Good Hours Cottage
East Burke, Vermont
Tuesday, June 2, 2009, 3:15 pm

A Mix of Sun and Clouds; Cool but Pleasant
Temperature: 60F
Altitude: 1485 feet

We got home yesterday a bit after 2 pm, after an easy, sunny drive from far southwestern Vermont and, since there was no food in the house, a truck stop lunch an hour before arriving. We were tired of traveling and eager to get home. This was not only one of our longer trips, but also the one fraught with the most emotion and stress. But nevertheless, we believe life goes on and that it is good.

All is well here at the house, although the pond needs some work. There's lots of broken twigs and other small debris floating about, the little beach is more mud than sand, and the whole pond has a greenish cast to it, the early sign of growing algae. We spotted two large rainbow trout that apparently survived the winter, so the water quality can't be too bad. We'll get some algae-eating bacteria to take care of the green stuff, and some more rainbows to help eat the bugs (it is black fly and mosquito season here in the North Country).

The picture is the "Rising of Pop-Pop's Hobie Cat." Sunday morning, before we left Medford, NJ, our niece Wendy got "the cousins" together to rig their grandfather's old Hobie for sailing this summer, the first time it will have been used in years. Of course, the great-grands are all over it, while cousin Wendy is acting the Chief Petty Officer, calling out the names of the various sails, sheets, cleats, and other rigging items. We understand a new trailer is on order so it can be shifted around from Barnegat Bay, to the Chesapeake, to the Potomac.

This will probably be the last entry for a while. We plan to stay home mostly this summer, doing our yard and garden chores, entertaining friends and relatives, and painting the house. But come late August and into September, we'll hit the road for Downeast Maine, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island for a few weeks. We'll probably reactivate EnK's Journal then.