Smokey on the Prairie - Friends of Seguin Island Light Station

Monday
August 8, 2016

It was cooler than recent mornings along with a clear, sunny sky, and a light breeze. For breakfast, Patty made breakfast sandwiches with toasted poppy-seed bagels, fried eggs, and provolone cheese. Right after breakfast, Patty made granola while I worked on the blog.

We went downhill for water after dumping a couple of the bottles we brought up yesterday that had a heavy iron film (and some chunks!) settle on the bottom. We checked the larger jerry-can we’d filled from and found that the water in it was equally cloudy for some reason. We

always rinse them out and soak them with bleach water off-island but for whatever reason, this one didn’t come back (or stay) clean. We poured the rest of the water out of the jerry can and got the next one which was fine and mostly clear (as clear as they get anyway). Once we run this water through the Brita filter, it will be perfect.

While we were down the hill, we saw a couple with their son who visited yesterday and chatted with them for a few minutes. They were the folks we heard (but never saw) last night when we were reading in the living room – they came up to see the light at night. They were getting ready to leave but had come ashore for a few minutes before sailing away.

On our way up the hill, we heard a couple of lobstermen out around Monhegan talking on the radio and thought we heard them say they saw a destroyer. Zumwalt maybe? The position they mentioned was between Monhegan and Burnt Island so we got out the binoculars to look. We could see a ship out there in the distance, or at least convinced ourselves we were seeing a ship. I tried taking a picture with the good camera, telephoto lens attached, and zooming in on the

Let's tour the tower. — Let’s tour the tower.

computer but it was just a fuzzy blob. I hadn’t heard anything about the Zumwalt leaving Bath so it was probably just some big ship. It eventually disappeared behind Damariscove Island and we never did figure out for sure what it was. In between their radio chatter about the mystery ship, they also took turns quoting from “Smokey and the Bandit” (one of them watched it last night) and also said that they were looking forward to the new “Little House on the Prairie” movie (who knew). These guys are entertaining for sure.

The ferry group arrived before noon and we first met a local couple who said they’ve sailed by many times but never stopped to visit. Based on the recommendation of sailing friends that stopped here three weeks ago, they decided to come out with Ethan to visit Seguin. Recommendations like that are rewarding to us! We also met three women traveling together, two of which (from Houston and Missouri) went up in the tower with me while the other stayed firmly on the ground. We also had a large family of fifteen in the ferry group and a

Lots of visitors around the house and tower.

father/grandson pair from Bath, neither of whom had ever been to Seguin. The grandfather worked at the Maine Maritime Museum for five years (he no longer works there) and said we would definitely love seeing the museum on Saturday when we’re there for the F.O.S.I.L.S. Summerfest fundraiser. We’re really looking forward to seeing the displays. In addition to these folks, there was a couple from Bath visiting with their grandson who was extremely excited about the lighthouse. It’s always fun to see the young ones loving the experience. They were super nice and had some spent some years in Alaska, where we are hoping to visit/caretake/work in the future. He gave us his contact information and said he will be happy to answer any questions and/or introduce us to friends that still live there.

Lunch salad with some garden fresh ingredients.

In addition to the ferry group, we also hosted a couple who we recognized from a visit to Seguin a week or two ago. They enjoyed their earlier visit and decided to come back with her cousin from Philadelphia to show her the museum, gift shop, lighthouse, and grounds. We talked with them for a long time and I followed-up with him about trail hiking recommendations at Baxter State Park where the northern end of the Appalachian Trail northern is located. If we want to see moose, he said that’s the place to go.

We took a break and Patty made a big salad for each of us using ingredients from the garden along with some ham and cheese on top and a dressing of red wine vinegar and olive oil.

We had a group of three arrive in their own boat after lunch and then it quieted down. We decided to mow up top which took an hour and a half or so and then went inside because it gotten pretty windy again. We read for a while, worked on the presentation and the blog.

For dinner Patty made fish stew with some leftover ‘Ethan-fish’ that we ate with bread and cheese. As we were eating, three people (a couple and a guy by himself) came up the hill and headed right back to the sunset benches. After dinner, we went out to watch the sunset ourselves but didn’t talk to any of the visitors. They all seemed too peaceful and quiet and engrossed in watching the sky although we did glance over periodically, open to chatting with them if they seemed interested. Sunset visitors often times seem content to simply watch without any distractions. The mosquitos were out in force so we didn’t make it too long after the sun fell below the horizon.