Island Cottage
As usual I spent what time I could on the island ... mostly working on THE COTTAGE.  This year the pressure was off since the cottage was weather tight ... so I slowed down and just built a storeroom under the bedroom and worked on the shed and unnecessary improvements like the composting toilet for the shed (in my opinion, the 5 gallon buckets work just fine ... in Paula's opinion, if I express MY opinion I will be wearing the said 5 gallon buckets on my head).  Actually, I was so slow that the installation of the composting toilet will not be completed until next year.  Many thanks to those that helped.

Folks watching a sunset from the island cottage deck  ...  July

You rightly get the idea that I am a big fan of sunsets and sunrises ... I have gotten up before sunrise on many a morning to hike to a mountain summit to catch a sunrise ... but now ... in my declining / reclining years ... at the island cottage I only have to open an eye to catch the sunrise ... and I usually time supper to catch the sunset.  Sunsets and sunrises are the most spectacular shows on this planet.
Click here to see the 270 degree view from the cottage deck 
For more info on the cottage work (including thanks to the helpers) ... use these links:
cottage 2010

Island visitor information

Sam
is leading a dogs life:  sleeping, going for a walk, napping, sometimes off to the island, sniffing, napping, eating, sleeping ... he is about 8 years old now (this is an estimate since he was found on the streets of Leominster, Mass. ... I obtained him from an animal control officer).

Around the House


Tomato harvest was bountiful ... September



Steve Barely Survives Another Unprovoked Paula Attack ... Oct
I was just doing my projects dressed in my usual shabbiness ... including slight tears in my rather well-worn jeans ... When out of the blue ... Paula rushes me, grabs the tear in my left pant leg and rips me asunder.  "What gets into that woman, I do not know."  However, it could have been worse if she tore me asunder a little higher ... so I should be thankful.  I need to just adopt that "glass is half full" attitude.


The Concord Grapes are doing very well next to Sam's house (South facing garden plot) ... nice harvest this year

Bunches of Concord Grapes ... Oct

Great Blue Heron on the end of the Point ... May

Mr. Blue ... up close ... with Evil Eye

Seawall / Dock

Since the official position of the state of Maine is that sea levels will rise 2' this century, it seemed to me that I should raise the seawall around the point the same amount.  I built the original seawall by hand and by myself just after I bought the Point house ... in response to the great Storm of '78 which took 10' off the end of the Point.  After about a year of negotiating with the Department of Environmental Protection they finally allowed me to raise only the seawall on the West, not on the East.  But since they also would grudgingly permit me to put in a dock at the end of the Point ... I wasn't going to push it any more ... at least then.  
Since even I realized that I was not the man I was when I first built the seawall, I hired many men and many machines to do the new work.

Excavator filling the front lawn ... June

Old granite curbstones being placed ... June

Sunset light on the seawall ... work in progress

Paver block hoisted into place
The granite blocks were mortared in place and then the entire wall was backed by a poured reinforced concrete wall.  Link for more seawall pictures.

Because of the usual contractor delays the June 2010 dock will have to wait until June 2011 ... but parts are ready:

Quarried and cut granite blocks for the Crib support for the dock ... September
The granite crib will support the horizontal part of the dock.  It needs to be granite to resist the ice flows in the Spring and Winter.  There will be about 40 tons of granite in the crib support ... each of 12 blocks being ~ 2' x 2' x 8-12'.  
Link for pictures of the old dock that was destroyed by the Hurricane of '38.

Link for pictures of the minor storm of 3 Dec 09.  There have been much much worse storms ... which are what I want to prepare for ... this minor storm is just a hint of what can occur. 

             
Other pictures:


Sunset 1 from Fosters Point  ...  June

Sunset 2 from Fosters Point  ...  July

Sunset 3 from Fosters Point  ...  July

Sunset 4 from Fosters Point  ...  October

Sunrise 1 from Fosters Point  ...  October

Sunset 5 from Fosters Point looking South not West ...  Nov

Crab apple trees in bloom, work started on raised beds ... May

New leaves on the trees at the end of the point ... April  

Lupines around the Ways for the float ... May 



Split Level Seawall ... October  
DEP would not let me raise the East side of the sea wall ... I could raise the West side however 2'.  The result is that now during the big storms I have to stand on the top of the wall and yell:  "BIG WAVES TO THE RIGHT!   LITTLE WAVES TO THE LEFT!" ... I hope it works ... government must know best ... ;-).

Sam in his Shaggy Glory ... he may look wise ... but his multiplication tables are lousy !

That's all Folks, take care ... and enjoy ...

Previous editions:  Winter Wind 2009   Winter Wind 2008
                            Winter Wind 2007   Winter Wind 2006  Winter Wind 2005  Winter Wind 2004 
                            Winter Wind 2003   Winter Wind 2002  Winter Wind 2001  Winter Wind 2000 

Thanks for your visit if you made it this year, 
If you didn't make it this year, come visit next year :
directions: http://www.greatmaine.com/steve/stevedirections1.html 

Send me your email address if it changes!  
P.S. If you didn't receive email notification of this new version and saw it by just typing the obvious progression in the address, I likely have lost your email address  -- just send me an email, I would like to hear from you.

Steve Winter                                          207-443-3623 (cell phone)
845 Fosters Point Road
West Bath, Maine 04530

email:  steve@greatmaine.com       (note that this is a new email address)