Rope

Lady Washington

Rope was just rope most of my life before I met my DH. Sure, rope ties stuff down. It has utility. But add it to boats and sails and rope takes on a life of its own. Tall sailing ships, like the Lady Washington, above, seem to consume it by the mile.

Rope

So it should be no surprise that Longship Marine sells lots of rope.

More roap

I consider it eye candy but a sailor has an entirely different opinion.

Still more roap

There are lots of different kinds of rope. An informed consumer could tell you more than you’d likely care to know.

Visit to a chandlery

Longship Marine

Over the years I’ve been with my mariner I’ve spent time in a variety of chandleries, supply stores that cater to boats and boating. Classic shops have an assortment of new goods. The best, though, have had wondrous assortments of used items. In more recent years the shops with used goods have begun to vanish, making it ever harder for DH to find some of the finer items he wants that are sometimes no longer even made. I was pleased to discover Longship Marine on one of my trips to Poulsbo and we made a point of visiting recently. The shot above gives a sense of the place. Sort of a marine flea market…filled with a combination of basics and the occasional oddity.

Fake block

Beyond the cash register was an oddity: a block used in the film “Master and Commander.” There was only one left so hurry in if it’s a must have. By the way, it is functionally useless.

Real blocks

Don’t worry, Longship does have the real thing too.

Lakefront properties

Lakefront property 1

We’ve had plenty of rainfall here this winter. Some areas are wetter than others which we discovered our first winter here. We had a backyard lake for several months, complete with a pair of ducks. We’ve since remedied it with engineering, trenches and a pump. (Our waters flow out of the area and don’t impact our neighbors.) This area, above, is downstream from us. The high water table combines with runoff. Sometimes only the far side of the road ponds. Other years, like this one, there’s water anywhere that’s low. Knowing the terrain I can’t imagine there are ready solutions to the flooding.

Lakefront property 2

There appear to be plans to develop these lots. The boxes you see here are utility vaults and a nicely paved road fronts them. We’ve seen a “for sale” sign at times; however, we’ve only noticed it during the drier months.

Lakefront property 3

A home is going in now. It’s on a slightly elevated pad and set as far away from the water as possible. It’s got a gorgeous view of the mountains. Seasonally a cynic could call it a lakefront property.

Lakefront ducks

A lot of ducks call the pond across the street home. Most were out of camera range the day I took this shot but there are dozens and dozens of them.

Mystery…solved

Mystery bird 2

The other day I noticed some unfamiliar big birds feeding at the very back of our property. They were bigger than pheasants, big and round, and didn’t look like they were designed to fly. The little flock of seven was skittish, running this way and that, working their way closer and closer to our house. I grabbed my camera.

Mystery bird 1

I consulted three different bird books. Though they were roughly the size of grouse nothing about them matched.

If you haven’t guessed already, they are guinea fowl, domestic birds. And we learned that it’s not uncommon for people around here to buy them as cute little chicks and then eventually tire of them and release them in the recreation area not far from our house. Though this practice may be relatively common we haven’t seen these birds before. Not surprisingly the local coyotes find them easy pickings.