Chillin’ On The Dock of The Bay

Truck oil leak repaired. Early morning mad dash to the dealer in GorB to avoid ruining the engine by running without lubricant, with the need for one stop along the way for an oil refill.

Planned on going for breakfast in GorB after truck drop off , but none to be found.

Lot and lots of grackles in the neighborhood, for some reason, creaking and crackling. If they eat horseflies they are welcome.

Hot Work..

…on garage and bunkie, but offset by lots of time in the water. When swimming off the end of the pier I was accompanied by four large bass (maybe 24 inches?) who seemed to find me attractive. Should I have been worried?

Hot, sunny, humid, and still most of the day, though west wind now.

Parsley, sage, rosemary," said Tom timelessly.

Long Weekend…

…day two. Busier. What looked to be an overflow crowd jamming the falls as we skirted the area on our way to the dump. (Good thing we went too, as some of the “material” was over 10 days old.)

Very warm and humid, but not smoky. Several dips off the end of the pier.

"Oops! There goes my hat!" said Tom off the top of his head.

Perfect Breeze…

…for a Windride. Day started out clear but increasingly hazy in the afternoon. Southeast wind, so smoke blowing back from Pittsburg?

Above, my favorite Tom Swift book. The books were intended to make kids like science and engineering. Successful, pretty much. But adverbs were over used, hence the Swiftly puns.

"We have no oranges," Tom said fruitlessly.

"I'm a lot taller than I was yesterday," said Tom gruesomely.

"I only have diamonds, clubs and spades," said Tom heartlessly.

"Don't you know my name?" asked Tom swiftly.

Nous Sommes Ici…

…in just over 10 hours. Heavy smoke at outset, but mostly clear by Escanaba on a south west wind.

Katy asked me if I was a Swifty. It turns out I am—not a Taylor Swifty but a Tom Swifty. For example:


"This boat is leaking," said Tom balefully.

"I have to keep this fire alight," Tom bellowed.

Missed It

A short but intense downpour last night after I had checked out—so perhaps the pattern is changing. Lots of wind and a few light showers today. Cooler.

Above, gooseberries beginning to ripen. Tart but tasty. Usually not here for a harvest.

Environmental Anxiety

I’m not good with droughts.

Mostly yard work—weeding, trimming, watering, etc. But always going slow and trying to keep to the shade.

In photo one, above, tree tags and water bags at the Arboretum. Keeping all the new plantings hydrated must be a real chore. I appreciate those who are doing it.

In photo two, a bumper crop of serviceberries on the big bush alongside the south wall. Very tasty.

Long Day

Up at latitude 46 it doesn’t get dark this time of year (solstice) until about 10:30 pm, and the birds start singing shortly after 4 am. Not much dark. Here in Whitewater, at latitude 42.75 not so much.

But still a long day. Today in the car was also a long day, but we made the transition from one latitude and time zone to another.

Halyard Retrieved

During yesterday’s cruise on Heliotrope the strap attaching the head of the genoa to the halyard furling drum parted. A gust of wind, a bang, and then the big sail dropped about a foot. We furled immediately so no further damage done to the sail, and we were able to reach, reefed, back to the marina, so no problem.
This morning the sail came off but the halyard furling drum remained stuck at the masthead. Sue volunteered to ride the bosun’s chair up the mast, but after a few feet of winching I came to my senses and belayed that plan.
We left word with warfinger Jim that we were looking to hire an agile, smallish person with no fear of heights.
Later in the afternoon, Jim called to let us know that another boater in the marina had volunteered two recently purchased 15 foot extension poles—and they, when taped to our boat hook, were able to reach high enough.
So the halyard is retrieved, the sail is being repaired, and very soon the genoa will be back up where it belongs.
Back home we went for a row and observed what looked like a yawl very slowing drifting across the bay in a flat calm, apparently heading for the marina.
After dinner we will check it out.

Update: not a yawl—rather a ketch, and a big, beautiful one at that. Anchored out, so no chat.

Summertime…

…or at least it feels like it. Warmer, nice west wind, not too much smoke. Out nearly to Gooseberry on the Windrider, then back to Sandy Beach, and then a lazy run close to shore back to the marina.

Last night’s Chicken Milanese.

I forgot to mention breakfast at Mum’s. Surprisingly good.