Rainy Morning…

…so a slow and leisurely start—coffee, NY Times, Washington Post, watching rain spatter on the deck, listening to the theme and variations of rain drops on the metal roof, a little breakfast, another cup of coffee, etc.

Not long after all that the clouds started breaking up.

Eventually, we got busy, and went to the dump.

Pine Box Contingent…

…have arrived. And, just as we were beginning work on the water system, a loud and juicy thunderstorm rolled in and sent us scurrying.

Best rain we’ve had in months, and the only real thunderstorm of the season.

Sue outdid herself with dinner, including perfect potato salad, and this plum torte.

Power-Wash and Pier Section…

…among other things. Very windy and quite cool, with a brief evening shower. Village deserted, with the only action being the wind and the waves.

Sue power-washed all existing pier sections and cedar boardwalks to eliminate the slipperiness caused by forest varnish. Meanwhile, I futzed around down at the marina (dingy bailer, dingy motor), and then built the frame of the required additional pier section.

Great Sail

Very sweet, after a 3 year hiatus. Excellent wind, backing from SW to NW and building. A bit down in the Clapperton Channel, but 18 to 20 knots coming down the bay. Everything on the boat, including the crew, worked perfectly.

Mark enjoys these sails, especially after working on boats all the time. Good practice, and chance to learn from the experts.

Mostly New Dock Section…

…and some grocery shopping. Taylor Sawmill, and then on to Mindemoya. Sourcing materials and doing the prep is the worst part of any project.

Daisy Fleabane

Windy and quite chilly last night. Sunny and quite warm today. Heliotrope goes in tomorrow.

This is the annoying river fly or shore fly that has been swarming the shoreline and being gobbled by gulls. Not enough gobbling, however, as plenty left to lay these crusty egg mats. I would appreciate help identifying this insect.

Long, Hot Solstice

We seem to have, once again, settled in to a solar schedule—heading towards the haystack as night falls, and then thinking about coffee in the pre-dawn (which is way too early). But, the long days make for a lot done.
Today, we declared the boat finished and ready for launch. Also enjoyed and extended dump visit.
The heat that has been inching north across the continent arrived here today, making us glad to have done the boat work early when a light on-shore, foggy breeze kept the work bearable. We have also now re-established the hot weather house routine of staying closed up in the daytime and opening up at night.

Below, a nice patch of sensitive fern, which is sensitive to frost. At present it does not look worried.

And here, is a visitor making itself to home on the front deck.

Purple or Yellow?

The few yellow blossoms have been consumed by what we assume to be deer.

Then yesterday this purple flower blossomed. Maybe it will survive the night. It could be that yellow’s more mellow.

In other news, the couple we met in the boatyard several weeks ago (boat right next to Heliotrope, stopped by for lunch today. George and Tracey. Nice folks, with stories and interests not too dissimilar from ours, Some good conversation. Maybe we’ll see more of them.

Pier Day

Mark and Lisanne did the heavy lifting, but I had to go neck deep to find the end point.

Because we started at the steps, as during high water, we are one section short of deep water. An additional section will be added, and from now on the pier will always start at the same place, no matter what the water level.

Everyone was deeply chilled after pier work, but a long leisurely lunch helped remedy that.

Last night, about 3 am, a barred owl right outside the window, loud as a foghorn. I nearly ended up on the floor.

Change Of Plans

Today was supposed to be pier day, but with high winds and big seas still dominating the bay, installation was postponed, and our agenda switched to boat work. Yes, more boat work.

Sue got started early with sanding, polishing, and cetol application, while, still back at the ranch, I chopped up an ash that had been brought down by yesterday’s big blow. After lunch we teamed up on waxing and buffing the boat’s topsides.

Truth to tell, we have had enough boat work for a while, and, lucky thing, there is very little remaining (that we know of) necessary before launch. In the water next week… At least, that’s the plan.

Probably enough firewood here to last an entire season.

Highly polished, and looking good.

Flying Ants and Horseflies…

…(aka deer flies), are the predominant insects at the moment… which (good news) means that the black flies and no-seeums, and mosquitoes, are mostly gone. The best thing about deer flies is that they are dumb and that they will soon be history. (Note: very necessary, however, to wear a hat in deer fly season.)
Regarding the flying ants (not really sure what they are—about half an inch long, black, with wings and an ant-like appearance, who like to land on people but don’t bite (though you tend to think they might be deer-flies). Anyway, lots and lots of them, mostly along the shoreline, making a large number of gulls very happy. Dozens and dozens of gulls spent the full morning working up and down the shore, one group flying north and another flying south (sometimes missing by fractions of an inch) happily plucking the ant-like creatures out of the air (all with limited squabbling).

Very warm and windy, but the humans here still got in some new-lot cleanup, (mostly Sue) some path restoration, some lawn mowing, a good row, and a bike ride.