What Do They Do?

It’s raining today and thunderstorms are in the forecast. We’re getting the remains of Tropical Depression Gordon although all eyes are still on Florence.

We really need this rain. I had thought I might visit some areas in Maine this fall to see the famous New England autumn colours. However, the leaves are already turning as a result of the drought. This may not be the year for that trip.

My trip to Saint John went smoothly due in no small part to the navigator who kindly went with me. The errands took longer than expected which was annoying. Still it was a good day and we had fun.

Last evening I went to the breakwater to take a few shots. Most of the boats were in as they try to work around the extreme high & low tides which Gordon is sending out in front of him.

There was an “incident” on the other side of the Island. Mistakes were made which shouldn’t have been and there was a large fish kill. This has generated a lot of disgust. Apart from anything else (and there’s a lot of reasons to be disgusted) this represents a huge waste of a resource that may not ever be repeated in these numbers.

I was on the breakwater when a friends’ boat came in. At this point the crew had enjoyed 5 hours of sleep in the previous 60. Lobster season won’t be any easier.

Just before the boat arrived I was talking to two older tourists from Maine. There was polite disagreement on the subject of catching lobster year round (they do, we don’t) and they seemed to feel they were somewhere totally alien to what they surely know as the coastal lifestyle in their State.

Finally the man asked me “What do they do on this Island?”. I’m pretty sure I gave a look of incredulity as I responded:

“They fish.”