New York, New York

    Shortly after "the Rents" came to visit, Cas and I took a weekend to see Jamie for a change in NYC.  New York is an interesting place and I can see how it would be impossible to really get a feel for it in three days, but crazy enough we did!  We visited many of the "spots" but our objective was more to just walk around and see people and feel the vibe.  We walked around China Town, traipsed to the center of the Brooklyn Bridge and meandered through a farmers market.  I recognize I could of course be wrong, and hope that I am, considering more than 8 million people live here, but it felt like the whole point of New York was to just sell crap.

    Everywhere you looked and every possible crevice people had set up some kind of shop to peddle their wares.  From knock-off bags and clothes to plastic wrapped toys scavenged from the bottoms of cereal and Cracker Jack Boxes, it was so overwhelming the combination of nausea and consumer euphoria was very confusing.  And yet I can't help but recognize the similarities to communities and lifestyles all over this country, not least my own.  It's good to get these perspectives time to time so I can better be aware of the choices I make in my purchasing habits and attitude towards consumerism.  The simple lifestyle Cas and I have adopted can sometimes mislead us to believe we hold some kind of false benevolence that is completely undermined when we allow ourselves to judge. If we are to truly attempt to make this world a better place, we have to take our everyday, ordinary life - our sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life - and place it before God as an offering.  The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.

    Although NY was a great experience and seeing new places is almost always exciting, we were very relieved to get back to the island, the quiet, and the simplicity.

Mountain vs Island

So after the Iowa Parent Palooza, Joann, Rick, and Gloria stayed with Chandra and the grandkids while we hit the road with Nathan's folks. We have wanted to take a trip with Kaye and Ed for a long time, so I had been planning for weeks how to squeeze in every bit of fun into this 4-day trip as possible while still being able to relax, as these days we are accustomed to our laid back island lifestyle. We were going to tour towns and hike on trails by the salt marsh, go to a nice restaurant, tour the Thimble Islands, and retreat back to the island for 3 days of paradise. Or so I thought. At the last minute before leaving Nick and Chandra's house, we had decided to throw out the plans and do something wild. In Nick's words "You can't go wrong with Vermont!" so that's where we headed. We drove and drove till reaching our destination at Mt. Ascutney State Park. We were to hike 2.2 miles up the mountain while enjoying some great scenery. Little did we know, "Future Trail" went practically straight up the side of the mountain. About a mile up, we did enjoy this amazing view in the photo. If we were smart, we would have stopped there and gone back down. Guess what, we're not that smart. While finally reaching our destination of "Out of Service" Restrooms. We decided to take an easier way down by taking the road back. Again, not realizing that the plummeting concrete would be worse than the trail. After hiking over 4 miles of rocks and road, we were sore, blistered, and pooped and so decided to call it a night by finding a campground. That didn't happen either, but we did find a bunch of hill folk. Hours later around 11pm we found a hotel and treated ourselves to a hot shower, a warm bed, and a continental breakfast. Thank God!! Then drove and drove till reaching the sanctuary of Outer Island for the remainder of their trip. We celebrated with bonfire, fishing, food and drink. We really enjoyed their company, but wouldn't be surprised if we never returned to see the beauty of Vermont.

The Iowa Parent Palooza!!

To our astonishment after a series of phone calls, we were informed that all of our Iowa parents had decided independently to come to Connecticut to visit their children at the exact same time. Oh, crap. So Chandra, Nick, Nathan, and myself, with some nervous giggles and a bit of nail biting, were wondering how we were going to spend enough time with Nick's mom, Joann, Chandra's and my parents, Rick and Gloria, and Nathan's parents, Kaye and Ed, to give them each special attention for making the long trip out here without neglecting the others. So Nick, being the engineering genius he is, came up with the brilliant idea of the Iowa Parent Palooza! The first day that all of the parents were to arrive, we planned to put everyone together for a picnic at Nick and Chandra's house. Great idea you think? It was . . . except for the fact that none of the parents actually wanted to do it. They didn't want to have to come all the way from Iowa to share our time and attention with someone else. Well, too bad. We made them do it anyway, and it was great. Chandra was glowing with pride at having the ability to host such a great family get together with amazing food, her kids were going nuts with joy at having all of their favorite people in one place, and for me, it felt like a good old fashioned family reunion. The parents were very well behaved and tolerated, if not enjoyed, each other's company. Chandra is an amazing cook, Nick put on great music, we had lots to drink, and the kids were a blast to play with. The Iowa Parent Palooza was probably a once in a life time deal, but I know that Nick, Chandra, Nathan, and I will never forget it.

To Be Young Again

    For my fourteenth birthday my parents handed me a card.  I opened it with the fervency of any young person who has begun to grasp economics.  Inside was not the placid green portrait I had anticipated, but rather the bane of any birthday young or old.  I stared bleakly at a slip of paper that read "This coupon entitles you to GET A JOB!"  I looked up, head cocked to the side like a dog who's been given an unknown command, to see my parents beaming at the dish they had just served colder then the ice cream that was melting in my lap.
     Last week Cas and I spent two days and one night with a group of high school youth that had sought out, applied for, and been hired for a competitive program called the Youth Conservation Corps.  I had no idea young people of their caliber existed.  Come to think of it, I don't know that many adults that would spend their summer camping out doing manual labor at minimum wage out of little more then the simple desire to do so.  These kids weren't forced to do this, and they truly seemed to enjoy it.  There was no ladder to climb.  When asked, they didn't seem to register how good it would look on a resume.  One kid put it simply, "I would have just been sitting around all summer otherwise."  Well yeah!
    The time I spent with these kids made it easy for me to forget that I'm nearly twice there age, which was mostly good.  It also reminded me how much I liked hanging out with kids that age and how much they get it, and how much adults don't.  These are the people that are forming the world we live in today, and will be making the decisions for us in the next thirty years.
    I can look back now on my adolescent time and realize that was the lesson my parents were trying to teach me.  That it's not enough to just sit by and let everyone else foot the bill.  And that coupons for your birthday suck no matter how old you are.

Here Fishy Fishy Fishy

I don't know how to explain it!  I haven't done a single thing different.  Same rig, same bait, same spot.  Earlier in the day maybe, or later in the season?  I guess I have been doing one thing different....

Happy Anniversary!! Here's some Cheese.

Saturday was Nate's and my 6th wedding anniversary! We sold our truck topper on Craig's list and then headed out to the UConn Dairy Barn and then to Bush Meadow Farm. Nate and I have always been interested in homesteading and since our friends Jenny and Jason are soon to start their homestead, it has us thinking about that dream again. Nate has always wanted to have goats, and that is the one animal, besides ostrich, that we did not have on my small farm growing up. So with the intention of growing our education we visited the farm to explore their operations. They have a commercial kitchen where they serve food that they grew or raised themselves. We bought a half gallon of goat's milk, which is the best milk I've ever tasted. And the nutrition and health benefits of goat vs. cow milk is no competition. They get more business than they can handle because of the growing awareness, especially by people with serious digestion issues. They gave us a free container of Garlic and Spinach feta cheese spread. It was amazing, store bought will never taste the same. Thanks Bush Meadow Farm! Support your local farmers!! They also cut all of their own firewood that supplies energy to their radiant floor heating and hot water throughout their buildings in the winter. They're also planning an ice cream operation soon. Checkout the pics of all the goats, the babies were so cute! The owners were super nice and offered us possible workamper positions for this winter. We have yet to discuss details, but I can't help but think that it would be a great opportunity for us. Not only will our restaurant experience and my forestry and Nate's carpentry skills be useful to them, but for them to teach us all about the goats and goat dairy and meat products would be invaluable to our future. We'll be praying about God's will for The Smocks Winter 2010!!

Home Sweet Camper

So this will be our new home starting on August 21, which is our anticipated departure date. Against the advice of my former boss, Ms. Betty Hammel of Craig's Place Deli in SC, we went ahead and brought home our new truck camper on Sunday. There were some difficulties in getting the camper mounted to the truck and getting the lights hooked up correctly.But after hours of sweating in the sun, while I sat inside with the lady of the house drinking lemonade, Nate and the seller got it all worked out. I am so proud of my hard workin' man. How will we live in this small space you ask? Well, I'm not sure yet. We will have to, once again, get rid of more stuff. But it is wondrous knowing that I have the capabilities to cook almost everything in one pan. The fridge is really nice and larger than our other camper fridge. It has a built in CD player, a rear camera video for backing up, a wet bath (which means you can poo and shower at the same time!), a place for a microwave and tv, plenty of storage for what we need, and early nineties decor (which Nate doesn't mind, but I can't stand). So we are already thinking about all the things we need to do for our next adventure which is . . . . going back to Iowa. See you soon!

Come Fourth

So the 4th was fun. Nate and I saw an amazing fireworks show the weekend before. From the island you could see about 10-15 shows going on at the same time. To see the fireworks over the still ocean water was incredible. Nate commented that it looked as if the east coast was under attack! So on the actual weekend we went inland to Chandra's house. That is my niece Sophia in the pic. No, it was not raining when she was wearing those boots. But Aunty Candy fixed her cute hair, didn't last long. Soon her hair ended up into a third pony tail in her bangs to keep it out of her face, giving her the look of a triceratops. Chandra had an amazing spread for us to eat and drink. She had friends over and we stayed up late socializing while we sat in her bug free tent. I added photos of her home in Storrs, CT. It is gorgeous here.

Nate and Falkner's Day-Of-Fun!!

Back out at Falkner, hopefully for the last time.  It was my turn (no pun intended) to spend some quality time with our winged banal brethren.  The first chick to fledge was witnessed while I was there and it is now a brief matter of time before the great colony will depart for warmer winter climes.  The terns fledging time span is a scant few weeks, where they transform from a dripping helpless mass to maven of the skies.  Though the fecal bombardment is quite annoying, these creatures are something to behold.  Though once is enough.

Nate's a Blog Hog

At your request, this is a little about the goings on with Cas. Nate is gone at Falkner banding chicks so now's my chance. Had my friend Jaime over last weekend to the island from NYC. We fished and ate the fish, tanned, talked, watched fireworks and sailboats, painted on driftwood, had a bonfire, and all kinds of super fun. We plan to visit her in NYC soon. My sis Chandra lives an hour from here so I get see her and the kiddos often which is great. My bro Chad keeps winning money in singing competitions and now he is playing a 40 min. set in Polk City at the summer festival, so go give him support and hire him to play your wedding. My friend Katie is about to pop with an Independence Day baby which is exciting. I'm painting and sanding and plastering, not in that order, the Outer Island kitchen this week, so check back for before and after pics. Jaime really loved the new guest room. Come and try it out. Love!

Who Says YOU Have Intrinsic Value

    Terns are very important creatures.  They have to be right?  I mean that must be why I'm out here dragging 2x4 frames and sheets of plywood across slippery shit covered rocks to rebuild a blind that will be used to observe their wily ways.  The blind got itself blowed away the other day in a storm, so here we are.
    Now, it is possible to become confused when working on a project such as this.  You see, on our island we have signs posted to let visitors know what areas are off limits to protect nesting birds.  The bird that is exampled on the signs is a Black-Crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax).  However, if one was to visit Falkner Island a scant three miles to the East, (which you can't) you would find decaying Night Heron corpses littering the shore.
    What, you gasp?  Nycticorax nycticorax, you see, is mortal foe of Sternidae and is therefore persecuted most grievously by the guardians of  "The Falk."  The other primary use of said blind is to conceal oneself for ambush of the credulous "quarks."  Thereby rendering the diversity of our little templum greatly reduced, homing itself to little more then Dumetella carolinensis and Quiscalus quiscula.  Damn you Quiscalus quiscula...damn you.

Do They Call Me Nate the Barn Builder?

No, they don't call me Nate the barn builder. But that's just what I did. (Ok, not a barn but it's going to be used for school kids so is it so different?)  The pavilion was designed and, for the most part, built by Vermont Frames.  Why they built this beautiful structure only to tie it onto a dumpy little cottage, I couldn't tell you.  But it was an interesting experience putting it up with few power tools and no crane.  It will be an outdoor area where classes can come to study marine life and high school kids can throw parties when no one is looking.

My Turn!

I done catched me a fish!  Paralichthys dentatus to be precise.  I am fairly certain that any success I have fishing is purely a product of God ordained intervention.  Every time I cast I have absolutely no idea what I am doing and have given up on the delusion that I might ever be able to consider myself an angler.  It was tasty none the less and I'm going to head out here in a bit to try again.

What to do, what to do

    I'm trying to come up with stuff to post but when it comes down to it, there's really only so much to do on an island.  Candice has been plastering the walls that have a lot of moisture damage, and I'm doing some plumbing inside and at the outdoor composting toilet.  There's yard work to do, and visitors to greet.  But over all not a lot to report.  So, if there is anything you folks would like to hear about go ahead and post a comment.  I'm sure a lot of what we do I am taking for granted and will be more interesting to you.  It's weird how that works.  You talk to people with incredible lives and to them it's just a job.  Don't get me wrong, we love it here and are totally grateful for God's blessings, I just don't know what to write about.

Count'n Terns

  
    The other day the first tern hatched on Falkner Island, that means it's time to go count eggs!  We wait to count until they start to hatch because that means they're pretty close to wrapping up the laying.
    Counting tern eggs is a bit of a process.  You need to wear the appropriate attire to venture out among a few thousand birds that use feces as a weapon.  The refuge was kind enough to supply us with jumpsuits after we supplied them with sizes.  I told them large for each, but Candice took offense to that and changed hers to a medium.  I now wear the medium and have Tommy Boy running through my head the whole time.  Love ya hun.  Along with the suit is a sombrero, without it the terns would impale your skull and crap on you while they do it.
    Terns lay their eggs all over the Island.  A popular spot is on the beach that is covered with rocks that look a lot like tern eggs.  So, you make a line across the width of the beach taking slow deliberate steps yelling out egg numbers to a recorder who is walking behind.  The island is broken into plots and the numbers are recorded for each plot.  Sounds easy enough, but bare in mind there are nests everywhere, you have maybe a half dozen people yelling simultaneously, the terrain is rough and of course there are the terns.
    All told it is quite an experience!  I would recommend if you're in the area some time in early June you should volunteer for a count.  I would not however recommend volunteering to live on the Island for the summer unless you're one of those crazy bird people!

Be Specific

    Cas and I were at it again tonight trying different places to fish.  First we went to the south side of the island, hoping the low tide would allow us to get closer to some rocks we always see birds on.  The birds weren't there at this time, which should have been our first clue, but we cast out anyway and were met with a very successful seaweed harvest.  We decided to go elsewhere.
    On one side of the dock is a little cove with a sea wall to help protect the moored boats (you can see it behind Cas in the pic of her holding her delicious Black Sea Bass).  We decided to check out what it was like on the wall so we scrambled over some rocks that will be back under water in a few hours.  The Sound was down about five feet and falling but we went for it anyway.  Armed again with nightcrawlers we started casting.
    The technique I was told to use was hang a weight on the end of your line, attached at the same point is another short line with the hook on the end.  You let the weight drop to the bottom and occasionally drag it creating noise that attracts the fish.  The problem with this method is that sometimes the dragging weight can feel like a nibble.  Or in my case, it can feel like an itty bitty fish that barely weighs more than the sinker.
    What I thought happened was that some larger fish had felt sorry for me and replaced my mangled worm with a more appropriate form of bait.  I found out after that in fact what had happened was that Candice had asked God to help me catch a fish tonight but had failed to detail the specifications.  Prayer works!

Candice Caught a Delicious Bass!

Cas and I went fishing off our dock last night, the first time for her in about 15 years!  Of course she was the only one to catch anything.  The sun was getting low when Candice threw her line out with a tasty worm on the end.  Out of nowhere, bam!  She was using a crappy old reel with the drag set wrong and the fish took off.

    Like a pro she held on and brought it to the dock where I hauled it out with a net.  It was the biggest fish either of us had caught.  We had to call a guy from the refuge to help us figure out what it was and if we should eat it.  Leaving it in a cooler for the night, we got up just after dawn to clean it.  I walked Cas through the process but she did it all by herself and was awesome.

  We'll eat like kings tonight and let you land lovers know what it's like!

Conn-ec-ti-cut

    Well, we have been in Connecticut since April 25 and on our Island since May 21.  The posts in South Carolina got a little lagging as we just kind of fell into a routine and not a lot was happening.  Cas finished up there with a small, but successful, wildlife observation art class as a part of a larger Nature and Birding Festival that was city wide.  As soon as the class was over we hopped in Bessie (the camper) and hit the road.

    I would not recommend driving I-95 anywhere north of Richmond, VA in a camper towing a car.  We got off north of Baltimore and headed up I-81 and others to get to Cas's sisters house where we stayed for two weeks.  While we were there we sold the camper and dolly and bought a pick up and topper.  We're holding onto the car for a little bit as it's easier to get around in and uses less gas.  After we left Chandra's house (Cas's sister), we moved toward the coast to the Stewart B. McKinney NWR and our final destination Outer Island.
    For two weeks we lived in the shop yard at the refuge in the back of our pick up, cooking everything on a hot plate in the wood shop as we went through training.  I am proud to say Candice and I are now certified in First Aid, CPR, Blood Born Pathogens, Epi Pens, Automated Electronic Defibrillator (AEDs) and operating government boats.  At the end of our training we were moved out to the Island to start our three month tour of duty.
    The island was donated back in the 90's to the Fish and Wildlife Service and has a house on it that needs a bunch of work.  You can learn about the island here. That is a lot of what we'll be doing, getting the house back in shape and also just being present to greet visitors and let them know when and where they can go.  There is a small cottage as well that is being renovated to be used as classroom space so we'll be helping with that also.  Tomorrow will be our first day with the Island open to visitors, so we'll see how it goes.
    We have been out here a week that has thus far been great.  The weather gets better every day, and the people we have encountered have been very pleasant.  We are looking forward to a summer of learning lots of new things and sharing those things with you.  If you have any questions please let us know, and please help keep us accountable in maintaining relationships as we have been doing a very poor job of it.  We sincerely apologize for that.  We hope everything is going great for all of you, let us know what's new in your worlds.

We're Famous! Okay, Candice Is

Cas made the paper and was kind enough to mention me!  Check it.

Ugh

I was all ready to update this thing this afternoon thinking I was over the flu hump, then the fever came back.  Somewhere around +100, it's hard to tell on those little meat thermometers.

The Rig

    I never got around to posting the pictures of the RV remodel before we set out so here they are.  They don't really tell the best story but the gist is we have a 1983 Holiday Rambler.  It's a 30ft Class A motorhome with a Chevy 454 big block engine (haven't done the math but guessing maybe 8-10 mpg, ouch!).  We had to replace the transmission before we left but that was pretty much the only major engine work done, beside a good tune up.  Inside we did a lot of work.  My dad and I tore up the circa 80's brown carpet and replaced it with vinyl tile, put up new trim and laid rubber flooring under the Capitan's chairs.  Candice hand sewed new insulating curtains (which have been awesome!), Rug Dr.ed the seats and made the place overall pretty and comfortable.  We also had to replace all the appliances.  Since all the propane appliances are now gone something I'll do while I'm here is pull the 200 lbs. propane tank.
    I redid all the battery charging stuff and got solar panels and a new generator with the good intentions of being able to do a lot of boondocking; on day two however we realized this rig was way too big to get anywhere but dedicated lots.  When we get to CT and won't have to live in the camper we'll put this one on the market along with the car dolly and Neon we are pulling and try to get a smaller pull behind camper and pickup with the hopes of having more flexibility.
    There was a ton more that we did during the month we were at my folks, and more we have done since we left (the breaker box melted two weeks ago so I had to replace all that) but it would be boring to read about unless you were involved.  Suffice to say, if you're getting a camper you can buy cheap but be ready for some work.  It was all a lot of fun though and the transformation has been crazy.  If you're into any of this stuff and want to know more just shoot me an email.

Going to Connecticut

A couple weeks ago Cas and I secured our next gig.  We will be stationed on Outer Island of the Stewart B. McKinney wildlife refuge.  Our boss here in Santee, Park Ranger Susie, knows the refuge manager up there and got us the job.  We will be stationed on a five acre island from mid-May to at least the end of August, living in a two bedroom house with solar power and the Atlantic Ocean for our tub.  As the manager explained it, part of our time will be spent taking care the island, the rest will be spent in hammocks with fishing polls and good books.  Should be fun!

Long Overdue

    Santee National Wildlife Refuge is broken up into four units: Bluff, Dingle Pond, Pine Island, and Cuddo.  The visitor center is at the Bluff unit off I-95 and the RV pad is just through some trees.  On the Bluff is the Santee Indian burial mound, site of the British Fort Watson, some hiking trails, and places for critters to hang out (called refuge).  At the Bluff, Cas and I have done trash detail and trail maintenance, I've been GPSing different things (trails, roads, structures) to make digital maps.  Cas is painting a mural in the visitor center and we'll post pics when it's done.
    Next up is Dingle Pond.  One of the first days here we were at Dingle putting up split rail fence.  That was fun!  Dingle doesn't have a whole lot, a strait trail a little less then a mile one way but they're working on putting an observation platform so you can actually see the pond.
    Keep on down the road and you get to Pine Island.  The ownership of the drive into Pine is dubious.  The land on either side is private and the owners let you know it.  Once you get there though it is a very nice hiking and biking road making almost a four mile loop.  We haven't really done anything at Pine yet though there is a canoe trail out there that needs to be mapped!
    The crown jewel of the refuge is the newly remodeled Cuddo Unit.  They just finished construction on the Wildlife Drive building roads, habitat, and observation areas.  This is where we've spent most of our time clearing hiking trails, mapping high water lines (which are at record highs), putting up and fixing signs and more.  There is another canoe trail out there that needs to be mapped as well!
    The people here have been unreal.  They have taken us in like family and have worked hard to help us realize our dreams and goals.  The volunteer coordinator Suzie even got us our next assignment on a five acre island a mile and a half off the coast of Connecticut!  But more on that later....