Saturday, October 3, 2015

We were hoping the seas would lay down enough this last weekend before we close on Columbus Day to bring out a few visitors.  Even though we did see a couple of sailboats out in the wind (even one motoring and bouncing high on the swells) none have braved the usually calm cove here on the island.  With the winds coming out of the NNW and directly into what is usually protected, it’s not an easy mooring, especially knowing you have to use your own dingy to paddle to shore.  I got turned over once last May so I know the wisdom in that.

Once again, normal housekeeping chores turned out to be more involved than they seemed in the planning.  Candy and I attacked the green mildew on the bench that sits at the top of the wooden tram with vinegar and a brush and made it white again, storing it away in the Whistle House for the winter.

It was time to shovel out the Clivus in the cove.  This is the only public facility on the island and like the ones in the house, it is composting.  It was built almost fifteen years ago by Nate Power with help from his dad David, I’m told as a project for his Eagle Scout badge.  It’s a beaut. At the end of the season you have to open up the bottom and shovel out the compost and dump it, in this case, in a corner of the camp ground.

But this task necessitated the use of the wheel barrow and taking that out of the Donkey Engine House where the big diesel motor is that runs the tram, we discovered that it had a flat tire.  There was nothing to do but to take it off and bring it up to the Whistle House and fill it using the compressor.

There were four full trips to the dump off the camping area.

The camp ground has a picnic table and we keep it mowed.  Sometime the scouts get a permit to come for a night or two but they haven’t done that in a year or so.  As in most parks, we turn the table on it’s side for the winter to minimize the piles of snow that can rot the wood.

Over the winter a number of the roofing tiles blew off the Donkey Engine House.  When repairs were made last summer, the ones that were taken off were stacked up and saved.  They make good treads on the ramp leading up to the wooden tram and we saw that some needed to be replaced.

By the afternoon, the skies had cleared but it was still very windy.

We decided to finally tackle the tower.  Cyndy is determined to put down a rust-proofing primer on both landings before we leave, so we went up with vacuum and broom and did a thorough job making that ready.  She had already done the scraping on the top landing but not yet on the middle one.  The view from the catwalk was spectacular.

By the time we finished, it was time for tea and a romp with Grady who, I swear, is twice as big every time you turn around.  After another beautiful sunset it was time to take down the flag.

Dinner consisted of sautéed chicken breasts, sausages with caramelized onions, rice and asparagus with chopped almonds.  I usually lose weight volunteering on the island but this trip, I think I’m gaining…