On the way to the boatyard for haul out. We had to be at the yard before high tide (8:10 am) so it was an early start. The water hyacinths were floating everywhere and we just had to hope there were no deadheads among them.
A video of motoring along into the mists rising off the waters.
I’ve been too busy to write about a variety of events, adventures, and the ordinary daily-grind activities aboard Mahdee. So, here are some photos taken in the last 2 weeks. More to come.
Beryl played the role of the bored kitty while we were busy with all our activities.
While we were in the Georgiana Slough, I continued onward with the varnishing. This time, I did the three 24″x24″ butterfly hatches and and associated hatch openings on the deck midships. David was threatening me with more sanding dust (see sander in hand?) and enjoying the chaotic deck with wet varnish everywhere in this pic:
Every night we’ve had lovely sunsets and moon risings to enjoy.
My favorite case of the Raspberry Pi, the Pibow, finally came out in wood! So, I ordered one and assembled it around our Pi. I really like it, and so does David. It matches the wood interior and I got a nifty VESA mounting back so it can be mounted to a monitor back or it can be screwed onto a wall, bulkhead, or somewhere “discreet” …
Among all the her days of boredom and lazing about while we’re busy, Beryl has also become very good at stealing my favorite afghan for her own lounging pleasure.
The entire time we were anchored in Georgiana Slough we knew we’d caught a snag with the main anchor. Since we were tied off to so many trees ashore and had the stern anchor out, we weren’t worried about going anywhere by accident, though. What we didn’t know is that we actually caught a tree. When the fateful morning came to raise anchor(s) and leave, we were attached to something heavy that was raising bubbles 50 ft in front of the bow as we pulled at the chain entering the water directly below us. A few running starts (in reverse) and we would find Mahdee’s bow dipping low in the water and then would hear/feel the breaking of a big branch while bubbles would rise up far in front of the boat. This happened three times and finally we were free of all except a lone branch (admittedly 6″ to 8″ diameter across at its widest point and maybe 20 ft long…) that David had to untangle from the chain before we could move on.
After spending a day in Walnut Grove, we headed down the Steamboat Slough and were thankful for the Interphase FLS. With the system set up to look ahead 50 ft we could avoid sandbars and underwater obstructions — although at times like this, it seemed that the entire slough was too shallow for us to travel. Where there is a will, there is a way, and we always made it through.
For those of you who know about my love of blue and white china and in particular my Spode collection, you can understand why I was thrilled to recently see a melamine tray with a Spode Blue Room pattern on it! I tracked down the product and ordered it. With no more elegant food aboard, we enjoyed eating junk food (Hansen’s Raspberry Soda and Oreos) served on my new tray.
We’ve seen a lot of birds in the last few weeks–and sometimes we startle them from their comfy perches.
We did enjoy two nights in Horseshoe Bend behind Decker Island. We took Beryl for a dingy ride and met some nice folks aboard a CT anchored there. That’s a story for another day.
I’m out of time and pics are now uploaded. More later.
I love tomatoes. David loves tomatoes. Following the blackberry extravaganza of September, it should be no surprise that we’re now in the full throes of torrential tomatoes! It started with our new friend Sharon. She was staying aboard a nearby boat at anchor and well, she’s got tomatoes on the vine at her home in nearby Rio Vista. Periodically we’ve gotten bags of what we call “Sharon Tomatoes” which are yummy with vinegar and oil, as a tomato/mayo sandwich, in another salad, or any way we can think of preparing them.
Sharon is the source of our tomatoes even if she didn’t grow all the ones we’re now eating. Why? We also happen to be anchored where there’s a huge field of tomatoes across the levy road from us. A few days back, the farmer who owns the tomatoes saw Sharon on the road (I think she was taking pictures of his field of tomatoes…) and told her he’d be harvesting the ones right across from our anchored boats in…oh, about an hour. Sharon reported back to all: There’s tomato picking going to happen AND we can pick up fallen ones after they’ve gone through. So, of course, Sharon was ready with cameras and a bag for fallen tomatoes shortly thereafter.
Wow, there are A LOT of tomatoes on those vines. Amazing. Here are just a couple pictures of the picking that I took following Sharon’s “tomato alert”. These tomatoes are ones sold for soups so says the farmer. And, taste-wise, they’re not as good eaten fresh as the authentic Sharon Tomatoes. In a soup, pasta, chili or other cooked dish, they’re wonderful. Not very acidic and quite meaty.
