Where boats and pig slobber meet

I was so disgusted with myself for not noticing the smudge affecting all of these shots that I seriously debated not posting them. Then I thought, if you love boats or are at least interested, a little pig slobber smudge could only hurt my ego, and not keep you from getting the feeling I had, walking through some history and beauty at the Maine Boats, Homes and Harbors Show.

I'll confess right now, my favorite boats were / are the dorys, peapods, and Hamptons, but there was a whole lot of beautiful for competition.

"Beginning in the late 18th century, Maine lobstermen enjoyed the comforts of nothing more than a simple rowing Dory. Inexpensive to build or buy, these high-sided, flat bottomed boats were the preferred way for New England fishermen to reach their traps. However, Dory's had their deficiencies.

Another rowboat, the Peapod (named for its elongated and rounded shape, much like the vegetable) soon joined the Maine lobster fishing fleet. The Peapod had an advantage over the Dory - it was larger, and because of its shape, it could be rowed from either end.

But why row? The double-ended design of the Peapod was modified. The new boat, the Hampton fishing boat - so named because of its origin in Hampton, New Hampshire - had a keel, and spritsail rigged masts. Lobstermen could now call upon the power of wind in their fore-and-aft sails to make their expeditions more efficient.

Another modification, the Reach, was a cross between the Peapod and the Hampton boat. The Reach was approximately 14 feet long, with a keel and square sails, and was well suited for both sailing and rowing. In later years, the Reach's flattened stern, like that of the Hampton, would make it adaptable to the addition of an outboard motor."   From Grilling Lobster Tails and More...

And for now, that's all I have time to post! These wonderful, incredibly functional little boats are still being restored and even being built by a few companies, albeit as pleasure boats, today. Tradition...it should be a good thing!

You can? Thanks!

Yesterday I finally got someone to sell me a cheap emergency phone to replace the one I lost, the one I borrowed and the one I bought that didn't work. Living on Culebra and buying a phone in the states makes life extra fun, so I decided to buy one I can toss at the end of this trip. Works for me! I hope...

And if life isn't exciting enough with all of that, I also finally found the hardware I needed, deep in the bowels of some box or another, to put together book cases so I could load 'em up with a few hundred books. Yes yes, hold on to your pacemaker, it was a wild whirl for sure.

So here are some shots from the other day that I didn't post. I'll try to do something more exciting soon enough. There is a big boat show coming up as well as a certain blond-haired tornado a few of us know and love blowing into town for a day or so. Hang on; it can't all be motorcycles, wooden ships and moose.

* * * * * * * 

This bench is across the river. I found a very neat spot down a path from my regular spot...two Adirondack chairs connected by a table, sitting on the water's edge (did I post that already?), turned to look down the way, so I went back there...to sit in them. I thought, well, no one will be out here this early on a Sunday morning, I'll just be here a minute. On my way back through the woods a guy cheerily said good morning, commenting on the glorious day and his errant dogs (a cheery hello in Maine is a big thing, by the way). When I got back and mentioned his cheeriness to Laurie, she told me, "Oh, you know those chairs you found on that path the other day? That's the guy who owns all of that land; he gave those to his sister for a present...he just came by to talk about doing some tree work around here..."

I guess I'll leave this bench alone...

Not that guy's mushroom

 I forget exactly what Laurie told me this is called, something like 

False Lavender, but it's pretty...oh, and it's his lavender too. Oopsy.

Not his mushroom dos - I'm going to miss doing one thing I really would like to do, a Mushroom Walk, learning to identify some around here, to do something I'd like more, the Maine Boats, Homes and Harbors show- I might never see some of these boats and builders in person again, so sorry, 'shrooms!

I do love the trees here...young, old, standing, falling...so beautiful, so MANY! Oh yeah, his tree. But hey, this guy was in knee high rubber boots, with a big old coon dog and a YORKIE - I bet he'd not mind a whole lot that I trespassed his path, so thanks, guy in the woods!

On a very sad note, a dog was poisoned around my Culebra neighborhood yesterday. Chacho's crime was having an owner who let him wander, despite warnings, and living in a world with some human who could do such harm to him.. He was a big, sweet dog, a companion for a few of us who walk in and out of town a lot.

He (and no animal) did not deserve to die such a cruel death. We need to keep getting the word out that there are alternative ways to control wandering animals, an often difficult issue, but one that Chacho's owner learned at the cost of his dog's life and that the killer has on his or her soul. If you know the owner of a loose animal, please let them know the consequences can be real and final. If you know the poisoner, let them know there are other ways to solve the problem and people willing to help solve it. RIP Chacho, you'll be missed.