Friday, September 3, 2021

Waning Summer

 It's already September and I feel the waning of summer. The last days on the lake have been crisp and the air is cool. We went out for dinner tonight in the houseboat on our lake, and the waves were roaring down the lake. We we cozy in the house tucking safely into a nearby cove until our red pedal kayak (bloated with the several inches of rain we had the night before) slipped off our boat into the water. It was comic. Claude mounted the paddleboard that we also had onboard, and was able to retrieve the "sinking" boat. We also happened to have two bailers aboard so we both bailed until we emptied all the water from it and brought it back onboard our houseboat. Just a regular evening messing around with boats. 


So, I have been remiss in posting to my blog, which means I have a lot of photos here. So many adventures we have had this summer since I last posted mid-June. 


I just uploaded a bunch of these photos and it's so nice to remember all we've done this summer. 

Our big news is that we bought Sumbrella fabric, an industrial sewing machine, and tools and made our own new Bimini for the houseboat. I have some photos here. We are pretty excited about it. 

We also took some hikes on the island, and on the lake, and had some bounty in the gardens, and I even started cycling.

Another crazy going on was that I received a new car from GM due to the Chevy Bolt recall. Unfortunately the car's battery is also on recall. But I am still excited for having the new car, as it has some very nice safely features I didn't have before. But I still have to limit the range I use on it. 


So far we have stayed healthy and I hope you are staying healthy and safe as well. 


I hope you enjoy these photos. As always it's lovely to hear from you.


For those of you in the Metrowest Boston area, I will be taking part in two live in-person literary events. 

On Sept 19, at 2 PM I will have a table with books at the Metrowest Literary festival sponsored by the Ashland (MA) library at the Corner Spot, 6 Cherry St, Ashland, MA. I will be giving a short 10 min reading at about 3:45 PM or so, so do come if you would like to converse with authors and hear them read. This event ends at 5 PM. https://www.facebook.com/events/418957886107469/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[%7B%22surface%22%3A%22page%22%7D]%7D

On September 24, Sunday, at 3 PM-5 PM, I will be reading a poem inspired by a sculpture at the Art on the Trails exhibit. This is a sculpture walk through the woods with poetry and conversation at the Beals Preserve in Southboro, MA. Here is a link for information, in the event that the hold this event virtually due to Covid guidelines. https://artonthetrails.com/important-dates/


Finally, I have a new video out: squeezing the last drops from a carton https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvOm7rPzkis



It's hard to pick what photo to start with, but here I go.  Here's a beautiful dawn photo of the houseboat with our (almost completed) new Bimini.



More Bimini Photos

We had an 18 yard roll (way too much fabric) of 60 inch Sumbrella, and we cut it into 3 ten-foot pieces and sewed these together as one large wide piece of fabric with two "full flat" seams using double-stick basting tape and a hot knife and a heavy duty sewing machine, all purchased from Sailrite.com.

We also purchased transparent pattering material so that we could draw out the shape of the Bimini frame on the patterning fabric (again using double-stick tape to stretch the patterning material onto the frame. Prior to this, Claude used a steel tube bending machine to bend the stainless steel tubing he had purchased into the frame arch we wanted at the back of the Bimini.

Claude also installed stainless steel grommets into the new Bimini using hand tools we purchased from Sailrite. 







































Boating Life

Here are a bunch of photos from our boating life.






























































































































Trip to Stonedam Island

We had never been to Stonedam before, and one beautiful Monday we took the solar-powered alumacraft over and back. No problem getting there and back and we even parked in the shade. The next day we were so inspired we took the alumacraft to Center Harbor to go to the supermarket there and to buy lunch. I didn't capture the center harbor trip on photo though. 
















Loaded!

One day I came in with quite a load on my kayak.



Monarch and Marigolds






Veggies and Dinner

My cousin brought me these fantastic vegetables and I cooked them into a dinner.








Heron and Kayak

We had a heron appear on our boat deck, and it walked all the way around on our stone path (see (Stone scaping below) to our big rock pile that we brought in. Another time the Heron walked all along our pedal kayak before heading off for a flight.






























Loon Life

Loons are an every day for us here on the lake. Hard to photograph but lovely to see and to hear.











Some Random Bear Island Shots









Backyard Mushrooms

Here we just go out the back door for our black trumpet mushrooms. Luckily we don't have to go far from them, and it was a very rainy summer, so we had plenty. 















Downed Powerlines

Here are a couple of photos of a tree we noticed was soon to come down, potentially taking down the powerlines. And it did two weeks later. Luckily the NH Electric coop came the next morning to hook us up.




















Pie-Rhubarb, Peach, Blueberry



Sophie C. USPS Mailboat at Bear Island 2021

The Sophie C. is the USPS mailboat for Lake Winnipesaukee, and after two years of being off the water, she's back.  We went on a Saturday and there was quite a crowd. The boat's mail carrier carries dog treats with her and the dogs expect them as she walks by.





















Stone scaping

We had some stones delivered in June and wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow Claude spread these around our property to make more paths along thee wetter spots. The last picture is of the last wheelbarrow. The original pile was huge.  You can see  a widdled down version on the right side of the next photo.
















Minuteman Bike Path in Flood July 2021

Here are a few photos of the minuteman bikeway in flood last July.



Walking with Friends

I took walks with friends when I was able to after surgery. Here are some photos from early July, (actually the same day) in Wayland and in Winchester.
















Meredith Sculpture Walk

We were saying goodbye to a visitor and decided to take the Meredith sculpture walk. the first sculpture we came across was done by my friend Michael Alfano of Hopkinton, MA. It works perfectly by the side of the lake and is on the cover of the town sculpture walk brochure. 
















Visitors

We were finally able to have some overnight visitors this year. The guests stay in the tiny houseboat, while we stay in our island house. Here are a few photos from guest visits.


























Claude hiking Owl's Head with some friends

A grueling 11 hour hike. They were all fresh at the start.








Goldfinch in Carlisle

I happened to catch this one right through our glass window near the door. 









Dock Garden

Here are some of the fruits and images of our dock garden. 
























Local Berries and Caterpillars

We had the chance to pick berries this summer. First and foremost, here on the lake. Then also in Carlisle. Here are some photos. Also pictured are our defoliated milkweed from some caterpillar, and our marigolds with one of our peach trees, and berries we harvested both on the lake and in Carlisle. 













Chair Skiing?

I managed to catch this stunt skier standing on a stool to waterski. You would have to zoom in to see the stunt.












Dock Towing?

Yes, it's done here on the lake. Our neighbors had two docks towed in from our marina 2.5 miles away. I happened to catch them as I was en route. 









Three Generations of Friends at Cape Cod



































Our friend is fitting out a Sprinter Van as a Home









Finally some photos of my new car (as well as the old one I traded in for it). 


The new car in these photos does not have plates on it at first, but then it does. The new car faces away from the building whereas the old car faces toward the building.