Saturday, September 23, 2023
It is impossible to believe that Summer 2023 is over. Unlike previous summers, we didn’t a have any big projects. Over the past year, there were plenty of repairs on the PEKABU, leaving her in great shape. I had hoped to make a new enclosure and chaps for the new dinghy, but there is no space for working onboard and the covered picnic tables are quite a distance from the boat. (Georgia has already place us into her que for the enclosure to be made over this winter.) Between normal medical appointments, family and friends, actual free time was limited. . . and then there was THE HEAT! We had a couple of weeks with temps over 90. We did much better other parts of the country that had weeks over 100 degrees! Wild fires flaired while water supplies decreased. There are over 300 wild fires burning in Canada with the smoke enveloping the east coast with dangerous air quality problems. So, at quick glance, I find it hard to tell you that we got this and that done. Looking back, it was a bunch of little things that filled our time.
The effects of the HEAT on trees ~ premature coloring and decay
Custom awnings were a major help cutting down on the sun and heat
Around the Marina: Double rainbow, full moon and a huge mushroom
The best investment of our time was finding Hiede, of I Dog, What’s Your Trick? She is a great dog trainer. During our first lesson, she had us walking Tillie without pulling! A true miracle! Both of us were at whit’s end and our bodies ached from trying to walk her. We still have a strong-willed puppy, but she is learning to be a good canine citizen. We can walk confidently past other dogs, get her to leave or drop things she not supposed to have, and is well behaved in a pet store or hardware store. Our final lesson was to be in an outdoor eatery, but was canceled due to a tropical storm. TS Ophelia blew through our last weekend in Castle Harbor Marina, our home over the summer. We still have a lot of work to do to get Tillie fully trained, but now there are tools and hope.
Training is hard work, but she is trying to be a good girl
While visiting my dear friend, Carolyn, we went to the Mercer Museum in Doylestown, PA. I was disappointed that we didn’t have time to tour Henry Mercer’s home, Fonthill Castle, but maybe next time. The following is the description from the museum’s website: https://www.mercermuseum.org/about/mercer-museum/
The Mercer Museum is a history museum of everyday life in America during the 18th and 19th centuries. Henry Mercer (1856-1930) gathered the collection and constructed the Museum. The collection of some 40,000 objects documents the lives and tasks of early Americans through the tools that met their needs and wants prior to the Industrial Revolution, or about 1850. Visitors can choose their own paths through the Museum. Most of the 55 exhibit rooms and alcoves display the tools or products of an early American craft, trade or occupation. Other rooms show categories of objects such as lighting devices or architectural hardware.
Mercer gathered almost 30,000 items ranging from hand tools to horse-drawn vehicles and assembled this encyclopedic collection in a system of his own devising. To enhance the collection’s educational value, and to share it with the public, Mercer decided to design and build a museum to display the artifacts.
In 1916, Mercer erected a 6-story concrete castle. The towering central atrium of the Museum was used to hang the largest objects such as a whale boat, stage coach and Conestoga wagon. On each level surrounding the court, smaller exhibits were installed in a warren of alcoves, niches and rooms according to Mercer’s classifications — healing arts, tinsmithing, dairying, lighting and so on. The end result of the building is a unique interior that is both logical and provocative. It requires the visitor to view objects in a new way. Henry Mercer donated the building and his collection to the Bucks County Historical Society.
Mercer Museum, one of the cement mixers used to build the castle and my friend, Carolyn
Examples of the tiles the Mercer Company produced
Spinning wheels, apothecary and gun smithy rooms
Conestoga wagon, milling whee and iron gates
A ship's figurhead, a press and a mold
The Atrium and its ceiling with the rooms off the walkways on each floot
Fonthill Castle & the Tile Foundry
This museum would be a place both my husband and his dad, and the rest of the men in both of our families, would have loved and gotten lost for a couple of days. What a photographic opportunity!
We both spent time reading. Pete did a few minor repairs onboard and participated in a couple of matches. Of course, he did a lot of walking and training with Tillie. Unfortunately, all that pulling while he walked Tillie prior to our training has exacerbated his left knee. He is scheduled for surgery with the same doctor in Boca Raton just before Thanksgiving. As for me, I took long walks with Tillie and continued her training on the Cross Island Trail just a half mile from here. The trail itself is 10+ miles long, but we would walk anywhere from 3-5 miles at a time. Of course, during these walks, I usually found a few things to photograph.
Views along the Cross Island Trail
I am continuing with my online photography courses. I am constantly amazed at the phone’s photographic abilities. Add to that, the editing apps used in the course have tremendous editing tools for compensating for lens distortion, removal of unwanted objects, as well as adjustments in tuning, white balance, vignetting, and special effects. Many are free while others are purchased for a nominal cost. Now, I just have to learn to work within the small screen. Unfortunately, my DSLR doesn’t come out very often. My smaller phone that just happens to have a phone attached does have a few limitations (like a clear & substantial zoom), but it is the one most handy. All the photos for the past 4 years are all from my phone.
We enjoyed a few days with our granddaughters, Hadi and Riley. While in Castle Harbor we had them on the boat doing some crafts and swimming, of course. We also cruised over to St. Michaels. The girls totally enjoyed pool and splash pad. They slept very well that night. We returned to our marina the next day. Chris and Rubble (the dog) came down to join us in great ice cream at Sugar Doodles which features Vanderwende’s Ice Cream. Pete’s mom was friends with the matriarch of that family. The dairy farm is now in the hands of the 4th generation and the ice cream is one of the best! Their ice cream concoctions are pretty amazing, too!
Prior to starting our cruise, we were able to see Riley play softball. Both she and Hadi are in a great instructional league with only 2 teams in each of their divisions. For Riley’s games, the pitcher pitches 3 times, then the coach pitches 3 and if still no hits, the Tee comes out. The entire roster gets up to bat each inning. The coaches help and encourage players on both teams when out in the field whether fielding the ball or running the bases. And here is the best part – since the score is not kept, the game is decided by a relay not skill. At the 90 minute mark one team starts on 2nd and the other at home base. When the signal is given, the players run the bases, then hand the ball off to the next player. The first team with all players running all the bases is declared the winner. We were unable to catch Hadi’s game. Being older, the skills and scoring count.
Riley covering Third and Catching ~ Her cousin, Mia, at bat
Tillie now has an OK for us to begin our cruise after a bit of a hiccup. This past Wednesday, Tillie took a “walk about” off the boat while Pete was down below. She must have been gone for about 10 minutes before he realized she was gone. A quick walk to land and a lots of calling from the parking lot for about 15 minutes before a flash of black, white and brown came flying around the corner towards Pete. Of course, she now believed it was time to play some more. We think during her adventure, she must have eaten something she shouldn’t have. Twice, during the early morning hours on Thursday, she vomited up a hard, sharply chewed, 2-inch, pieces of black plastic. Needless to say, we made an appointment with the vet. X-rays, blood work and physical exam were negative, but there might be smaller, sharp pieces still working their way through her system. We needed to bulk up her meals with soft, but bulky food to assist in the removal of any remaining plastic. She had no complaints about her temporary diet of canned dog food. If there are no problems over the weekend, so we are free to go.
The boat is ready for our next cruise. She is clean from stem to stern, top to bottom. Inventory is complete and most of the provisioning is already on board. The engine oil and belts have been changed and the fuel topped off. The enclosure is up. There are always those last minute and perishable foods, like fresh fruits and veggies, milk, cold cuts, etc. I’ll finish that just before we depart. We had planned on leaving on Sunday, but between Tillie’s misadventure and a tropical storm, we were slightly delayed. The forecast is for showers for most of the week. We figure that the debris from the 3+ foot above normal high time caused by TS Ophelia this weekend, will have hopefully, headed south the Bay.
Sunset before Ophelia came to visit
Courtesy of Ophelia’s departing winds, we might be able to sail down The Bay on Tuesday!
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