Mommy, hungry!

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

A Whale of a Time*

*I couldn't resist.

On the morning we left Hog Island, after a delicious big breakfast at Moody's in Waldaboro, we headed to Gloucester, MA, for a whale watch. I've never seen a whale in the wild and was very excited, taking my binoculars so I could see them.

Well, I didn't need those.

See how the white markings glow green under water?

Mom, calf, and escort whale

Terrible thumbprint, but I was raising my phone above my head, without looking. That is just the splash
caused by the tail of these school-bus-sized creatures.

Yep, they really do blow! But it's mist caused by warm air of their lungs hitting
the cold air above the sea and a little bit of water covering their blow holes. We could
see these at great distance, which was almost mythical.

Those are all pictures taken without zoom on my cellphone! I included the people in the photos so you can see how close the whales came to our boat.

We were in the Stellwagen Marine Reserve not far off the coast, in a large boat with about 150 other people (there was enough room to move around, though, and it didn't feel like that many.) We came across whales almost immediately, seeing 12 humpbacks in total by the end of the 3-hour cruise (anyone singing "Gilligan's Island"?) A calf, mother, and escort came right up to our boat, with the calf rolling around in the water and spy-hopping to get a look at us. Later, another whale smacked its tail about a dozen times; in the distance, I actually saw a whale nose-breach out of the water, causing a huge splash! The announcer kept us informed about the names of the whales, which have been studied here for decades, and other details--including their unique fluke markings that help with identification, the "fluke print" left on the water after the downward thrust of the tail, the reasons for certain behaviors ("fluking"--to remove parasites or communicate by slapping the water, etc.), their migration habits and motivations (they birth in warmer equatorial waters for the calf's sake; there is no food for them there so they have to head north quickly--they fast the whole time they're down there), gestation and birth (almost a year! Calves are born tail-first so they don't drown, since whales are mammals and need air), and other things.

Even the crew were impressed with how many whales and different whale behaviors we saw. Mama and Goo, who had been whale-watching before, just couldn't believe it. It was definitely a magical end to a great week.

Our Main Maine Event

Just like last year, we spent a week off the coast of Bremen, Maine at the Audubon Hog Island family camp. And like last year, we loved it. This year, though, we had a guest with us--Goo came along. And it was a magical week.

We traveled up to Maine, making a few stops along the way. We ate lunch in the pouring rain at the Lobster Shack at Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth--delicious lobster rolls and whole clams and fried fish and whoopie pies and Grape Nut pudding. We didn't spend anytime on the beach or climbing the rocks, but I did get to sniff the lovely beach roses.

We also stopped at the Kittery Trading Post, a bit like a local Cabela's, where we got some souvenirs and some last-minute camping supplies.

Then we made it to the boat and our weeklong home-away-from-home. Many of the staff were returnees from last year, as were many of the campers; I think that made it doubly special. And much of the week was familiar. We even played the same four or five getting-to-know-you-games that first night--Stuffed Animal name toss, Human Knot, Marshmallow River Cross, and Captain's Coming, a kind of Simon Says. At one point, the kiddos were standing together and the next move was a waltz; they looked at each other and headed in separate directions!

Our Loft: Our room was in the attic of a 19th-century chandlery, a huge loft with twin beds, a private bathroom, and a view with a breeze. We were right in the center of camp above where the boat docked (half of the building stood over the rocks of the shore), not far away like last year. I liked the location and the room. I spent more time sitting in the Adirondack chairs looking at the water and sitting in the hummingbird garden watching the three flitting birds. The kids and I spent much of the last day trying to catch a picture--at one point we were staring at one feeder only to discover that the birds were on the feeder behind us!

That's the chandlery aka Fish House; our room is in the attic.

Shakedown Cruise: On our first full day, we took a boat cruise around the island. This is a slow, lovely ride with lots of birds. We saw gulls, cormorants, guillemots, a juvie bald eagle and then a beautiful mature one sitting in a spruce. I was the one who spotted him, from his white head against the green. Amazing, iconic. We also had a long talk about whether a bird was a Greater or Lesser Yellow Legs. Apparently, if you can imagine pushing its beak out the back of its head and it is long enough to emerge, it is a Greater; this one was. We also saw a harbor seal or two, following us around! I've always loved boat rides, even slow ones like this. Makes me want to get my boating license and buy a boat.

Can you see the eagle??

Optionals: Sprinkled throughout the week were various optional classes from which to choose. Many were the same as last year which made deciding easier. And because the kids are well-behaved, the instructors didn't mind if they attended alone.

Ponding: Bud enjoyed mucking around with nets.
Geocaching: Goo enjoyed the GPS "treasure hunt" so much that he took it twice.
Nature Journaling: I really enjoyed the drawing lesson, complete with detailed bird wing and feather discussion.
Nature Photography: Mama and Sis liked practicing their photography. All the photos here are mine, but theirs are much better.
Joy of Birding and Citizen Science: Birding was my favorite subject at camp, still being quite a novice, and so I enjoyed both the intro Joy of Birding (which I took last year, too) with its discussions of habitat and food source and behavior (Mama took it with me) and, later in the week, the discussion of digital birding platforms like eBird and Project FeederWatch plus a practice walk with some new skills for listening, watching, and counting.

This was a lesson in food source and beak shape.

Evening "Campfire": We gathered every evening in the large Fish House for evening guest lecturers and music. Oh, I loved the singalongs with the camp staff band--Colleen played guitar, Russell on banjo, volunteer John on guitar, and camp director Ron on violin/fiddle. We all sang along to songs such as "Eider and Osprey," "Island Lullaby," "Rattlin' Bog," "This Land is Your Land." A new counselor Rosie, the younger sister of ornithologist Anna (whose new husband Ryan was the new camp photographer), introduced us to "The Sun is a Magic Fellow" and "At the Roseville Fair." And a few times, a very musical family joined them, singing "I'll Fly Away" and "Charlie of the MTA" and "Isle au Haut." One night, a guest musician, Jud Caswell delighted us with his "backyard songs" about "Blackberry Time," "Getting Poor Slow," and other touching ballads; he'd performed last year, too. I really enjoyed seeing how much Goo loved the music and even sang along--he's a clear tenor and harmonizes really well.

Meals: Oh, the food. It's such a treat to have a chef at camp (not that canned Sysco food I recall from my Girl Scout days), especially one devoted to local, sustainable, and delicious fare. Our favorites included

Salad dressings such as strawberry, orange mint, spring onion, and southwest buttermilk, which were delicious on spring greens
desserts: chocolate-chocolate chip cookies, ginger snaps, flourless chocolate cake, strawberry shortcake, ginger ice cream with chocolate ganache and cranberry sauce, and my favorite these moist chocolate cupcakes with delicious buttercream frosting. And of course, the last night's cream puffins!! (Handmade, with little shortbread puffin heads!)
Lobster night: Okay, I don't like lobster, but Mama, Bud, and Goo relished in the lobsters and the haddock chowder. I had the delicious pizza. Sis, who doesn't eat anything with tomatoes, had a little grilled steak.
Other dinners included roast chicken, spaghetti with either pesto or Bolognese, hamburgers.
Breakfasts always had a main dish--broccoli and pepper frittata, pancakes, scrambled eggs--plus a buffet with oatmeal and yogurt with toppings. And lots of coffee.
Lunch was sometimes served outside (which was great until the awful black flies hatched in numbers on the first sunny day! Bud and I attracted them--I looked down more than once to a dozen flies on my socks and bet I had fifty bites--my ankles swelled beyond recognition.) We had grilled cheeses with tomato soup, quesadillas with salsas and toppings, plus two days of sandwiches for hikes and cruises.

Hiking Day: I sat out hiking day, and Mama with me. The kids went with Goo on the long hike around the whole island and had a great time. Mama and I sat in the Fish House and talked and drew and ate our sandwiches. A little squirrel, one of the chatty ones that lives in the middle of camp, came in and out of a small crevice in the closed screen doors. I drew the eagle and the seal, the hummingbirds and the beach rose, based on a nature drawing book that the resident artist had used in the Nature Journaling optional. It was restorative to sit around camp together alone.

Puffin Cruise: It was a bit foggy on puffin day and, when we got to the island, we didn't see any for awhile. Then there they were--four little rubber duck-like puffins with their colorful beaks were floating in the water. They hung around for a long time and we all got some great pictures. We also saw both Harbor and Grey Seals, the grey being larger with longer snouts and more unusual in the upper parts of Muscongus Bay. And then we went to Harbor Island for hikes and lunch. The kids hiked around with Goo while Mama and I hung near the beach, sniffing roses, watching the fog roll in and out, and building rock cairns that were eventually inundated. It was a glorious day.

"At Home" Day: On the last full day of camp, we all hiked out to a cove and explored the area. The kids and Goo did some seining with nets, finding all manner of intertidal critters, while I scrambled across some rocks to take in the view. I am still awed by the coast, with its huge tidal differences (about 12'), boulders and rocks, and evergreens. It's just so beautiful and unlike any coastal landscape I have known before--certainly not the Gulf Coast! We had our periwinkle roast again--the boiling of small snails in seawater--and Bud again almost ate his weight in the tiny tidbits. We took a few more optionals and then celebrated camp with our Lobster (or pizza) dinner and our "Treasures of Hog Island" exhibition and show. Another week of camp was over, our last time at family camp. Sure, we can go to Hog Island again, for teen camp or Raptor Rapture, but not together as a family, not with this staff for these activities. Very bittersweet. I will treasure the memories and our time together.

(For my recollections of Family Camp 2017, see here.)

Wednesday, August 8, 2018

Second Cadette Year

I can't believe we've finished our second Cadette year already--maybe because I am way behind on sewing the badges to Sis's vest!! It was a good year, wrapped up with that hot-as-Hades campout in the harbor.

We're already planning our next year . . . and trip!

Public Speaking badge (read a poem, give a speak on the GS law)
Volunteered at local food pantry
Did holiday crafts and sang to folks at senior living center
Packed holiday meals for Christmas
Attended archery overnight (some of us!)
Safety award pin (swimming safety, emergency kits, etc.)
Media journey--making seven layer dip, doing media quiz, conducting survey on Gold award, making videos
Cooked for local soup kitchen
QSP sales
Saw Newsies
Cookie Booths
Outdoor Art Apprentice badge (natural egg dyes, sea glass suncatcher)
Trailblazer badge (put up tents, hike, etc.)
Class in compass orienteering
Gardening volunteering at Audubon
Boston Harbor Islands overnight camping

Monday, August 6, 2018

It's Been So Long

I don't think I realized that it's been practically the whole summer since I posted on this blog. Not that there hasn't been anything to say, just that I don't seem to get to it. I'm wondering if that will change in the fall, when the kids are back at school.

To catch you up:

Zentangle: I'm running a summer Zentangle challenge, where participants use the listed pattern in a drawing each day. Something to spur on the creative impulse. I've enjoyed making my tiles and posting them. I've been thrilled to see others in the Zentangle community participate and I know I'm expanding my own skills.
Romeo: our rescued marmalade cat is still in the basement because he is having trouble adjusting to the cats upstairs, probably because he had to be wary when he lived rough. But we've found the kind of treats he really likes and that is helping encourage his adjustment. And with us, he is amazingly sweet and cuddly. I hope we can move him upstairs soon.
First political protest: I had never been to a political march before, mostly out of anxiety not indifference. But the issue of the separation of children and parents at the borders was just too much--and the rally was short and not far from home. So I made posters, wore white, and encouraged friends to attend. Mama and Sis even came. The politicos talked too long and not well--very political droning not energizing the crowd. I saw several friends among the 100+ people, one whose daughter led a great chant against a mayor who hasn't declared the city a sanctuary. I don't know if we really made a difference, but I needed to try. I as asked by the MoveOn people why I came and I said that I'm a lesbian with bi-racial children and I'll stand up with others because I want them to stand up with us. We're all nervous and in jeopardy.
Parkour: the kids have a new pastime, the urban gymnastics known as parkour. Both Sis and Bud have gone to local classes (it's more like an open-house half-day camp) to climb, run, jump, flip. It's freeform and energetic. I knew Bud would like it because of his kung fu activity, but I was surprised that Sis did. But, still being out of speedskating with a sore foot, it gave her something to try. We'll see if we can arrange for more classes in the fall.
GS camp LEAD: Sis spent two weeks at GS day camp as a LEAD, which is like a pre-counselor. She helped organize the girls, led the activities, and was helpful behind-the-scenes. She really enjoyed it and can't wait to be a counselor-in-training (CIT) next year. She has even chosen her camp name, "KitKat."
Aquarium and zoo: While Sis was at camp, Bud and I did some day trips. We wandered the local zoo, remembering all the times we'd been when he was little. The prairie dogs were our favorites, cute fuzzballs bopping around. Another day we went to the Aquarium, where he'd also been a lot as a kid, even celebrating a birthday. We liked the sharks and turtles, but we liked the seals more than anything. (Though, I was sad to hear that Susie the blind seal had died--peacefully--at 45, two years ago.)
Shark week: after our trip to the aquarium, we were interested in sharks, so we watched Shark Week! I was fascinated by several of the shows, especially the one about the shark "highway" through the Pacific and the various underwater robots and sat tags they use to track the sharks. The show about what happens when you are shipwrecked reminded me of that disturbing movie, "Open Water." It was a fun evening activity for us all for a week.
Boston Harbor Islands: we spent 36+ hours camping in the National Park situated in the Boston Harbor Islands. It was hot as hell (seems to be a theme this summer) but delightfully far-removed from the urban environment by which it was surrounded. We even slept in yurts. I'll post separately about the experience, with pictures.
July 4th lake party: we were again invited to a kung fu buddy's 4th of July lake party. It was as hot as hell that day, so the kids really enjoyed swimming in the lake with friends. Sis particularly took to paddle boarding, while Bud spent a lot of time in the kayak. A lovely, memorable day.
FLOORS: the majority of the summer has been affected by our second-floor floors project. Our 15 year-old carpet needed to go, gross and allergy-inducing. We had the floors refinished, with a water-based sealant, and the rooms painted (with eco-friendlier paint.) But only after moving everything off the floor, which was a huge project in itself. We're still unpacking! The kids have rearranged their rooms, gotten new beds, purged old toys--a whole update for our new teenagers. But the floors look great, the rooms feel clean, even if there are boxes everywhere. We've focused on getting the kids settled and getting the first floor workable (it's where we stored everything--with the help of movers.) While this was all going on, we lived in a nearby hotel and put the cats in "kitty camp." It was a big production. We ate out a lot, swam some at the pool, and kept an eye on the house. I liked swimming.
Meals with Lee and Ma and Gong: we've met up with family a few times this summer, eating dim sum in the city with Ma and Gong before watching the World Cup finals and then breakfast at a local hot spot with Goo on a few mornings.
Dominican brothers: over the summer, we had two Dominican seminarians interning at hospice. They were young and enthusiastic--but so intellectual, so righteous. They quoted Thomas Aquinas to me in every conversation, extolling lists of the daughters of various sins, etc. It was so much a conversation as a monologue, a lecture. They were at hospice to save souls, they told me, only providing comfort secondly. When a doctor raged against the condition of a declining patient and asked one why God allowed suffering, the young man began an exegesis on the theological definitions of suffering and explanation that God doesn't cause suffering--it's some kind of derivative state. Comforting, huh? I told the brother that we had differences of opinion on that score. As a Buddhist-inspired UU, I acknowledge that suffering exists and we are complicit in our unskillful response to pain sometimes. But suffering isn't from God or a punishment; it happens. He then decided he needed to convert me. Another one was decrying the Mormons and making fun of their beliefs in "crazy things" and all their rules. I laughed at that, coming from a zealous Catholic. I asked what he would do if he had an LDS patient--"I'd lead them to the right way of thinking," he replied. And he also once told me that I wouldn't want to hear what he thought of my definition of family. I really didn't care what he thought, I told him. I learned after they were gone that he had refused to enter the room of a gay patient. And had informed a Jewish patient that the blessing from our more interfaith priest was meaningless because they weren't Catholic. So, they were a bit of a handful. They didn't understand the purpose of hospice. They were too much in their own heads and couldn't really connect with people unless they agreed theologically--and it was hard to see all the Catholic patients and staff fall over themselves to admire and thank these guys. I'm glad it'll be a year before we have another set. (Though, apparently a few years ago, the brothers sent to a death bed visit, spent the time telling the spouse of the patient that she would burn because they weren't married in a church!)
CPE: I finished! But I haven't completely digested the whole experience. I made a new friend, which is the best takeaway of the online portion; the clinical hours at hospice were priceless. But my supervisor was awful. He was like the Dominican brothers, only Baptist, and covered his disdain for my "lifestyle," my beliefs, and me with that good ol' boy Southern civility. I'll write it up sometime.
Cinnabon pancakes: Sis made pancakes on the morning she left for overnight computer camp, based on the ones we like at a local pancake place. Combine 1/2 cup melted butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon cinnabon; place in zipper bag and make a small snip in the corner; spiral onto pancake batter after pouring it into a pan.
Computer camp: both Sis and Bud are at computer camp this week; Sis is staying overnight and Bud is a day camper. That's probably why I have a bit of time to blog--I'm alone for the first time since mid-June!!!