Doesn't everyone have 12 chicks in their living room? They are the cutest little bunch of feathers you have ever seen. The Good Captain remarked when I picked them up at the post office, "aayuh, you've have them roosting on the bed frame before I know it..." Silly man doesn't share my fascination with chickens. They are funny and have real personalities, plus I get the happy bonus of fresh eggs sometime in the not too distant future! My well traveled chicks flew from Cincinnati (my home town) to Maine, not under their own power of course ;-)! One of them will lay green eggs, so I been telling everyone that we will be having green eggs and ham...thank you, Dr. Suess.

Good Captain is about to do his first Lobster Tour today. My cousin and her husband are visiting from New Jersey and the big guy is taking Danny out on the big blue this morning. Danny would rather it be the "deadliest catch" but lobestering is much more sedate. Still, gives him a chance to go out and see it up close and personal. The Good Captain is normally a very taciturn fellow but get him started on fishing of any kind and you can't shut him up. I'm sure they will have a grand time plus we get to have lobsters for dinner! Woo Hoo!! My excitment stems from the fact of I don't get them that often, it's kinda like being married to the plummer and your plumbing is habitually broken...

It's another beautiful day and the rest of this holiday weekend is going to be beautiful too. As long as the weatherman gets it right. One thing they say about Maine is, if you want the weather to change wait 15 minutes.

The Trawlerman

My good friend, Everyone's Other Mother suggested I switch back to blogger. She dislikes Wordpress immensely. She's right as usual, I've had nothing but problems with Wordpress. Or I my may switch between the two depending on my mood that day. Must be the touch of bi-polar I enjoy.

Well the Good Captain is out on the big blue, It's his second trip under the new Sector regime that NOAA & NMFS have force down out throats. More paperwork, more calls, plus the "new and improved" VMS (vessel monitoring system) or black box as its commonly referred to. All in all it is very "Orwellian", big brother knows and sees all. It's sad that the fishermen are all considered crooks due to the bad behavior of a few, but that is usually the way the world works. Or at least our part of the world!

Hopefully the Good Captain has his muffler mess finally fixed. You may recall a while back that I reported a fire on the boat. His fist trip under the Sector program proved he still had problems with spontaneous combustion! Yes, you guessed it, the boat caught fire, again! Only this time he was 60 miles offshore. All I can say is it's a good thing he was a Junior Firefighter in a previous life! My son, the Good Captain's mate isn't very impressed with the whole boat catching fire scenario. Can't really say that I blame him, I mean geeze where do you go if you can't put it out? Um....overboard I would suspect. Sixty miles offshore with no other boats around could just be very hazardous to your health! Of course the Good Captain downplayed the fire in his usual laconic fashion. "Captain Soot", is now back in residence. It is EVERYWHERE! One benefit though is, he has no use for Grecian Formula for men, every-time he comes off the boat his hair is as dark as when we first started going out.

He has desperately been trying to get the lobster boat in order. Poor guy, there just aren't enough hours in the day. We have to get this lobster tours thing off the ground. Groundfishing is looking more and more like a hobby everyday! I wonder who will be the last fisherman standing?

What a difference a day makes...

The weather is still completely bonkers! We survive Monday's storm, enjoyed the touch of Spring in the air Tuesday, yesterday was warm and cloudy and today I get up to ...SNOW! Which doesn't surprise me at all. The Maine Fishermen's Forum starts today and if we don't have a screaming snowstorm it's just not a good year at all. Many are the times the Captain drove us home through a storm that generally included"white outs". The 35th Maine Fishermen's Forum is held at the Samoset Resort in Rockport Maine. Lots of chances to connect with people and always a very informative time. Here is the link if you want to check it out: http://www.mainefishermensforum.org/.


Still dealing with the aftermath of the boat fire. Every time the Captain goes out to his boat, he comes back home looking like Michael Jackson going in reverse. He is covered in soot from head to toe. Soot is showing up in the oddest places. He leaves piles of nasty clothes all over the place and doesn't turn his sweaters, etc to right side out. Pet Peeve! Nasty clothes that have to be turned. I don't wanna, I don't have to and I'm NOT going to! If they are still nasty after they have been washed, not my problem.

Did I mention the day of the fire my sweetie was nice enough to bring me some shrimp home to pick for the freezer. Fifty friggin' pounds of the little beasties! Nothing like waking up to fifty lbs of shrimp needing to be picked. Not the best way to start the day. Of course the Captain has to get his vessel sorted out so no help from that quarter. My brother the self proclaimed "Shrimp Picking God" is not around either. It has to be done regardless, so my spleeny nieces proceed to help me. One whines the whole time about the shrimp being slippery, plus the whole time the air is punctuated with screams of agony if she happens to get stuck by one of them. Now bear in mind 50 lbs of shrimp is THOUSANDS of the little guys. I turn the music up. The other niece a quite and a good sport. She giggles at her sister's outbursts and rolls her eyes at at the antics we are privy to. Hours later we are finished and the winer never wants to see another shrimp again. "Oh, didn't I tell you? We are having shrimp for dinner.", I tell her sweetly...the girl will make a fine actress some day.

As I said earlier, today is snow. They have a saying in Maine, "that if you want the weather to change just wait fifteen minutes. " Truer words were never spoken. I curse the weather gods. On days like this it just doesn't pay to chew through the restraints. The wind has picked up again and the Captain is pacing. He notices it himself for a change and points it out to me. I think, "look honey I figured that out 20 minutes ago!" The Captain doesn't do "sit" well and I don't do the pacing well. One of the great impasses of our relationship. I just can't seem to figure out his laid back, type A personality. An oxymoron at best.

Just Another Day...

After yesterday's torrential deluge and wicked winds, today dawned bright and clear. Sunshine and a hint of Spring fortold the promise of better days to come. The good Captain was up at his usual 3am to check the marine forecast. I grumbled and rolled over in bed. I didn't go to sleep until 12:30, was watching "chick flicks" on the computer. So when he got up I had no intention of visiting with him this morning.

The marine forecast must have been acceptable, because when I did get up my hard working man was gone. The Captain is fishing for shrimp this time of year and he needs to make every day count when the fishermen are receiving 40 cents a pound after expenses. Which is a crime in my opinion! These men risk their lives on a daily basis to bring the best seafood in the world to the American people. Shrimp season is much mellower than groundfishing, where they go out for days at a time, a lot further offshore. Shrimping is a day fishery and they are home for a hot meal every night. I don't know about the rest of the fishermen but the Captain has been caught falling asleep in his plate on more than one occasion. Generally, though I don't worry about him so much when he is shrimping.

Today being just another day in Paradise brings the usual routine for me. Rabble rouse on Facebook taking shots at Monsanto and the thugs at the top in fisheries management. Posting items that regular people don't see, not being as involved in the commercial fishing business as I am. Port Clyde Lobster Tours on Facebook was started to help get the Captain's tour business off the ground. With Summer so far away it has turned into my personal, private soapbox. I try to make it a point to provide some educational componet each and every day. I'm heavily into Food Sovereignty and eating local. Imported seafood and "frankenfood" really piss me off! Call me crazy but I don't think it is good for us to eat food that has been messed with. Monsanto and their "genetically modified" seeds and Bovine Growth Hormone's are seriously scary stuff! Farm raised imported shrimp is also really scary stuff. Shrimp imported for Viet Nam have shown up with traces of Agent Orange in them. Guess who made Agent Orange? Umm...that would be Monsanto!

I leave the house for town around noon to run errands and go to the bank In Rockland. I return back home at 2:30. There is a big tub of shrimp waiting in the sun-room. This means the Captain is home early, although there is no trace of him in the premises. He isn't generally home this early in the day. Unless...something has gone wrong...

I check the voice mail on the phone. The Captain is there saying I need to call him and oh, by the way "the fire is out." FIRE!! What FIRE?!?!? Can't get him on the phone, I drive to the shore. His boat isn't tied to the wharf, it is out in the harbor. It has the skiff tied to the stern of the Leslie & Jessica. I hope all is well. I return home worried about this business of a fire. The good Captain is a big, laconic, laid back guy. Not much gets him too excited which is a worry all by itself. Honestly, if he were anymore laid back he'd be dead!

So he drags in an hour or so later, looking like Al Jolson getting ready to sing "Mammy" with a black face, black hands and covered in soot from head to toe. My first words are "What Fire?" He has been having problems with his exhaust on the boat for some time. He has tried every method that he can think of to make this thing work until he can have a new exhaust fabricated. Apparently the exhaust has had enough and decided to catch fire. Having fought fires in his youth as a Junior Firefighter, I'm sure he calmly grabbed the fire extinguisher and proceeded to put the fire at bay. Of course residue of the extinguisher has messed up his alternators, both the 12 volt and 32 volt. So that's a trip to Windsor tomorrow to get those fixed. His mate, my son is pretty useless in situations such as these. The big guy brings him to shore and releases him to the four winds. I'm sure he is out of there like a shot! The Captain returned to his vessel afterwards. The fire was still smoldering and the wooden platform the exhaust was sitting on was on fire also. He tore all that apart and made sure the fire was out. It wouldn't be a happy man if he had found his vessel burned to the waterline. Good thing he knows the nature of the beast!

He is out of commission until his new exhaust is fabricated and his alternators are fixed. The good news? He now has no excuse not to attend the upcoming Maine Fishermen's Forum this weekend. Just another day in the life of my fisherman. By the way see you at the Forum!

Mother Nature still in a bad mood

Mother Nature is apparently still in a bad mood. It is blowing a gale this morning. The good Captain has gone to town for supplies for his vessel. Imagine that! The wind chimes are ringing madly. I wonder if we are going to have a repeated loss of power episode? Maybe I should draw off some water just in case. I guess March is coming in like a Lion. Does that mean if we survive another month of this the weather will finally smarten up? I certainly hope so, I can see why people become "Snowbirds". I'm thinking that it isn't such a bad idea after all. I would miss the seasons but we all have to make sacrifices for the greater good.

This morning when the Captain was droneing around on the computer, he was checking the marine report. He seems to think that I need an audio version and he reads it to me. Knots, gusts, wave height, how often, how long...Good Grief! I do my level best to tune him out, a skill I acquired years ago when my children were small. I know this stuff is important but I don't require the entire report read to me. Just give the gist of it and let me go on my merry way. Gusts to 60 knots is all the information I need. That tells he that he will be pacing and muttering to himself ALL DAY! I told him years ago that he had better not even think of retiring because he will drive me completely out of my mind. I would be forced to bury him out back, tell people that he went out for a pack of cigarettes and haven't seen him since. Only trouble with that story is the Captain doesn't smoke. Nor does the man do idle well...

The "Big Kahuna" just called. He is the Captain's father. He just informed me that Travis went out in this mess. I can never tell when he does this if he's complaining that the Captain should be out also or not. I tell him that Travis is nuts! He agrees for a change, I guess he just needed something to do, kind of like grousing about the weather for other folks. The "Big Kahuna" is at loose ends these days. His truck is broke down and it has thrown his daily routine off. Usually he drives around town at least twenty times a day nosing around. If you want the low down of what is happening in Port Clyde just ask the "Big Kahuna". If he doesn't have the information no one does and that's a fact! He will be 78 this year, I hope I'm still getting around like he does when I'm 78, if I live that long! I'm afraid the fishing business might do me in before then.

Ah, the fishing business. Now that's a story all by itself. I'm fond of saying, "That I know more about commercial fishing that anyone born in Cincinnati Ohio has a right to know!" But I am going to save THAT story for another day because I think I need to draw off that water I mentioned earlier.

Storm shuts down Port Clyde America

Early Friday morning I woke up in the middle of the night to do my middle of the night business. The computer beckoned me so I sat down to check out Facebook and tend my crops in Farmville. The good Captain hopes I'm as dedicated once we put our garden in this year! In any event, the lights went out shortly after that. The wind was howling in the wires and the rain was coming down in buckets. The calliope of sound created by the wind-chimes was simply amazing all by itself. I was engulfed in total darkness, the only light was from the back up battery of the computer. I schlepped into the living room to get an oil lamp. Lit it and sat it on the kitchen counter and loaded the wood stove. My idea of fun is not cold and dark, plus I didn't want any other poor soul trying to do middle of the night business to kill themselves in the inky black of a house with no lights.

The next morning the good Captain informs me that we have no power. I wonder just exactly who he thought lit the lamp and kept the stove going? We lose the power it's no big deal. I have lamps, candles, a stove to stay warm with, an old fashioned percolator for coffee and a gas stove for cooking. All I have to do is light it manually. Water can be a bit of a problem but once the lights flicker a time or two we spring into action filling jugs and the tub for flushing.

The Captain has made coffee that requires time and skill instead of pushing a button. He has my cup ready, man has learned through the years that if he insists on getting me up at an ungodly hour there had better be coffee waiting for me!

We sit and discuss our day, I hear rumblings from the other inhabitants of our happy household bemoaning the fact that there is no power. Horrors! A life with no TV! I think,"well kids you better go to plan B." My niece lumbers by making noises about not knowing what you have until it's gone. I smile, this is a great opportunity to read a book or write a much overdue letter. I write my sister and the New England Organ Bank about my son's liver recipient. I have no problem keeping myself entertained without power. I must admit though, I WAS having some computer withdrawal symptoms.

The good Captain comes back in from working on his boat and asks if I want to ride to town with him? I am out the door like a shot! We go to the big city of Rockland Maine and run his errands. I tell him he has to feed me and we go to lunch. I'm sure by the time we return the power will be restored. Not so dear reader. The Captain has more repairs to make to his vessel, so I decide a nap is in order and I'm sure by then the power will be back on...

Four o'clock I rise, it's getting gloomy in the house. I light three oil lamps and think about making dinner. No problem I assure myself. I read a while and think of what gourmet extravaganza I'm going to make for the hungry hoards. Obviously I wait too long to start and find myself cooking by flashlight. Not as easy a task as one might think. Dinner is finally finished and I wonder what am I going to do now. The Captain goes to bed with the chickens, not so me. How on earth am I going to kill the next few hours? I putty around doing small tasks as I'm able in the lamp light. I finally give up the pretense and take two melatonin. I'm off to bed by 9pm. I don't think I've been in bed this early since I was a child! Needless to say I flop and flip for what seems like hours, I swear no sooner than I get to sleep than the Captain is waking me with the news that the power is back on. We went a full 24 hours with no power. You know, you have to give it to the pioneers. Tough, plucky bunch that they were...