Saturday, July 22, 2017
This morning I started out walking the North Trail to make sure it didn’t need any trail maintenance before we started having guests arrive. It has been over a week since I walked this trail because of the attacking seagull. The good news was the trail looked in good shape and can probably wait until next week before anything needs to be done. This is still the most breathtaking trail on the island, it offers so many diverse environments. It also provided raspberries for my breakfast as well. The blackberries are still about 2-3 weeks before they will be ready to pick but there are a lot of them.
Today’s visitors were great! Some were repeat visitors, some were FOSILS members and then there were still the newbies! The newbies ask a bunch of fun questions and are in awe of the views and the whole summer lighthouse caretaker gig. We talked more today about how we became the 2017 Caretakers and how it should be on everyone’s bucket list.
The two memorable visits today included a member who gifted us a bottle of wine as a welcome present, so very nice, thanks Bill. Then we had a couple walk up the path and I was fairly certain they arrived by sailboat because I saw the boat sail into the cove. I welcomed them like I do everyone and they immediately said to me “you look familiar, what is your boat’s name?”. This is a common greeting among cruisers when you pull into a port. My response of course, was Scout. They remembered us from St. Mary’s, GA at Thanksgiving. Their boat is Tatiana and they had anchored directly behind us for the week-long cruisers Thanksgiving celebration the town of St. Mary’s puts on for all the boat people, about 150-200 people every year. It was great to see Kristen and James again and to have a chance to touch base on each other’s travels since November. Hopefully, we will have another holiday dinner with them this year in warmer climates.
The best part of all our guests is having a chance to personally connect with them. Making sure the 4 little boys were sitting just right in the tower with a rainbow on them for a group picture, or with the 3-generational family who visited from Morse Mountain because they visit every year and they see our light every night. Everyone has a story, you need to take the time to find out what it is!
A quick update on the veggie garden – the cool temps and the fog have made the garden go crazy. Tonight, we had a harvest of pea pods with dinner, there are tomatoes, cukes, zucchini and summer squash all on the plants. The old spinach plants were pulled out and new seeds planted and the green beans are about 7-10 days from harvesting. I love trying to be self-sustaining like the keepers in the early 1800’s were, but I do not want any dried fish or marine birds on my plate.
Brian’s knee is improving but he still is mostly stuck to limited use. He did a few tours up the tower today for me but he is keeping himself off the trails for another day or two, I may need to bring up water again as a solo act tomorrow but after that all should be good.
Guests today – 38
Guests total – 730
USCG – 6 (ok, I am giving up hope of a return visit)
