June 2006 Maine Adventures

From Aunt Joan and Co. recent trip to the hallowed grounds...

"This is the Innes family bidding farewell to Pat D. after he spent the weekend at Maine camp. He once again rescued us and helped in so many ways. The animal in the foreground is Scooter Innes, puppy border collie who made his first visit to camp after a 10-hour ride. He loves the water and Grandma Joan's sneakers and Grandpa Lowell's slippers.

Kids are Kyle, PJ. Casey, Ryan, (Peter the dad) Tim and (KT the mom).

June 25th -Today I trimmed the pines along the bank and path to the dock and swimming area. They were overgrown to the point they were killing five pine trees struggling for life. I cleared away dead branches so the pines can grow. Perhaps the new tenants will appreciate their majestic beauty in the future.

We have had an interesting few days getting squared away for a restful time in Maine woods. Lowell has been food shopping three times, once with Katie Innes and twice with me. The food stores love summer. I already visited the laundramat and hardware store. Screens on two side windows disappeared and Lowell and I made full window screening by stapling the screening to the frame until we can engineer a real screen. We still have to do the window in the kitchen.

We had to have the tub drain and kitchen drains replaced and it apparently was quite a project for the plumber who got major help from Paul Voyer who found a widget in the shed to couple the joint for the tub/shower drain. The modern fixtures wouldn't turn tight so Paul donated a brass fitting from his collection in the barn. Thank God for Paul. It took 6 hours to complete the job... without Paul it might have been double that. We found several nests of bees upon arrival and elected to have an exterminator since two of the grandkids plus Mat and I are allergic to bees. The wasp nest was visible but the others were not. Adam knocked out nests when he led the roofing project two years ago but the bees were not convinced. This time we got the real deal and they guarantee there won't be more bees. We'll see.

No sign of loons but Casey caught a 16-inch bass with a worm on a small hook. Biggest catch for a long time for sure. Couldn't find the gismo to weigh the fish so I have no clue how much it weighed. But it was hefty. I cleaned it and froze it so Peter could see it when he got here Saturday. Peter took the train from Philly because he had to work until the weekend.

More later, I'm sure."

And also from Mat T...

The Mighty Conquerer On His Raft (Or how to move the Maine dock into place.)

This is Mat and Pat moving the dock from the cove into place in front of the Maine cabin on Saturday June 24 2006.
Pat got a ride until he had to get into the muck to secure the dock to the land walk.











Of course the boat motor created a wake that worked against us, hence the look on Mat's face in photo...but it worked and Pat got a swim in.