Saturday August 8, 2015
63 degrees w/3 mph winds
Day 86

Happy Birthday to our granddaughter Zoe Grace….the Big 3!
 
Zoe when they came in July to Seguin
It’s quiet this morning.  I woke early and couldn’t get back to sleep, so I started my morning at 6 am.  Larry got to sleep in a little till 8 am…I got some good Bible reading in.  Sent a Happy Birthday wish to Zoe via facebook and then sent another “note” to a wonderful young man Daniel Sweaza who has just moved from Florida to Canada as a minister!

Coffee and my Bible…what a way to start the morning….then we had Breakfast Burritos.

It’s Saturday and Ethan doesn’t bring a tour group out today.  We will have several individual boaters coming to see us….well to see Seguin and all that it has to offer.

There is suppose to be a boat race from Portland/ Casco Bay around Monhegan Island and back…this is in our front yard…or should I say our water front! So as I was looking the info up it said:
81st Annual Monhegan Island Race
59th Annual Manana Trophy Race
31st Annual Seguin Island Trophy Race

What…there is a Seguin Race today…I’ll try to find out more and share what I find out!!
I don’t speak maritime so what I read about the race made no sense to this Texan…but I will be watching and taking many photos and will report the WINNER of the Seguin Island Race.  Most folks didn’t know what we were talking about but one lady did, she looked on line and said they were suppose to start about 10 am, but the winds or the lack there of wasn’t going to make it easy for sailboats.

Not sure if I shared this before…but when I begin telling folks about Seguin…
1)  Seguin is the  “Second Oldest” Lighthouse in Maine…with Portland Head being the First
2) Seguin is at the “Highest Elevation” in Maine…not the tallest tower, but the Highest Elevated Tower Light
3) And now I have added that Seguin is the “First Island Lighthouse” (This was made known to me after we visited Portland Head Lighthouse on Wed, it is on shore)

Our Texan guest, Ted and Trayce have gone ashore to see all the beautiful sites of Maine and this morning they are Whale Watching.  We would love to have gone and shared this moment with them, but we have our duty and we are making “our plans” to see this great state “after” our time here on Seguin.  I’m trying not to rush it, I want to soak and bask in the time I have left.  The day after they arrived, they were already trying to see if they could extend their time here.  You come to Maine, you fall in love with Maine!

Got more overnight guest coming the early part of next week, so I don’t think I will “rush” to get up there today and clean. 

Guest came all through the day, as one group would start down, the next group would just be coming.  Some had been here while several others had never been.  Around 5:15 our last couple who are going to spend the night in the cove headed down.  Invited them back up to watch the sunset!
 
Visitors enjoying the rock in my front yard
One visitor was looking at my garden and said I had some cilantro growing…I knew the keepers grew some last year…Larry will be thrilled to learn this!

We went and finished mowing, which we started this morning.  The flag is laying straight down…no wind…with that said I saw NO sailboat race today…I saw a few, maybe 8 sailboats go by, but I imagined about 30 to 50 sailboats.  I was really looking forward to seeing this like a flock of geese traveling. 
 
Visitors having a picnic 
Lunch….had one group come up and they wanted to have their picnic first before the tours….that was great so we ran in and got us a couple of sandwiches made and rested for about 15 min…then back to work!

So many visitors are thrilled at the idea of becoming a member and spending the night.  Some are so excited they act like it’s going to be next week.  I give them the paperwork and tell them to call the office and they will set them up.
 
Seguin Island
Today has not been hard, but has been constant…a little tired!
 
Boat in our front pond
Dinner….thinking a spoonful of peanut butter and call it a meal….told you I was tired!  Hot shower and early to bed!  Our Texan visitors will be back in the morning.  We finally saw about 5 sailboats headed from Portland to Monhegan, but it was almost dark and was hard to see them.
Friday August 7, 2015
64 degrees w/ 5 mph winds
Day 85

Another beautiful day!  Apparently today is National Lighthouse Day….dang wish I had known…we would have hung our Seguin Lighthouse Flag!  Remember my phone is dead, so someone probably tried to call us and let us know.


Larry let me have the window open last night…we had been told it might make everything “damp” the next morning…but it’s been dry outside…LOVED it!

Guest are up and going, they ate their breakfast outside on our picnic table…had them give me their dishes since I had a sink full of hot soapy water.  This gives them a few more moments to enjoy their last moments on Seguin.

Ethan told us that there is a diver coming to look at the placements of all our moorings…now for you Texans, a mooring is a floating ball that is secured to the bottom of the ocean.  This allows boats to come into our cove and connect with one of these moorings so that they can stay put since they cannot use an anchor.  If they used an anchor they might “pull up” our electrical cable which is underwater coming from the mainland.  One of our moorings had come loose from its anchor/weight, so that’s the main thing our diver will be doing today!  
The diver preparing to take care of our moorings

Ethan going out to help get all the moorings in the proper places, etc....
So while we waited for the diver….we hunted for sea glass.  Max and Amaya were playing in the water and drawing in the sand…it was fun!

 
Max, Amaya and their dad enjoying the shores of Seguin
We are loving ourselves some Maine BLUEBERRIES….so Blueberry Pancakes and sausage for breakfast.  I’ve got to figure out what kind of berry that was here on the island that I “thought” was blueberries…they looked and tasted like blueberries…and I’m still here, so they weren’t poisonous. 
 
Sand drawings
Sand drawings and Bandit
By 10 am it was up to 70 degrees…it’s a heat wave!
About 11:30 the lobster boat with our diver showed up, but Ethan’s group was also arriving, so I left Trayce with my camera to get photo’s of the guy diving in the cove and I hustled to the top…I try not to let anyone see me take the tram to get up, then tell them they can’t.  They don’t realize
 
Jackson taking care of our Lobster needs!!
Got to “stamp” a Lighthouse passport today…I kinda feel important “stamping” their passport with the Seguin stamp.
 
Families arriving in the cove....and here comes Ethan's group....ready to see the Island!
Lunch….Crabcakes….I’m sure they tasted fabulous…I wouldn’t know…allergic to shellfish..dangit.  I had a ham sandwich!

Lots of great folks visited today, natural they all loved the place and the tours.  Our overnight guest came and gave us hugs before they left with Ethan.  Had one more boat of three girls come up after everyone.  The mother of the group said we were the same age, she had come here often when she was young, but it had been a while.  She was so impressed with the grounds, the duplex, the tower…she figured it was all falling down…. NOPE the great group of F.O.S.I.L. members work hard to keep this place ALIVE…that is a good word for this place…ALIVE!
 
One of our last families that were really impressed with the place...they are going to join and spend a few nights
Its 5:30 and we are just setting for the first time today….exhausted but grateful for the beautiful day…temp is 67 w/ 7 mph winds…sorry Texas!

Our friends have gone onto shore and borrowed our pickup to go see some sites of Maine.  Can’t wait to see all their photo’s. 

Dinner…????? Too tired to cook or eat….I think there is one more crabcake left…good that will be Larry’s dinner!


Thursday August 6, 2015
63 degrees w/ 3 mph winds
Day 84

 Perfect Morning!  Thank you God for this perfect Morning, so blessed to be here on Seguin, so blessed to look out my window and see this great ocean, so blessed to have had my mother here with me again after 54 yrs, so blessed to have been able to share this with our children and grandchildren, so blessed to have new Mainer friends.  Blessed!


One of the reasons I enter the temperature every morning is not to brag to my fellow Texans, but to hopefully share the awesomeness of being in Maine at this moment in time.  I’ll take your Maine summers, but you can keep your Maine winters…this Texan wouldn’t do well with what ya’ll had this past winter.
Texas Weather this week

My phone died yesterday….RIP.  Larry’s phone won’t stay charged, so we only have this computer as our connection to the rest of the world…this too could be a blessing.  But I have a couple of folks that I need to be in contact with….Ethan – our boat captain, Cyndy – our go to girl, Jackson – our Lobsterman….Trayce and Ted are ready to have some of your Maine Lobster.

We received a “new” radio….not sure if I can call it a CG radio, but it is what we listen to for the weather and then we leave it on for any distress calls, etc…  Larry got it all connected this morning.  We have been without one for almost three weeks.  We got to hear our old friend tell us the weather this morning…we missed him!  Beverly will completely understand this.

Larry woke early, started breakfast for our guest.  I did some of my Bible reading…I should be further along, no excuses! 

Just before sunset yesterday three folks were up walking the island.  They are the sailboat that is moored down in the cove.  He asked when the best time to come up today.  He has a group of kids that he wants to share the Seguin experience with.  Looking forward to meeting this group of teenagers!

Took Ted and Trayce up in the tower and out on the catwalk for the sunset last night.  I never get tired of that “moment”…..that awe moment….. when other get to see and feel what we get to enjoy daily!
Trayce and Ted...our Texas family

After breakfast I’ve got to get over to the museum and inventory the items that the WW brought over yesterday. 

Had a couple of individual boat groups come up early, then Ethan’s tour group came up.  Ethan said he had another group after he got back to Popham Beach…wow, we’ve never had two groups! 
Our overnight guest arrived about the same time as Ethan’s first group about 11:30.  Got them up to their quarters with a few instructions before abandoning them for the rest of the folks that would only be here for about an hour.  Later I got to talk a little more with them, and if they needed anything not to hesitate to let us know. 

Last part of Ethan’s group was a 25 yrs of service USCG gentleman with his family!  Just like their kids, other kids are so impressed with the typewriter, or should I say in awe of it. 
Love every angle of this Island

Came in to type a little info…all the folks from the tour are gone,  Ted and Trayce are gone, Larry is down helping the tour group get back to Ethan’s boat…I feel alone!  I’m hyped from giving tours and tired at the same time. 

John Reid brought a group of teenagers, they are the ones who stayed in our cove last night….anyway, he was looking at the newspaper I brought back here…dated Aug 1, 1961….a David L. Swearingen was the reporter who wrote the story about the three families on Seguin Island.  John had worked with David…he took a photo of the newspaper and sent it to David!  Small world!  Thanks David for not only writing about the three families…one was me and my parents…but for spelling my name correctly…people can’t seem to get it correct, it is a little different….T’Ann.
 
1961 Bath Times Newspaper Article

Took some crackers outside for the guest kids: Max and Amaya to feed the seagulls, but we couldn’t get any gulls to take them…however, the kids enjoyed the crackers.  Amaya drew and colored a pictures of Seguin Lighthouse…pretty good job!
Seguin Lighthouse by Amaya (I love it)
 
What a wonderful way to spend the evening....family and friends, Ted and Trayce

We all went on the South Trail right before sunset. Had hotdogs for dinner, then played some cards, laughed and had a great time.  We took Ted and Trayce out to see the light when it got dark.  Our guest next door were outside enjoying the views also.