September Already

It seems as if I start almost every post by declaring, "it's hard to believe, but..." , but that's what I'm going to say again in regards to how fast the summer here has flown by. We're leaving Salem in just a few days, heading for the Newport Brokerage Boat Show which starts a week from today. Boat interest, not just for Carry On, but boats in general, seems to have been at a low last spring and over the summer, but we're hearing reports that boats may be beginning to sell. We hope so and even as I'm writing, a crew of three is detailing the exterior of the boat__ cleaning, polishing and buffing__ to make us "stand tall" for the show in Newport. Needless to say, Paul and I are working on the inside, clearing and cleaning, so much so that I'm afraid we may be so empty that we'll rattle underway!

It's been really nice to spend an extended period here in our home territory, watching the New England summer develop and lately begin it's wane into fall, seeing friends and getting back to some of our old favorite routines, even if it's just temporary. We know the resident "fishermen"__ the blue heron, the night heron we see occasionally, even the green heron I saw catching a crab on a piling one early morning. Mostly though, I have enjoyed the ducks and through them, marked the passage of time. 

Swimming Practice

In June, we first noticed the mother duck and her eight little ducklings. A friend warned me not to get too attached because certainly some of the small creatures would disappear due to predators. Although I'm still not sure what species those might be, he was right. In a few weeks, half the ducklings were gone. 

Often I would see them swimming in formation off the dock, sometimes the mother frantically trying to keep her children close by. It seemed there was always one who was under the dock or striking out on his own. The ducklings grew quickly, and one morning I came home from a walk to find the mother and four babies  resting on our swim platform. 

Adopted by Ducks

Over time it became clear that Carry On was the haul out of choice for the mom and her brood, and it has been a delight to see them roosting off our stern. 

For us, the summer has been a busy one, and although we have looked a lot of real estate and even thought we had found something suitable, we are still without a land home. We are at peace with the idea of renting for a while if Carry On sells before we find the perfect place, and  we, our friends and our realtor here will keep our eyes and ears open as we head south and do the things we need to do. Those things include the Newport Show and then the show at TrawlerFest in Baltimore, Paul's talk at a Business Process meeting in Florida at the end of October and then a move to Fort Lauderdale if the boat is not sold. So it may be yet one more trip down the waterway for us, another winter in Florida? Who knows? Stay tuned!

Almost Grown Up