On Cottaging

Goldenrod and sweet pea.

Being a cottager/boater has its demands.

Today, while Sue de-spider-ized and hosed-down Heliotrope, I checked and topped off the engine oil. Both required a certain savior faire, some bodily contortion, and a bit of unconcern about bugs, dirt, or grime.

Yesterday I had to replace the ultraviolet bulb in the UV water filter. A warning buzzer goes off in the system after 9,000 hours of use, and while you can silence the alarm for a while, heaven help you if you don’t make the replacement within the allotted time. 

Replacing the bulb is a delicate operation, in some respects similar to brain surgery—at least the instructions, illegible as they are, would have one think so. Not only do you have to remove the long, thin, fragile bulb, you also have to extract, clean, and replace a very delicate long, thin, test-tube-like thing called the quartz dome, which, if subjected to even the slightest disrespect will shatter and then cost you a fortune, while you wait weeks for a replacement and live without potable water.

Of course, every three or four weeks it is also necessary to change the particle filter. This in itself is not overly demanding—if you know what you are doing. If you don’t, however, substantial flooding of the lower level can occur.

Then there are spider invasions of the outdoor shower, and merganser pooping on the dock. Weed whackers, chainsaws, lawn mowers, and outboard motors all need constant convincing. Poison ivy needs tending. Pathways need frequent re-chipping. The outhouse (and even the septic tank) needs the occasional dose of septo-clean. Pine pollen has to be vacuumed off the screens and gutters cleared of ash seeds. Etcetera.

Of course this is only during the lazy, hazy days of summer. Things get much more interesting in the spring and fall, when it is time to re-install the water system, or put the cottage through its full winterization, or haul and winterize the watercraft.

As I said, being a cottager/boater has its demands. It teaches a certain independence, knowing that if you screw up, you are screwed. 

But then again, it has its rewards.

R & R

Hot. Too hot to do anything. Sue back about 2, and we tried for a swim but then Pax cornered a weasel (I think) under the blue kayak, and all the hissing and snarling required intervention, and that cut the swimming short. Cold chicken salad dinner at Pinebox in honor of the heat, and during cocktails another one-clap thunderstorm. No rain, but the air is cooler.

Last night's old-timer get-together at Pinebox.

I know I put this up some time ago, but am doing it again because I like it.  

Ithaka

BY C. P. CAVAFY

TRANSLATED BY EDMUND KEELEY AND PHILIP SHERRARD

As you set out for Ithaka
hope your road is a long one, 
full of adventure, full of discovery. 
Laistrygonians, Cyclops, 
angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them: 
you’ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high, 
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body. 
Laistrygonians, Cyclops, 
wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul, 
unless your soul sets them up in front of you. 

Hope your road is a long one. 
May there be many summer mornings when, 
with what pleasure, what joy, 
you enter harbors you’re seeing for the first time; 
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things, 
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony, 
sensual perfume of every kind— 
as many sensual perfumes as you can; 
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to learn and go on learning from their scholars. 

Keep Ithaka always in your mind. 
Arriving there is what you’re destined for. 
But don’t hurry the journey at all. 
Better if it lasts for years, 
so you’re old by the time you reach the island, 
wealthy with all you’ve gained on the way, 
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.

Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey. 
Without her you wouldn't have set out. 
She has nothing left to give you now. 
And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you. 
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience, 
you’ll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.

Arrivederci

A week is too short. Last minute bike ride, last minute swim. Then packing up, making the height marks on the kitchen post. And then the treasure hunt!

Pax sat out in the sandbox facing the driveway until dusk looking for everyone. 

Ab's treasure map. Christopher Robin would feel right at home here.

Mimi giving out the clues.

Clue being found.

And at last, digging for buried treasure.

Waterlogged

Sunny, hot, and humid, without a breath of wind. Perfect swimming weather, so swim we did, almost all day. Katy jumped off the high dock and Will jumped off the other docks. And then, late in the afternoon, we took Heliotrope for a putt-putt, and the kids jumped off her deck. Both kids are skilled helmsmen, able to steer a compass heading and maintain a straight wake.

The big leap.

Eyes on the binnacle.

Full fathom five.

TGIF...

...where F stands for Fabulous. A small morning thunderstorm consisting of one clap of thunder and five minutes of rain, followed by a perfectly perfect day...

...of rock collecting at "Round Rock Beach"...

...followed by sorting...

...and then map skills orienteering, using the long lost, circa 1759 map of the region...

...followed by pizza making..

...followed by pizza!, the most tastiest pizza ever made.

Big Water Bay

Such a Busy Day

Scenes from the day, slightly out  of order.

Coffee on the deck.

Tubing.

Tubing.

Concert on the dock.

And, what's a concert without ice cream.

Chilly morning water slide, after farmer's market.

On the dock after hanging out on Heliotrope.

Fun In The Sun

...while dodging the occasional gigantic cloud and the occasional downpour.

Morning lineup.

Sunrise visitor.

Breakfast al fresco.

Swingers at the municipal beach.

Rotor in stator.

Windriding.

Ultimate sand pals.

One last shower.

Deluge

Heavy rain beginning shortly after sunrise and lasting until well after noon! No more fire ban. 

But by late afternoon we were able to ride the trail-a-bike to the geocache at Sandy Beach, take an underwear swim, and build a few drizzle castles. Then back at the ranch, sandboxing and frog catching.

Looking forward to a salad of onions, golden tomatoes, cucumbers, and beet greens.

They're Here