October Begins

 

    This is my first posting in October. For the past couple of days we have been riding out a significant band of rain that has been migrating up the east coast. It cleared out overnight and we awoke to a dark blue, low humidity, "Colorado" sky. When I say awoke, I must be more specific. Durelle got up at 0300 to watch the Ryder Cup from Wales. I didn't.  After a period of blustery rain, it was certainly pleasant to have a dry, clear day.  It was still a bit cool to have "happy hour" outside, so we had a brief one inside.  Hilda (center) and her granddaughter , Kieran (left), and Jeri. are shown in the first picture.  The other two try to capture, without benefit of any photo editing, the constantly changing colors of the sunset on the bay.  Keep in mind that the pictures were taken to the east so that they are the reflected colors of the sunset.

Indian Summer

 
 
As September, and the summer, comes to an end I decided to try to capture a few images of the Belfast harbor.  I wanted a late afternoon sun and a high tide.  I drove down to the pedestrian bridge across the Passagassawaukeag River.  Pronounce it with the accent on the "sag".  The platoon of seagulls are perched on the old cannery.  At one time there were hopes that it would become condos.  Now it has become an ugly battle between the town and the developer.  The second shot is taken up-river.  The third shot shows a cormorant on a mooring and a couple of gulls.  The last is a wide-angle view of the Belfast harbor. 
     The temperature today approached 80 degrees.  The title of the blog today is "Indian Summer".  It really isn't.  By definition an Indian Summer is a warm spell after the first frost of the season.  We haven't had a frost; therefore we haven't had an Indian Summer.  Everyone was back in shorts, however.  We were all set to resume outside happy hours, but as the sun went down, we moved inside and watched the Braves with Jeri.  Rick and Judy Feyler will be driving up from Owl's Head to join us for lunch tomorrow.

Life on the edge

     Sunday was another new experience. South of us on the coast between Lincolnville Beach and Camden is a high end inn called "The Inn at Ocean's Edge" or the Edge for short.  Separate from the inn is a restaurant that is reached by a hundred yard walk through the woods downhill toward the shore.  On Sundays they set up for gourmet pizza.  They have a large, wood-fired brick oven.  The format is like some Brazilian barbeque (churrasco) restaurants.  They will bring food to your table as long as you want them to.  The night we were there they had about eight different varieties.  As a pizza came out of the oven, the waitress came around offering slices to whomever wanted one.  There was a Margherita pizza, then a pepperoni, then lobster and garlic bread, then a chili and cheese.  There was a broccoli, bread crumbs and parmesan pizza, followed by a BLT pizza, and an antipasto pizza.  There was a family style Caesar salad to augment the pizza.  There were five of us.  The Branns drove home from the Edge so as to go to work Monday.  Jeri and the Cloutiers drove back to the Moorings.  It is a place that we plan to visit again next year when the weather will permit us to dine on the deck.

Schoodic Point

     Tuesday was a busy day.  I accompanied Phil Andrews on another one of his surveying days.  This time we were in the Ellsworth area.  While we were gone, Durelle and Carole played cards and did a picture puzzle outside on a pleasant late summer day.  Jeri, on the other hand, spent the day at Schoodic Point...one of her very favorite spots.  The remaining effects of hurricane Igor were reaching some of the eastern Maine promontories.  The picture is hers.  She took over 200 and saved about 10%.  That's about right for that sort of photography where one is trying to capture a crashing wave at its most scenic point.
     Although the number of campers is down somewhat, the campground is very well populated for this date.  Overnight lows have not yet dipped into the 30s, but they have come close.  We have less than three weeks left in Maine and are making a list of those things we still need to do.

Away From the Coast

Today we went inland.  No sailboats or crashing surf in these pictures.  Our group was alerted to these destinations by Walt Wagner, our lobster supplier.  The Roths and the Dunns and Jeri Johnson visited last week.  Today Phil and Jeri and I went.  Carole and Durelle stayed here.  The first stop was an Amish store.  That's Jeri out front admiring the pumpkins.  The pumpkins were as big as 150 pounds.  The 50 to 60 pound pumpkins were going for $10, and there were 40 pound pumpkins for $5.  The next stop was the Bryant Stove Works.  That's Phil in a four door, convertible Model A Ford...a most unusual variant.  In addition to the many dozens of restored stoves of all vintages, some over 150 years old, there was a museum of unusual cars, toys of all kinds, calliopes, Hurdy Gurdys, player pianos and numerous century old household tools and appliances.  Stoves are their business, but the museum is their passion.  For lunch we went to the Ridge Top Restaurant which offered the epitome of home style cooking where all of the entres were under $10!  We returned to the Moorings for a Happy Hour in the Cloutier rig at 4:30.  We are moving inside and starting earlier.

Late Season Activities

The sands of time are moving through the hour glass until the leaves are in full color.  I took this picture on the 14th, but it didn't fit with any blog.  So I saved it for when I didn't have any pictures.  That's today.  The weather is cooling off.  How cool is it?  Well, we are down to one drink happy hours!  The overnight low was 43 degrees.  Today Durelle put a beef stew in the slow cooker, I did some reading and she played cards for a couple hours with Carole Andrews.  And, of course, we watched some football.  Army beat a weakened North Texas team, but these days we'll take any win we can get.  Our two kids' alma maters played today and Air Force put on a great show to lose by a field goal to top ranked Oklahoma.

     The stew was great and we are enjoying a cozy evening monitoring the traffic on Penobscot Bay and watching the Red Sox just in case.  In a surprise to everyone the campground is almost full and it is two weeks after Labor Day.  Last night seven of us went up to Papa J's for supper.  I had a half dozen Damariscotta oysters and a slab of wild caught Alaskan king salmon with cucumber-dill sauce!  It was a nice meal.

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Build a model ship

     Today was a quiet, uneventful day.  At this point in our lives that's not all bad.  There was a spot in Searsport, about five miles north, that I have always wanted to visit; but I knew that Durelle would not be interested.  It's a store that caters to the serious model ship builder.  So I spent an hour there before I went for some groceries.  It is like a maritime museum with large (two to three feet) models of dozens of classic sailing vessels.  There is the Constitution, the America, which started the America's cup, and several other classic ships, large and small.  If you want to build a Friendship sloop or a four-masted schooner, they have a kit for you.  The kits run from $250 to $500.  If you want a completed model, just add a zero.  And that does not include the display case.  For those who want to start from scratch they have all the tools, fittings, wood, and everything you need including advice.  Even if you are not a model builder, you have to appreciate the craftsmanship.
     There's a touch of fall in the air.  The overnight low was 47 degrees, but the day was sunny and pleasant.