The first Open House of the year was last Sunday and we were as pleased as can be to once again have Donna Elias and her husband Les join us. Many people visited and enjoyed Donna's work and many will be hanging new pictures or receiving new pictures as gifts. We got a waste basket, a tooth brush holder and a shower curtain as our upgrade. For those of you who might have missed Donna and her work check out the link on the right side of the blog. We hope to have she and Les back next summer, hopefully for Heritage Days.



We had a great number of very young kids come through Sunday and it was a blast to interact with them and move them toward an appreciation of the historic. One of the points I try to make regularly when we have the tours is that with technology what it was it is something of a miracle that any of our old places have survived. Placing coals under a straw bed to stay warm at night is a risky business and that I am able to sit at this desk when night after night that was done here by all the different residents until relatively recently is pretty amazing.

I was also made a gift of a CD by the recording artist Greg Cherone - The Songs of Scituate - I did not get a chance to thank him properly but I was thrilled to get it. Greg has a song about our Army of Two and about the Old Oaken Bucket. All the profit from sales of these CDs goes the the Scituate Historical Society.

Let me use this space to thank my cousin Susan for stopping by and bringing her wonderful friend Eleanor. The tried and true Peter and Barbara Whitfield helped out and Peter put in overtime for which he will receive no pay. Maureen Upton took her post selling raffle tickets for her legendary quilt and helped us sell some T Shirts, books and postcards. They all have our most heartfelt thanks for making the day fly by and getting the stories told.

Won't You Let Me Take You ...

On a Sea Cruise.

The Scituate Historical Society Lighthouse cruise is in the morning - a perfect kick off to the summer here at Cedar Point. More than 200 will board from the pier at 10:00 and visit surrounding lights in the course of a three hour cruise. Haley and I will be aboard taking pictures and video clips to post later. Come on back to check them out.

Lots of gardening and lots of reading here at the Keeper's Cottage. Haley has a series going and I am all over the literary map now that correcting has been laid down for the summer. One thing I have learned in my reading about the first Keeper Simeon Bates, and through the donations made by his descendants, there were always books here. Keeper Bates had wealth enough to provide his family with books and the steady voice evident in the affidavits left by Abigail and Rebecca give further reason to believe the family was well read. Between watering and weeding there is time for digging into mysteries and histories. If we could just find a cure for the rabbit that is cutting down every other hosta and all the brussel sprouts we would have it all covered.

Our first open house of the season is Sunday from 1:00 to 4:00. As I have posted before, the artist Donna Elias will return to Old Scituate Light. Donna has generously forwarded some new T Shirts which will be on sale at the open house along with her wide variety of Lighthouse masterworks from the Lights around the country. You can also take a chance on the annual Historical Society Quilt raffle when you come by.

Late last week we had guests on the beach enjoying a rare hobby. George and his son David were visting family here in Scituate while on vacation from Northern California and came down to the beach to sail, by remote, this neat boat. Julie got this shot on the perfect day. A day earlier they had braved rougher waters and darker skies. The boat had taken on some damage and they had had to manage some repairs. Call it another kind of sea cruise or some nice folks doing cool stuff in front of the Old Light.

Catching Up

Dribs and Drabs to share from Cedar Point.

Several groups have visited the Lighthouse since the last post.

A group of teachers working on Professional Development Points came by on a Sunday afternoon and took a brief tour of the grounds and the Tower led by local historian John Galluzo. They seemed to get a big kick out of the Jug in the Chimney house.

Third graders from Cushing School came by on a Monday morning and got all the stories from Julie and Dave Ball. The question of the day to Julie was, "How much did it cost to buy the Lighthouse?"

Maddy and Shannon had eleven questions each when they visited preparing to recreate the Rebecca and Abigail Bates story for their classmates at Cushing. I had a blast with both and hope that I get to see a video of their recreation some day soon.

Julie met a couple named Gail and John when she was shipping something out from the UPS store and as it turned out Gail has a job as a guide at the Yaquina Light on the Oregon Coast. They set up a visit and no 90 minutes has ever passed as fast. Haley had visited that light last year when she went to Oregon and we got to swap notes on the coasts.

My colleague Chris Galvin and his intended Kim arrived one afternoon and we loved having them in to drink in the ambiance and the history.

I am still waiting for a chance to paint the bottom levels of granite damaged by all the stone over the winter. It is has been very windy though and that won't do. One of these days I will beat mother nature back and get it done.

The gardens are prospering though one plant set by the mail box is being eaten by an unknown creature perhaps nesting under the utility room. I had to move the Hosta and the Seedum I replaced it with looks like it is being nibbled too. This week the Cedar Point Association does its annual clean up and planting. I just finished opening up a new garden next to the memorial stone for Mr. Downton. I am hoping to put in a beach rock path so that people can approach the sign with the Army of Two story and pose by it.

The Lighthouse cruise is less than a month away and the first open house follows the next day, June 27, 2010 from 1:00 to 4:00. Donna Elias is returning to show her masterpieces and Maureen Upton will be here offering chances for the annual quilt drawing. Mark your calendars.

Our friend Jack Foley has sent me an photograph taken last summer that will be included in a story to appear in South Shore Living's August issue. I have rarely looked so good. Julie is insisting that Jack had to spend a good deal of time with PhotoShop to get this image. I can't wait to see the spread and have contributed a brief essay of my own to the article.

A student of mine named Amanda Merrill gave me a remarkable photograph of the Lighthouse Park from the air. Taken last July it shows off the Cottage and the Tower and the whole of the place beautifully. This weekend I hope to pin it into the message board. Come on by and check it out.

What I did on my Spring Vacation

I don't like to have time on my hands.

Last week was the April School vacation and I worked with the surrounding stones to remodel the bench area dedicated to long time Cedar Point resident Joan Francis. Weeds and hard pan had replaced a purple stone surrounding the bench and I dug it out over the course of four days, replacing it with beach stone and pieces of granite thrown up into the yard over the winter. Two pictures below tell the story.
















A chorus of thanks was sent out last week to the Scituate Fire Department who came over on Wednesday and resolved my ongoing battle with the line on the Tower Flag pole. Using their ladder truck the SFD took a new line up and Julie got this amazing shot as the fireman worked his magic. Yes, that is a slice of the moon over his left shoulder. Haley shot some video on this but I need to edit it before posting. Check back soon for that link.





Two new gardens were installed as the week came to a close. Using a kit from Home Depot I assembled a four by four square in the small courtyard on the ocean side of the kitchen. Julie and Haley picked out some annuals and we added some color to the side of the house that was punished most by the rocks and sea all winter. I also spruced up the perennials on that side with some coreopsis, some hosta, some seedum, and purple sage. On Saturday my sister Lee arrived with a black compost that we used to dress up that perennial garden, the vegetable garden and at the same time creating new bed along side the runway on the harbor side in which I will be trying to grow some sunflowers.















I have this image in my mind of the buoys mixing with these sunflowers to create a new backdrop for our many brides. Seeds for some foxglove, some lupine, and a border sea grass went into the bed under the kitchen window. A climbing rose bush was installed next to the yard arm holding the blue and white Lighthouse sign.

The last chore of the week was to paint the message board. Time and weather had combined to wash out the white border and had yellowed the back to the color of a sorry pumpkin. The trim and the back got a coat of gray stain. The board looks cared for again and is ready to help us tell the story out here. I am researching some lighthouse poems and songs to share and the possibility of a digital photo frame to hold the many images the Society has that capture the evolution of this nearly two hundred year old landmark.

All in all a full and productive week. I lost about 7 pounds, still managed to correct a bunch of papers, watch the Celtics and Red Sox, and never threw out my old back. Our friends Marianne Bullock and Sean McLaughlin visited. I cut the lawn twice. The next vacation is August.

Upgrade

Now you can pin it up!

Thanks are owed to Marshfield teachers Tom Greland and Patti Ryan along with several Marshfield High School students who took an idea of mine and improved upon it tenfold. The idea was to add two cork bulletin boards alongside the glassed in presentation board added last spring. I approached Tom and Patti asking if a cork board could be cut cleanly in their shop; they took the idea and wrapped the beautiful frames you see around the boards. Students chipped in with the stain and sealant coats. John Coscia (faithful brother in law) gave me a hand installing them and we were good to go. John is also going to help out with a rotted board along side a runway window. He is the Master of the Measuring Tape and the Sultan of the Sawsall.

The End of the Stone Age

Whoooh - the sound of relief at last.

The rocks are back on the beach - the stone age is over and families are strolling around the Tower again at ease. Pete Spencer was the low bidder on the job of removing the stone and returning them to the ocean side beach and his crew did an amazing job. They also reset the big pieces of granite that guard the walk way. It is an impressive sight to see. Last Monday Dave Ball and I sat before the Conservation Commission and we given the permissions needed to do the work. With the weather as rainy as it has been until yesterday Pete must have been happy to work someplace that wasn't bogged down in mud. Stone was also pulled away from the runway revealing the foundation for the first time in anyone's memory. There is a small amount of rot revealed as well but nothing that can't be addressed. I am going to use the spot for a garden of some sort - I had hoped to put some flowers over there anyway and now have that much more room and reason to do so. I have this image of a bunch of sun flowers along side the Tower. Another job for April Vacation I guess.



Julie was in a conversation with some neighbors and they shared that their friend, and a regular long distance reader of this blog, has just published a book on hang gliding. Mrs. Doris Tilden was a long time Greenfield Road resident and has transplanted to Hawaii and one of the pleasure of sitting down to write here is that I have heard from her so often. I will be requesting this book on my Kindle and will post the link to it when I find it. And here it is.

I make mistakes here all the time and I have a big one to confess. The line for the flag on the Tower broke in January and I have recounted how I hooked it down and secured it. Yesterday, attempting to run a new rope up, I let go of the splice I had made and bit by bit the rope crept up the Tower. I ran. Taking stairs two at a time I attempted to get to the line from the Lantern room before it ran up to the top. I am sorry to report I did not make it up there in time. Julie reported that as she saw the flag coming down she thought, "Oh that poor man." The Fire Department will have to be called in with their ladder truck to rerope the Tower. I believe I have given this problem more thought than I ever should have. Its like a virus when I get hooked on one of these projects. Success is the only aspirin.

Gardens are beginning and the perennials are peeking through. Seedum, Hydrangea, Hosta, Sage, all are showing some color. I need to check on a gift of some Black Eyed Susans that I placed on the ocean side by the kitchen. I have seeds for Fox Glove and Lupine to put in over there as well. For Julie's vegetable garden I am promised a bunch of tomatoes my sister has started and I got seeds for beans, eggplant, squash, and cucumbers. I turned that spot over yesterday and it is looking very good. At a yard sale today I picked up a pitch fork to help meet the challenge. I do love to get out and watch stuff grow.

We have yet another media blitz to share - this week it is the family newspaper called Kidding Around that will feature our cheery mugs. We were visited by Karen Doyle who could not have been more gracious and I have seen the pictures by the great Jack Foley. You will want to go looking for this article just to see my happy kid.

In a final note before I add in one last picture, the blue and white Lighthouse sign has been restored to its place. It has been a brutal winter for it in the winds of Cedar Point and it carries a few scars as a result. The last storm knocked all four finials off it and carved a stripe in one long board from the chains used to hang it. With the help and guidance of the wonderful gentlemen who man Satuit Hardware I have placed two long bolts in the top with connecting nuts two inches down into the sign. Using turnbuckles I have connected those bolts with the eye hooks in the yard arm and so far so good. I can't fly the flag just now, but the sign is up.

Bikers from Boston

Fun weekend on Cedar Point.

Great weather brought out a ton of people and I got to chat to a great number of them. There was an affable couple from Worcester who told me that they saw the Light on Channel Four all the time in bad weather and decided to take a ride down to see for themselves. There were families asking for Haley and wondering about when the rocks were going to be removed. There was one very nice guy who wanted to help move them and asked for a bucket. He is one of the many who come out here two or three times a week with his wife and kids. He told me he had amazing photographs of the Mount Rushmore Flag being flown in the parking lot that he took from offshore that incredible day. He didn't look old enough to have been in high school when that happened but he claims he has the pictures. We had another proposal here too. A young man with the initials JFK stepped up to the fence and called me over to ask if he could go up and propose to his girlfriend Chelsea. All went well and Julie got photos to email to them. My brother in law was here just then and both he and Julie remarked how Chelsea was blushing all through her face and neck.

These two pictures are from today. Christopher Annear from Boston University had made the ride down with his group from Boston to enjoy the wind and the salt and the views. I was correcting when I noticed them lounging by the wall and I called to Julie to grab the first shot. She went out; met them and swapped stories. A few minutes later this became a different story when en mass they began to shovel stone over the wall and onto the beach. I went running this time, got Julie to count to three, and hit the shutter. We are now celebrating with the stones here on Cedar Point. Thanks to all!