Windjammer Winter Snowstorm

Good Snowy Morning Everyone. I don’t have much to report today on the schooner front. 10 degrees in the dooryard and the NW wind is biting at the fingertips and tossing the treetops about. Yes, we received a good old-fashioned New England snowstorm yesterday. School was cancelled for the kids and they spent much of the day out playing. I plowed one big bank of snow for them to build a snow fort and banked snow at the bottom of their sledding hill as well. 14 inches of new snow fell yesterday (local reports of higher amounts in our town). We spent a fair chunk of the day just keeping the drifts away from the door.

Wind speeds at Matinicus Rock Lighthouse reached 50 knots yesterday with gusts to 60. The Penobscot Bay weather buoy had a steady 25 with gusts to 30 and with the wind shift from east to west has not slowed down the winds one bit. So I am throwing in a historical photo, which I mentioned the other day. I haven’t been down to the harbor today so Mary Day might look just the same as this photo. I really hope not. But this is the way schooners used to be layed up for the winter. A storm like the one we just had would have dumped freshwater, frozen or otherwise, all over the decks allowing some of it to eventually get down below. Freshwater moisture during the warmer weather is one of the elements that rot requires to grow and thrive. Once upon a time there were hundreds of schooners around these parts. Most of the old schooners have been reclaimed by the elements and the handful that exists today gives us a wonderful window into the past.

The accompanying photo was given to me and credited to noted photographer Carrol Thayer Berry but I don’t know this to be a fact.

Hail Mary

My heart is heavy with sadness as I write this particular blog. Since the beginning of August our dear friend and cook for the last 12 years, Mary Barney, had been struggling with cancer. I have intentionally respected Mary’s privacy and I apologize to you for not sharing any news about Mary’s health sooner. On Monday afternoon Mary passed away very peacefully at home, surrounded by friends and “family”. Her departure was as graceful as the rest of her life. Many people, including Jen, have been doing heroic work to support Mary these last few weeks. Oddly enough Mary was never very excited about transitions though this was about the fastest transition she ever made. And as I struggle to let go of Mary I realize I am terrible with transitions as well. We used to joke about how we liked things just the way they are, thank you very much, so why change what is working already even if it might be less labor intensive. Hard works is its own reward. I used to joke about getting Mary a Cui...

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