Springtime on Kent Island: 4/26 - 4/29

—Blogpost written by Bob 

Monday, April 26

I was woken up by bright sunshine beaming into our boat from the stern.  The sky was clear but it was a bit chilly outside (47 degrees F), but normal for this time of year. 

Come on, sunshine!

 

Last night I dreamed about all the changes that are in our future.  Within my lifetime, we will probably all be driving electric cars (as one of the simplest changes ahead of us).  Most of our electrical power will be generated by renewable means.  As a mechanical engineer, these changes are exciting to me but I would guess they would be scary to others.

Springtime on Kent Island: 4/23 - 4/25

—Blogpost written by Bob 

Friday, April 23

Even though the high wind has died down we were still experiencing an extremely low tide in the morning.  Again this morning, we had to crawl off the boat to get to the showers.

This photograph of Lola was taken late yesterday
afternoon.  (You can see the nearby residential
housing development in the background.)

It was a bit warmer last night but the heater still came on quite frequently.  Today will be my last radiation treatment on a Friday (since my very last treatment is next Thursday)--I'm really looking forward to them being over!

Springtime on Kent Island: 4/19 - 4/22

—Blogpost written by Bob 

Monday, April 19

The outside temperature was 52 degrees F when we woke up this morning--it was headed for a high of 64!  The sky was mostly cloudy but the sun poked through the clouds for most of the day.  (We did get a rain storm that blew through in the early afternoon.)

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Before driving to Annapolis, I pulled off all the masking tape on the blade of the knife.  A very thin crack was still evident between one of the wooden halves and the knife blade but not all the way through as before.  So, another attempt to fill the crack with epoxy was in order.

The tiny crack was on the right side of
this image where the blade
meets the handle.

This time I decided to add epoxy using a the corner of an envelope to just dab tiny little drops of epoxy in place, assuming whatever gets on the unwanted portion of the wooden handle or the stainless steel blade I can remove by one means or another.  (I'm sure it will take several applications like this to completely fill the crack.)

Springtime on Kent Island: 4/16 - 4/18

—Blogpost written by Bob 

Friday, April 16

I was awoken early this morning (6:45 AM) by ducks landing on our cabintop and hitting the lifelines with their wings as they landed.  It was the same three ducks that frequently hang out on our dock--one female with two males.  As I slid the companionway hatch open to investigate the noise, the last of the ducks (a male) flew off the boat to join his companions who were already in the water nearby.  The morning was chilly, probably in the low 50's.

Lola in the morning sun, still somewhat
agitated by the duck invasion
earlier this morning.

Lola got up at the same time I did and was very alert to the presence of ducks.  She was clearly not happy with the earlier duck invasion.

Springtime on Kent Island: 4/12 - 4/15

—Blogpost written by Bob 

Monday, April 12

When we went to sleep last night the outside temperature was in the mid 60's but when we got up this morning, it was slightly under 50 degrees--quite a change!  The sky was overcast and we expected some rain later in the day.  I moved my planned daily tasks around so that I wasn't doing work outside in the rain today.

I've been varnishing a piece of plywood that
I intend to use as a work surface
on an upcoming project.

Springtime on Kent Island: 4/9 - 4/11

—Blogpost written by Bob 

Friday, April 9

The rain made a nice calming monotonous sound on our cabintop as we awoke this morning.  We expected the rain and it was expected to continue through the weekend--so, we have lined up some "inside" boat tasks for the coming days.

The outside temperature (50 degrees F) was a bit cooler than I anticipated.  (Maybe the rain made it feel cooler than the thermometer's actual reading.)

For some strange reason, I woke up this morning thinking about ways I could make my life more efficient--yes, more efficient?  I thought about getting a more efficient haircut (but not a buzz cut!) and about buying a straw hat from a street vendor when we arrive in San Miguel de Allende in early October.  

I don't understand completely how a "straw hat" fits
into my early morning thoughts on "increased
efficiency" but it beats a sombrero!

My simple thoughts on "increased efficiency" were interrupted by the smell of eggs frying as Maggie cooked our breakfast.  (It is very unusual for us to have eggs for breakfast--I can't even remember the last time we had eggs for breakfast!) 

Springtime on Kent Island: 4/5 - 4/8

—Blogpost written by Bob 

Monday, April 5

The outside temperature has become a lot more "spring like" today with highs reaching into the mid-60's in the afternoon!  The overnight low temperature was in the 50's.  The sun was shining brightly and quickly warming up our enclosed cockpit by 9 AM.  In our slip, our boat faces westward--so, the morning sun comes into our stern area and we are somewhat shielded from the afternoon sun by our bimini and dodger.

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This morning, the olympic-sized swimming pool at the marina was being filled with water by the truckload from an outside business. (It takes 19 truckloads of water to completely fill our marina's pool!)

Fresh water for the marina's olympic size pool
was being delivered by tanker truck.

Springtime on Kent Island: 4/2 - 4/4

—Blogpost written by Bob 

Friday, April 2

It was surprising cold again today--in the high 30's when we got up!  It remained cool most of the day, eventually reaching into the mid-40's in the afternoon.

Lola laying in our enclosed cockpit
 in the early afternoon sun.

Springtime on Kent Island: 3/29 - 4/1

—Blogpost written by Bob 

Monday, March 29

It was surprising cold outside when we got up to take showers in the marina's bath house.  The temperature was down as low as 44 degrees F very early in the morning but there was a very strong wind out of the northwest which made it feel much colder.  (The high for the day was expected to be only 57 degrees F!)

Whoa, that wind is strong!

The boat was pretty far away from the dock (due to the high tide and wind direction) and we had to adjust our dock lines and spring lines (again) just to comfortably get off the boat.