Heavy Water Time

There's nothing like a strong blow out of the east to push a running sea into our little island. Today's been such a day with pretty strong winds blowing about 50mph flat out of the east. Our house resides on the western side of the island facing Portland harbour so we're pretty much in the lee of the storm.

It's been raining heavily since the middle of last night with the winds picking up their intensity by the hour. The call's gone out to fellow islanders working on the mainland that it might be a good idea to leave work a little early to be sure of getting home. With the sustained winds we have, they could well berth the boats in Portland since it would be too difficult and unsafe to attempt landings on the islands.

Here are some pictures taken on a quick ride around the island. Wish they were better composed but they'll give you an idea of a Peaks Island stormy day; enjoy. These pictures were taken at near slack tide so you'll have to imagine what it was about six hours earlier. For all flatlanders, slack tide is low tide!

Winter's Almost Here!

Well, golf was cancelled this past Tuesday. Something to do with 32 degrees and 20mph northerly breezes. This may well be the end of another season since there's a forecast of possible snow over the weekend. In years gone by, our major goal was to golf in December but with each passing year the tolerance of my back to lower temps has definitely decreased. This is the first week some of our nighttime temps made it into the high teens so I'm afraid we're getting close to the end of Fall and the beginning of the dreaded W word.

One of the main identifiers of Winter bearing down on us are the animals. The snoozes tend to get more frequent and the location of the snoozes is a definite disclosure. No more sprawling in the middle of the floor but rather different enclosed locations in the sun or near heat have been scoped out and now being used. Some of them are downright interesting. No Peaks pics today, just a couple of snoozing animals slowly heading toward various states of hibernation. Enjoy the different forms of snuggling now going on for the next few months.

Late Fall on Peaks Island

The past few days have seen some wind and rain so alas, the leaves are just about all down. Managed to capture a few pictures in late afternoon when the light is particularly sharp. We're just about departing the world of "green" and entering the world of "brown". The days are much shorter with the sun setting around 4:15 now. It's hard to believe but I have heard discussions on how our annual potluck Thanksgiving dinner is being assembled. At least, the temps have remained pretty moderate but I do hear rumors about skiing in the mountains on man made snow. Somehow, I just can't quite feel the need for skiing.

Even though it's almost mid November, I'm still seeing strangers walking around the Island and on the boat. Like the flies, we're all waiting for the first true deep frost and that'll drive them away. Enjoy the pics.

Hawaii Time

Though I've been back in Maine for over a week now, my brain is still all fogged up from the long trek back from Hawaii. It does seem with each passing year, it takes me an additional day, or more, to restore my limited brain power. Today's writing will be strictly on Hawaii and not on Peaks Island.

I managed to spend two wonderful weeks in Hawaii on the island of Oahu. I stayed with my brother and his wife on a wonderful 17 acre estate called Lanikuhonua. Translated, it means "Where Heaven meets the Earth". It's a cultural institute today grown out of the former summer estate of one James Campbell, a Scotsman who as an engineer managed to bring the water supply from the windward side (the rainy side) of the island to the leeward side (the desert side). Today, long after his passing, his estate has done much to retain the cultural heritage of the Hawaiian people. My brother's wife Nettie is native Hawaiian and is the manager/caretaker of this estate and lives right on it. Since I find it nearly impossible to describe its beauty I'll just place down a link to a website which has a one minute video of it and show some pictures I took while there.

http://www.lanikuhonua.org/

I've been so fortunate to have been going there since 1984 and seeing all the changes that have occurred in the state of Hawaii since then especially the rise in native pride and protection of its culture. Enjoy the pictures of this very special and spiritual place. Oh, fear not, Peaks Island is my home, it will stay my home and it will always be my home but Hawaii is definitely my second home.