Saturday
August 27, 2016
I was up early this morning and after brewing some coffee, I sat on the front porch with a mug and a slice of soda
bread. It was sunny with a light northwest breeze and only around 65 degrees. Patty, John, and Terri were up not long after to get started with our day. For breakfast, we all had some sliced fruit and more of the Irish soda bread. It’s hard to believe but today marks the beginning of our final two weeks on Seguin Island.
Our first visitors to come up the hill were the family from Cliff Island that we met last night down in the cove – Heidi, Josh, Zev, Kai, and Cove. They stayed in their sailboat overnight and were up to say good morning and walk some of the trails. We had some of John’s leftover blackberry pie in the house and as a self-protective measure, Terri asked Heidi if she could give some
to the boys. She said yes and they were thrilled! They each had a slice and then looked longingly at the final piece which Terri had saved for Josh but ended up being split between Zev, Kai, and Cove.
While they were sitting at the picnic table, a steady stream of visitors started and we kept busy for the remainder
of the day. Two couples that came up early on were friends of Nate who was one of the caretakers of Seguin in the past and also the person that built the outhouse at the bottom of the hill for his Eagle
Scout project before his time as caretaker. We also had a couple recreate the moment of their engagement on the big rock next to the Keeper’s Quarters.
John and Terri offered each day to help with any chores and today, I Tom Sawyer’d John into mowing the top of the hill grass with the push mower and then Patty did the same and he did some of the riding mowing too. Given how busy we were with visitors it was really nice to know the mowing was finished – there’s no way we would have gotten it finished and the weather the past few days has prevented us from even starting.
We saw several repeat visitors including Jordin who’s been out two or three times with different guests and another couple that we’ve seen before and just wanted to hike the North Trail. Another couple asked if we had a bottle opener for their beer bottles. Uh, yeah – we were 
able to put our hands on one to lend them! Another repeat visitor was a woman that sails a beautiful and large sailboat – this time she was with a friend who had not been to Seguin before.
At one point we saw three silhouettes on the rocks next to the Cobblestone Beach and couldn’t quite make it out – was it people, some sort of bird, or what? Binoculars and the telephoto lens clearly showed it was three great blue herons. I think they’re more freshwater hunters, or at least brackish water hunters but there they were. It was the first time we’d seen herons here on Seguin this summer.
In the afternoon, a 65’ sailboat came into the cove and dropped off three people, from Idaho and Colorado, while one person stayed aboard the boat. None of the available moorings were able to handle a sailboat that size so while the three visited the island, the person who stayed aboard idled around nearby until the three returned. We could see the sailboat from the top of the island and it was huge.
There was no scheduled ferry today but Ethan did bring over five visitors who are staying in the Guest Quarters overnight. Patty and I went down to the cove when we expected them to be arriving to dinghy them if needed but when we got down the hill, they were already up by the info kiosk with all of their bags and provisions. Ethan was able to nose up onto the beach and drop them off so no dinghy shuffle was needed. Our guests Ann &
Bruce were given the gift of a night on Seguin by their kids and, for the night here, they were accompanied by their daughter April, son-in-law Bill, and granddaughter Jane. I helped them with a small bag or two but they carried almost everything up themselves. Among their gear were the obvious shapes a guitar and other instruments which turned out to be a banjo, mandolin, and guitar. Hmmm. This could be good.
As we were heading up
the hill with our guests, John and Terri took the dinghy out to fish in the cove. The family that stayed in the cove overnight gave John a gig for mackerel which he used on a fishing rod kept in the Engine House. I think John was in heaven although he didn’t end up with any keepers.
At the top of the hill, the overnight guests asked if it would bother us if they played some bluegrass music on the front porch. The only objection we could have is not being able to watch and listen. Later in the evening, after everyone had dinner, they sat on the porch playing, many of the songs recognizable to me and Patty from the bluegrass we hear around our western North Carolina hometown. Terri didn’t know any of the songs particularly but it didn’t prevent her from joining in with a little guitar and harmonizing vocals of her own. It was an awesomely fun evening.
Oh yeah, I mentioned the dinner we had before the music started – we had steaks cooked on the gas grill along with diced white and sweet potatoes with Sriracha that were roasted on a baking sheet, stuffed long hot peppers, grilled peppers and tomato salad. Our overnight guests cooked their dinner on the charcoal grill and enjoyed it at the picnic table in the yard.
Visitors – 73
Favorite Moment(s) – bluegrass on the porch. Period.
Sunrise – 5:48am
Sunset – 7:14pm
#Seguinisland #seguinislandlight #seguinislandlighthouse #maine #LifeOnTheRock
