Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Good morning everyone. Well we had a great snow storm here yesterday. (11"at the official Schooner Mary Day Global Headquarters/Appleton Weather Circus measurement station, the barbeque on the porch.) Actually it is still snowing lightly this morning. The kids had a chance to stay home from school and play in the snow all day. We took advantage of the day to set up the Christmas tree and catch up on office work. (Yes, crew your sea time letters are in the mail at last.) Is it me or have you ever noticed that having a "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree is right up there on the list of holiday cool. Well our indoor tree is a long way from Currier and Ives but we love it just the same and it has lots of cool factor. Hanging all those homemade ornaments that the kids made in pre-school is a joy. Made with pipe cleaners, construction paper and lots of glitter they make the tree complete. Nadie got to put the angel on top, an honor worth fighting over in this house! Our outdoor Christmas tree stays lit year round. We let nature do the decorating. Now that has all the Currier and Ives one could ask for.

I took a long walk in the woods yesterday afternoon under the guise of hunting. The woods were quiet and the snow deep. The kids and I plowed late in the afternoon. Nadie actually fell asleep in Sawyer's lap while riding shotgun. Very cute.

Have a great day. Be well. Do good.

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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

Fall Maintenance

Good morning everyone. The sun has been kind to us these past few days and the crew has been spending much time aloft prepping and painting the mast heads and tarring the rig as part of our annual fall maintenance schedule. They were a little silly on tar fumes by the end of the day hence the rat board dance moves. Am I the only one who is reminded of Willy Wonka's little friends at the sight of the crew in their tyvek suits? Schoona-loompas? The smell of tar, after all, is what we sailors live for. Extracted from the stumps and roots of pine trees through dry distillation pine tar will cure what ails you especially some skin conditions and any emotional maladies from being too long away from the sea. All we know for sure is that Mary Day’s rigging is kept hail and hearty by coats of tar mixed with boiled linseed oil. Notice that I specified boiled linseed oil and not raw linseed oil. Tar mix with raw linseed oil will not “kick”. Don’t ask me how I know this… just take my wo

Oh Captain, Oh Captain, Please Don't Rumba!

Good morning everyone. Another 6” of snow fell this weekend and we took a few hours to enjoy the wonders of winter here in New England skiing in the woods. The full Wolf Moon on Saturday causing astronomical high tides plus a 1’ tidal surge brought by the low pressure system meant we had tides over the bulkhead in Camden. At low tide just the opposite happens and the tides dip well below normal. I was able to step to the docks from the beach and get aboard the schooner on Friday after work and all was well. I had an interesting email this morning from a wonderful gentleman looking for a vacation to replace a now defunct “windjammer” sailing experience that formerly sailed in the Caribbean. He sent us a very humorous swashbuckling note, complete with colorful pirate party images, wondering if we might be able to fill the void, complete with canons and limbo parties and would the captain be leading the rumba line? I regretted to tell him that we probably did not offer the booty he was

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