Bobbing Fog

The fog has been bobbing on the cove for several days now: at times we cannot see the near shore for the fog's all-encompassing grey nothingness and yet minutes later we will be able to see the far shore through a thin mist, but cannot see the sun nor the sky. If we had need of sunshine or sky, often we would only need to drive a short distance to find them. Bar Harbor, for example, has been sunny these past few days. On some days, Southwest would be sunny, too. I need to be mindful of this situation, so that I remember to take my sunglasses when we go out in the car, in case we find a bit of sun. Today it is both foggy and gently raining, a delightful combination.

I am happy to report that new detector devices are working well and that cooking is happening in blissful silence.


Yesterday Mama Bear arose early and did her walk/run and then we went to the Flamingo Festival and Parade in Southwest. It was delightful! We took our new chairs, which I think will work better at a concert than at a parade where people crowd to the street to catch the candies thrown from the floats. Mama Bear purchased a pink balloon and made a mental note to obtain a hot pink shirt for next year. The Friends of Acadia marched, playing their wheelbarrows, rakes, and shovels. There were pink flamingos everywhere. The Southwest Polo and Yacht Club, which exists to host one event in the Festival (but has no other meetings or duties during the year) was present. We walked among the various booths near the Harbor House and near St. John's. A smattering of pink parade pictures appears at the end of this blog entry. After the parade, we purchased bread to be served with dinner. We were home in time to get our mail from the Post Office (which closes at 11:30 a.m. on Saturdays.) We watched the Tour de France and the Boston Red Sox and did a bit of reading. In the evening we watched the PBS shows Mama Bear had recorded.

We have also been shopping online: there are so many things we have trouble locating here that we can find quite easily online. I do not know if it is that we do not know where find these items here or that the items are unavailable here. I find I have limits about how far I want to drive to find something and how much time I am willing to put into it. Yes, quests are fun, but for me there are limits, too.

This morning, Mama Bear went to church, again at St. John the Divine in Southwest. The congregation, without a full-time priest, is undertaking a capital campaign. It is interesting to observe this congegration at work: I love the responsibility the laity is taking for leading worship, talking about their ministry, and carrying it out. Today the sermon was led by the Reverend Jonathan Appleyard from Bar Harbor (he shared time with two members of the congregation). My take on the sermon was the importance of being a neighbor (from the Good Samaritan story in Luke). The word neighbor has its roots in a word that means "be near." And that is what we humans are called to do: to be near each other, for when we are near each other in genuine and authentic ways, we not only minister to others, but have them minister to us, sometimes unknowingly. And that presence to each other provides grace - to both parties. I did not stay for the post-worship reception, but perhaps I need to make a practice of attending it.

The words about this lesson are my interpretation of what was said. The actual words said and ideas presented belong to Rev. Appleyard and were delivered in a manner that was more interesting and likely clearer than what I have shared here.

We have discovered we have missed the Moxie Festival, which was this weekend. I am beginning to think that there are too many festivals to attend them all. We also understand that raspberries are now in season (early this year), so we will have to watch for them.

We are having philly cheese steak sandwiches tonight, so after worship we went to the store to get bread for them, plus a few other items that were on the list. We have watched the Tour de France, the Red Sox and are now watching the World Cup game and reading.

Mama Bear Joins the Booby Brigade!

And Papa Bear is eagerly anticipating their maneuvers!

We had such fun on Saturday!! A totally random selection of pictures from the day appears at the end of this blog.

I arose a bit early to do my walk/run and thought it would be a bear but instead it was refreshing. Then I wrote the earlier post, and then we went to Bar Harbor for the July 4th Festivities there.

As I was late getting cleaned up, we were late leaving, so I thought we would be unable to find parking, but Papa Bear is amazing. He had us park at the school which is but a short walk to a shady spot on the parade route. There was one officer trying to keep traffic off the parade route before the roads were closed. He was managing a huge y-intersection and having some trouble getting the attention of some drivers. Even after he erected a saw-horse "road closed" barrier, cars tried to drive around it if he did not stand with it and indicate to the drivers that they needed to turn around ...

The parade was amazing!! We stood next to a family from Vermont who spend July here each year. They have a home not far from our post office! Papa Vermont made certain I was aware of the Flamingo Festival in Southwest next Saturday - their family will be in the Samba unit of that parade!!

There were all kinds of units in the Bar Harbor parade, including several of units Shriners in fun cars/trucks/boats! There was a single elderly gentleman carrying a placard encouraging more humanity in Maine's prison system, a sobering unit from the local peace brigade who carried banners listing the names of all who have died in the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, politicians, businesses, non-profits, bands, bagpipes, a "theater in a truck" (one side of the truck is a truck, the other has doors that open to unfold a stage complete with curtain!), a flotilla of Corvettes, antique vehicles (including a steam-powered vehicle) and clowns. Candy and beads were thrown from the parade participants to the watching crowd. It was amazing and seemed to go on and on and on without being tiring. The local animal shelter threw a bag of catnip that I brought home to Mindy. She really seems to like it.

Papa Bear's favorite was the clown (appeared near the end of the parade) carrying a two-sided placard. Side one: Busta for Govnah! Side Two: Put a Real Clown in Augustah! (Augusta is the capitol of Maine, the state in which the House on the Cove is located.)

After the parade we went to the soccer field. Non-profits were located in the field; artisans were located across the street in a large parking lot. There was a section for children (with various games for them to play), booths for politicians, food from the Rotary Club (we had lobster rolls and later blueberry ice cream) and the lobster races. Picture if you will a set of steps, painted white. On four steps are long glass aquariums filled with sea water. Into each step-aquarium is placed a single lobster, who is representing a local business. Spectators are encouraged to wager a dollar on the lobster they feel will win. If their lobster wins, they win a dollar. If their lobster loses, they lose their dollar. The four lobsters are each placed in a tank, and the timer starts and everyone waits for a lobster to move. We actually saw one race where two lobsters moved, but usually only one lobster was interested in moving. Times were kept, with the fastest being 40 seconds during the time we were there.

After seven lobster heats, there is a break in the racing for a blueberry pie eating contest. Four human contestants sit in front of a blueberry pie and eat it without touching it. The winner was amazingly fast. All contestants had blueberry pie filling from over their eyebrows to under their chins. The winner received a t-shirt.

The Booby Brigade, a group of Maine women who are raising money to participate in the Boston Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk For the Cure later this summer, were selling raffle tickets for a beautiful quilt, and I bought one. I hope I win! They also sold pink rubber duckies - $5 for an only, $8 for a pair. Noble cause, but I passed on these.

We listened to some music, walked around and savored the sights, and then came back to the House on the Cove. It was an amazing experience and we had a great time!!

Upon arriving home, we watched a movie, and then went to the Little Notch Baking Company for pizza. It was exquisite and Mama Bear put a pin in their map to show where the House on the Creek is located. The bank display still shows 18.8 degrees. Today was MUCH warmer than yesterday - yesterday was in the low 60's, today was in the upper 70's, lower 80's. Display is still showing 18.8.

Hope you enjoy the pictures and am sorry you missed all the fun here.

Firetruck	Horses
Bagpipes	Old car
The Philharmonic	Uncle Sam
Smokey (the) Bear	Unicycle
Old Fire Truck	Quilt Raffle
Music	One Food Area
Lobster Race	Blueberry Pie Eating Contest
Pie Contestant
Papa Bear's Favorite	PB's Favorite Two