Well, it was one busy weekend. It was a busy professional work day on Saturday. That leaves Sunday for all of those things I would do on Saturday. It was Marina weekend at CPYC, and everyone who has a boat at a slip are required to help. I have my Mimi at a mooring, but I like to help and do whatever small thing I can do to help. This means I usually sweep with the broom. But there were no chores I could do this time, so I helped a friend with his boat and generally just chatted. Marina weekend is a bit sobering. It really is the official end of our sailing season. It is the last day of launch service for the Windjammer, most of the boats have left their slips or moorings and many of the structures are dismantled. And it was cold today with a strong wind, another reminder that winter is on the way.
I was about as much help at marina weekend as these two seagulls sitting on the dock! The blue skies did not last long. Before we were finished, the front had changed to low clouds and strong winds.
The awnings were taken down and put away for the winter. Here is Mike, a former Commodore, calling in all helpers to a pizza lunch. These blue skies dis not last long.
When I was finished at CPYC, I went to visit Mimi at Crystal Cove Marina. Good thing I went as her plug was still in place and she had not completely drained. I also found out that the "O" ring in her plug was cracked. Need to remember to replace it for next summer's sailing season. She also needs her "bottom" painted, so lots of work to do on her. Now is a good time to start saving those sail bucks!
Since I was sans pups and free, I decided to take a hike around Deer Island. If the boys knew they would be so upset I did not bring them along with me. When Fionnegan and Gunnarr were puppies I brought them to Deer Island every Sunday morning. We had great times on the trails as well as on the drummonds watching the action in the harbor. I brought Shorty here once, shortly after he arrived in Boston. I thought he might miss the sea since he spent most of his life walking around the lagoon with me. But he was very much disinterested, so I never brought him back. He does not ride so well and I can only take so much barking in the car.
Here is Mimi, all shrink wrapped and ready for her winter rest. She has a little rust in her keel, easy enough to repair.
Sea views from Deer Island. This is a great place to walk. The views are gorgeous and unsurpassed. When I sail, my goal is to always go past the end of Deer Island. The city of Boston is in the background.
This is one of our favorite views. I would bring Fionn and Gunnarr up here and we would have a picnic and watch the boats. They never went far from me so I would let them run around a bit. Then we all would take a nap on the blanket. Usually both would get tired part way back to the car, so I ended up carrying them on my shoulders. Looks like I have been reminiscing a bit! You can see how quickly the sky is changing from the blue skies to all now cloud covered in just a very short time.
In the center of the photograph is a large ocean liner. A bit of a dreary beginning of their ocean voyage.
A few fall flowers dot the pathways.
The Boston Harbor was not always so clean and it took a lot of work and politicking to get it to the great recreational body of water it is today.
After this most enjoyable break and walk, it was time to head home for some much needed chores. In particular, my beautiful crabapple tree needed to be cut down. I hated to do this but had no choice. Last winter we had four hemlocks broken from the snows and their heavy branches landed on the crabapple tree. Well that pressure and momentum made her lean from the ground up onto a large shrub right in front of the glass windows in the house. The tree had grown larger than the roof of the atrium and I was now concerned that with another heavy, wet snowstorm, the tree would break through the glass windows. So I did buy my very first chain saw (thank you Mrs EK for the suggestion to go to Harbor Freights - they were wonderful) and sawed it down. I even cleared the ground about two inches deep to cut it below ground level. Sawing down was the easy part, because I had to drag it over the hill to the brush pile. I did cut it up in easy to manage pieces but made many trips back and forth. Fionn, Gunnarr and Shorty watched carefully, not sure what to make of the buzzing of the chain saw. Actually I kept them in the atrium while I was operating the chain saw. I cannot watch them and me at the same time! I am not certain I will be able to plant another flowering tree in the yard, but will wait until next Spring and see how things develop yard wise. Now that I have a chain saw, I do have my eye on this old decrepit apple tree that I always wanted cut down. In the 25 years that I have lived in this house, it bloomed profusely only once. It has survived all of these winters and heavy snows without so much as a broken branch but it is not realty healthy. Next year...….
Here are a few branches of the crabapple tree. I kept a few branches upright for the birds that may enjoy the fruit, although those little apples are really, really bitter.
Fionnegan, Gunnarr and Shorty are enjoying running and playing in the gardens.
And I am enjoying the last roses of my gardens!
Chores done, we need to get ready for the Patriots game! And the Red Sox are in the playoffs, too. So a lot of sports to watch tonight.
