We’ve been renting the same house for 4 years, and it was so cool to see the boys’ joy when we arrived. We were sad that many of the raspberry bushes had been sacrificed when trees were cut to retain the ocean view. And like in Boston, we had to deal with mice. We caught three in traps, and once found a very disoriented baby mouse (i.e., we were able to move him) on my computer power cord.
Regardless, we have a relaxing vacation. The weather was generally perfect (sun, mid-70’s). Although the abnormally warm spring meant that we were too late for blueberries, we found some blackberries and enough lingonberries to make into jam. The mushrooms were also better than last year, but not as good as the year before: mostly chanterelles and under-the-birch; not many white mushrooms. Even Ivan got into the act:
Perhaps the biggest highlights of the trip were pistols and biking. Igor bought over ten cap pistols during our stay, and frequently joined in the boys’ battles.
You could just make out Nikita in the right of the photo above. I learned that caps from Germany are of much better quality than those from China: louder and not as sulphurous.
Nikita finally learned how to bike. Raising the wheels turned out to be a bad strategy because Nikita just rode on three wheels, making him learn a bad position for two-wheel biking. But he persevered (or rather, Igor did). Igor also tried teaching Ivan how to bike. He was unsuccessful, but Ivan’s only 3.
One of the biggest advantages of the house we stay at is its proximity to the beach. Beachcombing was particularly fun after reading The Story of Sea Glass. We also spent time in the water. We learned how much colder the Maine Atlantic is compared to the Hawaii Pacific, but the boys were able to play (and I swim) in the freshwater pond. The beach also provided a nice setting for war on bikes:
We were struck by the number of stores closed or going out of business, especially the Marden’s in Ellsworth. We didn’t make as many trips to Calais (Marden’s was disappointing for clothes, but I did find cute Halloween bags) and went to Canada only once for ice cream because our normal place in Calais was closed. But we did “discover” new places in Machias: the Fat Cat Deli & Pizzeria for good pizza and excellent cheese breadsticks (really more like a small cheese pizza), and the Riverside Take Out for huge scoops of ice cream. At the annual Blueberry Festival, I found the perfect Maine Xmas tree ornament: dried flowers (including juniper berries which look like wild blueberries) in a seashell. I could’ve chosen a lobster tail instead, but I couldn’t imagine placing on the tree something I normally throw away.
Media-wise, we listened mostly to The Marriage of Figaro or Verdi sung by Placido Domingo (or as Ivan says, Placido Mamingo) in the car; I listened to Glee vol. 3 and Queen: Greatest Hits (UK version) at the house. Also at the house, when the boys weren’t fighting (in play or for real), they relaxed with books by McCloskey (Blueberries for Sal and One Morning in Maine) and DVD’s (Mowgli and Exodus: Burnt by the Sun 2, until the latter scared Ivan).
Finally, we discovered the pleasures of a wood stove:
