Monday:
Cleaned house and got up early, expecting Dad to arrive before noon but he showed up at like 12:35! So late! I didn't have any work from home to do today so I was able to help out. I helped get the boat in the water and load the crab traps up. I pulled bait out last night to use for today. A mix of scraps and giblets and salmon eggs from September. It was a perfect day for being out on the boat. We dropped two pots in a secret spot and puttered around the bay enjoying the sun. I stretched out on the bow of the little boat and got sunburned a little bit. Not much, but I did get pink. Dad and I hollered enthusiastically every time we saw a bald eagle, and we kept eye contact with my friendly neighborhood raccoon. Also I dug out some really good pink and white beach shoes that someone left here once upon a time. They fit wonderfully. No more loosing flip flops in the water!
We snacked out while waiting to pick up the crab pots. Sat out on the porch like champs.
A tree fell down on the beach. A big one! But it didn't wreck anything.
The waters were rougher when we went out to retrieve the pots, and I got damp up in the front. The first pot had three lady crabs, so they had to be sent back. The second pot had three boy crabs and they were all above the minimum limit size so yum nums they were ours!
We tied up the boat and hauled up the crabs. Dad got to boiling the water to cook the crabs. He chopped them right in half, cleaned out the guts, and in they went into the water and fifteen minutes later out they came all smelling of goodness. While they cooled down I got rice going and washed dishes. Dad showed me how to clean crab, and only a few bits of shell have been found in the crab since! It's time consuming but worth it for good crab. Yum.
I made a "deconstructed sushi" and Celia came over at just the right time to partake. I had the little seaweed rectangles from TJ's and on top of those we would plop rice and crab, and maybe a bit of soy sauce or tartar sauce or cocktail sauce if we fancied. A lovely little appetizer.
Celia departed and So You Think You Can Dance was on and Dad made burgers and we ate the burgers and watched telly. Some good dancing on that show, fo' sho.
After Dad went to sleep I worked on a little project that I shant go into detail with here, but I stayed up way too late doing it.
Tuesday:
The tide was super low and Dad and I walked along the beach and looked at what was left behind. There were a few clam spurts, and fish under rocks, and a few starfish! We picked up those starfish and flung them out further to sea. Maybe should have instead left them high and dry for the eagles. Gggrrr starfish. Decimated our oysters! No sign of Rocket the Raccoon.
We finally faced the music and checked the septic tank. Smelly indeed. Dad poked at the "scum" and "sludge" with a stick and I wrote down the measurements. It needs to be pumped. I washed the filter with the hose and we put the top back on tank, and we were free! Free from poking the poop container with a stick! Hurray! We celebrated by trimming the tree that fell. Trimmed off branches and cut off the good firewood pieces and put them on the seawall. The tree is still there, but it's less of a tangle hazard.
More burgers were consumed. I moved the potted pumpkin to a better spot, I watered the garden. Dad did stuff too. Then left. I'll see them all again real soon.
I had the remaining hot dog for dinner and got to working on some presents. Have a gift to give, but I gotta make it. So I finished watched Orange is the New Black (I really liked this season, it was less hectic and more just character driven) and worked on personal projects. It felt good to work on what I've been wanting to work on.
So a busy couple days, but a good busy. Got guests coming up soon, multiple guests! But I'm also working on site tomorrow and I'm already up far too late for that.
