Farewell To Grand Manan

Our vacation on Grand Manan was cut short after bad weather removed the chance of going out on the boat again. And after the fisheries cops said that the fish were gone anyway ... seriously! And after I sprained my ankle (see black and blue elevated foot in picture) on the rocky beach in front of the cottage, and after getting tired of crocheting  lobster buoys (holding in my hand), and after reading all the books we brought ( not really but  close) and after looking out the window at the surf and fog, we decided to start packing and head home.  There are other reasons, too, too many  to mention and noone really cares expect us. Oh well... such is life.

Grand Manan

Swallowtail Lighthouse Grand Manan NB

On board Grand Manan V

Grand Manan V

 Back again to Grand Manan New Brunswick Canada, this time with the boat for fishing and adventures. We settled in at the Seawall Cottage of Peter and Marilyn Cronk. Check out the place on the Grand Manan webpage .

Bon Voyage to the Carolyn B

Today we bid farewell to the Duffy 26, our lovely boat from Maine. We did enjoy many days out on Lake Memphremagog and even a few nights. We still have a salmon from our fishing trips in Canada last fall, better eat that one. I have never had a boat named after me until now. She will become someone else's wife, mother, sister, daughter or girlfriend in the years ahead. She will be in Brooklin, Maine at the Atlantic Boat Company,  www.atlanticboat.com until she belongs to someone else. The decision was not hard to make. There are so many lakes in Vermont, and so many fish to catch in them that a boat on a trailer made more sense, not staying in one lake even though it is beautiful. We made some friends at the Yacht Club in Newport and had some great meals on the boat, watched great sunsets, fireworks and shooting stars from her, as well. She always turned heads when we went out, people asked about her, took pictures of her and just admired the classic downeast look of her. We have fond memories of this boat and I may never have a boat named after me again. Farewell.

John enjoyed 2 days fishing on Lake Ontario recently. He brought us 11 lbs of Brown Trout which are now vacuum bagged in the freezer. A good year's supply. Meanwhile, back home, the daffodils finally bloomed and the fields are just barely turning green with the dry weather.

Easter Oven

What Easter wouldn't be perfect without firing up the wood oven and baking a fresh ham? And so we did. The first day of firing was the hottest and so the pizzas were done, including my interpretation of the Green Mountain a la Parker Pie in W. Glover.  This includes, spinach, sliced apples, onions, garlic, cheddar cheese and drizzled maple syrup. The pizza above was grilled chicken with caramelized onions/peppers/garlic and 3 cheese blend. Second day, bread was baked (one herb and one cinnamon raisin) and then the ham, temp 400. This was too hot for the poor ham, but we would have had to wait another day for 325, and then it wouldn't be Easter. Third day, monday, the temp was falling below 300 when I baked up a mighty supply of granola, using up many seeds, flakes, nuts and dried fruit that I have had for long enough. Coming soon....granola cookies, ummm good, from the Craftsbury Outdoor Center cook book. Food is so much fun.

Sugaring Time at Last

The buckets were hung on March 10. We collected 46 gallons and boiled on March 13 leaving some unfinished syrup still in the evaporator. We made 1 gallon of syrup that is delicious. However, the temperatures have stayed warm day and night, so the sap is not flowing very much. I dumped what little there was and now it time to dump the rest and clean up. The whole thing did not last long for us and yielded little. Last year we made 10 gallons. At this post, March 20, the first day of spring, our snow is gone, what there was of it. Temps are breaking records all over this week. We are see low 70s during the day, and 50s at night. Cooling is predicted, but the sugaring season is done for this year. This will be remembered for a long time.