We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
Sneakers are good for walking. I have different sneakers for walking, easy hiking, tennis, gym, boat, etc.
For trekking sorts of things on rocks and slopes, I like my Meindls. Yes, they are heavy but they are tough as nails and do not slip on anything. Not yet, anyway, and I have tested them on wet shale slopes, bouldering, and things like that.
They were perfect for the hill hiking in the Outer Hebrides, but overkill for the hikes in Provence. Well, we kinda avoided the steeps in Provence of which there are plenty.
Yeah, leather boots need some maintenance if used heavily. Good for a lifetime though.
I think gear-oriented people tend to overdo it, while others underdo it. I wish I had had those Meindls during all of those bird-hunting trips in northern Maine. Lots of uphill, downhill, swamps, downed trees, rocks. Sometimes snow, sleet, and hail.
Autumn weather is the best hiking season.
Happy feet matter.
What are your favorite heavy hiking/trekking/hunting boots for cool or cold weather?
Lawns are sort of silly things, but good for kids. I like a Cape Cod lawn - which is no lawn. Sand, some wild grasses, some Black Pines and Scrub Oak. Zero maintenance. Well, we can't all have that. Deserts are easy too except for the golf courses.
OK, around here late September and early October is the time to overseed. Grasses like cool weather, and the new seed needs to be watered once or twice for at least two weeks unless it rains: How to overseed a lackluster lawn.
As we've said before, lawns are artificial, gardens really. With irrigation they are almost hydroponic gardens which is why they need fertilizer, etc.
To make them less artificial, I like to have the mower mulch cut grass, and fallen leaves, into the grass unless there is a grass-suffocating leaf fall.
Pic is a crowded Cape Cod beach - the bay, at Wellfleet. Duck Harbor. You can walk it for hours, if you bring enough water. Can take dogs there, off leash of course. Do dogs love that? Guess. At low tide, it is dog heaven.
Mitcham's Provincetown Seafood Cookbook. His Kale Soup and Haddock Almondine, along with all the rest of his Portuguese-influenced recipes - are immortal, but his Baked Stuffed Cod is the best. The whole Cape area has lots of Portuguese descended from the visiting Cod fishermen (Emeril, from Fall River, is one.) Interesting fellow, Mitcham. Highly productive in his life; rarely, if ever, sober from what I heard. Dead now, at 77.
I have a few other out of print Cape Cod area history books that I won't link because even Abe's doesn't have them.
I will not rent a beach place without some sort of outdoor shower. You do not have to be an exhibitionist to enjoy standing nude in the sun in an (enclosed) outdoor shower.
Although a true Maine lobster boat or Down East yacht still retains its classic lines, things have changed, even for the most traditional builders. “We’re building a 36 now and it has a 560-horsepower diesel,” says Don Ellis. “My father would be horrified. He’d say 200 horsepower would be plenty. But the new boat has air conditioning, a generator, a custom ice maker, a big refrigerator, the list goes on and on. Everything went from a simple package to a larger package, and now that package is getting pretty complex.”
I like sailboats, I like powerboats, I like the sea, and I like boat people. I used to enjoy fishing too, but got bored with it. We're on the Northeast coast.
Mrs. BD likes overnights on the boat -even 2 or 3 of them while visiting various marinas or yacht clubs. As a restless soul, it gets confining for me after one night onboard. No gym, nowhere to go really.
One of her dreams has been to do the Great Loop, but I would go nuts not to mention that I have a fine day job. The Great Loop is like the Appalachian Trail for boaters - with no exertion.
Our current boat is a 36' single diesel cruising boat with a Maine lobster boat (Downeast) hull, which means it's most efficient at around 16 mph and stable in seas. Will do 20, but the noise becomes unbearable even with our sound insulation. Even with bow and stern thrusters, tricky for us to back into a tight slip but that takes plenty of practice especially with wind and currents which there always are. Moorings - no problem. I am not comfortable with anchoring overnight, but that's my issue. Moorings are great and so are straight docks.
Yeah, our boat has a galley with stove, microwave, fridge, and shower indoor and out, and, of primary importance, a coffee-maker. Distance boating requires coffee and beer, in my view. Plus a wife or girlfriend, whichever.
One limiting factor with cruising-style boats - trawlers and similar - is speed and thus radius of adventure. You can go further at 30 knots with a quicker boat than at 16 mph, or 12 mph for noise reduction.
We used to know navigation, but have become dependent on the nav screen. If that thing went out, back to the charts and sheesh - bad. Fair weather boaters.
Two interesting developments in recent cruising boat design (I mean regarding overnight boats, not speedboats or dayboats) are the application of outboard engines, and moving the galley to the pilothouse. The former gives you speed and space, and the latter more companionship. Autopilot is very nice too, but you still need someone at the helm. Driving for hours with hands on helm can become tedious. We tend to go from waypoint to waypoint, but sometimes right out by compass headings.
Have never used the TV but I never use TV anyway.
My piggybank didn't have enough pennies for this similar Back Cove 37, and Mrs. BD wisely wanted no maintenance for brightwork. 24 Volts would be good, and I'd like to upgrade that, and we do have solar power for battery.
His piece sounds like the late, great Roger Scruton, which is a compliment.
But I do not understand the differences between fine art, illustration, or decoration. In fact, with music, visual arts, or performing arts, I just dunno. Is it interesting?
"If you count the number of seconds between the flash of lightning and the sound of thunder, and then divide by 5, you'll get the distance in miles to the lightning: 5 seconds = 1 mile, 15 seconds = 3 miles, 0 seconds = very close."
Here is the lighthouse-keeper's house today (the Coast Guard moved the light itself to California):
This little brick structure in the back contained the kerosene, delivered by boat as needed, to keep Mayo Light burning to mark Wellfleet Harbor:
Just past Mayo Beach, through the 1920s, was the grand Chequessett Inn, built on pilings (the stumps of which still poke through the mud) and finally destroyed by an attack of sea ice in the 1930s. Rumor is that rum-runner boats would stop by at night, contributing to the Inn's popularity during Prohibition.
It was built by Mr. Lorenzo Dow Baker, the pioneer of the banana trade from the Caribbean and Central America. On a whim, he loaded his schooner's empty hold with tropical fruit for the return trip to Boston, and made millions. Mainly bananas, hitherto unknown in Boston. Ended up owning plantations all over Central America, and a big hotel in Jamaica. His employees were Jamaicans: They worked Wellfleet in the summer and the Jamaica hotel in the winter.
Baker's business became the Boston Fruit Company, the foundation of the United Fruit Company. A clever Yankee.
I've worn out my almost-daily gym sneakers. I use them for weights, cardio, everything, but the bottoms have gotten slippery and the insides are disintegrating. No surprise but I hate to give up on shoes I like.
I do have a pair of "running" shoes but I don't really run much these days. Stair machine is fine cardio if you go fast enough.
First World problems, right? I like Sperry Topsider sneakers on the boat. Good grip on a wet boat.
Only New Balance for me, cuz they make narrow sizes.
What exactly is cross-training? It's not what I do, because I do not have a primary sport any more due to injuries.
What do our gym rat readers like for mixed workouts?
For a boat engines (outboard, gas inboard, or diesel), probably annually or every 100 hrs, whichever comes first. If you put your boat away for winter, change oil when it goes for storage, not in the Spring. Some opine every 200-250 hrs.
I love the sea but I still maintain that any boat under the size of an ocean liner can make you feel trapped, clautrophobic. Of course, if your sailboat is in the Bermuda Race (which started yesterday), you are too busy to feel caged.
- Check marine weather forecast! - Radio check - GPS, radar, etc working - Decide on an initial harbor-clearing course, then a course to destination with waypoints - Generator working - Coffee machine working - Toilet working - Water tank filled - Plenty of diesel - Beer in fridge, water bottles, Coke too - snacks in galley - Bilge free of water - Check engine oil - Waste water holding tank not full (I will not dump at sea, but many do) - Anchor power working - Inform any guests re safety rules - Life jackets ok - If overnights, bedding stuff etc. - a few $10 and 20s for tipping gas docks, dockhands - American marine flag up
Sneakers are good for walking. I have different sneakers for walking, easy hiking, tennis, gym, boat, etc.
I will not rent a beach place without some sort of outdoor shower. You do not have to be an exhibitionist to enjoy standing nude in the sun in an (enclosed) outdoor shower.
