Sailing Vacations
A Maine Windjammer

Good morning everyone. Well it has been warmer than usual this last month. Finally the cold weather is beginning to set in. The docks were taken out down at the harbor yesterday. Winter is not far off. Katie and I are working here at the house these days. And we have some new employees that have finally begun producing some noticeable results. We can't keep up with them actually. Meet the girls... The chickens (all 16 of them) really don't mind being picked up. The ducks on the other hand get a little bit antsy.The chicken on the left is a barred rock. The chicken in the middle is a buff orpington. The black chicken is an astralop. At this point all of them are in full production and we get at least a dozen eggs a day, usually more. The idea is that this summer we should be able to supplement the 22 dozen schooner eggs we use each week with our farm fresh eggs. If you have never tasted a duck egg they taste just like chicken... eggs that is. The duck egg white is m...

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...

Good morning and a Happy Valentine’s Day to all! Although it’s not a surprise to anyone, chocolate aboard the Mary Day is a weekly (daily, for some) treat. Mary makes the best chocolate desserts by far and we seem to never tire of them. With much research done this winter we have come up with a new recipe to add to Mary’s repertoire…. and we’re willing to give you a sneak peek, or taste, as to what you may find aboard this summer. It’s a chocolate covered brownie, filled with chocolate chips….ooo, la, la…. It is simply divine and easy to make! We’ve made it this week in honor of Valentine’s Day. We’d love to share with you, however chocolate in this house, as aboard Mary Day, doesn’t last long. Try a batch, let us know what you think and savour every bite! Brownies fit for a King ¾ cup sugar 1/3 cup butter 2 Tablespoons water 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (divided) 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 eggs ¾ cup flour ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon baking soda 2 Tablespoons shortening 4 chocolate ba...

Good morning everyone. The festival of Santa Lucia, patron saint of light, was this past Saturday, the 13th. This coincided with the largest tides of the year following the Full Cold Moon on Friday and the moon at perigee on the 12th. The range in Portland was a whopping 14.1’ on Saturday! The moon also happened to be riding high on Saturday well above the celestial equator. With just a little snow on the ground here in Appleton the full moon negates any need for a flashlight while walking to the barn to check the woodstove. All is bright and moon shadows through the trees tell me how clear the night is. Light is a precious commodity this time of year. Time to bulk up on the D vitamins to ward off the cabin fever. Winter has yet to begin and already we crave light on these darkest days of the year. We take great comfort from lights. My guess is that we are the only household in town that lights an outdoor tree all year long. I’ll put our string of LEDs up against a stark white 60...

Good Morning Everyone. It is 30 degrees warmer here this morning than it was yesterday at this time. Sawyer and I set out the last of the maple taps yesterday and we are expecting a busy week here with warmer temperatures in the forecast. I am hoping to boil our first run of sap next Friday before I leave for Texas for 12 days. But that is a whole story in and of itself. Becki Newcum, one of our deckhands, arrived yesterday after a 20 hour drive from Indiana (if you had seen how much she had packed in that little Honda, like the clown car at the circus, you would know why it took her 20 hours). Big day for Nadie, her first dance recital is tonight with a reception afterwards....which makes me think about food...ahh...Mary's lobster dip would be good right about now.... Hot “Lobstah” Dip 1 cup cooked lobster, chopped 8 oz. cream cheese ¼ tsp. garlic salt 1 tsp. mustard 2 tsp. dry white wine 1 tsp. Seasonal ½ cup mayo 1 tsp. powdered sugar 1 tsp. minced onion Mix all together....

Wow didn’t that wind whistle yesterday. Sawyer and I made our Saturday Camden run to the dump, the library (yes, we paid our fine for that overdue book), and rowed out to the schooner just to check the lines for chafe and see that the cover was intact. Right there at the head of Camden those gusty NW winds buffet the schooner right about amidships. There is no swell but that wind....take the butter right off a biscuit. I spent the afternoon hours splitting wood in the North facing wood yard. Brrrr... So today is a day of rest (not really with the wood pile still waiting but I like the concept). I was inspired by Mary’s doughnut recipe to try my own hand at it. Mary Barney is famous up and down the coast for her baking. Used to be when she lived out on Monhegan Island she would make doughnuts for the fisher men and women on trap day, the first day of their fishing season. She worked 25 summers at the Trailing Ewe and made doughnuts everyday. That’s alot of doughnuts. I work wi...