91 Visitors
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| Battery Point Lighthouse |
The morning started off cold with fog and overcast.
At 8am I raised the flag and fed the seagulls and got ready for the day. People
had been coming over due to low tide and we opened at 10 am. This time we had
the help of Terrie and Leon who were back from their travels. It was so good to
see them again and have their help. I took the tower, Terrie took the 2nd
floor, Leon the first floor and Fred took the gift shop. It was the usual
craziness with lots of visitors and I was glad to be up high above it in the
tower. The groups came non-stop for the next two hours and we all worked hard
to get the people through their tours. Two groups, one containing 30 people and
one containing 15 rather clogged up the system at the beginning and messed the
other smaller groups. Fred got to
experience the tour organizing “fun” today.
We went till the water was rising just over the sewer line path and got
everyone out with dry feet, well almost. I did a little inventory restocking
particularly some postcard resupplying and rearranging. I took a look at our
remarkable banjo clock ticking away in the dining room. This clock was given to
the lighthouse when it started Christmas day 1856. As far as anyone knows this
is the only original lighthouse clock that is in its original lighthouse in its
original position on the wall. It has witnessed the entire history of the
lighthouse from its lofty perch. I got to wind it earlier in the week and
carefully opened it’s doors and gently wound it. It was humbling to think of
the other hands and fingers that had done the very same thing through it’s
life. From the first keeper Theopolis Magruder to Captain Jeffrey, the keeper
who lived here 39 years, to Wayne Piland, who was the last keeper before the
Coast Guard took over in 1953, and all the other hands of other keepers in
between. We join the long list of those caretakers who gently cared for this
unique piece of history.
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| Cynthia Playing her Violin in the Lighthouse |
We got watch our soap opera at 1pm and I
started a pizza in the oven for lunch. We relaxed a bit and I did some knitting
while Fred went outside to read on the rocks while I did some knitting. I had
finished most of the sleeves and then resumed on the body of the cardigan. I
had knit in the inside of the pockets and will continue on the body till 15
inches long. Then I join the sleeves on and knit the entire sweater in one
piece up to the neckline. This technique results in very few seams and sewing
together of parts. I grew a bit tired and went upstairs for a nap, which only
lasted 5-10 minutes. Fred then called me and told me about whales he had seen.
I went out for a look and didn’t see any but took a walk about and checked on
things. I then decided since it was such a beautiful sunny afternoon to play my
violin up in the lantern room atop the tower. The violin was a little easier to
tune this time since she had gotten used to the humidity. I warmed up with
Ashoken Farewell and went on to my favorite Vivaldi concerto. It was so nice to
concentrate intensely on this 7-page piece and fill the tower with sweet notes.
I played through the entire piece again to correct notes and passages that I
had erred upon and make them perfect. The piece sounded much better on the
second pass. I swear I heard seagulls singing along with me as they sailed past
the tower at eye level. The notes echoed and rang through the tower – nothing
better than Vivaldi being played in a lighthouse! I played for about an hour
and watched as the tide went out and people began to gather to cross over. Even
though my little fingers were hurting from not playing regularly I just had to
finish up with New World Symphony and my beloved Le Cygne. People had come up
and were milling around the house and enjoying the views and I wondered if they
could hear me outside. Fred said it sounded very nice – I hope so. I didn’t
want to scare away the tourists – HA!
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| Foxglove Plant Cynthia Planted |
In the mean time Fred was mowing the various
lawn patches on the island. When evening
visitors showed up as the tide went down, he stopped as to not disturb
them. When most people had left before
sunset he finished up. When he finished
he came inside to tell me he was going to give a tour to a couple that showed
up after they had mentioned they had visited 262 lighthouses! They had never
been to Battery Point and we felt they just had to see it to add to their long
list. They left a nice donation and bought some things and were very thankful
to us. While Fred gave them a tour I watered the flower boxes and other
flowers. They were doing fine and had recovered from their first windy days
that had beat them up a bit. Other visitors came and went and some had
questions and I chatted with them. There was a thick cloudbank coming from the
land and over the ocean but below it, it was very clear and we could see St.
George Reef Lighthouse so clearly and distinct. Through binoculars you could
even see the lantern room on top, which was sadly dark. How neat it would be to
see that lonely pillar in the sea and give her some company. There were a few
people waiting for sunset and it was a strange beautiful one as the sun finally
showed itself under the cloud bank in a flattened disk which turned into a
broken ball of brilliant orange and dark bands as it set further and eventually
disappeared. Another stunning day came to an end. I had started dinner of my
chicken, broccoli, almond, cheese and mushroom casserole. The recipe was a
combination of 3 recipes that I put together last summer on Seguin. I wonder
how that magnificent lighthouse is doing and how the island looks now. We miss
her greatly but are enjoying this special little isle with her precious light.
Fred made a small salad and we ate that while
my casserole was baking in the oven. We enjoyed that and finally got to relax a
little around 10 pm. We were very tired from our busy day and were falling
asleep while watching some TV. I took a late nap and stayed up late to write
this blog.
Off to sleep I finally went thinking about
our sister lighthouse, the silent, dark tower standing proudly tall on her rock
domain in the middle of an achingly, lonely sea and wishing for her light to
shine again and to have a warm hand and heart tenderly care for her again.
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| Saint George Lighthouse in the Low Setting Sun |
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