Monday, September 25, 2017

Taking the Boat Out and More

When we left the lake a couple of weeks ago, we rushed home to attend a wedding. That was kind of the antithesis of living on the houseboat on a lake. After dancing the night away, we eased back into the bustle of life back home, as well as cycling, swimming, seeing friends, and working on projects.

Last week, right at the equinox, we headed back to Bear Island to spend a night and then take the boat out at Fay's in Gilford. Getting down to Fay's in September can be tricky, depending on the winds. We arrived at Y landing and set up the double pedal kayak to ferry us to Bear Island. Tropical Storm Jose was making its presence known in the area at the time as well. When we set out in the kayak, we realized the winds were still pretty strong, so we decided to ride to the carry at the back side of Bear and then carry the kayak back across to our cove. We were lucky to have that option. We also had some friends take our gear from Y-landing to the cove, so we didn't have to worry about the gear. That night the winds turned and came directly into the cove. I have some photos that give some idea of the winds. What this meant is that we were subject to them and the boat was bumping against the dock all night long. Finally just after daybreak, we decided we could fight the wind and make it out of the cove, and then would have the wind at our tail most of the way to Fay's. We thought it would be all the way, of course, but were mistaken. As we were hauling along after our first breakfast of a smoothie, I took the single pedal kayak and went ahead of Claude and the big boat to let the boatyard know we were on our way. Just as I was approaching Varney Point, where Fay's Boatyard is located, (maybe a mile away) the wind changed direction and now I was getting pushed by the waves on the side my boat. Kind of scary, but I managed to make it to Fay's. About 20 minutes later, Claude came in, and we had a small crew helping him dock. A few hours later, we took the boat out and it drove down the road in a forklift, with a police escort. We were very glad we did go back to the boat and had one last night on it. But it was also very sad again, to put the boat to sleep for winter.

So, we are back to our other adventures. Cycling to breakfast on Sundays, swimming at Walden pond, poetry readings, and more.

I hope to keep the blog going about once a month in the off-season.

By the way, my book, Intimacy with the Wind, should be arriving in a week or two, fingers crossed. I would love any help with setting up readings.

Here are some photos. I hope you enjoy.  This first one is one of several Equinox sunset photos I took from the other side of the Carry on Bear Island.

Sunset, Equinox, Bear Island







Last Night on the Boat



Windy Sunrise and Voyage







En Route to Fay's - from the Vantage of the Pedal Kayak











Waiting for Wake with the Sun at Fay's





And Out She Goes

















Cycling the Nashua River Bike Path

One hot Saturday we headed out to ride the 17 miles from Ayer to Nashua and back. Paved the whole way. We stopped at a 50's style diner in Pepperell (closes at 2 PM) for lunch. They stream old Turner Classic movies on two TVs they have mounted in the dinner. 











Art on the Trails Poetry Walk

Artists and Poets walked the Beals Preserve in Southboro on a hot Sunday 24, September, reading poems inspired by the sculpture installation along the trails. I have two poems in this lovely little chapbook, and you can order a copy here if you like. 

































Backyard that Keeps on Giving

I mentioned in the previous post that when I returned home, there were lots of raspberries, peaches, and chicken of the woods mushrooms. I am still picking tons of raspberries on a daily basis. Here are a few photos of the early harvest, with fresh peppermint.


More Backyard

This backyard belongs to Alex who runs the Backyard concert series. We went to hear David Champagne and his new latin ensemble that included Russ Gershon on sax and keyboard, Vicente Lebron on congas and Zayra Pola on timbales. There wasn't a whole lot of light on the band, but here was the scene before the concert began.



A Happy Couple

I had my dates on my photos, unfortunately, but I love the softness in this photo of the newlyweds.

A Walden Sunset



6 comments :

  1. Are you SURE you took those eggs out of the fridge on Wake with the Sun? ;-) It was a good season. Thanks for the pics.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks J. I forgot to mention we brought only 4 eggs up with us, and had these as our second breakfast just before taking the boat out. We emptied the fridge and removed the battery too. So the house is really asleep for the season.

      Delete
  2. Nice pics, nice life. Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for sharing. Congratulations on another successful summer! Life is good...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Joyce. Nice to hear from you. I hope all goes swimmingly. Carla

      Delete