Rocks

In the last post I told you the house was rocking on Thursday night.

Here are a few pictures that cover the Friday morning high tide and its aftermath.








How cool is that wave in this shot?



















Help!!!

Seasick

The Keeper's Cottage was rocking last night.

Gusts of 60 miles per hour shook this old place last night for nearly two hours. I was settled in to watch the second half of the Celtics game when I noticed the back and forth and up and down you might associate with being on board ship. I checked with Haley and she had noticed the same. Heading downstairs to be sure everything was tight I found Julie looking outside to the parking lot. The wind was pushing the waves out in straight lines as they hit the ocean side seawall like a horizontal rain. The parking lot was filling up fast and there was already a hint of the rocks I would find this morning. My rehung blue and white sign had busted free of the yardarm on the side lawn as well.

This morning I gathered the sign and checked out the road and decided that the wrong way up Lighthouse was the better way to go. In the year we have been here I have never had to do that before. Returning this afternoon I found the walkway up and around the Lighthouse more full of rocks than ever. I scooped out what I could but will have to enlist the Town for a small mover to get the rest. These are not the small beach stones I can shovel, but rather are the makings of a serious wall. These stones are heavy and were moved in the morning tide; the first of several 11 foot tides we will see this week.

The wind has died down considerably from last night so I don't expect any big problems with the tide tonight. Tomorrow morning though there is another flood tide due and there are already advisories posted. Its a new year here and there are new lessons. One I could do without: the queasy feeling of sea sickness while laying in my own bed.

La Fonda Spice

A full year now - 52 posts

Out of school for the February break marked the end of year 1 here at Old Scituate Light. 365 days ago Monday, I woke up to an amazing sunrise and the beginning of a hands on class called Light Keeper 101. Anyone who has followed along week to week knows I have had a blast and filled up the notebook as the course has progressed. I have learned so much and what this year has done for Haley can barely be described.

There is a list of names in the kitchen. It is each and every guest Haley has had here over the year. Most of them "Rock." Some are "Awesome." To watch her share this place with her friends, and with my guests, has been a dream come true. She has become a bit jaded with a crowd around, but not at when an individual needs an answer. She has got the history down. She knocked me out with a direct quotation from one of the panels in the runway this week.

The main project for the break was to remake the bathroom. It was the only room left untouched a year ago and I had grown to hate it. The sink was in an awkward place and left me standing in the kitchen to shave. The lights bugged me too. Step by step, I disassembled it, and with help I will have it in a shape that will last a good long while. The new color is the title of this post - kinds sounds like someone who might get paid to show up at a bachelor party doesn't it?

Pictures will follow when the job is complete.

Guests Arrive

Haley and her friends named them Phil and Donald.

The brutal cold has once again created an ice pack in the bay in front of the cottage and shortly after noon a seal found his way into the middle of it. He was quickly christened Donald when Haley and her friends noticed him up on the ice and we got out the cameras for the shots we share above and below. A couple who joined us noticed the second one up on the jetty. He became Phil.



The faces are amazingly expressive. I had heard such a visitation was a possibility when we moved in a year ago but I had never seen a seal in my years of kicking around the coast. They are roughly four and a half feet long, mostly white with a bleed to black in spots. There is no indication that either was ill, though at the end of the day Donald did not seem to be moving much. We will see what may have happened as the tide returns tonight around midnight. Phil will either have to move or get floated off like a log from his perch on the jetty. Neither made a sound though there was some flapping of the fins.



Cold Day, Cool Happenings.

Post 50

I have been holding off as this is something of a milestone.

This is the fiftieth post on this blog. Who knew? The year has flown by and I have dutifully found a way to convince myself that anyone might be interested in how its going out here on the Point. I have loved the feedback and the chance for some creativity.

The New Year has had me looking around at the cottage for holes to plug and ways to tighten up the joints. With a west wind the house gets cold. It blows right through the dryer vent and takes the utility room down to "can see your breath ..." I am figuring it out and should we track down the storm windows that have been proposed I think next winter will see the house become cozy all the time. We have rearranged the furniture in the aftermath of Christmas and that has boosted the comfort and the utility of all the rooms. I have inventoried all the books too, so I can lay my hands on anything I am looking for when I am looking for it. Good tasks for the stormy days.

There has been some excitement as the weather continues to entertain. Every time I clean off the walkway to the Tower wind and waves toss a new pile of stones back my way. I am sharing a few pictures though to lend a peak at the big jetty with some frosting and another that I am calling "Coming and Going." The bottom one is a neat view of the ice pack from the top of the Tower. I was taking down the wreath and had to grab a camera to get this unusual shot.


I am also adding a couple of pictures sent to me from my friend Dave Sacchitella. He and I took in the disaster that was the January 10 Patriots Game and, beyond his company and the laughs, this was the reward. Turns out Mr. Kraft has a lighthouse too. We might have to invite him over to share notes.



















Just as a reminder - This Saturday night veteran journalist William Ketter is the featured speaker at the Historical Society Winter Dinner Meeting at the Methodist Church on First Parish Road. Call the Little Red Schoolhouse for details.

A Different Day

Yesterday saw our swimmers arrive - high sun and a quick dip and they were on their way. Today brings a different set of circumstances.

Rubble and flood in the parking lot. A massive log that has sat for months where the jetties come together dancing all over the beach landing as the tide turns some 35 to 40 yards from where it sat a mere half hour before high tide. As before the pictures can tell the story.



I will try to put together an image that shows how far this log has moved. It is a massive trunk that five people together could not have moved a foot. All summer long people have posed for pictures on it and used it as a bench for picnics. At 11:45 it was solidly in place as it has been through each of the earlier storms we have had here.At 12:10 it had moved twenty yards and even as the tide began to turn and settle back it kept tossing this massive piece of wood like it was a Lincoln log. It was amazing to watch. It certainly is a different day.

New Years 2010

Another photo entry as the pictures tell the story.
Noon, January 1, 2010.


The only downside was all the swearing going in and coming out.