Keys to the Mallory House

We were given keys to the Mallory House, not for pleasure, but for work!  A different assignment today during our four day work week.

I think you can see what lies ahead.  This is the before picture.  The Mallory House is on refuge property.  It is on Whiting Bay which connects to the Bay of Fundy.  It is a beautiful piece of property with a beautiful view.

Five years ago, we were given the opportunity to put our rig to the right of the house.  It was very tempting, but just didn't see how we could manuever to get in.

There he goes downhill....the machine is a DR mower.

If I hadn't been there to stop him, he would have just mowed right over the peonies.

As you can see, there is quite a slope to the back yard.

Wallace had his work cut out for him.





This is a view of Whiting Bay out the back window of the house.  The little bare island had many seals out basking in the sun.  The long piece of land in the background is an island owned by the refuge as well known as Burnt Island.  Much of the land in this area is owned by the refuge.

While he was mowing, I had a chance to wander about.  With camera in hand, I walked down to the waters edge where I found these growing amongst the volcanic rocks. 



This is the after picture!!!  He did a really good job.  We could have stayed longer and spruced it up a little more, but I needed to be back to help out in the office.

Just sit right back and I'll tell you a tale......

No, not of Gilligan's Island, but of Moose Island.  Better known as Eastport.  I have written about this area in an earlier blog, but there is so much more!!!

We were given the keys to a house in Eastport by our friend, Jeanne.  She is truly the sweetest person I know and we have the pleasure of her company for the four months we are here. 

We unpacked and set out on foot down to the waterfront.  Eastport is a walk-about kind of town.  It was time for lunch and here is our choice today.

We each had their delicious Lobster Roll at the famous Quoddy Bay Lobster.

Next was walking the waterfront sidewalk to the wharf where this ship from Nassau was docked for repairs.

While Wallace was ordering a hot dog, I walked over to find out about the ship.  It will be loading cattle from Texas to take to Turkey.  All of them are pregnant.  Our cowboys from Fort Worth go on the ship to tend them during transport. 

The fellow in the middle, Jimmy, is security for the ship.  He was the one I approached about the ship, then his friends joined in.  We were there two hours listening and learning about some of the local history with local people...very enjoyable.  They told us how to find Fort Sullivan and the British Powderhouse and that was straight up hill!!!  So, off we go.



We kept going back to the waterfront off and on all day.  The temps were much cooler there which made for a nice day.  Dinner was at The Chowderhouse where Haddock was the special of the day.

A visit to the library, 1893...Romanesque Revival design.  AND, the Moose Island Bakery where we just had to have a piece of carrot cake.



It was sooooo gooooood.



And THEN...yep, ice cream.  Strawberry for me.  Wallace had Maple Nut.

Saturday morning, we woke to be the first people in the United States to see the sunrise.  Now the sun rises about 4:00am and we WERE going to walk down to the bay to see it at the start of the rise, but.....we decided to see it from our bedroom window.

Red skies in morning, sailors take warning!!!

Eastport is the easternmost city in the U.S.  So the sun rises here first.

This is S.L. Wadsworth & Son, Inc, the nation's oldest ship chandlery founded in 1818 and still in business.  They have a little bit of everything for sale.

We walked to breakfast at the Waco Diner (Whacko).  We wanted to see the cemetery as it sounded interesting after talking to the guys.

Notice the tops of these two gravestones.  The one on the left has a broken top signifying this man was lost at sea.  The one on the right died a natural death.  There are British people buried here as well.  Hillside Cemetery is located at the top of Capen Street where it dead ends.

We asked where there was a good place to look for sea glass.  It is Shackford Cove where we were given permission to trespass.  That is on the opposite part of town, of course.  Here is our collection.

What FUN.  There are a few pieces of china as well.

Next was a trip to Raye's Mustard Mill to take in a tour of how they make mustard.  The business started up in 1903 to supply the sardine canneries with mustard.  There once were 13 sardine canneries in Eastport with each one having a signature whistle that would blow to let the employees know it was time to go to work (mostly women and children).  First sardine factory was built in 1875.   



Raye's family mill is the last operating stone mustard mill in the country today.  It is not cooked, it is ground with deep well water blended with whole mustard seeds.

Naturally, I chose one with jalapenos!  The other will be used in Tuna.  They have 21 award-winning mustards.

The next thing to do was take a ferry ride over to Deer Island.  We caught the ferry at The Chowderhouse Restaurant.  After enjoying visiting with the Border Patrol, we boarded with about 10 motorcycles!  The reason for going was to get pictures of the "Old Sow" and her piglets.



At this point, you are on Canadian soil.  But it is the best place for pictures.  The ferry guide knew I wanted pictures of the whirlpool.  We were just going to ride over and back so our fare was $6.00, but he said he would not charge if we wanted to get off and wait an hour, he would come back and not charge for the return.  He told us how to get to the best place for pictures.  What a deal!

This is the best I got.  The better time is after a full moon.  The way it got its name (from those guys) is the people at night could hear the sound and to them it sounded like a pig at the trough and there were a lot of smaller ones, called the piglets, hence the name.  We were there two hours before high tide but we did not have a full moon the night before.  Maybe next time!!  A few more additions:  It is called Moose Island because during migration, the moose would swim over to Deer Island from Eastport.  

 

Italianate architecture...1887.  Beautiful old buildings.

I will sign off with my favorite picture...notice the reflection.  Hope you enjoyed traveling along.

More Friends, More Tours!!

When Lynn and Jane Miller emailed to say they would like a visit,  we happily agreed to include a tour of the refuge.  They arrived a little before 10:00 am and we headed out.  It was one of our workdays, but Bill (project leader) okayed the outing.  In the evening, we agreed upon a set time to meet for dinner.  Chinese was the pick of the group.  We each got something different...mine was Kung Pao Chicken.  Now let me explain, we usually go there for lunch which is a buffet.  Their dinner portions are humongous!!!  I should have taken a picture.  I thoroughly enjoyed mine...I just finished the leftovers.

After dinner, Wallace suggested we stop by the Village Green to see how the entertainment was.  Every Tuesday, someone takes stage to entertain any and all, free of charge.  It was a wonderful finish to a great time.  The night was perfect.  During the break, we walked down to the walking path by the St. Croix river as the sun was setting.  Our chance to spend a little more time getting to know one another.

Changing gears, talking about eating, the little town of Charlotte has a "Bean Supper" once a month in the summer to benefit their fire department. 

They served 341 people at $7.00 a plate and all the money goes to the fire department.  All the ladies make a dish including dessert.  We always look forward to this meal.

You can see, it's more than beans.  I finished it off with a piece of cocoanut pie. WOW.

The lady cutting the pie is Peg Sawyer, our ad min at Moosehorn NWR.  I always ask her to save me a piece of cocoanut pie, but there is always plenty.

The lady with the pretty smile is Betty Close.  She and her husband Michael volunteer at the refuge once a week and do a fantastic job greeting visitors for us.  The sweet lady in pink is Peg's mom.  The fellow in the sunglasses is a family friend who happens to be the pastor of the Baptist Church in Charlotte, named Bill.  I think you know the other person in the picture.

Until our next adventure...



One Great Place Leads to Another

From high on a hilltop you enter the pretty little village of Cutler, Maine, population 623.  Before your eyes is this beautiful protected harbor.

It doesn't take long to drive through the village, but you will want to stop and take in the view!

I could live right there and be very happy!  As you can see, the tide is low.

You can get up close and personel to the towers I mentioned in yesterdays blog.  You can see the towers from Fort O'Brien across Machias Bay, but they are so far away.  Here at Cutler you can see how gigantic they really are.

To end the day, we drove over to Lubec for supper.

Our favorite restaurant in Lubec is Uncle Kippy's.  I had the crab cakes.  Even tho' it wasn't lump crab, they were tasty. 

We have a spot where we go for sunsets to end the day.

A Tour of the Refuge for Friends

Mark and Terri McClelland have been on my tour before, so when they had friends coming up for a visit, they asked if I could give them another tour with their friends.  Sure thing....after approval from Bill, our project leader here at Moosehorn NWR. 

Mark and Terri on the left, and Sharon and Rick on the right.  Sharon went to school at PSJA where Wallace and I graduated from.  She's younger than us and remembered Louis, Wallace's younger brother.

We took all morning, driving, stopping, and getting out to take pictures, etc.  I really enjoy sharing this refuge with people and sharing the knowledge that I have gained while being here.

After many thanks, they treated me and Wallace to lunch in town where we continued getting acquainted and sharing our experiences.  Sharon commented, "What a wonderful life."  I have to agree with her.