Day 12

Hey! It's day 12 today! I slept through breakfast today, but got a breakfast sandwich on my way off to work today. Up at the hill I got a good look at the Gulf of Maine today, and it was incredible with the fog and haze how the sea blended right into the sky. The horizon was ambiguous, and it truly made me feel like I was in the middle of the ocean. Once again, it was gloriously breezy, and it just made me smile so much. I ended up getting to the museum before anyone else, so I sat outside and ate my sandwich while admiring the view and enjoying the breeze. Until 1pm, I was locked in with the laminator and paper cutter. I spent this time crafting the little flipbooks that I'm handing to folks that join me on the walks. These include some maps and relevant artworks to the portion of the Wildlands that we're exploring.

Just before 1 o'clock, I headed over to the gallery and found some folks to join me on the Wildlands Walk! It was a great walk in the woods, and the breeze kept it from getting too hot. At Whitehead, the fog was pretty dense but we could make out silhouettes of Black Head and Gull Rock. I did some more work at the museum after eating some lunch. At this point, the wind had really picked up, so nobody was interested in the 3:30 walk, which was okay! With my workday done, I walked down the hill and found Mo in the truck coming back from the wharf. She offered to take me the rest of the way back to the Yew, so of course I had to say yes! And it being Monday, it's Trash.

ISLAND LOGISTICS:

• The island doesn't have it's own landfill, so all the trash and recycling needs to be brought inshore. How do they do this? With a boat, of course. Monday and Friday evenings from 5-6pm is known as 'Trash' though, as the islanders have made it a social gathering. All the trucks from each hotel drive up with bags of trash and recycling to the dumpsters stored in the field behind the lighthouse. This field is colloquially known as the ballfield, as it used to be a ballfield. What d'ya know? It was also the home to a few tennis courts at one point, apparently. 

I rode up to trash on the tailgate of the inn's truck with Jorgie and Alex. We met some other folks up there, including Maya. Bjorn, the island's most famous dog was in attendance, and he kept dropping sticks at our feet to play fetch with. After I threw it multiple times I ignored him when he dropped it, and he was pretty displeased. He picked it up from the ground and dropped it again to make sure I knew he was ready for another round. After socializing for a bit, we hopped back in the truck and Mo drove us down the hill. 

For the way back, we devised a plan. Today is Marian's birthday, the owner of the inn and the boss of the place. We decided to pick a bouquet for her on the way home. So, Alex and Jorgie sat on the tailgate, and I on the edge of the bed. When Alex and/or Jorgie signaled to me that they saw a flower to add to the bouquet, I did a double tap on the side of the cab to tell Mo to stop. We had efficiently picked a colorful bouquet by the time we got back to the Yew. 

FLOWERS:

• A dream of mine (and my mom's) is to abandon everything and just become a flower farmer. Both she and I are fans of this woman in the Pacific Northwest who does just that. This woman breeds and grows such beautiful varieties of flowers on her farm and sells them and the seeds for others to enjoy. She wrote a book about cut flower gardens and maintains a great webpage and instagram. I'll link it here. Floret Flower Farm

While living my dream of being immersed in flowers, we arranged a super cute bouquet for Marian! Here's a photo:

Shortly, it was time for dinner: chickpea cakes, mushroom risotto, and broccoli. Yum! Afterwards, we presented the flowers to Marian and sang her happy birthday. I went back to my room and listened to Alex play guitar as I laid in bed and watched the breeze flap my curtains. I imagine they're breathing in the salt air and smelling the firs. We all convened to watch an episode of Girls, and I'm happy to report it made  more sense than the last time, I've definitely caught on to the storyline. I took a shower, and put on some James Taylor to write. Now, I must head to bed.

Thanks for reading this far, and I'll give you a little treat, another photo from today. Here's the lawn of the Yew looking west over Manana as the sun set. 

See you tomorrow!

Love, Me