how to catch lobsters

During the height of all our visitors recently, we headed to Milbridge and went lobstering.  For those of you in the south, you will notice that we are all wearing long sleeves and sweatshirts in these photos - YES it was THAT cold!  Don't you wish you had gone with us?  ;)

This is the perfect depiction of the weather for that day - if you looked one way; beautiful blue sky - if you look the other way; a storm was rolling in.  If you find yourself trying to take pictures on a boat in the ocean when a storm is rolling through try this approach...

It could help you get pictures like this, of places I'd love to live...

In Tonya world, there's a 10-step process to catching lobsters:
     1.  head on over to the local marina and load up on a lobster boat

     2.  prepare the dinner for your dinner

     3.  snag your buoy

     4.  pull in the trap

     5.  give a little shriek as you pull out anything you may find in the living room

     6.  fill up the bait trap

and if you're not quite as manly as my hubby you can use gloves...like me

     7.  put the bait trap back in the kitchen

     8.  close and latch the door

     9.  get the trap into position, wait for the signal

    10.  and give it a good shove

SUCCESS!!!

and if you forgot a cooler and have a rental car, stash your fresh, off the boat, lobsters in your trunk until you can get to a store for a proper bag of ice and cooler.

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If you're ever in Maine and want an AMAZING lobster boat tour you MUST look up Captain Rob (who totally looks like my brother-in-law).  I cannot speak highly enough about him and his tour - besides you can avoid the crowds of Bar Harbor!

the last few weeks

I'm spending tonight recovering from all the company we've had the last several weeks.  I thought I would sum up our time together in a few pictures.
There was a lot, a lot, a lot of eating...

like packing on 10 pounds type of eating...

catching some rays...

a little drinking...

some mischievousness...

some holding on for dear life...

trying to keep these guys safe from Duke's visitor...

and celebrating our independence...

Hopefully tomorrow I'll post about our lobstering trip - what a BLAST!

duke's hideaway

Take a simple little cubby on a boat...

add a sad looking Duke...

some thrift store fabric/shower curtain (complete with canoes, moose and fish), Target sale finds, tiny Singer that fits perfect in the Camp and crafty goodness from a great friend...and VOILA!!!

Duke loves his new hideaway - it was a perfect place to hide from the fireworks!

beauty in the funk

First of all - I forgot to mention on the last post - PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE HELP PREVENT FOREST FIRES!!!  We had a scary encounter where someone didn't put out their fire across the lake and then left.  It turned into a large fire - but luckily it was far enough away from us - but Sean and Duke are now volunteer firemen.

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Beauty can be found in the most interesting of places.  We have an old decaying tree out front that we've been wanting to turn into a totem pole.

No matter how hard we try and how many people we call we can't get anyone to come out and even look at it.  This summer was our last summer to try.  But after we tried to hang a new bird feeder on it and couldn't because it simply pulled right out of the tree, we have officially given up on the totem pole dream.

This summer, after the lake freezes over, the dead tree is coming down.  I'm so glad I got to see the growth this year.  I only wonder where the flying squirrels will live now...

According to the ex-science teacher visiting right now this is "shelf fungus".  I love how you just never know what you'll find/see at Camp!

more spring cleaning

Living in the woods requires a lot of spring cleaning!  So much so that we just recently finished it up.  It's a process, you see - that begins with picking up all the branches that are all over the yard and tossing them in the fire pit.

Then you have a party and light up the fire pit and make s'mores.  Due to so many s'mores and pallets and picnic tables burning in there it was time to clean it out.  There was quite a bit of soot and nails removed in the process.  Look how nice and clean it looks now!

and just to give you perspective at just how big it is (if the burning of a picnic table didn't)...

The first batch of guests arrive tomorrow and can look forward to several bonfire nights.  I'm fully stocked up on chocolate bars, marshmallows and graham crackers in anticipation!!!

i bring you peace

After a long day at work, cooking my honey a tasty meal and cleaning up Sean headed off to watch the news - bleh - so I decided to make a cup of hot tea and head outside.

There I sat in the peace and quiet with only the sound of the breeze whistling through the trees, the frogs croaking, the wind chime clanging, the chipmunks chirping, a humming bird buzzing by and the loons splashing in the water...

wrapped up in a blanket, cool breeze on my face, sipping my tea and thinking about absolutely nothing...and loving every single minute of it...

I was in another world.....until the news ended and Sean came out, hopped in the loud bass boat and made Duke bark and bark.

If Sean hadn't come out I would have sat there for the rest of the night.  I hope our upcoming guests will take time to enjoy this most amazing part of being at Camp - the peacefulness and quietness.  Three days until the first batch arrives!

the countdown has begun

We're about to have a full house - a REALLY full house!  Eight adults and two dogs in our tiny little camp.  Not sure how we'll survive but I'm sure we will.  We're all friends - really good friends.

In the spirit of the countdown that has begun I thought I'd take this opportunity to give them a preview of what they will see when they get here (we have some Maine virgins coming).

What I really wish I could do was give you a sneak of the amazing smells you'll encounter.  I seem to have a heightened sense of smell when we're in Maine - or maybe it's just that there's just more to smell.  Either way, every morning I wake up to the most a-mazing smell - some mixture of these.

When we take our daily walk up to the mailbox I walk with my nose in the air just taking in that smell in long, deep breaths.  Sean just looks at me like I'm crazy.

The neighbors garden is nearly in full bloom.

What's your favorite smell of Spring?