Summah!

Here we see Grandma checking out her future home on the water, a nifty Hinckley Picnic Boat. The mate from the boat saw her "Phillips Academy" sweatshirt and congratulated her on it. Unfortunately, nothing came from this, and our boats are still not in the water.
On Memorial Day we had clams and lobsters (and hamburgers and onion rings) at Five Islands. It was sunny and the wind was calm and there were no bugs. Just can't beat it.
Summah is heeah!
Whaler went in on Tuesday. S'about time.

Forget me Knot

These little blue forget-me-nots are very pretty, aren't they? However, they have multiplied much faster than rabbits--each day ten new plants. Grandma loves them, but one of these days they will rise up and gobble her! They seem pretty dangerous to me.

Grandma spent an hour this morning clipping the diseased sprigs from the viburnum beyond the blue wave.
I tell ya, it's a battle every day out there.

Still no boats in the water.

BONG BONG

The Range Light Keepers have resurrected a bell-striking mechanism for the bell that used to hang on the belltower upriver. They put it all together at the fire station, and the apparatus will strike a bell, just like the old one. We heard it on Sunday, and it is glorious. This will be a display in the Maritime Museum, starting on June 7 (maybe) and running all summer. It should be a big hit there.
The plan afterwards is to move it all to the bell tower, and perhaps to actuate the mechanism from the MMM tour boat.
The real old bell, removed sadly and incompetently in 1972, will also be returning , but just to the Museum. The USCG won't let it go back on the belltower. I believe they are still embarrassed after all these years. And they should be.

Communing

Maggie made her first communion on Saturday in a lovely service with lots of music. Afterwards there was a happy gathering and an all-white cake. A good time was had by all, some more than others. I had to attend a lacrosse game at Andover, while others were fortunate enough to attend Suzanne's excellent dance recital. And my hero is Alex's boyfriend Bobby, who played marathon hockey in the basement with Sam now that Papa has hung up his skates.
Bart treated us to a hibachi dinner in Billerica which was rather wild but very good eatin'.

Tick...TOCK!

Sagadahoc County is the epicenter of deer tick life in Maine. Both householders at The Crotch have had lyme disease, not seriously. This horrible disease can cause severe neurological damage. Although people think the disease is carried by deer, a more important and immediate carrier is RODENTS. These lil creatures scurry through the woods, and ticks hop on for the ride. While the coyotes are working their magic on the deer, it is up to your bloggah to take on the rodent community. As of yesterday, chipmunk season was open, and the count so far is two. You should know that these cute lil tick-bearers are terminated humanely; that is, they are zapped with the rat zapper!

Bunkhouse Upgrade... or...

Or not, depending on what you have come to Maine for, and the weather, and your age, and so forth. But after wrestling with the Internet and various devices, I finally managed to get Roku working in the Bunkhouse. It is presently connected upstairs, but it can easily come down for grownups.
A necessary concomitant is that the range extender is now working well there and so the Internet is alive throughout the bunkhouse with a strong signal.
Sorry, forgot the nerd alert!

Love a Parade

Brunswick has more parades than any other place I've heard of. Yesterday we attended the "Species and Art" parade. Jonas and other first graders made banners and carried them proudly (no, I lie, the parents carried them) following the junior high band. All sorts of species were represented: a snail, a giraffe, a bee, you name it. The banners were made with the help of Spindleworks, a sheltered studio that does great work with art for mentally handicapped people in Brunswick. Many of those marched, and loved it. What a neat town.

Pip and Chin

American credit cards do not work in many places in Europe and other parts of the globe. Although the Yanks invented the computer chip, our cards don't work in automated machines elsewhere, like gas stations and subways, because they use a magnetic strip, rather than an embedded computer chip. Coupled with a PIN number, the chip provides security much greater than the strips. On one trip to France we had a Travelex chip'n'pin card that worked most places, but the conversion rate was usurious. Then I heard that AAA was offering such a card, and got one, only to find that it is a chip and signature card, totally worthless in automated machines. However, now banks are coming around, and we are getting chip'n'pin cards from USAA, which is doubly excellent. If you are going to Europe, or Australia (I understand), these are really handy.
Just another excuse to cross the pond.

Another dog problem

In pickups, coupes, sedans, sports cars here in Maine, we see dogs at the wheel, their snouts out to catch the wind, not a care in the world. For a while we thought this was sort of cute, and very Maine. However, liberty breeds license. I was alarmed to read, in last night's Times-Record, that a dog had been drinking before it took to the road. This is unsafe behavior. What makes it worse: it was a police dog! I can only hope it was off duty.
You can bet things will only get worse, as dogs love to one-up each other. I am particularly concerned for our friend Dodger, the McIlvains' dog, who will probably be texting next time he hits the road.