Friday, July 7, 2017 – A day of firsts
Today started out with us working at chores early because we thought the weather conditions would bring us visitors earlier than normal because the afternoon had some rain predicted.
My goal today was to finish cutting back the North Trail. This was a first for me, to complete the North Trail and Loop by myself. It is a lot of work and not the most fun trail to cut especially with the agitated mama seagulls. Out I went at 7 am to get it done while Brian was finishing up the repairs on the porch off the kitchen. Things were going well until I was near the north point of the island when another first happened, I got hit hard on the back of my head by a swooping seagull. I was stunned for a moment, and then realized I needed to finish up and make a hasty retreat. The good news is I finished the cut back of the trail by myself, the bad news is the bird hit me so hard on the head it caused a laceration, even thru my hat. By the time I got back to the cottage, my hat and hair were well crusted with blood and I was sporting a large egg on my noggin! Advice to the visitors may be to skip the end of the North Trail for a few more weeks!
When I got back to the cottage, Brian was giving tours to the Kennebec River Sea Scouts troop 243. They were originally going to Boston for their summer outing but the seas were a little too big for most on board and the leader called the trip short and brought them to the island for a small recovery period. There were 12 total on board for a visit. The Sea Scouts hold a special place in our life because our boat S/V Scout was a former training vessel for the Scouts in Long Island.
By lunch the rain arrived but it did not stop another group of visitors, they arrived by sailboat and wanted the kids to see the island from the tower. Brian took this tour as well while I stayed warm and dry inside!
As the afternoon was winding down, I decided I needed to walk the South Trail to give me another first, walking all of the trails in a day. We are constantly walking the trails but because the North Trail is always a challenge, I have never walked them all in a day. Off I went as Brian worked on cutting back the Cove trail.
A Facebook memory came up on our newsfeed from last year. We were docked in Elizabeth City, NC and the heat index was above 100 degrees and we were all melting. Today on the island it reached 59 degrees and we are bundled in layers of fleece and contemplating turning on the space heater! We are still waiting for that week of summer Maine supposedly has.
Guests today – 17
Guests total – 390
USCG – 6
