2021 Life Logs, Day 113: Shopping with the Goldpebbles
Date: Friday, April 23, 2021
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Still Very Windy; High 54, Low,44 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Shopping with the Goldpebbles means going to Army-Navy surplus stores. We went to one in Hyannis, the Mass Bay Company, and then one across the bridge in Wareham called Go Bananas! The latter advertises as “a working man’s LL Bean” and the boys LOVED it. I only knew about the place from my friend Karen Baranowski. Sam, Jonah, and Ollie say, “Thank you Karen.”

Boys being boys, and being Boy Scouts, new knives for whittling and diddling were the first order of business. We found those at the Mass Bay Co. in Hyannis. Then we headed off-Cape to Wareham which should have taken half an hour. But there was construction at the Sagamore bridge, and it took us way over an hour sitting in bumper to bumper traffic when we got close to the bridge. It was a rude reminder of what summer traffic on the Cape is like—just a little early making it all the more painful. But the boys hung in there and they were glad they did because the loved the second surplus store. The one in Hyannis was neat and tidy. The one in Wareham was your more typical Army-Navy surplus, and they had way more ‘stuff’ the boys were interested in. When I look at Sam, I feel like he is twice the size he was last summer. I’m sure that is an exaggeration, but yesterday we found out that he certainly did not fit into to his life vest. So we were both glad to find one that fit. We did not find the camo pants or Carhartt overalls we were looking for, but in addition to Sam’s life vest, I got a new kayak paddle and new nets for catching critters at the beach. I have bought camo pants for the Goldpebbles at Costco in the past. But due to Covid, it has been so long since I have been there that they have all outgrown and worn out what they have—too many holes to pass down to a younger brother. And Jonah’s favorite camo jacket is two sizes too small for him. Maybe I’ll venture north to Costco next week to take a look.

2021 Life Logs, Day 112: Happy Earth Day 2021
Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021
Weather: Partly Cloudy, Windy, and COOL: High 47, Low, 36 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Earth Day 2021 was a cool one on Cape Cod. I had to get my winter coat and gloves back out for my morning walk with Shadow and even needed my winter hat for our late afternoon walk. I wanted to do some things outside for Earth Day but decided those things would just have to wait until it is warmer. I spent my day finishing Chapter 15 about Windbird’s time in American Samoa. Mark and I spent an entire month in Pago Pago Harbor on the main island of Tutuila. The island is unbelievably beautiful place on Planet Earth and we met some very special people there. So, writing about such a special place felt like a tribute to Mother Earth. Tomorrow I will be with the Goldpebbles. Then hopefully over the weekend I will have time to edit the chapter and move on to the next island group. But in writing about American Samoa, I have decided that I would love to go back and visit there again.

Last night I talked to Justin and gang in Puerto Rico. Justin sent a text that said, “Want to Skype? We can show you Ziggy’s new braces and my new stitches.” I responded, “New stitches for what. Let’s Skype now.” Thankfully the stitches were in Justin’s leg. He somehow got cut on broken glass while building a hay shed and needed six or seven stitches. But he is fine. Ziggy’s braces looked great. I could hardly tell he had them. The upper braces are white so you have to look hard to see them. The lower braces are silver and are mostly hidden by his lower lip. He has only had them for a day or two but is already getting used to the feel. Coco has taken over my birthday present for Ziggy, a basketball hoop. She has discovered that she loves ‘shooting hoops’.

Tonight I tuned in to a one hour WGBH Zoom presentation of Boston Talks—Our Earth. It was an Earth Day conversation. There were two guest speakers, Dr. John Rowden of the National Audubon Society and Dr. Heather Goldstone of the Woodwell Climate Research Center. Dr. Rowden spoke about the importance of planting native trees and plants to support bird life and Heather spoke about the climate change. She was asked to summarize the eight hours of today’s presentations by world leaders. I loved the way she did that in such a positive way. After listening to her, I felt positive about what we CAN do rather than feeling the total despair that I often experience when I think about how overwhelming the climate challenge is that faces the world. It was a positive way to end Earth Day 2021.

2021 Life Logs, Day 111: Work and Play with the Goldpebbles
Date: Wednesday, April 21, 2021
Weather: Partly Cloudy, Windy, Very Little Rain; High 63, Low, 34 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Today was a work and play day with the Goldpebbles. I picked up Sam, Jonah, and Ollie late morning and brought them to the cottage. Play was first on the list. Jonah, who is not as much of a water baby as Sam and Ollie, took off on a scooter, while Sam and Ollie launched the kayaks for the first time this year. But because it was so windy, Sam tried to sail his kayak with his towel. When that didn’t work, Ollie came back to the dock to ask me if I could get him a stick and a piece of material. He wanted to try to sail his kayak. Sam yelled back to say, “Get two sticks.” So, I returned to the dock with a mop handle, a hefty garden stake, a table cloth, and some rope. Sam lashed the two poles together, found a way to tie on the tablecloth, and off they went. First Ollie and then Sam sailed their kayaks. I think it was as much fun to watch as it was doing it. They wanted to sail downwind but ended up sailing on a beam reach. But the important thing is that they sailed and had fun doing it!

Ollie is usually my worker, but we gave him a pass today as the work involved digging a trench to bury irrigation hose and hefting heavy bags of compost. He had to have the fluid drained from his knee again, so heavy work didn’t seem like the order of the day for him. But Sam dug the trenches and hefted bags of compost for Jonah who raked the piles of compost into my raised beds. We did some of this yesterday, but I realized I needed more compost. They did a great job. We had a late lunch that I picked up at Le Bonjour, went back outside to finish up the work, and then headed into town for Sam’s 3 pm hair cut appointment. Ollie and Jonah played on the library lawn while we waited for Sam and then we made our first visit of the year to the Dairy Queen. The boys had Blizzards which are like a milkshake and not as messy as a dripping cone, so we got back in the car and drove to Woods Hole. Sam and Jonah had decided that they would like to see the location of the bells and weathervanes in Woods Hole Library Scavenger Hunt. It was last year at this time that the four of us went to Woods Hole for Earth Day to take a photo wearing covid masks while sitting beside the life-sized bronze statue of environmentalist and writer Rachel Carson in Marina Park. We then took a ‘Sam requested’ circuitous route home through Quissett Harbor and then along the water into downtown Falmouth. Great afternoon!

2021 Life Logs, Day 110: An Outdoor Day
Date: Tuesday, April 20, 2021
Weather: Another Beautiful Day; High 63, Low, 48 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Today was another outdoor day. No writing, but a lot of gardening. The weather was beautiful, so as the saying goes, “Make hay while the sun shines.” So, I did. Yesterday I went to the local feed and garden center to buy a carload of Dr. Nature’s Pot of Gold Organic Potting Soil for Heather and Jed’s deck garden. This morning, right after a six-week check-up with my chiropractor, I returned to Waquoit Feed and Garden Center and bought a carload of Coast of Maine compost for my gardens. The problem being that I could not get it out of my car. Common sense and my chiropractor both said, “Do not lift those heavy bags.” So, after Jed and the boys went to the driving range, they stopped by to unload the bags. While I was waiting for them, I spent my time cleaning out the raised beds. I’m hoping the Goldpebbles are returning tomorrow morning to help me with a few gardening tasks. This afternoon Ollie and I continued working on the irrigation system for the deck gardens at 43 Grasmere and we are just about finished. Ollie is a determined worker and in just two days, he has become very adept at putting the parts of an irrigation system together. And I made a trip to a local nursery this morning to buy some plants and more seeds. Maybe by week’s end, we’ll have the deck garden at Heather and Jed’s up and going as well as my raised beds.

My day ended watching the coverage of the guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial. Justice prevailed. The fact that we all knew George Floyd had been murdered by a police officer in those 9 minutes and 29 seconds that Derek Chauvin had his knee on his George Floyd’s neck was finally and officially recognized. Thanks to a very brave and technically savvy seventeen year old. Now we all have to champion a way to change our policing system so it works for all.

2021 Life Logs, Day 109: A Day of Deck Gardening
Date: Monday, April 19, 2021
Weather: Beautiful Day; High 63, Low, 44 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Today was the first day of Falmouth School spring vacation and what a beautiful day. The sun was shining, there was very little wind, and it was warm. Hurray! The plan was for me to arrive at the Goldstones around noon and have the boys help me fill the deck garden containers with potting soil that I was delivering. I did deliver the additional potting soil, but one boy was missing when I arrived and shortly thereafter, two boys were missing. And who could blame them? Sam got a call from two good friends that he hasn’t seen very much during the past coronavirus year. It was an invite to meet downtown to have lunch and then go knock about with a soccer ball. After their lunch, they stopped by the house to pick up a soccer ball on the way to the soccer field, and we lost Jonah as he was invited to join them. But Heather she played a little work “hooky” and spent time setting up the deck containers. She filled two containers and Ollie and I worked on the other two, using Heather’s expertise to finish the job. Then she did the planting.

When Sam and Jonah returned home, we lost Ollie. All three boys headed into the backyard to fire up their blacksmith shop. Last week Jonah found a U-shaped piece of metal that he wanted to straighten. Yesterday the boys used some curved concrete blocks to build a forge using a small shop vac as a bellows to provide the blowing air to keep the fire going. Jed worked with them to make sure it was safe, and they were successful in straightening the U-shaped half inch square metal rod. Every year when we go to the Barnstable County Fair, the boys always stop and watch the blacksmith. Their attention to detail paid off with this project and they were very proud of the result.

Jed is taking the boys to the driving range tomorrow morning and I will return tomorrow afternoon to complete installing the irrigation system on the deck. There are two vertical wall planters (and Heather ordered a third today), hanging plants, a four-shelf mini-greenhouse, and two elevated raised beds placed from one end of the very long deck to the other. I installed most of the irrigation system last year, but never finished the job. Jonah wants to help me finish it tomorrow. Then we will just sit back and watch things grow. It was really exciting to see all of this come together today.

2021 Life Logs, Day 108: More Writing, Thinking About Gardening
Date: Sunday, April 18, 2021
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Warmer; High 54, Low, 41 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

This is spring vacation week for Falmouth Public Schools, so I am hoping to spend time with the Goldpebbles. I had hoped to finish up my chapter on American Samoa today before taking some time off writing, but that did not happen. I tried, but I am just not quite there. We spent twenty-nine days at anchor in Pago Pago Harbor on the island of Tutuila in American Samoa. We spent eighteen days in Rarotonga, but four of those days were spent on a little side trip to Aitutaki. In French Polynesia, we never spent more than eight days in one anchorage. So, to this point in the Voyage of Windbird, we spent more time in American Samoa than any other place in the South Pacific. Because of that it is taking time to write the chapter. And it is a chapter that I really want to get right. I know how much it meant to Mark to revisit American Samoa after living there for two years in the 1960’s, so I will continue on—but not until after I have some fun with the Goldpebbles. Tomorrow we are going to spend the afternoon finally filling the deck planters that I brought as a housewarming gift with potting soil. They were supposed to be delivered last May but didn’t arrive until the fall. So, this will be the first growing season for the planters.

I wrote until almost 8 pm tonight and then had to stop and fix dinner for myself and Shadow. At 9 pm I watched ‘Ocean Crossing’ on Masterpiece Theater while I ate dinner and after that I started writing my log. But then I decided to stop and watch the Joshua Johnson show on MSNBC while I rode my exercise bike. I continue to log in my six miles each evening.

Joshua Johnson was the host of 1A on NPR, a national conversation program. It was the program that replaced the Diane Rehm Show. But then he was hired by MSNBC and does weekend evenings. He often has fascinating guests. Tonight, one guest was Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau who is best known as the villainous-turned-valiant knight Jaime Lannister in Game of Thrones. Tonight, he was talking about a new program, ‘Through Greenland’, which is about climate change. For the past few years, this actor, producer, and screen writer has been a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to create for awareness for climate change. Listening to him brought me right back around to what I had been writing about today. We had unusually extreme weather in the months we spent in the South Pacific in 2006. Today I wrote:

“Another couple that we knew from meeting them in French Polynesia came into Pago Pago Harbor (American Samoa) reporting on the extreme weather. George and Barbara of Gdansk out of Vancouver arrived after a rough trip from Suwarrow in the northern Cook Islands. They had heavy wind and rain for most of their passage. George said that wherever they sailed this year, the Convergence Zone followed them. Even though we had taken a different path to get to American Samoa, we felt the same way. We just could not shake that Convergence Zone. The South Pacific was having a turbulent season. They reported that in Suwarrow two boats were blown on the reef on a particularly stormy night. Both were recovered without significant damage, but it was a scary thought. We shared with them what Mark, the gentleman who ran the NOAA Observatory we had visited recently, had told us. He said that scientists were perplexed with what was happening. He confirmed what we thought. The weather in the South Pacific was not following normal patterns and the scientists he worked with believed it all had to do with global warming. He told us that many still did not want to believe there was such a thing, but as he said, “Something is making the ocean temperature warmer down here!” I think I would like to try to watch ‘Through Greenland’ this week in observance of Earth Day. Maybe I can convince the Goldpebbles to watch with me.

2021 Life Logs, Day 107: Writing, a Movie and Sushi
Date: Saturday, April 17, 2021
Weather: Mix of Rain and Clouds, Clearing Late Day; High 47, Low, 38 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Most of my day was spent writing about the time Mark and I spent in American Samoa on the island of Tutuila. It is a strikingly beautiful island, but tourism has never caught on there. This is partially because the people who live there hold tight to their traditional lifestyle and want to keep it that way and partially because as a US Territory the islands receive federal funding and are not pushed economically to rely on tourism. You also have to be at least fifty percent Samoan to acquire land, therefore investors have not swooped in to build resorts. It is the kind of place that you can just kick back and enjoy life in a drop-dead gorgeous tropical environment. Until I reread my logs from our month there, I had forgotten about my favorite warning sign that I found anywhere around the world. Adjacent to each high school on the island of Tutuila, the following is printed on huge signs. The words in upper-case are printed in bright red. I do not know how effective it is, but it certainly got my attention!

SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING
SEX
at an early age may result in
UNFULFILLED dreams, INCURABLE
diseases. and a BABY that wakes
you up at 2 am EVERY morning.

Today as I was writing about the tuna canneries in American Samoa, it reminded me of the ‘just off the boat’ fresh and delicious tuna sashimi and fish ceviche we enjoyed while there. Jed, Jonah, and Sam were doing community service work at the Scout camp here on the Cape today, so I thought about calling Heather and Ollie to see if they would like me to pick up some sushi to bring over for dinner. But then I thought I should just let then enjoy their special day together without Oma butting in. An hour later, I got a call from Ollie inviting me over for dinner. When I asked what we were having he replied, “Sushi!” Perfect. And then I told him that I wanted to watch the Disney movie ‘Moana’ with him sometime during this upcoming spring vacation week. He thought tonight would be the perfect time for that. So, I went over and we ate sushi while watching ‘Moana’. It was a delightful evening.

2021 Life Logs, Day 106: Driven Inside by the Cold Weather
Date: Friday, April 16, 2021
Weather: Rain, Wind, Then Snow; High 44, Low, 34 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Our Dining-In group set today as our first afternoon dinner of 2021. Because of Covid and having to be outside, last summer and fall we met in the afternoon and outside. Today we gathered in Karen and Peter Baranowski’s garage which is so fancy it has been declared to be the Taj Garage or the Garage Mahal. When we set the date none of us had been vaccinated. But now the seven of us attending have had both vaccines and we were driven inside by the cold weather. It was rainy and windy and the temperature at 3:30 this afternoon was 34 degrees in East Falmouth. We all agreed it was safe enough, so we headed indoors. And just about that time, the rain turned to beautiful, big snowflakes. We need the rain, but I was not prepared for snow. It did not last long, and I do hope that is the last snow until next winter.

2021 Life Logs, Day 105: Meeting with My First Reader and Editor
Date: Thursday, April 15, 2021
Weather: Overcast, Windy, and Cool; High 49, Low, 41 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

This time last year, friend Christina Brodie and I were completing our Zoom Memoir Writing Class. We had been partnered to read each other’s writing and make suggestions for improvements. I had written the introduction and first two chapters of The Voyage of Windbird and as my partner, Christina had read them and given great feedback. She encouraged me to keep writing, but the class ended and I put the writing aside. In late January when I decided to start writing again, Christina offered to read my chapters and do a first edit. She was once a high school English teacher and her suggestions for my first eight chapters all brought great improvements to my writing. This morning Christina called to ask if she could stop by to drop off her editing suggestions for Chapters 9 and 10. Since we have both been vaccinated, she felt comfortable coming in to have tea and to talk about the writing. I was finally able to thank her face to face for all the work she is doing for me out of the kindness of her heart. She is a great editor, and I am so grateful that she is willing to continue to do that hard work. I sent her the next four chapters this afternoon. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Christina Brodie.

Today was a dreary day, but after Christina left, I took Shadow for his morning walk before launching into writing. Then I came inside and finished writing about the passage to American Samoa and on into the first few days there. American Samoa has been an unincorporated territory of the United States since 1899. The people who live there are US nationals, but not citizens. There are five islands and two atolls. Tutuila is the largest and most populated island and that is where Mark and I visited in 2006. Mark had lived there for two years in the late sixties and it was great fun for him to revisit the places where he lived and worked and share those places with me. Tutuila is a beautiful island. We enjoyed it so much, we stayed for an entire month. I will continue that writing tomorrow.

Last night late I talked with my good friend Lynne who has been in New Zealand during Covid. She flew there after Thanksgiving 2019 and has not been able to safely return home. She is living a totally normal life in New Zealand with no threat of Covid. As much as I would like to see her, I can think of no reason she would return to this country quite yet. And if things continue to go downhill, I’m not sure there would be a reason to ever return. She has been pet sitting for most of her year and a half there. Recently she was pet sitting for a dog named Maggie. Lynn was reading the book, A Gentleman in Moscow, and returned home one afternoon to find the book in shreds. Lynn loves nothing more than devouring books, but evidently Maggie like to devour them in a different way!

I can never let April 15 pass by without thinking about my parents. They were married on April 15 in 1924. My mother had just turned 16 and my father was 20. Before my mother turned 17, she had the first of her seven children. Only five of us survived and now only two of us are left. My sister will have her 88th birthday in July and I am not getting any younger! But on we go.

2021 Life Logs, Day 104: Out and About
Date: Wednesday, April 14, 2021
Weather: Beautiful Day; High 55, Low, 39 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

I left home this morning at 9:30, returned at 11:00 for 11 minutes to take Shadow for a very short walk around the block, and then got home after 5:30 pm. Yes, I was out and about all day. And when I got home, I spent an hour outside with Shadow playing ball and walking. Then I got inside with just 12 minutes to spare before a 7 pm Zoom virtual conversation sponsored by the Woods Hole Historical Society called, “Influencing the Influencers: An Evolving Approach to Driving Climate Action.” The conversation was led by Dr. Philip Duffy and Dr. Heather Goldstone from the Woodwell Climate Research Center. Phil Duffy is the President and Executive Director of the Center and my amazing daughter Heather is the Chief Communications Officer. Influencing the influencers has to do with getting the information from the scientists doing the research to those in a position to make changes at the highest levels. I suppose that one thing those of us who care about this issue can do is to make financial commitments to organizations like Woodwell Climate Research Center. But every time I join one of these conversations, the question in my mind is, “What, other than financial contribution, can I do in terms of the way I live my life?” We hear so often that our individual choices don’t really make an impact on the larger problem. Then we hear that every choice we make makes a difference. It is hard to know what to do. I loved Phil Duffy’s enthusiasm for the young people who are leading the crusade to save the planet. But I still want to know, in very specific terms, what changes I need to make in my life that will contribute to that goal. Phil Duffy answered that question tonight by saying that those of us who care need to live exemplary lives as a model for others. But what, specifically, does that life look like? If I get an answer to that question, I’ll let you know.

My day started with a walk with Shadow and then into Falmouth for a dental cleaning appointment. Then I drove back to East Falmouth to do one more short walk with Shadow before picking up a friend and heading to Woods Hole. I took the friend to Woods Hole to do the scavenger hunt looking for bells and weathervanes. The friend was Olga Mitchell who is an amazing woman. I had not seen her since 2017, but she recently contacted me letting me know that her husband had passed away. And in the same email, she invited me to join her in the Woods Hole Library scavenger hunt. Olga is well into her eighties, has a PhD in Physics, and spent her life working in the Bell Laboratories in New Jersey. She is also a pilot and still flies. One of her planes resides in her extra wide garage attached to her home in the Airpark in East Falmouth. She is quite the adventuresome woman and I always enjoy spending time with her. When she let me know about the Woods Hole scavenger hunt, I did that with Ollie. So today I tried hard not to give away any of the locations. But we did find all of them, even the one weathervane that Ollie and I could not find. It took us two hours, but we did it. Then we headed back to downtown Falmouth to have lunch. It was a beautiful day. I dropped Olga at her home and then picked up Ollie and took him home. Then it was to the skatepark with Jonah before heading home. Another day in the life. Tomorrow it will be back to writing. I’m looking forward to arriving in American Samoa and writing about the month we spent there.