Day 191, Year 7: One More Day

Day 191, Year 7: One More Day
Date: Thursday, May 17, 2012
Weather: Overcast Early, Then Sunny Day
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA

We got the sunny day we needed, but it was a little slow getting started.
Part of the deck was still too wet to work on this morning, but by 2 pm,
everything was dry. I worked until almost 8 pm and got the remainder of the
deck cleaned. I got most of it taped but will need to continue that job in
the am before doing the final caulking. But unless something unforeseen
comes up, I should be done tomorrow. There is still the forepeak and
hatches on the back deck to do sometime during the summer, but those parts
don’t impact the integrity of the deck. The parts that count will be DONE
and I will be so glad to report a job completed tomorrow night.

Mark had his low day today, but he still had enough energy to get the dodger
taken down. Somewhere in the Indian Ocean, the starboard ‘windshield’ was
shattered when a line snapped-not once but twice. We taped the plastic
together with clear packing tape and have been using it that way since. It
has been functional, just not pretty to look at. But Mark works with a guy
named Ed who does canvas work and we are finally getting the dodger to him
to replace the plastic. Sometime this weekend, I will take down the
remaining canvas surrounding the cockpit to clean. Since the boat is being
hauled on Monday, it is a good time to do this.

After removing the canvas, we both went to Heather’s to babysit Oliver while
Heather went to a working lunch. Her once a week call-in program begins the
middle of June and she is working to line up her guests. Once she returned,
I came back to the boat to work. Mark stayed at Heather’s so he could hold
Oliver while Heather went out to check on the beehive. She did this right
after naps, and Sam really wanted to help her. We got her a new hat and
veil for Mother’s Day, so she put that on Sam and she wore the old hat.
Even when a bee got inside his ‘bonnet’, Sam remained totally calm. He has
been fascinated with the bees since they arrived and today he felt so proud
that he could truly assist Heather. They sell bee gear for little guys, so
maybe we are going to have to invest in an outfit for Sam. Jonah hasn’t
shown an interest yet, but maybe he will in time.

120517 Day 191 Cape Cod, USA–Sam the Beekeeper

Day 190, Year 7: Rain, Rain, Go Away

Day 190, Year 7: Rain, Rain, Go Away
Date: Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Weather: Heavy Rain Overnight and Early Morning, Still Misty
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA

If I’m ever to get the deck work done, this weather must cooperate. It was raining so hard this morning that even under the winter cover, the grooves in the teak deck were swimming in water. I tried to do a cleaning of the remaining grooves, but it was just too wet. I had hoped that it would clear by late afternoon and dry up a bit, but still tonight the deck is soggy. So I’m not sure just how much work I will get tomorrow morning. Heather has a work engagement at noon tomorrow in Woods Hole and will pick up the boys and bring them home, but Mark and I might go over to watch Oliver while Heather goes to lunch and then I will come back to Windbird and work in the afternoon. I didn’t get the message from Mark until tonight that the boat is definitely being hauled out of the water on Monday morning, so ready or not, the winter cover is coming off over the weekend. Hopefully I can get the remaining deck cleaned, taped, and caulked by then. But it is 11 pm and I see that rain is still falling. So we shall see what can be done.

I drove Mark to Heather’s today before I went to pick up Sam and Jonah. Just before we got there, we saw a momma and papa swan with their babies in the cranberry bogs. These are the bogs that are just a short walk from Heather’s. I went to pick up the boys and we drove straight to the bogs in hopes of seeing the babies, but they were gone by the time we got there. Evidently the parents are taking morning outings with the babies, but then returning to their nest in the afternoon. Heather had been out walking earlier in the morning had seen the swans much deeper in the bogs. A woman she was walking with said she had seen the pair with seven babies. So we will keep checking in hopes of getting and up close encounter with the little ones. In our search this afternoon, Sam and I saw fish in the pond, pond lilies about to bloom, but no swans. We also delighted in smelling the blossoms of a bush with little yellow flowers. It smells just like honeysuckle, but it is not a bush, not a vine. Again, the friend Heather was walking with in the morning had local information about his plant. She calls it autumn olive (elaeagus umbellate). If that is the case, it is the local bush that is loaded with little red berries in the fall. I have so much to learn about the plants in this area. So much to learn and so little time.

Day 189, Year 7: Slow and Easy

Day 189, Year 7: Slow and Easy
Date: Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Weather: Partly Sunny Day, Rain Late in the Evening
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA

Today was much saner than most days recently. We didn’t have to get up at a
set time, we had time to cut Mark’s hair, we went for a walk, and I still
had time to clean up a section of grooves before heading to Woods Hole to
pick up Sam and Jonah. The forecast was definite about rain tonight and all
day tomorrow, so this gave us a little break. It is supposed to raining
tomorrow, but I think the part of the deck I need to work on should be
protected by the winter cover. So I can hopefully finish up the groove
cleaning tomorrow morning. Then Thursday and Friday I will be back on the
fast track trying to complete the caulking job.

Mark is feeling so much better than he did this time two weeks ago. He
still has low energy, and he still expects Thursday and Friday to be his low
days, but the fact that he wanted to walk today told me that he is doing
just fine. We continue to spend our evenings watching DVD’s. We finished
watching the Bonanza series and tonight watched the first of a British
detective series called ‘A Touch of Frost.’ My sister-in-law Sue
recommended that we check these out of the library instead of renting or
purchasing. It was a great idea and the nearby West Falmouth Library had
the DVD’s. So thank you, Sue, for the suggestion. We really enjoyed the
first program in the series.