August 7, 2008
July 2, 2008
are you kidding me?
Just opened my first official mail at this new address. Not much; a few boat- and property-related pieces, then in with the rest:
A pre-approved offer for a Platinum Visa. Good grief. Will they give these things to just anybody? Okay, okay, hard for me to believe that my credit rating is actually so good, but then I have to remind myself that $15000 or so has passed through my bank account in the last 90 days… does that sort of stuff actually count?
Oh jay-sus, now I’m thinking maybe I should get a credit card…. shudder…
June 29, 2008
PA critters
I found this large pupa under a board beneath a walnut tree, while clearing out the old kennel. Looks kinda like a slowly-wriggling dog turd, yes, but ought to turn into something interesting.
A little digging on the internet shows that this is likely either an Imperial Moth or Regal Moth, both having 4″-6″ wingspans. I’ve got the pupa now in a humid ventilated container, out of direct light, and will be waiting and watching with camera nearby over the coming days.
June 26, 2008
an interesting couple of months
Yes, it sure has been… and I’m feeling so very behind on all of it, blogging-wise. Several great tales to tell, some with bittersweet endings, and some, well, made inconsequential by subsequent events.
I ought to try and flesh these stories out a bit and get them written down, but seriously… The best parts deserve telling in person; if you’re the sort of person who I need to tell, you’ll hear it all eventually anyways. For now, the Cliff Notes:
Launched the boat. After 3 years of relentless complete refit work, living in the boatyard, on the hard, Centaurea hits the water. Then comes The Caper; never having sailed the boat at all, ever, I quit my job, round up a friend, and sail off soundings to the island of St. Croix. All the usual last-minute stocking/storing/staging/staggering about happens there, and with Slacks in the pocket, we head offshore for the Chesapeake. As many of you know by now: We Never Make It.
Heinously storm-damaged, jury-rigged, dis-masted, transmission seized, another nasty front on the way… picked up by container ship, landed on Bermuda… still haven’t found the grief that is supposed to come; maybe just too stunned, maybe in denial, or maybe just finally relieved to have all ties to James and that fucking boatyard finally finally all cut away.
So. Bermuda. A few days spent in recovery, Slacks sent home, then jetting off to Troll Farm in PA to check out the new digs: some good, some better than good, some mostly overwhelming, but more on that later.
Back to St. Croix to pick up the next boat… and an 8-day float-plan turns into an 18-day trip north, stopping in every scabby Bahamian port along the way to beg entry and fuel. The whole trip graced by either no wind at all, or rippin’ T-storms; I feel like a lightning magnet once again, and sustained 40-knot winds offshore now feel “normal” (amazing what you can get used to, eh?).
Bermuda dollars in the billfold. Wavy-edged Bahamian coins in the pocket. Back here on the farm, but not for too long; heading down south sooner than later to Charleston to grab the boss’s boat and keep hopping north.
And today? Today I keep phoning on the phone, arranging HVAC contractors to get AC in my new house. Oh yeah, I have a new place to live… a ways from the sea. Not giving up on sailing, oh no, but seeing that I have an opportunity to allow something other than boatsboats24/7boats in my life.
The new job, the new digs? Almost too much to express; I still wrinkle my brow at every possible explanation, at every query of, “What do you do?” or, “Where do you live?”. I’ll try to tackle these again, anon, another post.
