Better Days

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Those unfamiliar with this area might look at these three pictures and wonder what they could possibly have in common. Well for one, all three pictures were taken from the playground area down near the harbor, but more than that, all three scenes depict things that have seen better days. If I remember correctly, the boat is named the Miss Andrea. It used to belong to a couple young fellows whom I believe were carpenters. They got the fishing bug back in the late seventies or early eighties and used to troll in some of the same areas I did when I owned my fourteen foot Hi-Laker skiff. I don't believe they were much more successful than I was and eventually had sense enough to get out of the fishing business and do what they knew best, which I'm sure paid considerably more. As you can see, the boat has been parked for quite some time without the benefit of a cover to keep the constant rains off, and the end result is that mold and moss have grown on the surface.  I suppose if I sat out in the rain long enough without sufficient cover I'd start to mold too. Nothing like the passing of time to re-arrange the order of the universe. In the morning when I get up I wonder if I've been re-arranged. I go through a check list to see if everything that I'm suppose to have is still there and I haven't grown anything extra during the night or lost something that I went to bed with. Let's see- age spots? Check. Big gut? Check. Moles? Check. All things I could do without, but they're part of me now so I guess I'm still alive. Some years back I woke up one day and had two moles on my stomach instead of one. I freaked out! My god, it's multiplying. Whatever it was,was with me for a week or two and then I was absent mindedly scratching my gut one day and it fell off. I freaked out again! I found out later that it wasn't really a mole, but some other unwanted appendage. I wish I could get rid of all my unwanted blemishes that easily.

  The float in the second picture hasn't been used for years to the best of my knowledge. I see that there's some piece of equipment on the end, so it's possible that one of the local families used it as a platform to yard trees out of the woods years ago when they were logging. Perhaps it's the same one they built and took to Spasski Bay so that they could tie up to it and work on their boats or clean fish, although I think that one sank right in the bay quite some time ago. I remember coming into Spasski back when I lived on the farm. I had been out fishing on a lumpy day and my main motor had quit, right when I needed it most.  A storm was brewing and I couldn't get the big engine to start. The waves were threatening to shove me onto the reefs, so I managed to start my little kicker and motor into the bay. There was an old hermit of a fisherman named Frank living there who had a float that he tied his boat to. He had a black Lab named Blackie that used to use the float for his personal toilet.  I can't blame the dog, he couldn't very well use the bucket. Anyway, when I pulled up to the float I was afraid to tie up. Almost every inch was covered in dog droppings- and it was a pretty big float. He had been using it for so long that grass was growing on top of the planks. I guess if the dog had lived long enough he would have had his own personal lawn.

   I included the bottom picture because it is the most scenic of the three, but it too has seen better days. Though it's not as evident from this shot, there was extensive logging done on the mountain and the area surrounding it. As I've mentioned before, I don't mind logging. Trees provide lumber and paper, including toilet paper, which I'm quite fond of. I would imagine that corn cobs would be difficult to flush and would have a tendency to clog the plumbing. I wish that a more balanced approach had been used when the powers that be had decided to log the area. Hopefully lessons have been learned and the next go around will be a little more well thought out. Anyway, that's what I've got for today. Hope you all have a great day.