YEAH…FOGFEST GO! The UMM UKULELE CLUB

As it should be, the 3. day of the Campobello Fogfest started with thick fog. Fortunately, it disappeared during the morning hours, though the sun did not break through the clouds for long periods, keeping the temps at around 70F. We have been looking forward to tonight’s performance of the University of Maine in Machias Ukulele Club at Jocie’s Porch. Expecting a high turn-out we went down to Jocie’s half an hour before start, but were flustered to see that most of the chairs were already occupied. When the Ukulele group (there was a lot of other instruments) were all lined up and started playing, the audience started vibrating. Soon, Jocie’s Porch was swinging and rocking and everybody was like being electrified. Every song they played went right into people’s feet. If there would have been enough floor space, people would have started dancing. 2 hours and everybody wanted MORE, MORE, but after several more pieces the audience got off their seats for a standing applause.            And in the evening the fog was waiting out there Campobello went crazy for these folks from Maine. Thank you, thank you and come again next year, please.

The 4th Annual Campobello Fogfest

People do a double-take when we mention FOGFEST. What is that? Well, we can’t do away with the fog, once it starts rolling in, so we might as well celebrate it. And today was the official opening of FOGFEST 2016.                         And the RVs have been rolling in all day long. The many free concerts are attracting a lot of people over to the island. I went down to Jocie’s porch where a crowd had gathered to listen to the first musicians. Our mayor had some appropriate words for the opening before the musicians moved in.  Again, it was a hot day and after the opening I went home and chilled inside the house.

Jokingly….

Cooped Up And Cold Coffee

I’d never thought that it would last this long, but for days we have been under a heat wave which seems to suck all energy out of me. And here I am drinking cold coffee, even though I normally hate cold coffee. However, I am not gonna fill myself up with steaming hot coffee when the outside temps are in the mid-to-upper 80s, like it has been several days now. Highly unusual to have such temps on Campobello, where it borders to suicide to cool off in the freezing cold waters of the Bay of Fundy. Nah…I’d rather stick to cold coffee. Once in a while we see some dark clouds rolling up and they turn out to hold some thunder, a few rain showers and then the heat is back on. The only place where it is alright is inside the house. Amazingly, it stays cool inside even without an air condition. So we are cooped up. In an hour I have to drive across the border for getting an oil change for the van. Just the thought makes me cringe, cause I have to wait in the steaming hot garage until the boys are done with the van. Yesterday’s drive with a couple of tourists was so hot that I had thoughts of quitting. When we came down to Herring Cove Beach I saw people roasting on the beach. Are they crazy? Sorry, I have no pics today for how can I photograph HEAT?

We’ve Got Snakes In The Garage And Hares On the Lawn

We’ve seen them before, they were crawling around the garage, but they were shy and were hiding behind a board or some garden utensils, whenever we entered the garage. They are garter snakes, harmless creatures eating insects and baby mice. But when I opened the garage door the other day, one of them were hanging out of the rubber gasket on the bottom of the roller port. I got out the camera and slowly approached her. She was following me suspiciously with her eyes, but stayed put for the picture, like she couldn’t figure out what was going on.  I saw her again 2 days later still living inside the tube of the rubber gasket. But there is other wildlife around the house. Our “pet-hare” has often been seen sitting directly outside of our rear entry door. Mother hare does not seem to be too fearful, just moving away far enough so Molly doesn’t get any ideas. Molly does show some interest in the hare, but she also knows that she won’t have a chance of getting to it. All she does is looking and doing a few steps towards the hare as it sits around chewing on straws of grass.

Is The U.S.A. going Off The Hinges?

For many years I have been a friend of the U.S.A. But it is getting harder and harder to maintain love and understanding of what actually happens across the border. Mass shootings and brutal violence is increasing nearly from day to day. Political unrest and people’s dissatisfaction with the situation in Washington, political hate rhetoric from the GOP and their open acknowledgement of radical groups are gaining ground daily. Tragic events are taking place all over the country The reasons are several, but open racism and religious extremism seems to be the main illness the country is suffering from. There is racism to coloured people, racism to Muslims, and racism to Mexicans. Religious extremism combined with a deep distrust of government and racism has caused violent groups to gain traction. Police has come into a squeeze and is now the declared enemy of many people. But there is another main problem which, combined with the above mentioned, we do not have in Canada:  300 Million weapons in private American hands and a guaranteed right of gun-ownership by the 2. amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The vast amounts of existing guns and easy access for purchase have made the daily life and duty for U.S.-police officers the most dangerous job in the world. I will explain that by using a simple example: Handguns are not generally allowed in Canada. The number of issued licenses are extremely low measured against the overall population. Therefore when a Canadian police officer of the RCMP stops a vehicle, he or she has no reason to fear to be shot at. Consequently, he/she has not to be on high alert when approaching a stopped vehicle.  In the U.S. all a driver has to do is reaching for registration and insurance papers from his glove box and he is running the risk to be shot. If the driver happens to be a coloured person the risk is even higher. We all know that the right of owning guns is not gonna be changed in America. What CAN and MUST be changed is racism. I have already seen the first postings on social media where people express their fear that America is seeing the beginning of a modern civil war, and that has precisely been my own impression for quite some time. Consequently, we have decided that we will not  undertake long-distance travel to the U.S. anymore. Already travel advisories for the U.S. have been issued by several countries. Traveling in the U.S. has become a safety issue. If nothing else this should bother most Americans. It sure bothers us, for we like to live in a peaceful country.

And When The Fog Is Rolling In…We Take Some Pics

It was the last day with my friend Alain and his family and we feel sad that they are leaving tomorrow morning. They became family in a heartbeat and we don’t know when the next meet-up will be. Trying to make the best of this last day we visited the Roosevelt Park in the morning. The next thing was a Whale Watch Tour where they actually saw one whale. It was a beautiful day with calm waters, yet they felt the coolness of the Bay of Fundy. We then all gathered on our porch and enjoyed a blueberry pie with  ice cream. But there was more. We took them to Liberty Point where we were all-of-a-sudden looking into the fog. Now, the strange part was that there was fog AND sunshine at the same time, which made the landscape into a surrealistic backdrop I had never seen before. When we crossed over to Mulholland Light we saw more fog but also more sunshine.    Our last stop was Friars Head, a viewpoint high above the Passamaquoddy Bay. While Friars Head was still sunny we could observe a far-stretched band of fog along the eastern shoreline. The fog looked like a big greyish roll threatening to cover the entire island. By now we all got hungry and our next stop was the Golf Course Restaurant, where we all ate way too much. Thanks again for stopping by.

After 31 Years….We Met Again.

One of the last things Alain did for me was helping me change an engine on a 1967 FORD Station Wagon. It was November and the year 1985. After that we exchanged a few emails every year, and I never thought I’d see the fellow again. But 2 years ago I suggested to come and visit us on Campobello Island. And he made true of it. Yesterday Alain came riding up from New York with his wife and the youngest of 2 daughters. When the phone rang yesterday afternoon I knew it was them. They had already checked into their motel and I drove up to bring them to our house. What followed was an endless catching-up conversation. You just don’t cover 31 years in a few sentences or even hours. And today we continued talking. I showed them Head Harbour Lightstation and after lunch we simply went to the beach. The pictures will tell the story but for new readers I would like to mention that the beach is at the Bay of Fundy and that the water may have 10C (50F) and that it feels very, very cold on your feet f you step out into the water. Indeed, you have the feeling your feet are gonna fall off. But that did not scare our French visitors of doing just that. As you can see the weather couldn’t have been more gorgeous. So what we found out of each other is that none of us has changed. we are still having the same type of lively conversations as we had 31 years ago. Of course our looks have changed, and yet I would have recognized Alain on the sidewalk. What an amazing experience!  I would love to have them here a whole week or…..hell as permanent neighbours. These folks are just so nice. Thanks for stopping by!

Oh It’s Saturday And Time To Turn On The Old Radio

Every Saturday evening I turn on our old transistor radio. I don’t have to seek for the station, it’s always tuned right on to CBC French Channel. Of course I don’t understand a word of what they are saying, but the music they play on Saturdays are my kind of music, like old-time show melodies, big band and oldies from long gone days and famous American Songbook titles.             Once found at a church yard sale for 5 Bucks Then I sit down in my IKEA Poäng-chair, and just swim away in a journey to the days when I was a little boy and my parents were doing just the same – listening to the radio. Our old 50’s radio from Germany, still functional with the right voltage (240V) That was before they got a black/white TV. The TV set changed our lives in a way I never would have expected. Conversations died, and we got commercials into our living room. At the time we didn’t notice the subtle changes, well – I think mother did, cause she didn’t like it one bit when we kids threw a fit when we wanted to see a program and weren’t allowed. Maybe that’s why we don’t have a TV today. I can listen to my music from the old transistor radio or turn on my computer to watch a movie or short video. That’s enough of entertainment for me.