determine how to improve the poor, echoey acoustics. He suggested a baffle between the vertical posts upstairs, to keep sound waves from sloshing back and forth. And now we have such—not just a baffle, however, but a beautiful piece of art.
The acoustics, I'm pleased to report, are noticeably better, but that is only the lesser half of the overall upgrade.
Better photos tomorrow with decent light.
Beach restoration this morning, and all watercraft and their shore platforms have been recovered, restored and elevated (although there is almost no more up to get up to). The pier has been inspected, evaluated, and analyzed, with the conclusion being that it is reparable at minimal cost and with only moderate effort. But that's for tomorrow, if the rain ever stops.
Back to the Scene...
...of storm tossed destruction.
It looks like the pier has sustained major damage.
The Joys of Summer
For dinner--home grown beets along with fairly local sweet corn and watermelon.
Prairie, a wonderland of flowers. Yard, short-stopped from its attempt to revert to jungle.
Pool Party
In honor of Collette's move to Springfield. Perfect day for it—hot and muggy. Delicious picnic provided by Sally and Glenn.
First tomato of the season. Delicious.
Power Lunch
Business meeting with Bri to discuss business book The Four Disciplines of Execution, and, of course, bring it alongside our "bible," Human Competence. Lively discussion; very fun.
Saturated steam bath outdoors. No yard work possible due to heat, humidity, rain, and storms. Severe storm warning in effect now.
Still no wifi internet.
Fun Times...
...with Katy and Will.
Lunch, walks, books, games, dinner.
Back Home...
...to air conditioning, mosquitos, thunder storms, non-functioning internet.
But on the way south we got to stop in on some log rolling, sand castle building, and accomplished swimming (Becca, but I failed to get a photo.)
Much To Do, Few Hours.
Trying to squeeze in chores plus a bit of recreation plus prep and packing for tomorrow's drive back to Wisconsin.
Erosion caused by high water, coming for the church.
Shady Lane?
Shady lower deck.
The cedar slab above the couch is supposed to be the anchor for long, dangly, braided, macrame-type fabric and mixed media artistic creations created by grandkids. At least one per child per year.
Cocktail Cruise...
With the Pinebox set. Light wind, bright sun, smoked trout on gluten free crackers.
So far, so good on the water pump situation-new breaker in the electrical panel.
Schnitzel and Sequence
Impeded somewhat by malfunctioning water pump.
