Sylvia's Journal

A glorious weekend; if last week there were days that felt like November, this weekend was more like June. The birds are everywhere, trees are in bloom, tulips and daffodils are out. I biked to Quaker meeting where the messages were about peace, the following of an inner voice and the creativity and openness to the world of young children. I biked back full of energy and open to the world, noticing at least 50 cents worth of beer cans along the road. I used to stop and pick them up, but today I was in a hurry to get back to Lobster Cove.

Axel had gotten up early to see if the mussels we transplanted last summer had made it through the winter and the many storms that badgered Lobster Cove. The tide was so low that he could walk to the mouth of the cove – we can’t remember it being this low. He was happy to report most clumps were still where he’d put them and Roger brought a few more clumps from Ipswich – they are taking well to our waters.

He discovered a few oysters that had settled on a pipe that once wounded Sietske’s belly when she swam over it at low (but not low enough) tide. Our friend Jan, with snorkel on, sawed the pipe down. Now it is an oyster farm. But having oysters in Lobster Cove is not necessarily a good thing. We like them but they shouldn’t be here. They like warmer water than mussels.

I replaced the dead blueberry bush with a new one, full of blossoms. Now the surviving blueberry has a mate again and cross pollination can take place. I covered the raspberry and asparagus beds with shredded hay to keep the weeds down. Axel leveled the garden and covered it with black plastic to sanitize the soil. One more nice day like today will do the trick. Then we can put in the kale, beets, fingerling potatoes, leeks and coriander.