The Simple Life. And Fog.

    Here we are in Cradle Cove again, waiting for the weather to clear a bit before we swap out the scenery for something different.  It’s been mighty foggy these past several days, and wet.  We need the wet on land - things were getting pretty dried out - but it would be nice for a little summer weather.  We turned on the heater yesterday - the Fourth of July - to take the chill out of the air.  Still, no real complaints.  We have time to putter, to play, to sleep, to admire the view when there is one. 

    We have seen seals herd fish into a circle for a ruthless feeding frenzy. We’ve watched osprey guard their nests and bald eagles chase other birds out of their territory.  We saw a deer delicately pick his way across the shoreline rocks in search of something tasty.  There was one glorious sunsetthe night we spent off Holbrook Island.  We’ve been to the Rockland Farmer’s Market a couple of times - fresh strawberries and snap peas! - and we’ve experimented with meals.  We don’t have refrigeration - by choice - on the Willie Dawes.  The water here is cold enough to be able to keep some things (cheeses eg) usable for awhile in the bilge, but most fresh foods and any leftovers need to be used up within a day or two, so we’ll have chopped greens sauteed into the canned hash and the extra grilled hamburger chopped up into a can of chili.  It’s fun to see all the various meals you can make with a can of chicken.  (1 Can chicken meat, 1 can mangoes, 1 tsp each ginger & turmeric, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, 2 TB lime juice, 1 TB fish sauce, some green onions and cilantro if you have them - cook about twenty minutes in a skillet to get the flavors mingled and serve over rice.  Leftovers chopped up and mixed with an egg or two make dandy rice burgers for tomorrow’s breakfast or lunch - drop large spoonfuls into hot oil and fry up and serve with spicy mustard or soy sauce.)  I daresay we eat better than those seals or that deer, but we’re probably not as much fun to watch.

    Tomorrow we’re back in Camden.  The cat has a vet appointment to update her vaccinations.  Her idea of “outside” is either the screened-in porch at home or the deck here on the boat, but if we do get to Canada by boat this year they might want to see her papers.  (More likely, they’ll want to see something similar for Dan and me.)  So when we do leave this anchorage, we won’t go very far.  We haven’t yet found that fourth new-to-us anchorage.  Maybe this coming week.  If the fog clears.  

Holbrook Island Sunset