The Lightkeeper's Blog

Regular visitors to the blog know the rule stated above. We lost a modem this week, precisely at 1:00 on Saturday as the Celtics were opening up their playoff run. Thanks to foresight I have an over the air antenna that let me root for the squad. Tuesday night however I was reduced to a court the size of my phone.

That problem was remedied this morning. The remedy involved a trip to Weymouth for a new moden and a new line being pulled from the pole as you enter the parking lot across to the house. The Comcast guys made short work of it. There was some additional fiddling done and then I figured out how to get the cameras to talk to the new device. It was different; I learned a little bit and then we were broadcasting from Cedar Point once again.

The other piece of news is that the boardwalk is back in place. It took several days as I had to repair the beach by hand before grabbing the two wheeler only to find it had rusted away. A quick trip to Tractor Supply, a new hand truck in the back of the VW, and Saturday morning the first pieces of the rug were laid down. As always there are a few pieces up by the tower that have to be set just so or the whole of the run is challenged and I fought them to a draw at first and eventually overcame the test. By Sunday two thirds of the walk were pinned into place, I had been in several interesting and supportive conversations, and was sore enough that only a small tail was added on Monday.

I am sure I will wish there was a chance to dig a little bit more up at this end where the platform juts toward the beach but from the concrete pad by the tower to the concrete pad by the benches this is as rock solid as the boardwalk has been. There are 4 by 4 rails under every piece and the bounce that was present last year is not present this year. I finished with one bolt to spare.

The weather was an advantage as the crowds were small in the mist and fog. When I started out you could not see the small jetty at all and I thought I might get away with talking to myself while I rolled this beauty out. There could be a few repairs made to the some of the edge boards for sure. We had one piece go to the boardwalk doctor Warren Cowing to be brought back to health. Thanks go out to Warren for his contribution.

With the yard emptied out of stacked pallets we welcomed guests here yesterday from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm. My good old friend Sean began the day with with coffee and donuts and stories from the trenches of Irish pubs. The Rodrigues clan from Hull too showed with their cousins from Maine. Very glad to have them all, especially my good aunt Mona who had us in stitches with stories of travel challenges and the quest for the best lobster roll. She also included us in a Facetime visit with my cousin Chris and his small people in far away Chicago. I woke up laughing while I waited for the Comcast crew. My sister Christine joined in with her share of tales from the Oregon coast too.

We are ready to garden here when the weather takes the turn we all hope. I have made 10 trips to Go Green with the cuttings from daisies and rose bushes. There are bags of dirt and manure in the wheel barrow ready to go. We have seeds and a new planter up by the flag pole. I put some pansies in the courtyard on Monday afternoon in the old brass plant stand.

In the meantime I ordered oil once again today and want to milk this tank for a good long while if I can. If anyone could find a way to bring us warmth, I will give you flowers and not be as broke as I have been since heating oil jumped. I saw three people wearing Canada Goose parkas while baseball was being played on Patriots Day. Lets move this along.