Skip to main content

Shining Bright

Good morning everyone. The winds lightened up quite a bit despite the forecast for 15-20 knot winds. They just never came. So much of the day was easy sailing back and forth, upwind towards Camden. The heat and humidity have settled back in to the state as one more (final?) blast of summer temperatures settles back into Maine. Even the deer take a dip in the water, swimming from one island to another. A fabulous event to behold!

The cormorant I mentioned in yesterday's entry spent the night sitting on the boom. Jen finally woke it up during washdown when it stretched slowly, nodded its head, and gracefully flew off.

This has been a wonderful week. Great people are the name of the
game for us and this week has been no let down. We have sailed many
miles, seen many lighthouses, and had many laughs. I was up on deck
last night and the canopy of stars reminded me of the richness of
what happens here. When I look up I can either see the sky as a flat
assembly of twinkling lights or if I squint just right I can sense
the 3 dimensional richness of the universe. I see these windjammer
cruises as 3 dimensional. I see lights sitting all over the cabin
houses, the rocking chair, the lazarettes, around the tables at meal
time. Everyone aboard has richness and texture that I will never
know fully but which I am privileged to be touched by. I get
overwhelmed by it all. Just like the lighthouses along the shore
there are many stories to be discovered in the lights aboard. Some we
see from a distance, some we get to know up close. It is all very
beautiful.

Have a great day. Be well. Do good. Shine bright.

Photos by Barry & Jen.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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...

We are Nuts

Good morning everyone. Well I just had to say it before you did. Yes, we are truly nuts. Now we have gone and added one more adventure to our already full lives. As you can see she is some cunnin'. We have named her Colby. We had a sign... literally. We were in the car brainstorming names on the way to get her at WalMart (yes, you heard it right) and there at the Waterville exit was a sign for Colby College. Colby just happens to be dear Mary's alma mater. It is also the name of one of my favorite ledges in Jericho Bay, the Colby Pup. It just seemed to fit just like the way she came to us. Nothing about our Sunday was going to be different than any other except that I just happened to be helping a friend get her generator back in the barn while Jen and the kids met her new puppy Sherman. They fell in love... so easy to do. We called and there were had two pups from the same litter available... no commitments yet. We had been having the long family debate for weeks about the k...

Galley Gadgets

Good morning everyone. As any of you who have sailed with me know I love gadgets. Creating new and easy ways of doing things is a fun challenge for me even if I am slow on the uptake. So here is a gadget I have tried before that I felt I should share with the universe. I am sure I am not the first person to think of this but, hey, this works slicker than greased owl droppings and it reeks just enough of red neck that the devil in me just has to laugh. We buy our peanut butter by the 9 lb. tub. The stuff we buy is that organic, all natural stuff with the hefty layer of oil on top when you open the lid. I have tried inverting the tub every few days to get the oil to work its way through but getting even consistency is still a challenge. Who hasn't got to the bottom of this kind of a peanut butter tub to find a layer of peanut butter cement? The mother of invention was not necessity. It was laziness as any of you who have tried to hand stir peanut butter will know. If you do not own a...