Monday, June 14

Today is Flag Day and we’re flying the new flag donated by Rick Mayo.  From the website on the Flag Code, this one is more proportional to the pole:  a 4 X 6 flag for a 20 foot pole for public display (if it’s private display they recommend a 25 foot pole, but I’m not sure why).  No one can really see it at present because we’re socked in with fog for the second day in a row.  I did get a shot of it yesterday afternoon after the boat ride.

Ethan called on the radio to see what we were up to.  He was out with a bunch of classmates from high school who were celebrating their 10th reunion.  He asked if France and I wanted to come along for a boat ride.  It was perfect timing.  We had just finished a couple of projects, taking some measurements at the boathouse for a possible ramp and at the tower for a replacement strap to ground the lightning rod; and with the fog, we were quite sure there would be no visitors.

We dragged the dingy off the rocks and were waiting by the buoy in the Cove as the boat approached.  What a nice group of folks!  And of course there was a big black dog aboard. Does everyone in the state of Maine own a big black dog?  They were all set on a prank: one of the classmates is a lobsterman and was a no show for the weekend so we sailed east until no land was visible and all you could see was fog and the occasional marker.  They finally found a marker for one of this guy’s lobster traps and hauled it up and dried it off just long enough so that everyone on board could tag it.  Only in Maine, right?

On the way back France and I were thrilled to go all the way around Seguin to see it from perspectives we don’t get on land.  There are many rugged cliffs and beautiful rock strata with veins of quartz.  It really is a beautiful island.

One of the guys on board has spent time in the East Village in New York just two blocks from where I live.  His grandparents had lived there for 30 years and moved to Park Slope in Brooklyn where he also visited frequently.  He was now living in Burlington, Vermont.

I doubt we’ll see anyone today even if the fog clears.  When things dry out a little we certainly need to do some more mowing.  Until then, we’ll cherish the time to continue some projects inside.  France already rewired the lamp in an upstairs bedroom and I plan to do the same with another that Dee told me to get rid of.  It has one of those old cords wrapped in cloth that is frayed and no doubt dangerous.  I’ll replace the switch and the cord and it will be as good as new.

I was pretty stuck on flying the old cotton flag that was up when we arrived and that we continued to fly for the last two weeks even though we had been given the nylon flag from Rick immediately upon arrival.  It seemed urgent that we make the switch but I saw nothing wrong with the old one.  However, on closer examination, I did notice a hole in the corner and the red stripes had begun to bleed into the while ones making them appear pink, and I guess it is really too big for the pole.  And Rick’s does have a nice snap to it flying in the breeze.  We haven’t tried to fold it yet; is it possible with a nylon flag?

I suggested to Dee that perhaps the Friends of Seguin Island would like to award it to the 2010 caretakers and she graciously wrote back that it could probably be arranged.  We sell flags in the gift shop that have been flown here on the island.  I’d be proud to own it. France and I may have to arrange joint custody with her moving back to France in September.  Maybe she’ll forget about it by then.