We’ve had a lot of white weather this week. Visibility swings from nothing, to seeing the water, to nothing again. The billowing white damp gets old yet eliminating the scenery invites listening. I’m no birder, but with Merlin I can parse the chirps from the whistles and the honks from the caws. While walking down the steep main path in the morning, you hear the cat birds and sparrows fill the bushes with chatter. At the beach the Canadian geese intone their nasal honks while splashing their wings and the ospreys taunt with forlorn whistles above. The gold finches and warblers, streaks of brilliant yellow against the mist shrouded bushes, trill and, well, warble. Behind it all is the roll of the waves coming in on Cobblestone Beach and the occasional, unfortunate popping crack when you step on one of the bitty amber snails that dot the way. The foghorn has been activated a few times by passing sailors and bleats dolefully without the two toned bass baritone of the old days. The metal snap hooks clang against the flagpole with an unnatural ping. The bell buoy sounds in the distance. Lobster boats rumble, stop, and rumble again. Nothin’ to see here Bub, but plenty to take in.
Despite the limited sun, the grass continues to grow, and the bushes continue to encroach on the paths. In response, Peter, Steve, and Chris continue to mow, hack, and haul. Po has busied himself snapping at house flies who never see him coming as they emit their persistent buzz. Special thanks this week go to Small Point’s Becca and Shawn who saved the day after I left the set of car keys on the island and needed to get to town for groceries.
It seems only the intrepid visited this week: a Southport couple took engagement photos, folks motored down from Merrymeeting Bay on a last family trip before their oldest heads to college, and a married pair revisited their ‘old favorite’ before one of them begins an arduous medical treatment. Perhaps Seguin’s real magnetic anomaly is that it keeps pulling folks back at important moments in life.
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To continue enjoying the sounds around you, download Cornell’s Merlin app for bird identification, listen to old “Bert and I” stories on vinyl or YouTube for Downeast humor and edification, or listen to the NY Metropolitan Opera or Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of conductor Yannick Nézet-Seguin for restoration.
